Grand | Country | Shipping | State, or | Trade Values
Division | | Ports | District, | and Cup
| | | Market Names |Characteristics
| | | and Gradings |
-------------+------------+--------------+-----------------+-----------------
Africa |Abyssinia | |Abyssinia |The native coffee
(_Cont'd_) | (_Cont'd_) | | Kaffa, d |grown wild in this
| | | (Gomara) |district has little
| | | |commercial
| | | |importance. The
| | | |bean is dark gray,
| | | |and it has a
| | | |groundy flavor.
| | | |
| | | Bonga, t |Trading center for
| | | |Abyssinia.
| | | |
| | | Jimma, d |Trading center for
| | | Jiren, t |Abyssinia.
| | | |
| | | Shoa, d |Mostly Abyssinian
| | | Adis-Abeba, t |growths are
| | | |exported from this
| | | |trading center to
| | | |Harar or
| | | |Dire-Daoua.
| | | |
|Kenya |Mombasa | Nairobi, d |Having Mysore
|Colony | | & t |characteristics
|(Formerly | | Kikuyu |with a touch of
|British | | Kyambu |Mocha flavor.
|East Africa)| | |
| | | |
|Uganda |Mombasa |Uganda |Greenish-gray to
|Protectorate| | Bunganda, d |light-brown
|(British) | | |Robusta. Poor to
| | | |fairly good liquor.
| | | |
|Zanzibar |Zanzibar |Zanzibar |Medium-sized bean;
|Protectorate| | |full body, pleasing
|(British) | | |flavor.
| | | |
|Tanganyika |Dar-es-Salaam | East Africa, |Not a commercial
|Territory | | m n |factor.
|(formerly | | or |
|German East | | Tanganyika, |
|Africa) | | m n |
| | | |
| | | |
|Nyasaland |Chinde |Nyasaland |Some high-grown and
|Protectorate|(Portuguese | Shire Highlands,|of fine quality. Not
|(British) |East Africa) | d |a commercial factor.
| | | Blantyre, d |
| | | |
|Rhodesia |Beira |Rhodesia |For local
|(British) |(Portuguese | |consumption.
| |East Africa) | |Not a trade factor.
| | | |
|Portuguese |Mozambique |Mozambique |Medium-sized
|East Africa | | |greenish bean,
| | | |heavy body; mild
| | | |and mellow in the
| | | |cup.
| | | |
|Natal |Durban |Natal |Large, light-brown
|(British) | | |Liberian growth.
| | | |Not a trade factor.
| | | |
|Angola |Loanda |Angola |Medium-size bean,
|(Portugal) | | |brownish color,
| | | |strong in the cup.
| | | |
| | | Encoje, d, |Light weight, dark
| | | m n |brown Robusta;
| | | |strong in the cup.
| | | |
|Belgian |Banana | Congo, m n |_In general_: The
|Congo | | Equator, d |coffees of the
| | | Aruwimi, d |Belgian Congo are
| | | Bangala, d |mostly Liberian and
| | | Lake Leopold, |Robusta growths.
| | | d |There is produced a
| | | |medium-sized bean,
| | | |making a handsome
| | | |roast and having a
| | | |rich cup.
| | | |
|French |Loango | Loango, d, |Formerly Encoje
|Congo |Libreville | m n |from Angola.
| | | |Inferior to
| | | |Liberian.
=============+============+==============+=================+=================
=============+============+==============+=================+=================
Grand | Country | Shipping | State, or | Trade Values
Division | | Ports | District, | and Cup
| | | Market Names |Characteristics
| | | and Gradings |
-------------+------------+--------------+-----------------+-----------------
Africa |Nigeria |Lagos |Nigeria |Commercially
(Cont'd) | (British) | | | unimportant.
| | | |
|Gold Coast |Accra |Gold Coast |Not a commercial
| (British) | | | factor.
| | | |
|Liberia |Monrovia | Liberian, m |Large, brown bean;
| | | n | big, handsome
| | | | roaster; strong in
| | | | cup.
| | | |
|Sierra Leone|Freetown |Sierra Leone |_C. stenophylla_, a
| (British) | | | native growth. Not
| | | | a trade factor.
| | | |
|French |Konakry | Guinea, m n |Commercially
| Guinea | | | unimportant.
| | | |
|Portuguese |Bissao | Guinea, m n |Commercially
| Guinea | | | unimportant.
| | | |
| | | |
|Comoro |Maroni | Comoro, m n |A wild natural
| Islands | | | caffein-free coffee
| (French) | | | (_C. humboltiana_);
| | | | also found in
| | | | Madagascar. Not a
| | | | commercial factor.
| | | |
|Madagascar |Tamatave |Madagascar |Light-green
| (French) | | | _liberica_ and
| | | | _robusta_ bean;
| | | | full rich flavor.
| | | |
|Réunion, |St. Denis | Bourbon, m |Nearest to Mocha in
| formerly | | n | character (q. v.).
| Bourbon | | | Round and pointed
| (French) | | | bean, pale green
| | | | or pale yellow. Not
| | | | a trade factor.
| | | |
|Mauritius |Port Louis |Mauritius |Similar to Bourbon.
| (British) | | | Medium light green,
| | | | full body, mild and
| | | | mellow flavor. Not
| | | | a trade factor.
| | | |
-------------+------------+--------------+-----------------+-----------------
[Illustration]
CHAPTER XXV
FACTORY PREPARATION OF ROASTED COFFEE
_Coffee roasting as a business--Wholesale coffee-roasting
machinery--Separating, milling, and mixing or blending green
coffee, and roasting by coal, coke, gas, and electricity--Facts
about coffee roasting--Cost of roasting--Green-coffee shrinkage
table--"Dry" and "wet" roasts--On roasting coffee efficiently--A
typical coal roaster--Cooling and stoning--Finishing or
glazing--Blending roasted coffees--Blends for restaurants--Grinding
and packaging--Coffee additions and fillers--Treated coffees, and
dry extracts_
The coffee bean is not ready for beverage purposes until it has been
properly "manufactured", that is, roasted, or "cooked". Only in this way
can all the stimulating, flavoring, and aromatic principles concealed in
the minute cells of the bean be extracted at one time. An infusion from
green coffee has a decidedly unpleasant taste and hardly any color.
Likewise, an underdone roast has a disagreeable "grassy" flavor; while
an overdone roast gives a charred taste that is unpalatable to the
average citizen of the United States.
_Coffee Roasting as a Business_
In spite of the generally admitted fact that freshly roasted coffee
makes the best infusion, most of the coffee used today is not roasted at
or near the place where it is brewed, but in factories that are provided
with special equipment for the roasting of coffee in a wholesale way.
The reasons for this are various, partly relating to the mere economy of
buying and manufacturing on a large scale, and partly relating to the
trained skill that is needed both for selecting suitable green coffees
to make a satisfactory blend, and for the roasting work itself. The
proportion of consumers (including restaurants and hotels) who roast
their own coffee is so small as to be negligible, at least in the United
States. The average person who buys coffee today, for brewing use, never
sees green coffee at all, unless as an "educational exhibit" in some
dealer's display window.
The reasons just mentioned, which have made coffee roasting a real
business, all tend, of course, to make the roasting establishments of
large size; but this tendency is offset by the problem of distributing
the roasting coffee so that it will reach the ultimate consumer in good
condition. Roasting enterprises on a comparatively small scale (not by
consumers, but by sufficiently expert dealers) would probably be much
more numerous on account of the "fresh-roast" argument, except for the
fact that coffee-roasting machines can not be installed so easily as the
grinding mills, meat-choppers, and slicing machines, that find extended
use in small stores. The steam, smoke, and chaff given off by the coffee
as it is roasted must be disposed of by an outdoor connection, without
annoying the neighbors or creating a fire hazard.
From these general remarks, it can easily be seen that the size of
individual roasting establishments will vary greatly, according to the
skill of the proprietor in meeting the disadvantages of working on
either the smallest or the largest scale. A wholesale plant may be
considered to be one in which coffee is roasted in batches of one bag or
more at a time; and with this definition, nearly all the roasting in the
United States is done in a wholesale way.
[Illustration: A MODERN GAS COFFEE-ROASTING PLANT WITH A CAPACITY OF
1,000 BAGS A DAY
General view of the roasting room of the Jewel Tea Co., Hoboken, N.J.
The equipment consists of twelve Jubilee gas machines in four groups;
each group having a smoke-suction fan, and a drag conveyor over the
three feed hoppers. To the left is a line of flexible-arm cooler cars]
For many years the regular factory machines have been of a size
suitable for roasting two bags of coffee at a time; but roasters of
larger size have recently come into considerable use.
Plants treating from fifty to a hundred and fifty bags per day are the
most common; but the daily capacity runs up to a thousand bags or more.
The minimum cost of equipping a plant is somewhere between five thousand
dollars and ten thousand dollars. The individual machines are of
standard construction; but the arrangement in a particular building,
especially for the larger plants, is worked out with great care and with
numerous special features, so that the goods can be handled from start
to finish with minimum expense for floor space, labor, power, etc.
The practical coffee roaster locates his roasting room in the top floor
of his factory building, where light and ventilation are generally best.
He usually has a large skylight in the roof, directly over the roasting
equipment. In addition to the advantage as regards good light and the
convenient discharge of smoke, steam, and odors, through the roof, the
top-story location makes it possible to send the roasted coffee by
gravity through the various bins which may be needed in connection with
subsequent operations, such as grinding, and for temporary storage
before the final packaging and shipping.
_Wholesale Coffee-Roasting Machinery_
The indispensable coffee operations are roasting and cooling; and in
practically all United States plants the cooling is followed by
"stoning". This is an air-suction operation that effects, aided by
gravity, the removal of any stones or other hard material that would
damage the grinding mill. The best commercial cleaning and grading of
the green coffee has usually left in every bag a few small stones. These
can be got rid of better after the coffee is roasted; because it is then
not only lighter, but more bulky.
[Illustration: MILLING-MACHINE CONNECTIONS FOR A TWO-ROASTER PLANT]
Besides these three operations of roasting, cooling, and stoning, the
plant may have machinery for treating the coffee both before it is
roasted and after it leaves the stoner.
[Illustration: A SIXTEEN-CYLINDER COAL ROASTING PLANT IN A NEW YORK
FACTORY
This is a view of the roasting room of B. Fischer & Co. and shows a
battery of Burns coal roasters]
Treatment of the green coffee in roasting establishments is of less
importance now than in years gone by; first, because most coffees now
come to market more perfectly graded and cleaned than formerly; and
second, because the whole-bean appearance of the coffee has become of
less account, as wholesale grinding operations have increased.
Nevertheless, many plants consider it highly important to have a
separator for grading the coffee closely as regards the size of the
beans--and particularly for the separation of round beans, or
"peaberry"--as well as milling machinery for making the coffee as clean
as possible before it is roasted. One green coffee operation that has
lost none of its old-time importance, but on the contrary is more needed
as the plants increase in size, is the mixing of different varieties of
coffee--in proportions that have been decided on by sample tests--so as
to get a uniform blend.
The mixer does not blend the various coffees any more surely than a good
roaster cylinder will do it, but treats batches of much larger size.
This means saving a great amount of labor that would be necessary for
putting the desired quantity of component coffees into each individual
roaster.
A proper installation of green coffee machinery requires various bins of
ample capacity, and bucket elevators by which the coffee can be sent
without manual labor from one operation to another. In modern plants,
all the bins and elevators are constructed of metal. The separator, with
its bins and elevator, may be installed independently of the rest of the
plant, the graded coffee being all bagged up again and treated as new
raw stock--some of it to be held for later use, or perhaps sold again
unroasted. The milling machine and the mixer, however, are usually so
placed and connected that the coffee can be sent from one to the other,
and to the roaster feed hoppers, without any manual labor.
When the roaster sells his product in package form ready for the
consumer, he will have a packaging department in which are grinding,
weighing, labeling, and packing machines and equipment. In some of the
more progressive plants, particularly in the United States, all the
packing units are incorporated in one machine, so that the different
steps in the work are carried on automatically and in one continuous
operation.
[Illustration: GREEN-COFFEE-MIXER CONNECTIONS
To operate at full capacity, without using the story above as well as
below the mixer, requires a bucket elevator and three bins, each holding
a full mixing batch. The above diagram explains this setting. The mixed
coffee in the discharge bin is either drawn out into bags or sent by an
elevator to a milling machine or direct to the coffee roasters. A batch
ready for mixing can always be accumulated in the feed bin while the
previous batch is being mixed or discharged.
The fan is usually hung to the ceiling over the mixer as indicated, and
connected to the suction box by a 1-in. round pipe. The fan outlet can
be carried directly out-of-doors; but the dusty discharge is
objectionable in most installations, and this pipe is usually carried to
a dust collector from the top of which the roof outlet is connected.]
The efficient roaster-executive equips his entire plant with approved
labor-saving devices. In the better establishments, the coffee is
carried along by mechanical conveyors through all the operations from
the first cleaning machine to the final packaging.
_Separating_
As already mentioned, a machine frequently found in wholesale plants is
the separator, or grader. This apparatus, which is the same in principle
in all countries, but varies in size and form according to local
requirements, consists of a series of perforated screens. The
perforations differ in size; and as the coffee is shaken on them, the
small beans drop through the holes, the larger ones passing across the
screen and dropping into a receptacle or chute ready for the next
operation. The screens are made to grade the beans into large and small
peaberry; large, medium, and small flat beans; brokens; and other
commercial sizes. The average separator will grade fifteen to twenty
bags of coffee in an hour.
[Illustration: Green-coffee-milling machine having a capacity of forty
bags of green coffee per hour; with sifter, feed-pipe suction, and a
final separate suction at the discharge hopper]
[Illustration: Green-coffee separator without fan; with feed elevator,
discharge chutes, and motor drive. View of right-hand side and feed end]
[Illustration: GREEN-COFFEE SEPARATING AND MILLING MACHINES]
_Milling_
Milling machines, for cleaning the green coffee, operate on practically
the same principle the world over, varying in capacity and details of
construction. A popular type used in the United States has two metal
cylinders, one set within the other, and revolving in opposite
directions. The inner cylinder is ribbed with flanges, and the outer one
is lined with wire cloth. As these cylinders revolve, the beans pass
between them rubbing against themselves and the rough sides of the
cylinders. This action serves to remove dirt and other foreign matter
that may be clinging to the beans, and also gives them an attractive
polish. An exhaust fan sucks away the dirt milled off in the process.
This type of machine will mill about forty bags of green coffee in an
hour.
_Mixing or Blending Green Coffee_
Most roasters blend the different types of coffee while green. Some
blend them after they have been roasted separately. When blended before
roasting, the coffees are mixed by a machine built especially for that
purpose. The mixing machine in general use in all countries consists of
a large metal cylinder which, in wholesale operations, is revolved by
the factory's general power plant or by a separate motor. The cylinder
is equipped on the inside with sets of reverse-screw mixing flanges that
tumble the beans around until they are thoroughly blended; and there is
usually a fan attachment to remove dust. This operation serves also to
smooth down and to polish the surfaces of the beans, which adds to the
style of the coffee when roasted. The average blending machine will mix
from ten to twenty bags of coffee at a time. The actual mixing requires
less than five minutes, but a longer period is needed for feeding and
discharging. This is the last of the so-called "green-coffee
operations". The next step is roasting.
_Roasting by Coal, Coke, Gas, and Electricity_
Coffee is roasted commercially in cylinder or ball receptacles revolving
in heated chambers, the degree of heat reaching about 420° Fahr. The
cylinder type of roaster is invariably used in the United States; while
both the cylinder and the ball types are popular in England, France,
Germany, Holland, and other foreign countries.
[Illustration: AN ENGLISH FOUR-MACHINE GAS COFFEE-ROASTING PLANT
The equipment includes three Morewood indirect-flame, and one quick
direct-flame machines]
Each roasterman has his own opinion about the fuel that gives the best
result, and throughout the world the choice lies between anthracite
coal, coke, and gas; though hard wood is frequently used in countries
where other fuels are not available or not economical. Electric heat has
been tried for commercial roasting in Germany (1906), in England (1909),
and in the United States (1918); but the experimenters have always found
the cost of electric fuel to be prohibitive in competition with coal and
gas. An electric roaster was demonstrated at the Food Conservation Show
in New York, in 1918, at a time when the federal government was urging
the necessity of conserving coal as a war economy measure. The inventor
claimed that his machine would reduce roasting cost, improve the flavor
and the aroma, and maintain a constant and easily controlled heat. He
declared also that when roasted in his devices, less coffee was required
for brewing.
