Tea.

THE making of a good cup of tea is one of the simplest things in the world. Use an earthenware or china teapot. Fill it with boiling water and let stand for four or five minutes; then pour out the water, leaving not a drop in the pot. Put the dry tea into the warm pot and after putting on the cover, set back where it will keep warm for a few minutes; then pour the boiling water on the tea and send to the table. This is for all the light kinds of tea, such as Oolong or black tea. English breakfast tea should steep on the fire for a few minutes, to suit most tastes. If made without this steeping, it has a much brighter and fresher flavor, but it lacks the body so much prized by lovers of this beverage.

The proportions of tea and water vary with the taste of the family or individual. The old rule of a teaspoonful for each person and a teaspoonful for the pot, makes rather strong tea, if three gills of water be allowed for each person.

The water must be boiling when it is poured on the dry tea. Many people seem to think that, if it has boiled some time in the past, it will suffice simply to have it hot when the tea is made. But if water boil a long time all the gases will be driven off, and the water become flat and flavorless. Such water is unfit for the making of tea and coffee.

Keep the teakettle clean, by washing it out every day, and always fill the kettle with fresh water when preparing to make tea or coffee.

The Oolong and all light teas deteriorate with age, whereas English breakfast tea improves.

Coffee.

Much of the quality of a cup of coffee depends upon the berry, and the process of making. There are two classes of berries: the strong and the mild. To the strong belong the Rio and Santas; to the mild, the Java, Mocha, Maracaibo, and others. The last named kinds are usually the highest priced.

Coffee should not be roasted a long time before it is ground. Few housekeepers roast their own coffee. Only a small amount of the roasted article should be bought at a time. It should be kept in an air-tight jar and in a dry place. Do not buy the coffee already ground, for it loses its fine flavor more rapidly when in the ground form than when whole. Have a small mill, that can be regulated to grind coarse or fine.

A mixture of two or more kinds of coffee gives the most satisfactory results. Two thirds Java or Maracaibo with one third Mocha will give a rich, smooth coffee. If the flavor be desired strong, one part Java, one part Mocha, and one part Rio may be used. If economy must be practised, all Rio may be taken. If the roasted coffee be thoroughly heated just before or after it has been ground, and if, after being taken from the fire, but while still hot, a little butter be stirred into it, the beverage will be much richer and smoother; or the entire purchase may be thoroughly heated at one time, and the butter be stirred into it then. Allow a generous tablespoonful of butter to a pound of coffee.

There are many methods of making coffee. Two of the best are given below.

Scald the coffee-pot with boiling water. Put the dry coffee into it and pour the boiling water upon it. Place on the fire, and, when it begins to boil, draw the pot back where the coffee will just bubble for five minutes. At the end of that time add the salt and cold water. Set the pot back where the coffee cannot boil, and let it stand for two or three minutes; then serve.

There is a coffee settler in the market which can be used instead of the salt and water.

An egg makes the coffee richer in flavor, and clears it perfectly. One small egg will answer for six or eight tablespoonfuls of coffee. The egg, shell and all, should be broken into a cup and beaten. After using what is required, cover the cup and put it in a cold place. This will keep for two or three days.

When an egg is used for clearing the coffee it should be stirred into the dry grounds, and be cooked with the coffee.

If one wish the beverage stronger or weaker, increase or diminish the amount of the ground berry.

Filtered Coffee.

Coffee biggins come expressly for making filtered, or “drip” coffee. There are two compartments to this pot. In the upper one there is a double strainer, on which is placed the coffee. Above the coffee there is placed another rather coarse strainer. This upper compartment is placed on the lower one; boiling water is poured through the upper strainer and it falls like rain upon the coffee below. The points to remember when making coffee in this way are to have the pot hot, the coffee ground to a fine powder, the water poured on gradually while boiling, and not to have the beverage boil.

Use two tablespoonfuls of finely ground coffee to one pint of boiling water. After putting the coffee in the pot, and fitting every part into its proper place, set the coffee-pot in a pan of hot water and on the range. Pour half a gill of boiling water into the upper strainer, and put on the cover. Let this stand for three or four minutes, that the powder may become wet and swell. Now add half the remaining boiling water; and after two or three minutes add the remainder. At the end of five minutes all the water will have filtered through, and the coffee be ready to serve.