An expert coffee-roasting-machinery man who has been working on the
development of a practical electric roaster says that if it were
possible to bake the coffee in an oven, just as the baker does his
bread, the fuel cost would then compare favorably with that of gas or
coal. It is because the heat chamber must have an exhaust to release the
chaff and smoke that the use of electricity to replace the heat loss
proves prohibitive when compared with coal or gas.
In all types of coal and coke burning roasters, the cylinders are heated
by a fire underneath; while in gas roasters, the flame may be underneath
or within the cylinder itself. Roasters in which the heat is within the
cylinder are known as direct-flame or inner-heated machines. All three
systems are used in the United States and Europe.
_Facts About Coffee Roasting_
The modern commercial roasting outfit is as near fool-proof as human
genius has been able to devise. The more advanced types are almost
automatic in operation, and are designed to insure uniformity of roasts.
In such machines the green coffee is conveyed to the roasting cylinder
by means of bucket elevators, which pour the beans into a feed hopper.
From the feed hopper, the coffee is dumped through the opening in the
front head-piece into the cylinder. The cylinder is perforated, and has
inside flanges which keep tossing the coffee about while the cylinder
revolves, so that the coffee will not burn during the roasting process.
[Illustration: GERMAN GAS COFFEE-ROASTING PLANT EQUIPPED WITH
IDEAL-RAPID MACHINES]
To roast coffee by coal or coke usually requires from twenty-five to
thirty minutes, depending on the moisture-content of the beans; whether
they are spongy or flinty; whether a light, medium, or dark roast is
desired; and on the skill of the operator. Gas roasting requires from
fifteen to twenty minutes. The quicker the roast, the better the coffee,
is the opinion of many trade leaders, one of whom[325] says:
It is a growing belief that in roasts of short duration the largest
percentage of the aromatic properties is retained. A slow roast has
the effect of baking and does not give full development; also, slow
roasts seldom produce bright roasts, and they usually make the
coffee hard instead of brittle, even when the color standard has
been attained.
[Illustration: FRENCH GAS COFFEE-ROASTING PLANT EQUIPPED WITH MODERNE
MACHINES]
While coffees of widely varying degrees of moisture require somewhat
different treatment, the consensus of opinion is that the best results
are obtained from a slow fire at the beginning, until some of the
moisture has been driven off, when the stronger application of heat may
be given for development. An intense heat in the beginning often results
in "tipping", or charring, the little germ at the end, the most
sensitive part of the bean.
Scorched beans have been caught at some point in the cylinder, often in
a bent flange. Burning on one face, sometimes called "kissing the
cheeks", is caused by the too rapid revolution of the cylinder, so that
some of the coffee "carries over". In the best practise, crowding of
cylinders is avoided; many roasters making it a rule not to exceed
ninety percent of the rated capacity of the cylinder.
Those operating gas roasters may effect a fuel economy by running a low
grade coffee in the cylinder after the last roast has been drawn and the
gas extinguished; five minutes' revolution absorbs the heat and drives
off a proportion of moisture. The coffee, which may then be left in the
cylinder, requires less time and fuel in the morning, and the roast is
finished while the cylinder is warming up. Double roasting brightens a
roast, but is a detriment to the cup quality. A dull roasting coffee may
be improved by revolving the green coffee in a cylinder without heat for
twenty minutes, which has the effect of milling.
The use of a small amount of water upon roasts gives better control by
checking the roast at the proper point--the crucial time of its greatest
heat; also, it swells and brightens the coffee, and tends to close the
outer pores. While the addition of water is open to abuse, few roasters
have soaked their coffees enough to offset the natural shrinkage as much
as three or four percent. Such practise would result greatly to the
detriment of the cup quality.
There is no universal standard for the degree to which coffee should be
roasted. In the United States, there are demands for all degrees; from
the light roast, in favor in England, to the extremely dark roast in
vogue in France, Italy, Brazil, Turkey, and in the producing countries.
The North American trade recognizes these different roasts: light,
cinnamon, medium, high, city, full city, French, and Italian. The city
roast is a dark bean, while full city is a few degrees darker. In the
French roast, the bean is cooked until the natural oil appears on the
surface; and in the Italian, it is roasted to the point of actual
carbonization, so that it can be easily powdered. Germany likes a roast
similar to the French type; while Scandinavia prefers the high Italian
roast.
In the United States, the lighter roast is favored on the Pacific coast;
the darkest, in the South; and a medium-colored roast, in the Eastern
states. The cinnamon roast is most favored by the trade in Boston.
While coffee roasting in the United States usually takes from fifteen to
thirty minutes, depending on the fuel and the machine employed,
manufacturers of gas machines on the German market claim to roast it in
superior fashion in from three and a half to ten minutes.[326] This
subject is discussed more in detail in chapter XXXIV.
Coffee loses weight during the roasting process, the loss varying
according to the degree of roasting and the nature of the bean. Coffee
roasters figure, however, that the average loss is sixteen percent of
the weight of the green bean. It has been estimated that one hundred
pounds of coffee in the cherry produces twenty-five pounds in the
parchment; that one hundred pounds in parchment produces eighty-four
pounds of cleaned coffee; and that one hundred pounds of cleaned coffee
produces eighty-four pounds roasted.
[Illustration: JUMBO COFFEE ROASTER, IN THE ARBUCKLE COFFEE-ROASTING
PLANT, NEW YORK
There are four of these machines. The cylinders are twelve feet in
diameter, six feet deep, and can roast 5,000 pounds of coffee every
half-hour. The hard-coal brick furnace is seen at the left, from which a
blower forces the heated air through a pipe into the revolving cylinder
of coffee. The coffee is fed from above and is emptied into the cooling
pans beneath]
[Illustration: AN EIGHT-CYLINDER GAS COFFEE-ROASTING PLANT
A view of Reid, Murdoch & Co.'s roasting room, Chicago, equipped with
Monitor machines]
During the roasting process the coffee undergoes a great chemical
change. After it has been in the cylinder a short time, the color of the
bean becomes a yellowish brown, which gradually deepens as it cooks.
Likewise, as the beans become heated, they shrivel up until about half
done, or at the "developing" point. At this stage, they begin to swell,
and then "pop open", increasing fifty percent in bulk.[327] This is when
the experienced roasterman turns on all the heat he can command to
finish the roasting as quickly as possible.
_"Dry" and "Wet" Roasts_
At frequent intervals, he thrusts his "trier"--an instrument shaped
somewhat like an elongated spoon--into the cylinder, and takes out a
sample of coffee to compare with his type sample. When the coffee is
done, he shuts off the heat and checks the cooking by reducing the
temperature of the coffee and of the cylinder as quickly as can be done.
In the wet roast method he will spray the coffee, while the cylinder is
still revolving, with three to four quarts of water to every 130 pounds
of coffee. In the dry method he depends altogether upon his cooling
apparatus.
Roasters generally are not in favor of the excessive watering of coffee
in and after the roasting process for the purpose of reducing shrinkage.
"Heading" the coffee, or checking the roast before turning it out of the
roasting cylinder, is quite another matter and is considered legitimate.
Where coffees are watered in the cylinder at the close of the roast to
reduce the shrinkage, it is possible to get back only about four percent
of the shrinkage by such treatment and the practise is frowned upon by
the best roasters.
Generally speaking, water is turned into the roasting cylinder to quench
the roast. The amount varies with the style of machine, whether gas or
coal. Usually the water turns to steam, and the result is not an
absorption of the water but a momentary checking of the roast with a
tendency to swell and to brighten the coffee. This is, comparatively
speaking, a "dry roast", but not an absolutely dry roast. It is doubtful
if more than one percent of American coffee roasters employ an
absolutely "dry" roast--it does not give satisfactory results. The word
has been abused for advertising purposes. Of course, a dry roasted
coffee is a better article for making a satisfactory beverage than one
that has been soaked with water; but the word "dry" must be given a
definite meaning, which the trade generally will agree to uphold, if it
is to have any real meaning or value to the consumer. Until some
standard for roasted coffee shall be established, it is to be feared the
term "dry roast" will continue to be used for coffee roasted by almost
any other process.
[Illustration: UPPER-STORY VIEW OF A JUBILEE PLANT, SHOWING ROASTER,
COOLER, AND STONER EQUIPMENT
The parts under roasting-room floor are shown in the illustration below]
[Illustration: LOWER-STORY VIEW OF THE SAME PLANT FROM ABOUT THE SAME
ANGLE
Showing connection from floor hopper to stoner on the left, and
suspended bucket-elevator boot with four-bag dump hopper on the right]
[Illustration: COMPLETE GAS COFFEE-PLANT INSTALLATION]
The Bureau of Chemistry held a hearing in 1914 at Washington, at which
the question of a ruling on watering coffees was discussed. The trade
was well represented, but no agreement was reached. It was deemed
inadvisable to make a definite rule on the watering of coffee; because
the water content can not be controlled, as the bean starts to absorb
moisture as soon as it leaves the roaster.
_On Roasting Coffee Efficiently_
A.L. Burns, New York, is well qualified to speak on this subject. He
says:
Roasting coffee is not so difficult a matter as is often claimed by
operators and "experts" who seek thus to magnify their importance;
but it is nevertheless a process about which a great deal may be
learned in the school of practical experience. With one of our
modern machines anybody with ordinary intelligence and nerve can
take off a roast after one trial which would pass muster in many
establishments, but that same person applying himself to the
roasting job for a week will either be turning out vastly better
roasts or will have demonstrated that he never can excel as a
roasterman.
Modern coffee roasting machines provide for easy control of the
heat (from coal, coke, or gas fuel), for constantly mixing the
coffee in such a manner that the heat is transmitted uniformly to
the entire batch, for carrying away all steam and smoke rapidly,
for easy testing of the progress of the roast, and for immediate
discharge when desired. The operator's problem therefore is the
regulation of the heat and deciding just when the desired roasting
has been accomplished.
If all coffees were alike, roasting would soon be almost automatic.
In some plants most of the work is on one uniform grade or blend.
But coffees which vary greatly in moisture-content, in flinty or
spongy nature, and in various other characteristics, will puzzle
the operator until he establishes a personal acquaintance with them
in various combinations in repeated roasting operations. The
roasterman therefore must be able to observe closely, to draw
sensible conclusions, and to remember what he learns. Roasting
coffee is work of a sort which anybody can do, which a few people
can do really well, and no one so well but that further improvement
is possible.
There is no absolute standard of what the best roasting results
are. Some dealers want the coffee beans swelled up to the bursting
point, while others would object to so showy a development. Some
care nothing at all about appearance as compared with cup value,
while others insist on a bright style even at some sacrifice of
quality. Business judgment must decide what goods can be sold most
profitably.
The loss of coffee in weight in the roasting operation, or
shrinkage as it is called, is a matter which offers opportunities
for false claims of advantage in roasting processes. Anybody can
see that if just as good roasted coffee could be produced with a
lessened shrinkage there would be a chance for a decided increase
in profits. It is a sort of finding-money proposition which always
turns out to be too good to be true. The purpose of roasting coffee
is to produce an article entirely different from green coffee,
which is accomplished mainly by driving out moisture. If coffee is
roasted thoroughly, inside as well as outside, so as to give the
greatest roasted coffee value, it must sustain a proper loss in
weight which there is no legitimate way to avoid. The amount of
shrinkage varies a great deal with the kind of coffee and its age,
also with the kind of roasting desired.
Adding a little water to the coffee at the end of the operation has
the advantage of checking the roast at the desired point and
helping to swell and brighten the coffee, but it is a practice
which is sometimes abused by soaking the coffee with water so as to
reduce the shrinkage. This is done either dishonestly, to steal
coffee which belongs to somebody else, or foolishly; for the
heavier coffee has a lessened cup value which more than
counterbalances the apparent gain.
[Illustration: BURNS JUBILEE GAS ROASTER]
_A Typical Coal Roaster_
A typical United States coal roaster is shown in the accompanying cut.
It is the latest form of that type of Burns machine which requires a
brickwork setting. The picture shows the roaster ready to operate,
except for smoke pipe and power connections.
[Illustration: BURNS COAL ROASTER WITH BRICKWORK SETTING]
The front of the machine shown has a cast-iron plate having brackets
which support the cylinder front bearing, and double fire doors below
for the furnace and the ash pit. The movable part of the roaster is
hidden by the front head, a heavy casting which stands still except when
moved by hand through a half-turn for feeding and discharging.
The cylinder is driven by gears at the back, revolving constantly at
uniform speed. The inside of the cylinder is arranged with
reverse-spiral flanges which mix the coffee perfectly and make uneven
roasting impossible; and they discharge promptly every grain of coffee
when the front-head opening is turned to the lower position. The roaster
is generally operated with coal fuel, but can be used with gas by
installing a suitable burner under the cylinder.
[Illustration: OPEN PERFORATED CYLINDER WITH FLEXIBLE BACK HEAD]
COST CARD FOR ROASTERS
_Showing the value added to the cost of green coffee by
roasting_
By A.C. Aborn
BASIS: 16 percent Shrinkage.
3/4 cent a pound for Roasting.
Cost Green, Cost Roasted,
Cents per Lb. Cents per Lb.
5 6.85
5-1/8 6.99
5-1/4 7.14
5-3/8 7.29
5-1/2 7.44
5-5/8 7.59
5-3/4 7.74
5-7/8 7.89
6 8.04
6-1/8 8.19
6-1/4 8.33
6-3/8 8.48
6-1/2 8.63
6-5/8 8.78
6-3/4 8.93
6-7/8 9.08
7 9.23
7-1/8 9.37
7-1/4 9.52
7-3/8 9.67
7-1/2 9.82
7-5/8 9.97
7-3/4 10.12
7-7/8 10.27
8 10.42
8-1/8 10.57
8-1/4 10.71
8-3/8 10.86
8-1/2 11.01
8-5/8 11.16
8-3/4 11.31
8-7/8 11.46
9 11.61
9-1/8 11.76
9-1/4 11.90
9-3/8 12.05
9-1/2 12.20
9-5/8 12.35
9-3/4 12.50
9-7/8 12.65
10 12.80
10-1/8 12.95
10-1/4 13.10
10-3/8 13.24
10-1/2 13.39
10-5/8 13.54
10-3/4 13.69
10-7/8 13.84
11 13.99
11-1/8 14.14
11-1/4 14.29
11-3/8 14.43
11-1/2 14.58
11-5/8 14.73
11-3/4 14.88
11-7/8 15.03
12 15.18
12-1/8 15.33
12-1/4 15.48
12-3/8 15.63
12-1/2 15.77
12-5/8 15.92
12-3/4 16.07
12-7/8 16.22
13 16.37
13-1/8 16.52
13-1/4 16.67
13-3/8 16.82
13-1/2 16.97
13-5/8 17.11
13-3/4 17.26
13-7/8 17.41
14 17.56
14-1/8 17.71
14-1/4 17.86
14-3/8 18.01
14-1/2 18.15
14-5/8 18.30
14-3/4 18.45
14-7/8 18.60
15 18.75
15-1/8 18.90
15-1/4 19.05
15-3/8 19.20
15-1/2 19.35
15-5/8 19.49
15-3/4 19.64
15-7/8 19.79
16 19.94
16-1/8 20.09
16-1/4 20.24
16-3/8 20.39
16-1/2 20.54
16-5/8 20.68
16-3/4 20.83
16-7/8 20.98
17 21.13
17-1/8 21.28
17-1/4 21.43
17-3/8 21.58
17-1/2 21.73
17-5/8 21.87
17-3/4 22.02
17-7/8 22.17
18 22.32
18-1/8 22.47
18-1/4 22.62
18-3/8 22.77
18-1/2 22.92
18-5/8 23.07
18-3/4 23.21
18-7/8 23.36
19 23.51
19-1/8 23.66
19-1/4 23.81
19-3/8 23.96
19-1/2 24.11
19-5/8 24.26
19-3/4 24.40
19-7/8 24.55
20 24.70
20-1/8 24.85
20-1/4 25.00
20-3/8 25.15
20-1/2 25.30
20-5/8 25.45
20-3/4 25.60
20-7/8 25.75
21 25.89
21-1/8 26.04
21-1/4 26.19
21-3/8 26.34
21-1/2 26.49
21-5/8 26.64
21-3/4 26.79
21-7/8 26.93
22 27.08
22-1/8 27.23
22-1/4 27.38
22-3/8 27.53
22-1/2 27.68
22-5/8 27.83
22-3/4 27.98
22-7/8 28.13
23 28.27
23-1/8 28.42
23-1/4 28.57
23-3/8 28.72
23-1/2 28.87
23-5/8 29.02
23-3/4 29.17
23-7/8 29.32
24 29.46
24-1/8 29.61
24-1/4 29.76
24-3/8 29.91
24-1/2 30.06
24-5/8 30.21
24-3/4 30.36
24-7/8 30.51
25 30.65
25-1/8 30.80
25-1/4 30.95
25-3/8 31.10
25-1/2 31.25
25-5/8 31.40
25-3/4 31.55
25-7/8 31.70
26 31.85
26-1/8 31.99
26-1/4 32.14
26-3/8 32.29
26-1/2 32.44
26-5/8 32.59
26-3/4 32.74
26-7/8 32.89
27 33.04
27-1/8 33.18
27-1/4 33.33
27-3/8 33.48
27-1/2 33.63
27-5/8 33.78
27-3/4 33.93
27-7/8 34.08
28 34.23
28-1/8 34.38
28-1/4 34.52
28-3/8 34.67
28-1/2 34.82
28-5/8 34.97
28-3/4 35.12
28-7/8 35.27
29 35.42
29-1/8 35.57
29-1/4 35.71
29-3/8 35.86
29-1/2 36.01
29-5/8 36.16
29-3/4 36.31
29-7/8 36.46
30 36.61
30-1/8 36.76
30-1/4 36.90
30-3/8 37.05
30-1/2 37.20
30-5/8 37.35
30-3/4 37.50
30-7/8 37.65
31 37.80
31-1/8 37.95
31-1/4 38.10
31-3/8 38.24
31-1/2 38.39
31-5/8 38.54
31-3/4 38.69
31-7/8 38.84
32 38.90
32-1/8 39.14
32-1/4 39.29
32-3/8 39.43
32-1/2 39.58
32-5/8 39.73
32-3/4 39.88
32-7/8 40.03
FACTORY PREPARATION
A GREEN COFFEE SHRINKAGE TABLE
_Showing shrinkage in roasting of raw coffee in quantities from sixty
pounds up to three hundred pounds, and at six different shrinkage
percentages_
Compiled by R.C. Wilhelm, New York
RAW 12% 13% 14% 15% 16% 17%
60 52-3/4 52-1/4 51-1/2 51 50-1/2 49-3/4
61 53-3/4 53 52-1/2 51-3/4 51-1/4 50-3/4
62 54-1/2 54 53-1/4 52-1/4 52 51-1/2
63 55-1/2 54-3/4 54 53-1/2 53 52-1/4
64 56-1/4 55-3/4 55 54-1/2 53-3/4 53
65 57-1/4 56-1/2 56 55-1/4 54-1/2 54
66 58 57-1/2 56-3/4 56 55-1/2 54-3/4
67 59 58-1/4 57-3/4 57 56-1/4 55-1/2
68 59-3/4 59-1/4 58-1/2 57-3/4 57 56-1/2
69 60-3/4 60 59-1/4 58-3/4 58 57-1/4
70 61-1/2 61 60-1/4 59-1/2 58-3/4 58
71 62-1/2 61-3/4 61 60-1/4 59-3/4 59
72 63-1/4 62-3/4 62 61 60-1/2 59-3/4
73 64-1/4 63-1/2 62-3/4 62 61-1/4 60-1/2
74 65 64-1/2 63-3/4 63 62-1/4 61-1/2
75 66 65-1/4 64-1/2 63-3/4 63 62-1/4
76 67 66 65-1/4 64-1/2 63-3/4 63
77 67-3/4 67 66-1/4 65-1/2 64-3/4 64
78 68-3/4 68 67 66-1/4 65-1/2 64-3/4
79 69-1/2 68-3/4 68 67-1/4 66-1/2 65-3/4
80 70-1/2 69-3/4 68-3/4 68 67-1/4 66-1/2
81 71-1/4 70-1/2 69-3/4 69 68 67-1/4
82 72-1/4 71-1/2 70-1/2 69-3/4 69 68
83 73 72-1/4 71-1/2 70-1/2 69-3/4 69
84 74 73-1/4 72-1/4 71-1/2 70-1/2 69-3/4
85 74-3/4 74 73-1/4 72-1/4 71-1/4 70-1/2
86 75-3/4 74-3/4 74 73-1/4 72-1/4 71-1/4
87 76-1/2 75-3/4 75 74 73-1/4 72-1/4
88 77-1/2 76-1/2 75-3/4 74-3/4 73-3/4 73
89 78-1/2 77-1/2 76-1/2 75-3/4 74-3/4 74
90 79-1/4 78-1/4 77-1/2 76-1/2 75-3/4 75
91 80-1/2 79-1/4 78-1/4 77-1/2 76-1/2 75-1/2
92 81 80 79-1/4 78-1/4 77-1/4 76-1/2
93 82 81 80 79 78-1/4 77-1/4
94 82-3/4 81-3/4 80-3/4 80 79 78
95 83-3/4 82-3/4 81-3/4 80-3/4 79-3/4 79
96 84-1/2 83-1/2 82-1/2 81-3/4 80-3/4 79-3/4
97 85-1/2 84-1/2 83-1/2 82-1/2 81-1/2 80-1/2
98 86-1/4 85-1/4 84-1/4 83-1/4 82-1/2 81-1/2
99 87-1/4 86-1/4 85-1/4 84-1/4 83-1/4 82-1/4
100 88 87 86 85 84 83
101 89 87-1/2 86-1/2 85-1/2 84-1/2 83-1/2
102 89-3/4 88-3/4 87-3/4 86-3/4 85-3/4 84-3/4
103 90-3/4 89-3/4 88-3/4 87-1/2 86-1/2 85-1/2
104 91-1/2 90-1/2 89-1/2 88-1/2 87-1/2 86-1/2
105 92-1/2 91-1/2 90-1/4 89-1/4 88-1/4 87-1/4
106 93-1/4 92-1/4 91-1/4 90-1/4 89 88
107 94-1/4 93-1/4 92 91 90 88-3/4
108 95 94 93 91-3/4 90-3/4 89-3/4
109 96 95 93-3/4 92-3/4 91-1/2 90-1/2
110 96-3/4 95-3/4 94-3/4 93-1/2 92-1/2 91-3/4
111 97-3/4 96-3/4 95-1/2 94-1/2 93-1/4 92-1/4
112 98-1/2 97-1/2 96-1/2 95-1/4 94-1/4 93
113 99-1/2 98-1/4 97-1/4 96 95 93-3/4
114 100-1/2 99-1/4 98 97 95-3/4 94-3/4
115 101-1/4 100-1/2 99 97-3/4 96-3/4 95-1/2
116 102 101 99-3/4 98-1/2 97-1/2 96-1/4
117 103 101-3/4 100-1/2 99-1/2 98-1/4 97
118 103-3/4 102-1/2 101-1/2 100-1/4 99 98
119 104-3/4 103-1/2 102-1/4 101 100 98-3/4
120 105-1/2 104-1/2 103 102 101 99-1/2
121 106-1/2 105-1/4 104 102-3/4 101-1/2 100-1/2
122 107-1/2 106 105 103-1/2 102-1/2 101-1/2
123 108-1/4 107 105-3/4 104-1/2 103-1/4 102
124 109 108 106-1/2 105-1/2 104 103
125 110 108-3/4 107-1/2 106-1/4 105 103-3/4
126 111 109-1/2 108 107 106 104-1/2
127 111-3/4 110-1/2 109-1/4 108 106-3/4 105-1/2
128 112-1/2 111-1/2 110 109 107-1/2 106
129 113-1/2 112-1/4 111 109-3/4 108-1/4 107
130 114-1/2 113 112 110-1/2 109 108
131 115-1/4 114 112-3/4 111-1/4 110 108-3/4
132 116 115 113-1/2 112 111 109-1/2
133 117 115-3/4 114-1/4 113 111-3/4 110-1/4
134 118 116-1/2 115-1/2 114 112-1/2 111
135 118-3/4 117-1/2 116 114-3/4 113-1/4 112
136 119-1/2 118-1/2 117 115-1/2 114 113
137 120-1/2 119-1/4 117-3/4 116-1/2 115 113-3/4
138 121-1/2 120 118-1/2 117-1/2 116 114-1/2
139 122-1/4 121 119-1/2 118-1/4 116-3/4 115-1/4
140 123-1/4 121-3/4 120-1/2 119 117-1/2 116-1/4
141 124 122-3/4 121-1/4 119-3/4 118-1/2 117
142 125 123-1/2 122 120-3/4 119-1/4 117-3/4
143 125-3/4 124-1/2 123 121-1/2 120 118-3/4
144 126-3/4 125-1/4 123-3/4 122-1/2 121 119-1/2
145 127-1/2 126-1/4 124-3/4 123-1/4 121-3/4 120-1/4
146 128-1/2 127 125-1/2 124 122-3/4 121-1/4
147 129-1/4 128 126-1/2 125 123-1/2 122
148 130-1/4 128-3/4 127-1/4 125-3/4 124-1/4 122-3/4
149 131 129-3/4 128-1/4 126-3/4 125-1/4 123-3/4
150 132 130-1/2 129 127-1/2 126 124-1/2
151 133 131-1/4 129-3/4 128-1/4 126-3/4 125-1/4
152 133-3/4 132-1/4 130-3/4 129-1/4 127-3/4 126-1/4
153 134-3/4 133 131-1/2 130 128-1/2 127
154 135-1/2 134 132-1/2 131 129-1/4 127-3/4
155 136-1/2 134-3/4 133-1/4 131-3/4 130-1/4 128-3/4
156 137-1/4 135-3/4 134-1/4 132-1/2 131 129-1/2
157 138-1/4 136-1/2 135 133-1/2 132 130-1/4
158 139 137-1/2 136 134-1/4 132-3/4 131-1/4
159 140 138-1/4 136-3/4 135-1/4 133-1/2 132
160 140-3/4 139-1/4 137-1/2 136 134-1/2 132-3/4
161 141-3/4 140 138-1/2 136-3/4 135-1/4 133-3/4
162 142-1/2 141 139-1/4 137-3/4 136 134-1/2
163 143-1/2 141-3/4 140-1/4 138-1/2 137 135-1/4
164 144-1/4 142-3/4 141 139-1/2 137-3/4 136
165 145-1/4 143-1/2 142 140-1/4 138-1/2 137
166 146 144-1/2 142-3/4 141 139-1/2 137-3/4
167 147 145-1/4 143-1/2 142 140-1/4 138-1/2
168 147-3/4 146-1/4 144-1/2 142-3/4 141 139-1/2
169 148-3/4 147 145-1/4 143-3/4 142 140-1/4
170 149-1/2 148 146-1/4 144-1/2 142-1/4 141
171 150-1/2 148-3/4 147 145-1/4 143-3/4 142
172 151-1/4 149-3/4 148 146-1/4 144-1/2 142-3/4
173 152-1/4 150-1/2 148-3/4 147 145-1/4 143-1/2
174 153 151-1/2 149-3/4 148 146-1/4 144-1/2
175 154 152-1/4 150-1/2 148-3/4 147 145-1/4
176 155 153 151-1/4 149-1/2 147-3/4 146
177 155-3/4 154 152-1/4 150-1/2 148-3/4 147
178 156-3/4 154-3/4 153 151-1/4 149-1/2 147-3/4
179 157-1/2 155-3/4 154 152-1/4 150-1/4 148-1/2
180 158-1/2 156-1/2 154-3/4 153 151-1/4 149-1/2
181 159-1/4 157-1/2 155-3/4 153-3/4 152 150-1/4
182 160-1/4 158-1/4 156-1/2 154-3/4 153 151
183 161 159-1/4 157-1/2 155-1/2 153-3/4 152
184 162 160 158-1/4 156-1/2 154-1/2 152-3/4
185 162-3/4 161 159 157-1/4 155-1/2 153-1/2
186 163-3/4 161-3/4 160 158 156-1/4 154-1/2
187 164-1/2 162-3/4 160-3/4 159 157 155-1/4
188 165-1/2 163-1/2 161-3/4 160 158 156
189 166-1/4 164-1/2 162-1/2 160-3/4 156-3/4 156-3/4
190 167-1/4 165-1/4 163-1/2 161-1/2 159-1/2 157-3/4
191 168 166-1/4 164-1/4 162-1/4 160-1/2 158-1/2
192 169 167 165 163-1/4 161-1/4 159-1/4
193 169-3/4 168 166 164 162 160-1/4
194 170-3/4 168-3/4 166-3/4 165 163 161
195 171-1/2 169-3/4 167-3/4 165-3/4 163-3/4 161-3/4
196 172-1/2 170-1/2 168-1/2 166-1/2 164-3/4 162-3/4
197 173-1/4 171-1/2 169-1/2 167-1/2 165-1/2 163-1/2
198 174-1/4 172-1/4 170-1/4 168-1/4 166-1/4 164-1/4
199 175 173-1/4 171-1/4 169-1/4 167-1/4 165-1/4
200 176 174 172 170 168 166
201 177 174-3/4 173 170-3/4 168-3/4 166-3/4
202 177-3/4 175-3/4 173-3/4 171-3/4 169-3/4 167-3/4
203 178-3/4 176-1/2 174-1/2 172-1/2 170-1/2 168-1/2
204 179-1/2 177-1/2 175-1/2 173-1/2 171-1/4 169-1/4
205 180-1/2 178-1/4 176-1/4 174-1/4 172-1/4 170-1/4
206 181-1/4 179-1/4 177-1/4 175 173 171
207 182-1/4 180 178 176 174 171-3/4
208 183 181 179 176-3/4 174-3/4 172-3/4
209 184 181-3/4 179-3/4 177-3/4 175-1/2 173-1/2
210 184-3/4 182-3/4 180-1/2 178-1/2 176-1/2 174-1/4
211 185-3/4 183-1/2 181-1/2 179-1/4 177-1/4 175-1/4
212 186-1/2 184-1/2 182-1/4 180-1/4 178 176
213 187-1/2 185-1/4 183-1/4 181 179 176-3/4
214 188-1/4 186-1/4 184 182 179-3/4 177-1/2
215 189-1/4 187 185 182-3/4 180-1/2 178-1/2
216 190 188 185-3/4 183-1/2 181-1/2 179-1/4
217 191 188-3/4 186-1/2 184-1/2 182-1/4 180
218 191-3/4 189-3/4 187-1/2 185-1/4 183 181
219 192-3/4 190-1/2 188-1/4 186-1/4 184 181-3/4
220 193-1/2 191-1/2 189-1/4 187 184-3/4 182-1/2
221 194-1/2 192-1/4 190 187-3/4 185-3/4 183-1/2
222 195-1/4 193-1/4 191 188-3/4 186-1/2 184-1/4
223 196-1/4 194 191-3/4 189-1/2 187-1/4 185
224 197 195 192-3/4 190-1/2 188-1/4 186
225 198 195-3/4 193-1/2 191-1/4 189 186-3/4
226 199 196-1/2 194-1/4 192 189-3/4 187-1/2
227 199-3/4 197-1/2 195-1/4 193 190-3/4 188-1/2
228 200-3/4 198-1/4 196 193-3/4 191-1/2 189-1/4
229 201-1/2 199-1/4 197 194-3/4 192-1/4 190
230 202-1/2 200 198 195-1/2 193-1/2 191
231 203-1/4 201 198-3/4 196-1/2 194-1/4 192
232 204 202 199-1/2 197 195 192-1/2
233 205 202-3/4 200-1/4 198 195-3/4 193-1/4
234 206 203-1/2 201 199 196-1/2 194
235 206-3/4 204-1/2 202 199-3/4 197-1/2 195
236 207-1/2 205 203 200-1/2 198 196
237 208-1/2 206-1/4 203-3/4 201-1/2 199 196-3/4
238 209-1/2 207 204-1/2 202-1/4 200 197-1/2
239 210-1/4 208 205-1/2 203-1/4 200-3/4 198-1/4
240 211 208-3/4 206-1/4 204 201-1/2 199
241 212 209-3/4 207-1/4 204-3/4 202-1/2 200
242 213 210-1/2 208 205-3/4 203 201
243 213-3/4 211-1/2 209 206-1/2 204 201-3/4
244 214-3/4 212-1/4 210 207-1/4 205 202-1/2
245 215-1/2 213 210-3/4 208-1/4 205-3/4 203-1/4
246 216-1/2 214 211-1/2 209 206-1/2 204
247 217-1/4 215 212-1/2 210 207-1/2 205
248 218 216 213 211 208 206
249 219 216-3/4 214-1/2 211-1/2 209-1/4 207
250 220 217-1/2 215 212-1/2 210 207-1/2
251 221 218-1/4 215-3/4 213-1/4 210-3/4 208-1/4
252 222 219 216-3/4 214 212 209
253 222-1/2 220 217-1/2 215 212-1/2 210
254 223-1/2 221 218-1/2 216 213-1/4 211
255 224-1/4 222 219-3/4 216-3/4 214-1/4 211-1/2
256 225 223 220 218 215 212
257 226 223-3/4 221 218-3/4 216 213
258 227 224-1/2 222 219-1/2 216-3/4 214
259 228 225-1/4 222-3/4 220-1/4 217-1/2 215
260 229 226 224 221 218 216
261 229-3/4 227 225 222 219 216-3/4
262 230-1/2 228 225-1/2 222-3/4 220 217-1/2
263 231-1/2 229 226-1/4 223-1/2 221 218-1/4
264 232 230 227 224 222 219
265 233 230-3/4 228 225 222-3/4 220
266 234 231-1/2 228-3/4 226 223-1/2 220-3/4
267 235 232-1/4 229-1/2 227 224-1/4 221-1/2
268 236 233 230-1/2 228 225 222
269 236-3/4 234 231-1/4 228-1/2 226 223-1/4
270 237-1/2 235 232 229-1/2 226-3/4 224
271 238-1/2 235-3/4 233 230-1/4 227-1/2 225
272 239 237 234 231 228 226
273 240 237-3/4 234-3/4 232 229 226-3/4
274 241 238-1/2 235-1/2 233 230 227-1/2
275 242 239-1/4 236-1/2 233-3/4 231 228-1/4
276 243 240 237-1/4 234-1/2 232 229
277 243-3/4 241 238-1/4 235-1/2 232-3/4 230
278 244-1/2 242 239 236-1/2 233-1/2 230-3/4
279 245-1/2 243 240 237 234-1/2 231-1/2
280 246-1/2 243-3/4 241 238 235-1/4 232-1/2
281 247-1/4 244-1/2 241-3/4 238-3/4 236 233-1/4
282 248 245-1/2 242-1/2 239-1/2 237 234
283 249 246-1/4 243-1/4 240-1/2 237-3/4 235
284 250 247 244 241-1/2 238-1/2 235-3/4
285 250-3/4 248 245 242-1/4 239-1/4 236-1/2
286 251-1/2 249 246 243 240 237-1/2
287 252-1/2 249-3/4 246-3/4 244 241 238-1/4
288 253-1/2 250-1/2 247-1/2 245 242 239
289 254-1/4 251-1/2 248-1/2 245-3/4 242-3/4 239-3/4
290 255 252-1/2 249-1/2 246-1/2 243-1/2 240-3/4
291 256 253-1/4 250-1/4 247-1/4 244-1/2 241-1/2
292 257 254 251 248 245-1/2 242-1/2
293 257-3/4 255 252 249 246-1/4 243-1/4
294 258-1/2 256 253 250 247 244
295 259-1/2 256-3/4 253-3/4 250-3/4 247-3/4 244-3/4
296 260-1/2 257-1/2 254-1/2 251-1/2 248-1/2 245-1/2
297 261-1/4 258-1/2 255-1/2 252-1/2 249-1/2 246-1/2
298 262 259-1/4 256-1/2 253-1/2 250-1/2 247-1/2
299 263 260 257-1/4 254-1/4 251-1/4 248-1/4
[Illustration: TRYING THE ROAST]
_Cooling and Stoning_
"Coffee which leaves the roaster beautifully uniform in appearance",
says A.L. Burns, "may lose all uniformity by delayed or inadequate
cooling. Separated beans of coffee will cool off by themselves; but when
heaped together, the inner part of the mass will get hotter and even
take fire.... Coffee must be spread over a considerable surface, or all
kept moving, and have at the same time a lot of air forced through it.