A small quantity of coffee cannot be made in a large pot, because the water will pass through the thin layer of powder before it has had time to extract the strength of the berry. If all the water were poured on the powder at once, it would dislodge the dry grains and pass through without extracting the flavor from the coffee.

A flannel bag is often hung in a coffee-pot, the fine powder being put in it and the boiling water poured directly on the dry coffee. There are many inventions in the line of coffee-pots which are very satisfactory, but the housekeeper should investigate and test them for herself.

Coffee-pots must be kept absolutely clean, if you would have a satisfactory cup of coffee. A few old grounds, lodged in a groove in the pot, may spoil the flavor of the finest berry.

If you cannot have cream for your cup of coffee, at least have hot milk.

Several preparations are made from the cocoa bean. We find the product in the market in the form of chocolate, plain, and also sweetened and flavored. This is the roasted bean ground to a smooth, fine substance, which retains the oily substance known as cocoa butter. This makes a rich beverage which few people can use daily. The chocolate is valuable in the preparation of various kinds of food and confections, and to use occasionally as a beverage. In its sweetened form it can be taken in the pocket when going on long tramps; an ounce of it will allay the feeling of faintness and hunger which comes with long fasting.

Breakfast cocoa is made by pressing nearly all the cocoa butter from the roasted and finely ground bean. This gives a delicate dry powder, which makes a digestible, nutritious, and pleasant drink. Because it in part takes the place of animal food, it is very economical.

The cocoa shells and nibs, when prepared as a beverage, are not very valuable as a food, because only a small part of the cocoa is extracted in the boiling. The process of preparing the cocoa bean for the market is almost wholly mechanical, so that when you get your cocoa and chocolate from a trustworthy manufacturer you may be sure that you are using a perfectly pure article and one absolutely clean.

Chocolate.

Put the milk on the fire, in the double-boiler. Shave the chocolate, and, putting it into a small pan with the sugar and water, stir over a hot fire until smooth and glossy. Stir this into the boiling milk; then beat the chocolate with a whisk, to make it froth. Pour into a hot pot, and serve at once.

Long cooking separates the oil from the chocolate and spoils the beverage.

Breakfast Cocoa.

Put the milk in the double-boiler and set on the fire. Mix the cocoa to a smooth paste, with the cold water. When the milk boils, add the cocoa, and boil for one minute. Serve hot.

The flavor of this cocoa is always finer when the milk actually bubbles up after the cocoa is added. If water or part water be used, measure the cocoa more generously.

Nothing is much more delicious than a good cup of cocoa, and nothing is more disappointing than the slops one so often gets under this name, because many people prepare it by pouring hot water on the powder and then adding sugar and milk. This will do when it is impossible to boil it, but it is only a makeshift. It should be remembered that the cocoa bean contains a considerable amount of starch, and this starch will be improved by boiling.

Broma.

Broma is prepared the same as cocoa, but requires a few minutes’ longer cooking, because of the addition of a starchy substance to the powder.

Cocoa Shells and Nibs.

The thin shells that are removed from the roasted cocoa bean, and a part of the nut in a roughly broken state, are used for a beverage. The shells are sometimes used alone, but this makes rather a poor drink. The shells and nibs are put into a cocoa pot with boiling water and simmered for four hours or more. Use a gill of the shells, one tablespoonful of the nibs, and a quart of water. This will give a generous pint of the beverage. Serve it with hot milk and sugar.

Lemonade.

Squeeze the lemon and strain the juice. Add the sugar and water to it and use at once. It should be very cold or very hot. Add ice in warm weather.

When the water is not good, or in case of sickness, boiling water may be poured on the sugar and fruit juice; then cool the lemonade.

When making a lemonade for a company of people, it may be mixed in a large handsome bowl. Add to it all or any one of the following named fruits:—

For one gallon of lemonade use four quarts of water, twenty lemons, one quart of sugar, one banana, half a pineapple, six oranges, one pint of strawberries.

Use the juice of the lemons and oranges; have the pineapple and banana cut in thin slices; the strawberries should be whole. Raspberries, as well as strawberries, may be used.