Otherwise, there will be some darkening and over-development of part of
the coffee, and a loss of the uniformity which is the first requirement
of good roasting."
[Illustration: MONITOR GAS ROASTER]
[Illustration: A GROUP OF ROASTING-ROOM ACCESSORIES]
The cooling apparatus consists of a movable, box-like metal car which
can be brought up to the front of the roaster to the revolving
cylinders. The car has a perforated false bottom, to which is attached a
powerful exhaust-fan system that sucks the heat out of the coffee. In
large plants, utilizing two or more floors, the tilting-type cooling
car is favored. This car permits instant discharge through an opening in
the floor into a receiving tank suspended from the ceiling below and
connected with the stoning apparatus. Recently, a flexible-arm cooler
has been invented that provides full fan suction to a cooler car at all
points in its track travel from the roaster to the emptying position.
[Illustration: DUMPING THE ROAST IN A COAL ROASTING PLANT
The roasted coffee is being turned into the cooling car, equipped with a
swinging "flexarm" that keeps it always in connection with a suspended
header pipe; the cooling being started as soon as the coffee leaves the
roaster. The cooled coffee, by tipping the box, goes into a floor
hopper]
The stoner, an essential part of the modern roasting plant, has for its
function the removal of stones and other foreign matter of which the
green-coffee operations have failed to get rid. The stoner is usually
built in direct combination with the cooling equipment, and does its
work by means of a gravity separation in an upward-moving column of air.
The coffee passes into the suction boot of the stoner, either directly
from the cooler box or from a floor hopper into which the cooler dumps,
and is carried up the stoner pipe, or "riser", by an air current of
ample power which can be accurately regulated. This insures the carrying
up of coffee only, the stones remaining at the bottom of the machine and
being dumped at intervals into a pan underneath. The coffee, passing up
the riser pipe, is delivered into a large "stoner hopper" which is
usually hung to the ceiling of the roasting room. The correct
construction of this hopper is of great importance, as the coffee must
be deposited completely without breakage, and the air must pass on
through the suction fan carrying nothing except bits of loose chaff.
A different type of cooler is in the form of an upright cylinder,
consisting of two metal perforated drums, one set within the other. The
inner drum is sufficiently small to allow the coffee to move freely
between the drums. Inside the smaller one is an exhaust pipe which draws
the heat and chaff out of the coffee. This device is recommended for use
only in connection with wet roasted coffee.
Still another type consists of a single perforated cylinder set
horizontal with the floor, and revolving alongside of an exhaust box
which sucks out the heat and chaff as the coffee is tumbled about in the
cylinder. A rocking type, that is not generally employed, is constructed
on the principle of the screen used by housebuilders to separate coarse
sand from the fine, and is pivoted at the middle so that it can be
rocked end to end.
[Illustration: A FOUR-BAG COFFEE FINISHER]
_Finishing or Glazing_
Finishing whole-bean roasted coffee, by giving it a friction polish
while it is still moist, using a glaze solution or water only, is a
practise not harmful if the proper solutions are employed. Roasted
coffee dulls in ordinary handling, and it is claimed that coating not
only improves its appearance, but serves also to preserve the natural
flavor and aroma of the bean. A machine having flat-sided wooden
cylinders with ventilated heads, and operated two-thirds full of coffee
so as to get an effective rolling motion, is generally employed.
Coatings composed of sugar and eggs are popular, but their use should be
stated on the label.
Coffee roasters are divided on this question of coffee-coating. The best
thought of the trade is undoubtedly opposed to the practise when it is
done to conceal inferiority or abnormally to reduce shrinkage. Some New
York coffee roasters, who made a thorough investigation of the matter,
found coating coffee with a wholesome material not injurious and the
coated coffee better in the cup. Dr. Harvey W. Wiley found, in the
celebrated Ohio case against Arbuckle Brothers, that coating coffee with
sugar and eggs produced beneficial results, and that the coating
preserved the bean. The Bureau of Chemistry has never issued any ruling
on the subject of coating coffee.
_Blending Roasted Coffee_
After cooling and stoning, unless it is to be polished or glazed, the
coffee is ready for grinding and packing if it has been blended in the
green state. Otherwise, the next step will be to mix the different
varieties before grinding, although some packers blend the different
kinds after they have been ground. To mix whole-bean roasted coffee
without hurting its appearance is rather difficult, and there is no
regular machine for such work.
[Illustration: BURNS SAMPLE-COFFEE ROASTER]
Rarely is a single kind of coffee drunk straight. The common practise in
all countries is to mix different varieties having opposing
characteristics so as to obtain a smoother beverage. This is called
blending, a process that has attained the standing of an art in the
United States. Most package coffees are blends. In addition to other
qualities, the practical coffee blender must have a natural aptitude for
the work. He must also have long experience before he becomes
proficient, and must be acquainted with the different properties of all
the coffees grown, or at least of those that come to his market.
Furthermore, he must know the variations in characteristics of current
crops; for in most coffees no two crops are equal in trade values.
Innumerable blends are possible with more than a hundred different
coffees to draw upon.
A blend may consist of two or more kinds of coffee, but the general
practise is to employ several kinds; so that, if at any time one can not
be obtained, its absence from the blend will not be so noticeable as
would be the case if only two or three kinds were used.
In blending coffees, consideration is given first to the shades of
flavor in the cup and next to price. The blender describes flavors as,
acidy, bitter, smooth, neutral, flat, wild, grassy, groundy, sour,
fermented, and hidey; and he mixes the coffees accordingly to obtain the
desired taste in the cup. Naturally the wild, sour, groundy, fermented,
and hidey kinds are avoided as much as possible. Coffees with a Rio
flavor are used only in the cheaper blends.
Generally speaking, a properly balanced blend should have a full rich
body as a basis; and to this should be added a growth to give it some
acid character, and one to give it increased aroma.
Personal preference is the determining factor in making up a blend. Some
blenders prefer a coffee with plenty of acid taste; while others choose
the non-acid cup. For the first-named kind, the blender will mix
together the coffees that have an acidy characteristic; while for a
non-acidy blend, he will mix an acidy growth with one having a neutral
flavor.
[Illustration: LAMBERT ECONOMIC COFFEE-ROASTING OUTFIT FOR COAL FIRE
This is a self-contained plant for one or two bags, and comprises a
roaster, rotary cooler, elevator feed hopper, electric motor, and
stoning and chaffing attachments. It may be equipped for gas]
Coffees can be divided into four great classes, the neutral-flavored,
the sweet, the acidy, and the bitter. All East Indian coffees, except
Ceylons, Malabars, and the other Hindoostan growths, are classified as
bitter, as are old brown Bucaramangas, brown Bogotas, and brown Santos.
The acid coffees are generally the new-crop washed varieties of the
western hemisphere, such as Mexicans, Costa Ricas, Bogotas, Caracas,
Guatemalas, Santos, etc. However, the acidity may be toned down by age
so that they become sweet or sweet-bitter. Red Santos is generally a
sweet coffee, and is prized by blenders. High-grade washed Santo Domingo
and Haiti coffees are sweet both when new crop and when aged.
Practical coffee blenders do not mix two new-crop acid coffees, or two
old-crop bitter kinds, unless their bitterness or acidity is
counteracted by coffees with opposite flavors. One blender insists that
every blend should contain three coffees.
[Illustration: CHALLENGE PULVERIZER]
Some Bourbon and flat-beaned Santos coffees are better when new, and
some are better when old; but a blend of fine old-crop coffee with a
snappy new-crop coffee gives a better result than either separately. A
new-crop Bourbon and an old yellow flat bean make a better blend than a
new-crop flat bean and an old-crop Bourbon. Probably the very best
result in a low-priced blend may be obtained by using one-half old-crop
Bourbon Santos with one-half new-crop Haiti or Santo Domingo of the
cheaper grades.
Typical low-priced coffee blends in the United States may be made up of
a good Santos, possibly a Bourbon, and some low-cost Mexican, Central
American, Colombian, or Venezuelan coffee, the Santos counteracting
these acidy Milds.
Going next higher in the scale of price, fancy old Bourbon Santos is
used with one-third fancy old Cucuta or a good Trujillo.
For a blend costing about five cents more a pound retail, one-third
fancy old Cucuta or Merida is blended with fancy old Bourbon Santos.
[Illustration: MONITOR COFFEE-GRANULATING MACHINE]
The highest-priced blend may contain two-thirds of a fine private estate
Sumatra and one-third Mocha or Longberry Harari.
[Illustration: COLES NO. 22 GRINDING MILL]
Alfred W. McCann, while advertising manager for Francis H. Leggett &
Co., New York, in 1910, evolved a new coffee distinction based on the
argument that certain coffees like Mochas, Mexicans, Bourbons, and Costa
Ricas were developed in the cup through the action on them of cream or
milk; while others, such as Bogotas, Javas, Maracaibos, etc., flattened
out when cream or milk was added. He argued, accordingly, that breakfast
coffees should be made up from the former, but that the latter should
not be used except for after-dinner coffees, to be drunk black.[328]
William B. Harris, then coffee expert for the United States Department
of Agriculture, took issue with Mr. McCann, claiming that if a coffee is
watery and lacks body, it will not take kindly to milk or cream, not
because the chemical action of milk or cream flattens it out, but
because there is nothing there in the first place. The strength of the
brew being equal, all coffees will take cream or milk, Mr. Harris
held.[329]
[Illustration: BURNS NO. 12 GRINDING MILL
Designed for hotel and restaurant trade]
[Illustration: MONITOR STEEL-CUT GRINDER, SEPARATOR, AND CHAFFER]
M.J. McGarty said in 1915 that he had tried out many coffees in the cup,
and could not see that adding milk made any difference. However, he
found that sometimes a line of coffees will contain a sample that
flattens out at the drinking point (the point where the boiling water
has cooled to permit of its being drunk); and he thought this was what
Mr. McCann had in mind, as, by adding milk to such a coffee, it was
brought back to the drinking point. In other words, it was Mr. McGarty's
opinion that, in blending coffees, those coffees which hold their own
from the start, or boiling point, until they become cold, or even
improve right through, are more desirable for blending purposes; and
that those that are best at the drinking point should be given the
preference.[330]
_Coffee Blends for Restaurants_
William B. Harris[331] believes that the coffee of prime importance in
preparing restaurant blends is Bogota. He advises the use of a
full-bodied Bogota and an acid Bourbon Santos in the proportion of
three-fourths Bogota to one-fourth Santos. Blends may also be made up
from combinations of Bogota, Mexicans, and Guatemalas.
According to Mr. Harris, the average blend of good coffee when made up,
two and one-half pounds of coffee to five gallons of water, will produce
a liquor of good color and strength. For many hotels, however, this may
not answer, as it is not heavy enough. More coffee must then be used, or
ten percent of chicory added. A blend with chicory can be made by using
two-thirds Bogota, one-third Bourbon Santos, and ten percent chicory.
No steward, hotel man, or restaurant man should, however, advertise
"coffee" on his menu, and then serve a drink employing chicory; because,
while there is no federal law against such a practise, there are state
laws against it. Chicory is all right in its place; and many prefer a
drink made from coffee and chicory; but such a drink can not properly be
called coffee.
Hotel men should purchase their coffee in the bean, and do their own
grinding. Then they need never have cause to complain that their coffee
man deceived them, or that some salesman misled them. The hotel steward
wishing to furnish his patrons with a heavy-bodied coffee, particularly
a black after-dinner coffee, _without chicory_, will use three, four, or
even four and one-half pounds of ground coffee to five gallons of water.
With so wide a choice of coffees to choose from, a coffee blender can
make up many combinations to meet the demands of his trade. Probably no
two blenders use exactly the same varieties in exactly the same
proportions to make up a blend to sell at the same price. However, they
all follow the same general principles laid down in the foregoing flavor
classification of the world's coffees.
_Grinding and Packaging Coffee_
[Illustration: JOHNSON CARTON-FILLING, WEIGHING, AND SEALING MACHINE]
Unless the coffee is to be sold in the bean, it is sent to the grinding
and packing department, to be further prepared for the consumer. Since
the federal food law has been in effect, the public has gained
confidence in ground and bean coffee in packages; and today a large part
of the coffee consumed in the United States is sold in one and two pound
cartons and cans, already blended and ready for brewing.
[Illustration: THE IDEAL STEEL-CUT MILL]
A progressive coffee-packing house may have three different styles of
grinding machines; one called the granulator for turning out the
so-called "steel-cut" coffee; the second, a pulverizer for making a
really fine grind; and the third, a grinding mill for general factory
work and producing a medium-ground coffee.
Commercial coffee-grinding machines are alike in principle in all
countries, the beans being crushed or broken between toothed or
corrugated metal or stone members, one revolving and the other being
stationary. While all grinding machines are alike in principle, they may
vary in capacity and design. The average granulator will turn out about
five hundred pounds of "steel-cut" coffee in an hour; the pulverizer,
from seventy-five to two hundred pounds; and the average grinding mill
from five hundred to six hundred pounds. Some types of grinding machines
have chaff-removing attachments to remove, by air suction, the chaff
from the coffee as it is being ground.
A large number of trade terms for designating different grinds of coffee
are used in the United States, some of them meaning the same thing,
while similar names are sometimes contradictory. A canvass of the
leading American coffee packers in 1917[332] discovered that there were
fifteen terms in use, and that there were thirty-four different meanings
attached to them. For the term "fine" there were five different
definitions; "medium" had five; "coarse", seven; "pulverized", four;
"steel-cut", seven; "ground", two; "powdered", one; "percolator", two;
"steel-cut-chaff-removed", one; "Turkish ground", one; while
"granulated", "Greek ground", "extra fine", "standard", and "regular"
were not defined.
The term "steel-cut" is generally understood to mean that in the
grinding process the chaff has been removed and an approximate
uniformity of granules has been obtained by sifting. The term does not
necessarily mean that the grinding mills have steel burrs. In fact, most
firms employ burrs made of cast-iron or of a composition metal known as
"burr metal", because of its combined hardness and toughness.
The "steel-cut" idea is another of those sophistries for which American
advertising methods have been largely responsible in the development of
the package-coffee business in the United States. The term "steel-cut"
lost all its value as an advertising catchword for the original user
when every other dealer began to use it, no matter how the ground coffee
was produced. When the public has been taught that coffee should be
"steel-cut", it is hard to sell it ground coffee unless it is called
"steel-cut"; although a truer education of the consumer would have
caused him to insist on buying whole bean coffee to be ground at home.
[Illustration: SMYSER PACKAGE-MAKING-AND-FILLING MACHINE AT THE ARBUCKLE
PLANT, NEW YORK
This machine was invented by Henry E. Smyser of Philadelphia, who
secured the first patent in 1880, but it has been much improved by the
Arbuckle engineers. The half shown on the left makes the one-pound paper
bags complete, including the separate lining of parchment, fills the
bag, automatically inserts a premium list at the same time, packs it
down, seals it, and delivers it on a short conveyor to the other half
(shown on the right) where the package is wrapped in the outside
glassine paper and pushed out on a table for the girls to put into
shipping cases]
"Steel-cut" coffee, that is, a medium-ground coffee with the chaff blown
out, does not compare in cup test with coffee that has been more
scientifically ground and not given the chaff removal treatment that is
largely associated in the public mind with the idea of the steel-cut
process.
[Illustration: MACHINE FOR AUTOMATICALLY PACKING COFFEE IN CARTONS
Five distinct operations are performed by the units comprising this
Pneumatic installation, viz., carton-feeding, bottom-sealing, lining,
weighing and top-sealing]
According to the results of the trade canvass previously referred to, it
would appear that the terms most suited to convey the right idea of the
different grades of grinding, and likely to be acceptable to the
greatest number, would be "coarse" (for boiling, and including all the
coarser grades); "medium" (for coffee made in the ordinary pot,
including the so-called "steel-cut"); "fine" (like granulated sugar, and
used for percolators); "very fine" (like cornmeal, and used for drip or
filtration methods); "powdered" (like flour, and used for Turkish
coffee).
Coffee begins to lose its strength immediately after roasting, the rate
of loss increasing rapidly after grinding. In a test carried out by a
Michigan coffee packer,[333] it was discovered that a mixture of a very
fine with a coarse grind gives the best results in the cup. It was also
determined that coarse ground coffee loses its strength more rapidly
than the medium ground; while the latter deteriorates more quickly than
a fine ground; and so on, down the scale. His conclusions were that the
most satisfactory grind for putting into packages that are likely to
stand for some time before being consumed is a mixture consisting of
about ninety percent finely ground coffee and ten percent coarse. His
theory is that the fine grind supplies sufficiently high body
extraction; the coarse, the needful flavor and aroma. On this irregular
grind a United States patent (No. 14,520) has been granted, in which the
inventor claims that the ninety percent of fine eliminates the
interstices--that allow too free ventilation in a coarse ground
coffee--and consequently prevents the loss of the highly volatile
constituents of the ten percent of coarse-ground particles, and at the
same time gives a full-body extraction.
_Making and Filling Containers_
As stated before, a large proportion of the coffee sold in the United
States is put up into packages, ready for brewing. Such containers are
grouped under the name of the material of which they are made; such as
tin, fiber, cardboard, paper, wood, and combinations of these materials,
such as a fiber can with tin top and bottom. Generally, coffee
containers are lined with chemically treated paper or foil to keep in
the aroma and flavor, and to keep out moisture and contaminating odors.
As the package business grew in the United States, the machinery
manufacturers kept pace; until now there are machines that, in one
continuous operation, open up a "flat" paper carton, seal the bottom
fold, line the carton with a protecting paper, weigh the coffee as it
comes down from an overhead hopper into the carton, fold the top and
seal it, and then wrap the whole package in a waxed or paraffined
paper, delivering the package ready for shipment without having been
touched by a human hand from the first operation to the last. Such a
machine can put out fifteen to eighteen thousand packages a day.
Another type of machine automatically manufactures two and three-ply
paper cans such as are used widely for cereal packages. It winds the
ribbons of heavy paper in a spiral shape, automatically gluing the
papers together to make a can that will not permit its contents to leak
out. The machine turns out its product in long cylinders, like mailing
tubes, which are cut into the desired lengths to make the cans. The
paper or tin tops and bottoms are stamped out on a punch press.
Coffee cans are generally filled by hand; that is, the can is placed
under the spout of an automatic filling and weighing machine by an
operator who slips on the cover when the can is properly filled. The
weighing machine has a hopper which lets the coffee down into a device
that gauges the correct amount, say a pound or two pounds, and then
pours it into the can. The machine weighs the can and its contents, and
if they do not show the exact predetermined weight, the device
automatically operates to supply the necessary quantity. After weighing,
the can is carried on a traveling belt to the labeling machine, where
the label is automatically applied and glued. Then the can is put
through a drying compartment to make the label stick quickly.
[Illustration: COMPLETE COFFEE-CARTONING OUTFIT IN OPERATION
The girl is feeding the "flats" into an Improved Johnson bottom-sealer.
The carton travels to a Scott weigher on the right and thence to the
top-sealer on the left]
Paper bags are filled much the same way as the tin and the fiber cans.
In fact, some packers fill their paper and fiber cartons by the same
system; although the tendency among the largest companies is to instal
the complete automatic packaging equipment, because of its speed and
economy in packaging. Frequently, the weighing machines are used in
filling wooden and fiber drums holding twenty-five, fifty, and one
hundred pounds of coffee, to be sold in bulk to the retailer.
[Illustration: THREE TYPES OF AUTOMATIC COFFEE-WEIGHING MACHINES
Left--Duplex net weigher. Center--Pneumatic cross-weight machine.
Right--Scott net weigher]
_Coffee Additions and Fillers_
In all large coffee-consuming countries, coffee additions and fillers
have always been used. Large numbers of French, Italian, Dutch, and
German consumers insist on having chicory with their coffee, just as do
many Southerners in the United States.
The chief commercial reason for using coffee additions and fillers is to
keep down the cost of blends. For this purpose, chicory and many kinds
of cooked cereals are most generally used; while frequently roasted and
ground peas, beans, and other vegetables that will not impair the flavor
or aroma of the brew, are employed in foreign countries. Before
Parliament passed the Adulterant Act, some British coffee men used as
fillers cacao husks, acorns, figs, and lupins, in addition to chicory
and the other favorite fillers.
Up to the year 1907, when the United States Food and Drugs Act became
effective, chicory and cereal additions were widely used by coffee
packers and retailers in this country. With the enforcement of the law
requiring the label of a package to state when a filler is employed, the
use of additions gradually fell off in most sections.
In botanical description and chemical composition chicory, the most
favored addition, has no relationship with coffee. When roasted and
ground, it resembles coffee in appearance; but it has an entirely
different flavor. However, many coffee-drinkers prefer their beverage
when this alien flavor has been added to it.
_Treated Coffees and Dry Extracts_
The manufacture of prepared, or refined, coffees has become an important
branch of the business in the United States and Europe. Prepared coffees
can be divided into two general groups: treated coffees, from which the
caffein has been removed to some degree; and dry coffee extracts
(soluble coffee), which are readily dissolved in a cup of hot or cold
water.
To decaffeinate coffee, the most common practise is to make the green
beans soft by steaming under pressure, and then to apply benzol or
chloroform or alcohol to the softened coffee to dissolve and to extract
the caffein. Afterward, the extracting solvents are driven out of the
coffee by re-steaming. However, chemists have not yet been able to expel
all the caffein in treating coffee commercially, the best efforts
resulting in from 0.3 to 0.07 percent remaining. After treatment, the
coffee beans are then roasted, packed, and sold like ordinary coffee.
[Illustration: VACUUM DRUM DRIER
Vacuum drum drier, No. 1 size; diameter of drum, 12 inches; length, 20
inches; used for converting coffee extract and other liquids into dry
powder form. This is the smallest size, and was developed for drying
smaller quantities of liquids than could be handled economically in the
larger sizes. To provide accessibility of the interior for cleansing,
the outer casing may be moved back on the track of the bedplate (as
shown in the cut), so that free access may be had to the drum and
interior of the casing.
RAPID-CIRCULATION EVAPORATOR
Used to concentrate coffee extracts and other liquids. The tubes are
easily reached through the open door for cleansing. Interior of the
vapor body is reached through a manhole.
REAR VIEW OF DRUM DRIER
Vacuum drum dryer. No. 1 size; rear view, showing outer casing rolled
back from the drum.
CROSS-SECTION OF VACUUM DRIER
This shows the interior arrangement and principle of operation. The
drawing represents a larger size than the photograph, and while the
arrangement of some parts is slightly different, the principle of
operation is the same.
UNITS USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SOLUBLE COFFEE]
In manufacturing dry coffee extract in the form of a powder that is
readily soluble in water, the general method is to extract the drinking
properties from ground roasted coffee by means of water, and to
evaporate the resulting liquid until only the coffee powder is left.
Several methods have been developed and patented to prevent the valuable
flavor elements from being evaporated with the water.
A typical dry-coffee-extract-making equipment consists of a battery of
percolators, or "leachers", a vacuum evaporating device, and a vacuum
drier. The leachers do not differ materially from the ordinary
restaurant percolators, a battery usually including from three to seven
units, each charge of water going through all the percolations. The
resulting heavy liquid then goes to the evaporator to be concentrated
into a thick liquor. The evaporator consists of a horizontal cylindrical
vapor compartment connected with an inclined cylindrical steam chest in
which are numerous tubes, or flues, that occupy almost the whole chest.
These tubes are heated by steam. The coffee liquor is passed through the
tubes at high speed and thrown with great force against a baffle plate
at the opening to the vapor chest. The vapor passes around the baffle
plate to a separator. The liquor drops to the lower part of the
steam-chest (which is free from tubes), and is ready to be drawn out for
the next process, the drying.
At this stage, the extract is a heavily concentrated syrup and is ready
to be converted into powder. This is done in the vacuum drier, which
consists of a hollow revolving drum surrounded by a tightly sealed
cast-iron casing. The drum is heated by steam injected into its
interior, and is revolved in a high vacuum. In operation, a coating of
coffee liquor is applied automatically, by means of a special device, to
the outside of the drum. The liquor is taken by gravity from the
reservoir containing the liquid supply and is forced upward by means of
a pump into the liquid supply pan, directly under the drum, with
sufficient pressure to cause the liquid to adhere to the drum, the
excess liquor overflowing from the pan into the reservoir. The coating
on the drum is controlled or regulated by a spreader. The heat and the
vacuum reduce the extract to a dry powder in less than one revolution of
the drum. As the drum completes three-quarters of a turn, a scraper
knife removes the coffee powder, which is delivered to a receiver below
the drum. Modern vacuum-drum driers have a capacity of from twenty-five
to five hundred pounds of dry soluble coffee per hour.
C.W. Trigg and W.A. Hamor were granted a patent in the United States in
1919 on a new process for making an aromatized coffee extract. In this
process, the caffeol of the coffee is volatilized and is then brought
into contact with an absorbing medium such as is used in the extraction
of perfumes. The absorbing medium is then treated with a solvent of the
caffeol, and the solution is separated from the petrolatum. Then the
coffee solution is concentrated to an extract by evaporation; after
which, the extract and the caffeol are combined into a soluble coffee.
Five additional patents were granted on this same process in 1921.
[Illustration]
CHAPTER XXVI
WHOLESALE MERCHANDISING OF COFFEE
_How coffees are sold at wholesale--The wholesale salesman's place
in merchandising--Some coffee costs analyzed--Handy coffee-selling
chart--Terms and credits--About package coffees--Various types of
coffee containers--Coffee package labels--Coffee package
economies--Practical grocer helps--Coffee sampling--Premium method
of sales promotion_
Coffee is sold at wholesale in the United States chiefly by about 4,000
wholesale grocers, who handle also many other items of food; and by
roasters, who make a specialty of preparing the green coffee for
consumption, and who feature either bulk or trade-marked package goods.
Much the largest proportion of the wholesale coffee trade today is made
up of roasted coffees, though some wholesalers still sell the green bean
to retail distributers who do their own roasting. Most of the roasted
coffee sold is ground; although in some parts of the United States there
is at present a growing consumer demand for coffee in the bean. Of the
coffee sold in trade-marked packages in 1919 in the United States, about
seventy-five percent was ground ready for brewing.
The larger wholesale houses generally confine their operations to the
section of the country in which they are located, but some of the
biggest coffee-packing firms seek national distribution. In both cases,
branch houses are usually established at strategic points to facilitate
the serving of retail customers with freshly roasted coffee at all
times.
In recent years, too, it has become a general practise for the home
offices, or main headquarters, to advertise their product in magazines,
newspapers, street cars, and by mail and on billboards; while the
branches solicit trade in their territories by means of traveling
salesmen, local newspaper advertisements, booklets, circulars, and
demonstrations at food shows.
_The Wholesale Salesman_
The traveling salesman is probably the most effective agency in securing
the retailer's orders for coffee. A good coffee salesman not only sells
coffee, but he teaches his customer how he can best build up and hold
his coffee trade. He acquaints the retailer with all the talking points
about the coffee he handles, how to feature it in store displays and
advertisements, how to stage demonstrations and to work up special
sales.
If he is a _good_ salesman, he does not permit the merchant to buy more
coffee than he can dispose of while it is still fresh. And he shows the
dealer the folly of handling too many brands of package coffees. If he
sells coffee in bulk, the efficient salesman has also a sound working
knowledge of blending principles, and is able to suggest the kinds of
coffee to blend to suit the particular requirements of each grocer's
trade. In short, he takes an intelligent interest in his customer's
business, and co-operates with him in building up a local coffee trade.
_Some Coffee Costs Analyzed_
In estimating the price at which he must sell his coffee to make a fair
profit, the wholesale coffee merchant has many items of expense to
consider. To the cost of the green coffee he must add: the cost of
transportation to his plant; the loss in shrinkage in roasting, which
ranges from fifteen to twenty percent; packaging costs, if he is a
packer; the items of expense in doing business, such as wages and
salaries, advertising, buying and selling, freight, express, warehouse
and cartage, postage and office supplies, telephone and telegraph,
credit and collection; and the fixed overhead charges for interest,
heat, light, power, insurance, taxes, repairs, equipment, depreciation,
losses from bad debts, and miscellaneous items.[334] The average loss
for bad debts among grocers in 1916 was 0.03 percent of the total sales,
according to the director of business research, Harvard University, who
estimated also that the common figure for credit and collection expense
was 0.06 percent. The total cost of doing business has been estimated as
ranging between twelve and twenty percent of the total annual sales, so
that a bag of green coffee costing $16 in New York or New Orleans costs
the coffee packer in the Middle West from $22.33 to $24.56, according to
the expense of carrying on his business.
_Terms and Credits_
Wholesale coffee trade contract terms and credits are not dissimilar
from those in other lines of commerce. The wholesaler helps the retailer
finance his business to the extent of granting him thirty to sixty days
in which to pay his bill, offering him a cash discount if the invoice is
paid within ten days of date of sale. Until recent years, these terms
were frequently abused, the customer demanding much longer credits and
often taking a ten-day cash discount after thirty or more days had
elapsed. This abuse was particularly prevalent from 1907 to 1913, when
coffee prices were low and competition was especially keen.[335] In
addition, the retailers often demanded special deliveries of supplies,
which added to the wholesalers' costs; and some retailers refused to pay
the cost of cartage from the cars to their stores.
With the coming of high prices after the close of the World War, the
wholesalers showed a tendency to tighten up their credit and discount
terms, the National Coffee Roasters Association especially recommending
thirty days' credit, or at most sixty days, and a maximum cash discount
rate of two percent.
Another trade abuse which has been corrected almost altogether was the
practise of "selling coffee to be billed as shipped"; that is, the
wholesaler held coffee on order, and billed only when delivered, even
though several weeks or months had passed before shipment.
_About Package Coffees_
Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the sale of coffee in
packages has increased steadily until now (1922) this form of
distribution competes strongly with bulk coffee sales. While bulk coffee
is still preferred in some eastern sections of the United States, coffee
packers are making deep inroads there, to the extent that practically
all high and medium grade retailers feature package coffees, either
under their own brand name, or that of a coffee specialty house.
The prime requisite for success in any package coffee is the composition
of the blend. One of the leaders in the field, which we will call Y, is
said to be composed of Bogota, Bourbon Santos, and Mexican. In March,
1922, it was being sold at retail in New York for 42 cents. A competing
brand, which we will call Z, is said to be a blend of Bogota and Bourbon
Santos. It was being sold at retail in New York, at the same period for
the same price. Simultaneously, in the retail stores of a well known
chain system, a bulk blend composed of sixty percent Bourbon Santos and
forty percent Bogota was to be had loose for 29 cents.
The second important factor that contributes to package coffee success
is the container. It must be of such a character as will best preserve
the freshness--the flavor and the aroma of the coffee--until it reaches
the consumer.
Package coffee has not yet won universal favor. Some of the arguments
used against it are: that the price is generally higher than the same
grade in bulk; that it leads to price-cutting by stores that can afford
to sell it at about cost as a leader for other articles; that the margin
of profit is frequently too close for some retailers: that when the
market advances, some packers change their blends to keep down cost and
to maintain the advertised price; and that, when packed ground, there is
a rapid loss of flavor, aroma, and strength.
[Illustration: COAL ROASTING PLANT IN A NEW YORK FACTORY
THE ROASTED BEANS HAVE JUST BEEN DUMPED INTO THE COOLER BOX]
COFFEE-SELLING CHART
BY A.J. DANNEMILLER
Showing Prices to Be Obtained to Realize Certain Percents _on Sales_
of Roasted Coffee
_Cost Roasted_
_& Packed_ 10% 11% 12% 13% 14% 15% 16% 17%
4 4.44 4.50 4.55 4.61 4.67 4.72 4.77 4.82
4-1/2 5.00 5.06 5.12 5.18 5.24 5.30 5.36 5.43
5 5.55 5.62 5.68 5.75 5.82 5.89 5.96 6.03
5-1/2 6.11 6.18 6.25 6.33 6.41 6.49 6.57 6.65
6 6.67 6.74 6.81 6.89 6.97 7.06 7.15 7.24
6-1/2 7.23 7.31 7.38 7.47 7.55 7.84 7.74 7.84
7 7.78 7.87 7.95 8.05 8.15 8.25 8.35 8.45
7-1/2 8.34 8.43 8.52 8.62 8.72 8.83 8.93 9.04
8 8.89 8.99 9.09 9.20 9.31 9.42 9.53 9.65
8-1/2 9.45 9.55 9.66 9.77 9.87 9.99 10.12 10.25
9 10.00 10.12 10.23 10.35 10.47 10.59 10.72 10.85
9-1/2 10.56 10.68 10.80 10.92 11.04 11.17 11.31 11.45
10 11.11 11.24 11.37 11.49 11.63 11.77 11.90 12.05
10-1/2 11.66 11.81 11.93 12.07 12.21 12.36 12.49 12.65
11 12.22 12.37 12.50 12.64 12.85 12.95 13.08 13.26
11-1/2 12.77 12.93 13.07 13.21 13.37 13.54 13.68 13.86
12 13.33 13.49 13.64 13.79 13.95 14.12 14.28 14.46
12-1/2 13.89 14.05 14.21 14.37 14.53 14.71 14.88 15.06
13 14.44 14.62 14.78 14.93 15.11 15.30 15.47 15.66
13-1/2 15.00 15.18 15.33 15.51 15.69 15.88 16.07 16.27
14 15.55 15.73 15.90 16.08 16.28 16.48 16.67 16.84
14-1/2 16.11 16.29 16.48 16.65 16.86 17.05 17.26 17.47
15 16.66 16.85 17.05 17.23 17.44 17.65 17.85 18.07
15-1/2 17.23 17.43 17.61 17.80 18.03 18.22 18.45 18.67
16 17.78 17.98 18.18 18.38 18.60 18.83 19.05 19.28
16-1/2 18.33 18.54 18.75 18.97 19.18 19.41 19.64 19.88
17 18.89 19.10 19.33 19.52 19.76 20.01 20.24 20.48
17-1/2 19.44 19.66 19.89 20.10 20.35 20.59 20.83 21.08
18 20.00 20.22 20.45 20.67 20.93 21.18 21.43 21.69
18-1/2 20.55 20.79 21.02 21.24 21.51 21.77 22.02 22.29
19 21.11 21.35 21.59 21.84 22.09 22.36 22.62 22.90
19-1/2 21.66 21.91 22.16 22.41 22.68 22.95 23.21 23.50
20 22.22 22.47 22.73 22.99 23.25 23.54 23.81 24.11
20-1/2 22.77 23.03 23.30 23.55 23.83 24.14 24.40 24.70
21 23.33 23.60 23.87 24.14 24.42 24.70 25.00 25.30
21-1/2 23.88 24.16 24.43 24.71 25.00 25.29 25.59 25.90
22 24.44 24.72 25.00 25.28 25.58 25.92 26.19 26.51
22-1/2 24.99 25.29 25.57 25.85 26.16 26.47 26.78 27.12
23 25.55 25.85 26.14 26.42 26.74 27.06 27.38 27.71
23-1/2 26.11 26.41 26.70 27.00 27.32 27.66 27.97 28.32
24 26.67 26.97 27.26 27.58 27.90 28.24 28.57 28.92
24-1/2 27.22 27.54 27.84 28.15 28.49 28.83 29.16 29.52
25 27.78 28.09 28.41 28.73 29.07 29.41 29.76 30.12
_Cost Roasted_
_& Packed_ 18% 19% 20% 21% 22% 23% 24% 25%
4 4.88 4.94 5.00 5.07 5.13 5.20 5.26 5.33
4-1/2 5.49 5.57 5.63 5.70 5.77 5.84 5.91 6.00
5 6.10 6.18 6.25 6.33 6.42 6.50 6.55 6.68
5-1/2 6.72 6.80 6.88 6.97 7.06 7.15 7.24 7.33
6 7.33 7.42 7.50 7.60 7.70 7.80 7.90 8.00
6-1/2 7.94 8.03 8.13 8.24 8.33 8.45 8.56 8.67
7 8.54 8.65 8.75 8.86 8.96 9.09 9.21 9.33
7-1/2 9.15 9.26 9.30 9.50 9.63 9.75 9.87 10.00
8 9.76 9.88 10.00 10.13 10.26 10.39 10.53 10.67
8-1/2 10.37 10.40 10.63 10.76 10.90 11.04 11.19 11.33
9 10.98 11.12 11.25 11.40 11.54 11.70 11.85 12.00
9-1/2 11.59 11.73 11.88 12.03 12.18 12.34 12.51 12.67
10 12.20 12.34 12.50 12.66 12.82 12.98 13.16 13.33
10-1/2 12.81 12.95 13.12 13.29 13.46 13.63 13.81 14.00
11 13.43 13.57 13.75 13.93 14.10 14.28 14.47 14.67
11-1/2 14.03 14.19 14.38 14.56 14.74 14.93 15.13 15.33
12 14.65 14.81 15.00 15.19 15.38 15.58 15.79 16.00
12-1/2 15.24 15.43 15.63 15.83 16.02 16.23 16.45 16.67
13 15.85 16.05 16.25 16.45 16.67 16.87 17.10 17.33
13-1/2 16.46 16.67 16.88 17.08 17.31 17.53 17.76 18.00
14 17.07 17.28 17.50 17.72 17.95 18.17 18.40 18.67
14-1/2 17.68 17.90 18.13 18.35 18.59 18.83 19.07 19.33
15 18.29 18.51 18.75 18.98 19.23 19.48 19.74 20.00
15-1/2 18.90 19.13 19.38 19.61 19.87 20.12 20.39 20.67
16 19.51 19.75 20.00 20.25 20.51 20.77 21.05 21.33
16-1/2 20.12 20.38 20.63 20.88 21.16 21.42 21.70 22.00
17 20.73 21.99 21.25 21.51 21.78 22.07 22.36 22.67
17-1/2 21.34 21.60 22.88 22.15 22.43 22.72 23.03 23.33
18 21.95 22.22 22.50 22.78 23.05 23.37 23.68 24.00
18-1/2 22.56 22.84 23.13 23.42 23.70 24.02 24.34 24.67
19 23.17 23.45 23.75 24.05 24.34 24.67 25.00 25.33
19-1/2 23.78 24.07 24.38 24.68 24.99 25.32 25.66 26.00
20 24.39 24.68 25.00 25.31 25.64 25.97 26.32 26.67
20-1/2 25.00 25.30 25.63 25.94 26.28 26.61 26.97 27.33
21 25.62 25.92 26.25 26.58 26.92 27.26 27.63 28.00
21-1/2 26.22 26.54 26.88 27.22 27.56 27.91 28.28 28.67
22 26.83 27.16 27.50 27.86 28.10 28.56 28.94 29.33
22-1/2 27.44 27.78 28.13 28.48 28.85 29.22 29.61 30.00
23 28.06 28.38 28.75 29.11 29.48 29.86 30.26 30.67
23-1/2 28.66 29.00 29.38 29.76 30.12 30.51 30.92 31.33
24 29.27 29.62 30.00 30.38 30.77 31.17 31.58 32.00
24-1/2 29.88 30.24 30.63 31.02 31.41 31.81 32.24 32.67
25 30.49 30.86 31.25 31.65 32.05 32.47 32.90 33.33
NOTE, FOR EXAMPLE: Coffee costing 13.50 per 100 pounds
(see first column), to realize 17% _on sales_, must bring
16.27; which really represents 21% _on cost_
Friends of package coffees point to the saving in time in handling in
the store; to the fact that the contents of a package are not
contaminated by odors or dirt; that the blends are prepared by experts
and are always uniform; that the coffee is always properly roasted; and,
in the case of package ground coffee, properly ground; that the brand
names are widely and consistently advertised; and that the retailer has
the benefit of the packer's co-operation in building up sales campaigns,
by means of booklets and local advertising.
_Various Types of Coffee Containers_
Five types of containers are used for packing coffee, namely, cardboard
cartons, paper bags, fiber or paper cans, tin cans, and composite (tin
and fiber) cans and packages. Fiber packages include paraffin-lined as
well as those that have been chemically treated with other water-proof
and flavor-retaining substances.
The carton is popular, because it takes up less room in storage and in
shipment to the packing plant, and also because the label can be printed
directly on the package. Another economy feature is its adaptability to
the automatic packaging machine, which transforms it from a flat sheet
into a wrapped and sealed package of coffee. Moisture-proof and
flavor-retaining inner liners and outside wrappers are generally used to
prevent rapid deterioration of the coffee's strength and aroma.
Paper bags are the least expensive containers to be obtained; and when
lined with foil or prepared paper, they are considered to be
satisfactory. Like the carton, the label can be printed directly on the
bag. They also lend themselves to close packing in shipping cases.
Another popular type of container is the paper, or fiber, can which is
made of fiber board with a slip cover. Fiber cans are also made with
tin tops and bottoms, the metal parts supplying a measure of rigidity to
the package. These composite packages are made round, square, oblong, or
cylindrical.
Paraffined containers are characterized by an outer covering of glossy
paraffin, and are made in various shapes. In some makes, the paraffin is
forced into the pores of the paper base, making for added
flavor-retaining and moisture-proof properties. In this type of package
the label may also be printed direct on the package.
In recent years, vacuum packed coffee has won great favor, first in the
West and latterly in the East. Tin cans are used. Vacuum sealing
machines close the containers at the rate of forty to fifty a minute.
Private tests by responsible coffee men are said to have shown that
coffee in the bean or ground, when vacuum packed, retains its freshness
for a longer period than when packed by any other method.
_Labels_
Coffee packers must give due attention to certain well defined laws
bearing on package labels. Before the Federal Pure Food Act went into
effect on January 1, 1907, many coffee labels bore the magic names of
"Mocha" and "Java," when in fact neither of those two celebrated coffees
were used in the blend. Even mixtures containing a large percentage of
chicory, or other addition, were labeled "Pure Mocha and Java Coffee."
The enactment of the pure food law ended this practise, making it
compulsory that the label should state either the actual coffees used in
the blend, or a brand name, together with the name of either the packer
or the distributer. When chicory or other addition is used, the fact
must be stated in clear type directly following the brand name. The
reading matter on the label should contain facts only, and should not
bear extravagant claims of superior quality or of methods of preparing
or packing that have not been followed.
_Coffee Packaging Economies_
During the United States' participation in the World War, tin became
practically unobtainable, and coffee packers turned to paper and fiber
containers as substitutes in packaging nearly all grades. In this war
period, commercial economy became a fetish in the business world; and
coffee packers worked to save not only material, but shipping space,
labor, and time. Paper and fiber containers proved to be not only
practical but economical packages. Because of their war-time experience,
many packers changed permanently to square and oblong containers. They
found these containers could be packed "solid" in shipping cases,
leaving no unfilled space between packages as is the case with
cylindrical cans; also, smaller shipping cases could be used. As a
further measure of economy, several packers changed from the square
"knocked-down" paper or fiber carton to the oblong carton that is made
up, filled, and sealed by automatic machinery from a flat, printed sheet
of cardboard. This type of container is generally lined or wrapped with
a moisture-proof and flavor-retaining paper.
There has been a tendency in recent years to standardize coffee packages
as a means of working out packaging and shipping economies. One of the
leading American proponents[336] of standardization said:
One of the first arguments raised against standardization is that
it eliminates individuality, and individuality is one of the big
guns covering the front line trenches in the war of competition.
The folly of recommending that every one-pound coffee carton, for
instance, should be of exactly the same size and shape is
immediately apparent; but let us not confuse such unification with
standardization.
Assuming that a pound of coffee may be safely contained in
seventy-two cubic inches, we find that a carton three inches thick
by four inches wide by six inches high will serve our purpose; and,
as an illustration of extremes, a carton three inches thick by
three inches wide by eight inches high, or one [carton] two inches
thick by six inches wide by six inches high, will each have exactly
the same cubical contents. In fact, there is an almost infinite
variety of combinations of dimensions which will contain
substantially seventy-two cubic inches.
As an example of how coffee packages can be standardized this authority
cites the following sizes of flat-sheet containers and their respective
dimensions and capacities:
THICK AND WIDE HIGH CONTENTS
Size Inches Inches Cubic Ins.
1 lb. 2-5/8 by 4-1/2 6-1/4 73.83
1/2 lb. 2-1/4 by 3-1/8 5-1/4 36.91
1/4 lb. 1-9/16 by 2-5/8 4-1/2 18.46
[Illustration: VARIOUS TYPES OF COFFEE CONTAINERS
THIS GROUP OF LEADING TRADE-MARKED COFFEES ILLUSTRATES THE WIDE VARIANCE
IN STYLES OF CONTAINERS USED BY COFFEE-ROASTERS. THE PACKAGES SHOWN ARE
AS FOLLOWS:
1--Double carton. 2, 3--Cartons. 4--Fiber sides, tin top and bottom,
friction cover. 5--Vacuum tin can. 6--Fancy paper bag.
7--Machine-wrapped paper package. 8--Fancy paper bag. 9--Carton with
patented opening and closing device. 10--Wrapped paper package. 11--Tin
can with slip cover. 12--All-fiber can with slip cover. 13--Tin can with
slip cover. 14--Lithographed tin can with friction cover. 15, 16--Tin
cans with slip covers. 17--Squat tin can. 18--Napa-can. 19, 20,
21--Vacuum tin cans.]
The advantages claimed for these packages are that each is well
proportioned and makes a good selling appearance; each bears a direct
relation to the other two; and all may be handled with uniformly good
results on the same set of standardized packaging machinery. One size of
shipping case, instead of three, may be used to hold exactly the same
number of pounds of coffee, regardless of whether shipped in one-pound,
half-pound, or quarter-pound cartons. For smaller dealer assortments,
any two, or all three sizes also exactly fit the following standard
shipping cases:
For 36 lbs., 13-7/8" by 16-1/2" by 12-3/4" high
For 54 lbs., 13-7/8" by 16-1/2" by 19-1/8" high
This standardization of packages and shipping containers results in a
lower cost of containers and a smaller stock to carry, with attendant
reductions in details in purchasing and billing departments, in
inventories, and in many other overhead expense factors.
_Practical Grocer Helps_
Wholesale coffee merchandising does not properly end with the delivery
of a shipment of coffee to a retailer. The progressive wholesaler knows
that it is to his best interest to help that grocer sell his coffee as
quickly as possible; to make a good profit on a quick turn-over; and to
dispose of it before the coffee has deteriorated.
Practical co-operation between wholesaler and retailer is one of the
most important factors in coffee merchandising. In these days of keen
and unremitting competition, neither agency can stand alone for long.
The progressive wholesaler does not sell a retailer a poorer quality of
coffee for any particular grade than his trade calls for, and he does
not load him up with more than can be disposed of while still fresh. He
gauges the capacity and facilities of each retail customer, and then
gives him practical help to keep the stock moving.
The packer of branded coffees helps by advertising to the consumer in
magazines and newspapers, always featuring the name of his brands; and
he supplies the grocer with educational pamphlets and booklets on the
growing, preparation, and merits of coffee in general, with an added
fillip about the desirability of his particular brand. Through his
salesmen the packer shows the grocer how to display the coffee on the
counter and in the window, and often supplies him with placards and
cut-outs featuring his brand. He co-operates in staging special coffee
demonstrations in the store; instructs the retailer in the importance of
teaching his clerks how to talk and to sell coffee intelligently; and
how to prepare advertising copy for his local newspaper, so as to get
the fullest measure of profit from the wholesaler's national or
sectional advertising.
_Coffee Sampling_
The sampling method of creating a demand for merchandise has been tried
in the wholesale coffee trade, only to be abandoned by the majority of
packers. With other and more satisfactory ways of creating consumer
interest, promiscuous sampling was found to be too expensive, in view of
the comparatively small returns. One indictment against sampling is that
it does not make any more impression on the average person than does an
advertisement that appears only once, and is then abandoned. Wideawake
merchants have learned that the public's memory is exceedingly short;
and that they must keep "hammering" with advertisements to establish and
to maintain a demand for their products.
It would seem that the logical place for sampling is in the retailer's
store, especially in connection with demonstrations. Many progressive
grocers stimulate interest in their coffees by serving, on special
demonstration days, small cups of freshly brewed coffee, giving the
customer a small sample of the brand or blend used, to be taken home to
see if the same pleasing results can be obtained there also. Generally
this form of sampling, when properly conducted, has shown a larger
percentage of returns than any other method.
_Premium Method of Sales Promotion_
For many years, the premium method of sales promotion has been an
important factor in wholesale coffee merchandising, as well as in retail
distribution. The premium system has been characterized as a form of
advertising; and many coffee packers and wholesalers prefer to spend
their advertising appropriations in that way rather than in transitory
printed advertisements in newspapers and general magazines.
While certain forms of the system have been legislated out of existence
in some states, friends of the plan claim that it is a true
profit-sharing method which "blesses both him that gives and him that
takes"; and that it is an advanced and legitimate means of promoting
business, when properly conducted. They assert that it is a system of
sales promotion whereby the advertising expense, plus a large
percentage of the profits of the business stimulated thereby, is
automatically returned to the dealer buyer, without increasing cost or
lowering the quality of the product so advertised; that it eliminates
advertising waste by producing a given volume of sales for a given
expenditure of money; that it reduces the cost of advertising by
prompting a continuous series of purchases at one advertising expense;
that it promotes cash payments and discourages credit business. Premium
users claim that the force of a printed advertisement is often spent in
stimulating the first purchase; while to secure a premium, the purchaser
must continue to buy the commodity carrying the premium, or trade with
the giver of the premium until merchandise of a stipulated value or
quantity has been purchased.
In general practise, the premium-giving coffee packer or wholesaler may
either offer the retailer an inducement in the form of a desirable store
fixture, household article, or item for his personal use; or he may
offer it to the consumer through the retailer.
The methods of giving the premium are numerous. To the retailer he may
give the article outright with each purchase of a stipulated quantity of
his coffee; or he may offer it as a prize to the retail distributer
selling the most coffee in a certain period in a specified territory.
Frequently the premium is of such value that the wholesaler can not give
it with any quantity of coffee a distributer can dispose of in a short
time; so he issues coupons or certificates with each purchase,
permitting the retailer to redeem the premium when he has saved the
required number. Or, the retailer may get the premium with the first
purchase by paying the difference in cash.
In giving premiums to consumers, the wholesaler follows the same general
plan used with retailers, except that in most cases the coupons are
packed with the coffee and are redeemable at the retailer's store.
Sometimes, however, the consumer sends the coupons or certificates to
the wholesaler, getting the premium direct from him. In another phase of
the premium system, the retailer works independently of the wholesaler,
buying and giving away his own premiums to promote or to hold trade for
his store. This phase is explained in the chapter on retail coffee
merchandising.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: LUHRS, OF POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y., FEATURES FRESHLY ROASTED
COFFEE IN HIS WINDOW
Smoke from the roasters is blown into street through the coffee pot
hanging over the door]
[Illustration: JOHNSON, OF RED OAK, IOWA, ROASTS BEFORE THE CUSTOMER
Showing a Royal roasting and grinding equipment]
[Illustration: FRESH ROASTED-COFFEE IDEA IN RETAIL MERCHANDISING]
CHAPTER XXVII
RETAIL MERCHANDISING OF ROASTED COFFEE
_How coffees are sold at retail--The place of the grocer, the tea
and coffee dealer, the chain store, and the wagon-route distributer
in the scheme of distribution--Starting in the retail coffee
business--Small roasters for retail dealers--Model coffee
departments--Creating a coffee trade--Meeting
competition--Splitting nickels--Figuring costs and profits--A
credit policy for retailers--Premiums_
Coffee is sold at retail in the United States through seven distinct
channels of trade; the independent retail grocers (about 350,000)
handling about forty percent of the 1,300,000,000 pounds sold annually;
and the other sixty percent being sold by chain stores, mail-order
houses, house-to-house wagon-route distributers, specialty tea and
coffee stores, department stores, and drug stores. Since the beginning
of the twentieth century, the independent grocers' monopoly in retail
coffee-merchandising has been dwindling at a rate that has seriously
alarmed those interests and their friends.
B.C. Casanas of New Orleans, addressing a convention of the National
Association of Retail Grocers in the United States, in 1916, said that
the wholesale coffee roasters of the country had invested in their
business $60,000,000; and that $135,000,000 worth of roasted coffee was
sold by them every year.
Considering the methods of merchandising, the seven retail distributing
agencies may be grouped into three distinct classes. The first class
would comprise the independent grocer, the chain store, the department
store, the drug store, and the specialty store, all of which maintain
stores where the consumer comes to buy. The second class takes in the
mail-order house, which solicits orders and delivers its coffee by mail,
and sometimes by freight or express. The third class covers the
wagon-route dealer, who goes from house to house seeking trade, and
delivers his coffee on order at regular periods direct to the consumer
in the home. As an inducement to contracting for large quantities to be
delivered in weekly or bi-weekly periods, the house-to-house dealer
generally gives some household article, or the like, as a premium to
establish good-will and to retain the trade of his customers.
New impetus was given to the method of selling coffee by mail when the
parcel post system was adopted by the federal government in 1912; and
since then this plan has become an important factor in retail
coffee-merchandising. Generally, the mail-order houses confine their
sales efforts to agricultural districts and small towns, soliciting
trade by catalogs, by circular letters, and by advertisements in local
newspapers, and in magazines which circulate chiefly among dwellers in
rural districts.
The majority of wagon-route distributers depend upon the lure of their
premiums, and on personal calls, to develop and to hold their coffee
trade. The leading wagon-route companies, sometimes called "premium
houses", maintain offices and plants in large cities adjacent to the
territories to which they confine their sales efforts. At strategic
points, they have district agents who engage the wagon men that do the
actual soliciting of orders and that deliver the coffee. All wagon-route
companies handle other products besides coffee, specializing in tea,
spices, extracts, and such household goods as soap, perfumes, and other
toilet requisites that promise a quick sale and frequent re-orders. Some
of their competitors complain that they handle only the more profitable
lines, leaving the independent local grocer to supply the housekeeper
with the items on which the margin of profit is comparatively small.
Wagon-route coffee-retailing began to make itself felt seriously about
the year 1900. At first, the premiums usually consisted of a cup and
saucer with the first order, the customer being led to continue buying
until at least a full set of dishes had been acquired. Later, the range
of premiums was expanded; until today the wagon man offers several
hundred different articles that can be used in the home or for personal
wear or adornment. Practically all the leading wagon-route concerns
favor the advance premium method; that is, a special canvasser induces a
consumer to contract for a large quantity of coffee and other products
in return for receiving the premium at once, though the coffee is
delivered only as the customer wants it, generally two pounds every two
weeks. The wagon man delivers the coffee, and is usually held
responsible for the customer fulfilling the agreement, and is expected
to secure repeat orders with other premiums.
[Illustration: A PREMIUM TEA AND COFFEE DEALER'S DISPLAY ROOM
This is the headquarters store of the Geo. F. Hellick Co., Easton, Pa.,
a successful wagon coffee distributer. The premium merchandise is shown
in the foreground: the sales counter, coffee mill, and display of teas,
coffees, extracts, spices, etc., being in the right background]
The importance of the wagon-route plan of coffee-retailing is shown by
the fact that in 1921 there were six hundred houses of this kind in the
United States; and it was estimated that they distributed eight percent
of the total amount of the coffee consumed in the country. The biggest
company was capitalized at $16,000,000, and operated eleven hundred
wagons. Most of the wagon-route concerns were operating in the central
states, practically one-third of them covering the states of Illinois,
Wisconsin, Indiana, and Iowa. Pennsylvania is also a wagon-route-dealer
center.
[Illustration: TYPICAL CHAIN-STORE INTERIOR EQUIPMENT
This is the Atlantic & Pacific Co.'s store in Rhinebeck, New York. There
are nearly 5,000 other stores like it in the United States]
The premium wagon-route distributers have an organization called the
National Retail Tea and Coffee Merchants' Association. It is composed of
126 members--all of whom use premiums--who operate over two thousand
wagons. The largest single wagon-route operator is the Jewel Tea Company
of Chicago. The members of this organization claimed to have served more
than 2,000,000 families in 1920.
In the chain-store system of merchandising we see the opposite extreme
of coffee retailing. The wagon-route man features his delivery service;
while in the chain-store plan, all customers must pay cash and carry
home their parcels. Though the earliest established chain stores gave
premiums, the practise has now been generally abandoned. Roasting,
blending, and packing coffee in a large central plant, the chain-store
operator advertises that he can sell coffee at a price lower than his
competitors. As a rule, only one grade of coffee is offered for sale.
While it is generally a good medium value, many consumers prefer better
quality and go to the independent grocer for it. Others patronize the
grocer because of his convenient delivery service, and because he gives
credit on purchases. Chain-store organizations seem to be growing
rapidly, however; the largest of the chains, the Great Atlantic &
Pacific Tea Co., reporting in 1921 that it had nearly five thousand
branches throughout the country, which sell 40,000,000 pounds of coffee
annually. This chain has a capitalization of $12,000,000, and in 1920
sold $225,000,000 worth of groceries, as compared with $154,718,124 in
the preceding year. This company opens about five hundred new stores
every year.
The chain-store men are organized in the National Chain Store Grocers
Association, having thirty members, representing 12,000 stores,
operating in eighteen states. It is estimated that there are fifty
responsible chain-store grocery organizations in the United States,
representing about 30,000 stores. The chain-store grocer turns his stock
over from twelve to twenty-five times a year, sells for cash, makes no
deliveries, and claims to save the consumer an average of fifteen
percent in buying. These stores do business on a net margin not
exceeding three percent on sales, as against the average retail grocer's
thirty percent, while their average gross cost of doing business has
been stated as between thirteen and one-half percent (lowest) and
eighteen and one-half percent (highest).
According to Alfred H. Beckmann, secretary-treasurer of the National
Chain Store Grocers' Association,[337] "Public appreciation of the chain
grocery store is rapidly growing. Ten years ago it was estimated that
chain stores in what is known as the Metropolitan district of New York
did about 12-1/2 percent of the volume of business in their line, while
today it is estimated at about fifty percent".
It is estimated that the fifty-odd chain store organizations in the
United States distribute through their 30,000 stores 270,000,000 pounds
of coffee a year, or about twenty percent of the total amount consumed
in the United States.
_Starting in the Retail Coffee Business_
When taking up the retail merchandising of coffee, the practical grocer
learns all he can about the popular grades to be had in the principal
markets, and how the coffees are grown, roasted, blended, and ground. He
also ascertains the best methods of brewing, testing out each grade and
kind on his own table, if he does not have testing facilities in his
store. He studies the relative trade values of different varieties of
coffee, and the requirements of his particular clientèle.
An interesting analysis of some 250 grocery stores in the United
States[338] made in 1919, showed that twenty-nine percent of the dealers
bought all their coffee from wholesale grocers, forty-eight percent
exclusively from roasters and specialty wholesalers, ten percent got
over one-half of their coffee from wholesale grocers, and thirteen
percent bought less than one-half from the wholesale grocery houses.
[Illustration: THE FAMILIAR A & P STORE FRONT]
[Illustration: LAYOUT FOR COFFEE AND TEA DEPARTMENT]
There are two fundamental plans on which a retailer builds a successful
coffee business--by buying coffee already roasted, and by buying it
green and roasting it in the store. Each plan has its advantages; but
its practicability depends upon conditions in different localities.
Beyond acquiring a general talking knowledge about coffees, the retailer
buying his stocks roasted in bulk or package form does not generally
need the intimate knowledge of his goods required by the grocer who
roasts his own coffee. If he grinds the coffee for his customers he must
know the type of grind best suited to the way the coffee is to be
brewed, and must be able to tell the best brewing method.
The practical grocer who makes up his own blend is acquainted with
blending principles and methods. "While he can not expect to be as
expert as the large wholesale blender, he should know that green coffees
are generally classified by blenders in five great divisions; (1)
Brazils, including Santos, Bourbon and flat bean, Rios, Victorias, and
Bahias; (2) Washed milds, embracing, as of the most commercial value,
Bogotas, Bucaramangas, Guatemalas, Mexicans, Costa Ricans, Maracaibos,
and Meridas; (3) Unwashed milds, such as Maracaibos, Bucaramangas, La
Guairas, and Mexicans; (4) Javas, Sumatras, and Padangs; (5) Mocha, and
Harari."
[Illustration: ONE OF THE RETAIL COFFEE-ROASTING STATIONS IN SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA]
[Illustration: CLOSE-UP OF THE MINIATURE MANUFACTURING PLANT, SHOWING
THE ROASTING AND GRINDING EQUIPMENT]
[Illustration: APPLYING THE SPECIALIST IDEA TO COFFEE MERCHANDISING
The Pacific Stores Co., Los Angeles, cutting out deliveries, premiums,
and solicitors, has built up a business of more than 100 bags of coffee
daily, selling direct to the consumer in a chain of 100 booths patterned
after the country-roadside gasoline stations; each one having its own
roaster]
[Illustration: SELF-CONTAINED MONITOR GAS ROASTER, COOLER, AND STONER]
It has been found by experience that a good assortment for the average
retailer to carry consists of Santos, because of price; a natural
unwashed Maracaibo or Bucaramanga, because of full body and general
blending values; and a washed coffee, preferably a Bogota, which gives
quality and character to a blend. In stocking up with these coffees, the
practical merchant avoids Santos with a strong or Rioy flavor, bitter or
"hidey" Maracaibos, and acidy or thin Bogotas.[339]
A grocer equipped with these coffees has the Santos for his low-priced
seller. For his medium grade he blends Santos and Maracaibo,
half-and-half. The next higher grade is made up of one-third each of the
three coffees; while the best blend consists either of half-and-half
Bogota and Maracaibo, or three-quarters Bogota and one-quarter
Maracaibo.
The chief advantage of these three coffees is that they blend well in
any way they are mixed; and the dealer with a little experience, and
working with the two necessary ideas in mind--satisfactory coffee and
price--can make up various combinations.
In view of the fact that the United States imports coffee from more than
a hundred different sections of the world, and that there are wide
variations in flavor among the coffees produced in each of the hundred,
it is easy to understand that the blender has an almost unlimited supply
from which to make up a blend with a distinctive individuality.
Practically all coffee importers, and most wholesalers, are thoroughly
acquainted with the relative trade values of the different coffees, and
help their customers make up desirable blends.
_Small Roasters for Retail Dealers_
While the wholesale coffee roaster is obliged to instal a large and
somewhat complex equipment, the retailer must use a small, compact,
self-contained unit that does not take up much space in his store, and
that is easily operated. Retail roasting machines are constructed on the
same general principle as the wholesale roaster. The roasting cylinder
is generally revolved by electric power, and the heat is derived from
gas or gasoline fuel. Cooling is by air suction in a box attached to the
roaster. The capacities of the machines range from ten to three hundred
pounds, the operating cost running from approximately eight cents per
hundred pounds for gas fuel and ten cents for electric power. The
roasters cost from three hundred dollars for the smaller sizes, to
fifteen hundred for the one-bag type; and to two thousand or three
thousand dollars for the two-bag type.
One coffee-roaster-machinery manufacturer has recently brought out a
gas-fired, electrically operated fifty-pound miniature coffee-roasting
plant designed for retail stores, which comprises a roaster, a rotary
cooler, and a stoning device, that sells for six hundred and fifty
dollars.
[Illustration: ROYAL GAS COFFEE ROASTER FOR RETAIL STORES]
Retail coffee roasting is similar to the wholesale operation. When the
cylinder has become heated, the green coffee is run in and allowed to
roast in the revolving cylinder for about half an hour. If the coffee is
the average green kind, the full heat may be applied at once; but if old
and dry, a lesser degree is used. When the roast begins to snap, the
flame is turned lower to allow the beans to cook through evenly; and
when nearly done, it is almost extinguished. During the operation, the
roasterman, who may be the proprietor or a clerk delegated to the work,
frequently "samples" the coffee by taking out a small quantity with his
"trier" and comparing the color of the roast with a type sample. When
the colors match exactly, the coffee is dumped automatically into the
cooler box just below the cylinder opening; and when sufficiently cooled
off, is ready for grinding to order.
A large number of retailers roast coffee in their stores; and the most
successful find that besides being able to make a feature of freshly
roasted coffee, they can save money and increase their sales. One
progressive grocer found that he was able to get eighty-eight pounds of
roasted coffee out of one hundred pounds of green coffee, as compared
with the wholesaler's eighty-four pounds; that he could buy green coffee
at a closer price than roasted; and that it cost him less for labor,
fuel, overhead, and similar items, than it did the wholesale roaster to
turn out a roast.[340]
[Illustration: BURNS HALF-BAG GAS ROASTING, COOLING, AND STONING OUTFIT]
[Illustration: LAMBERT JUNIOR GAS ROASTING, COOLING, AND STONING OUTFIT
FOR RETAIL STORES (Capacity fifty pounds)]
A chain of coffee specialty stores in which the coffee is roasted fresh
every day was started in California about the year 1916; and according
to reports, it met with almost instant success. In this system, the
proprietor buys the green coffee in large quantities, and it is roasted
in each of his specialty stores, which are located in public markets,
store windows, and alongside heavily traveled highways. The roasting
machinery is invariably set up in front of the store where passers-by
can easily see it in operation--and also smell the coffee roasting. Four
years after starting the first store, there were fifty in operation
along the Pacific Coast, doing an annual business of about $600,000,
some units taking in more than $7,000 a month.
_Model Coffee Departments_
Authorities generally agree that a well laid out coffee department not
only increases a grocer's coffee business, but speeds up sales in other
departments as well. Coffee lovers, and they are legion in the United
States, are inclined to "shop around" for a coffee that suits their
taste; and when they have found the store that sells it, they buy their
other groceries there also. Another argument advanced in favor of a
coffee department is that coffee pays more money into the retailer's
cash drawer than any other grocery item.[341]
Most successful retail coffee merchandisers establish the coffee
department near the entrance to the store, where it can be seen through
a window by passers-by, especially if there is an ornamental roasting
and grinding equipment. It has been found that a department situated at
the left of the entrance is almost certain to draw attention because
people are inclined to glance in that direction first. Some merchants,
having the space, erect attractive booths, designed somewhat like the
familiar food-show booths, directly in front of the door, after the
fashion of department stores when holding a special sale on a certain
article. Such a booth is generally used for demonstration purposes, and
is decorated with signs and possibly with bunting. A permanent
department is usually less ornamental, but still attractive. In telling
how he made a success of his department, one American grocer said that
he was careful that his fixtures were not so ornamental as to draw
attention from the goods. While the decorations were always attractive,
they were subordinated sufficiently to form a background for his coffee
display.
[Illustration: FAULDER AND SIMPLEX GAS ROASTERS IN AN ENGLISH FACTORY
The Faulder (on the left) is a 28-lb. indirect machine and the Simplex
(also 28 lbs. capacity) is of the direct-flame, quick-roaster type]
The most popular layout is the conventional counter system behind which
the clerk stands to serve the customer on the other side. There are many
advocates of the counter that is built into the shelving, believing that
the closer the customers are brought to the coffee, the more they will
be inclined to buy. This system also makes for cleanliness, doing away
with the possibility of the runway behind the counter becoming a
catch-all for dirt, torn paper, bits of wood, and the like.
[Illustration: ILLUSTRATING THE COFFEE ROASTERS USED BY THE SHOP-KEEPERS
OF FRANCE
These machines are of the ball-cylinder type, and use gas as fuel; the
cylinder is revolved by electric power. Invariably they stand where they
can be seen from the street]
The modern coffee department has counters divided into compartments
having glass fronts. This type serves both as a storage place for coffee
and for display purposes. The top of the counter is used for wrapping up
parcels, etc., and also for displaying bulk and package coffees. In the
well regulated store, the counter top is never used for storage, all
stock being kept on shelves or in the counter's compartments. Good
merchants find that cleanliness pays; and that a "littered up" store
drives away desirable custom. The wise proprietor never allows a clerk
to weigh out coffee after handling cheese, onions, and other odorous
articles, without first thoroughly washing his hands. He knows that few
food products in his store will more quickly absorb undesirable odors
and flavors than coffee; and consequently he is careful to protect his
coffee from contamination. In the better stores, the proprietor will
either take charge of the coffee department himself, or will delegate a
competent man who will do nothing else.
The wide-awake retail coffee roaster always features his roasting
machine, which is generally highly ornamental and draws attention even
when not in use. Some progressive merchants plan to roast coffee at noon
time and at night, when homeward-bound passers-by are hungry and are
particularly susceptible to the pungent aroma of roasting coffee. It is
a quite common plan for the retail roaster to arrange the exhaust of the
machine so that the full strength of the odor is blown into the street.
_Creating a Coffee Trade_
Because of steady sales and quick profits, there is keener competition
in retail coffee-merchandising than in other food products. But, all
things being equal, any intelligent person can create and hold a
profitable trade if he follows approved business methods--and works. The
best practise among coffee merchants shows that the prime essential is
good coffee, freshly roasted and ground. After that comes intelligent
and unremitting sales-promotion work.
[Illustration: SMALL GERMAN ROASTERS
On the left is a hand roaster for wood or coal fuel; on the right is a
gas machine.]
The many ingenious trade-building plans worked out successfully by
grocers in all parts of the country are too numerous to describe in a
book of this character; but the methods cited in the following, all of
which have been tested in actual working conditions, will serve to
indicate the fundamentals of good retail coffee-sales promotion.
Among the chief sales-winning methods are demonstrations in the store,
at local food shows, and at church socials, picnics or functions,
judicious sampling either in person or by mail, personal canvassing from
house to house, circularizing by mail, linking up window displays with
current happenings, local newspaper and outdoor poster advertising, and
selling coffee by telephone. Most of the foregoing plans are worked
intermittently. The telephone, however, is a most important sales factor
and should be employed constantly and consistently.[342] Many successful
stores consider the telephone, properly used, the greatest single
sales-help in retail coffee-merchandising.
[Illustration: POPULAR FRENCH RETAIL ROASTER
Employing coal, charcoal, or wood fuel]
One grocer had such faith in this method that he paid half the annual
telephone rental for a large number of his best-paying customers.
Another large merchandiser put in an individual telephone for each of
his salesmen, who called up his regular customers each day to suggest
articles for that day's order, always of course mentioning their
"superior brand of coffee." Telephoning is the next step to personal
contact; and if tactfully done, is considered to be even more
advantageous, because of the time it saves both the customer and the
store keeper.
[Illustration: UNO CABINET GAS ROASTER WITH COOLING UNIT
A popular English type]
Coffee demonstrations in stores are easily arranged, in most cases. The
main consideration is fresh coffee of good quality served daintily and
hot. Lacking a coffee urn, some grocers make their brews in large-size
home-service coffee-making devices. Those most advanced in the correct
method of brewing use the drip process. It is generally agreed that
demonstrations should not be held too often. They not only cut into
profits, but lose much of their advertising value. Food-show
demonstrations require more elaborate equipment, consisting of a
decorated booth, educational booklets, posters, and exhibits of
different kinds of coffee, both green and roasted, whole bean and
ground. Generally, coffee packers co-operate with retail demonstrators
by supplying gratis the coffee to be brewed, if the names of their
brands are suitably displayed. They supply also posters, signs, samples,
and booklets for free distribution.
Window displays form one of the best means of advertising at the command
of the average grocer, and one of the least expensive. A popular coffee
display consists of a series of educational "windows," starting with
green beans in the bags in which they are shipped from the growing
country. Generally the bags, mats, or bundles are obtained from the
wholesale house, and are filled almost to the top with some inexpensive
stuffing, the green coffee being spread over the top to give the
appearance of a full bag. Pictures showing how the coffee is grown,
harvested, prepared, and shipped, are frequently used in such a display.
The next exhibit consists of whole roasted coffee spread thickly over
the window floor to create the impression of bulk, accompanied by a few
pans of green coffee by way of contrast, and with pictures showing
scenes in coffee roasting plants. A barrel, lined with blue paper, and
lying on its side with roasted coffee beans spilling out, serves as a
centerpiece for such a display. Following this, comes a coffee package
window, accompanied by pictures showing how coffee is roasted, ground,
and packed. This completes the series; but there are many variations
that have proved successful as trade builders.
[Illustration: EDUCATIONAL WINDOW EXHIBIT
This window won first prize for the western district in the $2,000
window-trimming contest of National Coffee Week in 1920. Action was
furnished by a small electric pump, which kept a steady stream of coffee
flowing from a coffee pot into the coffee cup]
_Meeting Competition_
Since the advent of the wagon-route distributer and the chain store, the
independent retail grocer has been faced with the problem of how to
regain at least a fair measure of the coffee trade he has lost. The
grocer is not only concerned about his profits on coffee sales, but on
other goods as well; for a trade investigation has shown that a large
percentage of the regular customers of the retailer are held to the
store by their purchases of coffee and tea. This means that if coffees
and teas are bought from the wagon-route distributer and the chain
store, the balance of a family's order is "shopped around."
To meet this competition, the best authorities agree that the
independent grocer should feature coffee in every practical way, such as
soliciting coffee trade from each customer that enters the store; give
up offering coffee on a price basis, and make up his own blends from
good quality growths; perhaps make up his own brand and push it at every
opportunity; display coffee artistically, with frequent changes of
layouts; and have occasional store demonstrations. He should see that
the coffee is roasted properly, and that it is always fresh; that the
selling effort is not expended on the lowest-priced blend, but on a
grade that can be recommended for cup merit. This should be a leader,
but a lower-price coffee could be carried to suit the trade that buys on
price. Persistent efforts should be made to educate the last-named class
of customers to use the better grades, which in the end are cheaper and
give better satisfaction. In short, the grocer should work consistently
to establish a vogue for his leader blend on the basis of merit.
[Illustration: A BETTER-CLASS AMERICAN GROCERY INTERIOR
Showing the coffee bins in orderly array, and the electric coffee
grinder]
_Profits and Costs_
Because of its influence on other grocery items, coffee can often be
sold at a close margin of profit, particularly if a competitor's store
or wagons are cutting into a grocer's neighborhood trade. Twenty-five
percent is recommended as a reasonable gross profit on coffee in most
cases, although some grocers make less, and not a few make more; the
range being usually from twenty to thirty-nine percent. The independent
dealer should meet chain-store competition in coffee on a price basis,
making a special on a superior grade and figuring to get not more than
three cents profit per pound, like his competitor. A bag of roasted
coffee will bring back three dollars gain, and the cash to pay for
another--and the grocer has kept his customers, ninety percent of whom,
theoretically, will have bought their other food supplies from him. As a
matter of fact, in the last year of the World War retailers showed a
tendency to demand cash on sales of all grocery items. This practise
reduces the cost of operation and allows the storekeeper to reduce his
prices. A large number of grocers charge a small percentage of the total
sale for credit privileges, and five or ten cents for each delivery
below a certain total value of the purchase price of the articles to be
delivered. As a result, they have been able to meet chain-store
competition. Collective buying has also been a factor in offsetting the
inroads of the "chains."
[Illustration: A PRIZE-WINNING WINDOW DISPLAY
This unusual display of coffee-flavored eatables won first prize for the
southern district in the National Coffee Week window-trimming contest.
The cakes, pies, tarts, and other pastries which constituted the main
feature rested in a bed of green coffee. The customer's interest was
cleverly attracted to the dealer's brand by a pyramid of large coffee
cans in the center background and by two miniature dining-room sets.]
_Splitting Nickels_
One of the reasons advanced for the loss of coffee trade by retail
grocers is that they price their blends in "round numbers", that is 20,
25, 30, or 40 cents; while their competitors "split nickels", selling
their product at 18, 23, 28, or 38 cents.
Most of the retail enterprises in other lines of trade have built up
their business on the penny-change plan; and many coffee men believe
this should become the universal merchandising method among retail
distributers of coffee.[343]
One of the leading advocates of "splitting nickels" has worked out a
chart to show how coffee should be priced to make predetermined profits.
(See next page.)
TABLE SHOWING PROFIT PERCENTAGE ON SALES
If Your
Coffee And You Sell At
Costs 25c. 26c. 27c. 28c. 29c. 30c. 31c. 32c. 33c.
20c. 20% 23% 26% 28% 31% 33% 35% 37% 39%
20-1/2c. 18% 21% 24% 26% 29% 31% 33% 35% 37%
21c. 16% 19% 22% 25% 27% 30% 32% 34% 36%
21-1/2c. 14% 17% 20% 23% 25% 28% 30% 32% 34%
22c. 12% 15% 18% 21% 24% 26% 29% 31% 33%
22-1/2c. 10% 13% 16% 19% 22% 25% 27% 29% 31%
23c. 8% 11% 14% 17% 20% 23% 25% 28% 30%
23-1/2c. 6% 9% 13% 16% 19% 21% 24% 26% 28%
24c. 4% 7% 11% 14% 17% 20% 22% 25% 27%
24-1/2c. 2% 5% 9% 12% 15% 18% 21% 23% 25%
25c. 0% 3% 7% 10% 13% 16% 19% 21% 24%
25-1/2c. 2% 5% 8% 12% 15% 17% 20% 22%
26c. 0% 3% 7% 10% 13% 16% 18% 21%
26-1/2c. 1% 5% 8% 11% 14% 17% 19%
27c. 0% 3% 6% 10% 12% 15% 18%
27-1/2c. 1% 5% 8% 11% 14% 16%
28c. 0% 3% 6% 9% 12% 15%
_Figuring Costs and Profits_
While the cost of conducting a retail grocery business naturally varies
according to local conditions and the size of the enterprise, an
investigation among some 250 stores in small and large cities made in
1919 by the Bureau of Business Research, Harvard University, showed that
the average cost was fourteen percent; that the net profit averaged two
and three-tenths percent; and that stock was turned about seven times a
year. Gross profits ran from ten and one-half percent to twenty-six and
four-one-hundredths percent of the net sales, the most typical figure
being sixteen and nine-tenths percent. Sales cost formed the largest
single item of expense, varying from three and forty-one hundredths to
nine and ninety-four hundredths percent, with the bulk of figures
showing around one and eight-tenths percent.
According to advanced business practise the cost of doing business
should be based on these fourteen points:
1. Charge interest on the net amount of the total investment at the
beginning of the business year, exclusive of real estate.