Coffee and tea are similar in use and composition and the effects on the body Neither of the subjects can actually be considered food however, we drink them because we like their flavor and because of the effects on the body. They both contain stimulants.
Tea is more delicate in flavor than coffee but coffee has a delightful (to some) odor because it contains a volatile oil called caffeol.
Both drinks contain the stimulant caffeine. This drug stimulates the kidneys, the heart, and the nervous system. It doesn't have the same effect on everyone as people are more or less susceptible to caffeine. Many people have trouble sleeping if they ingest caffeine very close to bed time.
In this book (contrary to what is on the market being sold to children today ) it was advised that young people do not need stimulants nerves, heart and kidneys can develop more normally with out them. For this reason they were not advised to be given to growing boys and girls to take up space in the daily diet in place of simple, nourishing foods with out such a high flavor. It was shown that appetites that were already fickle and children already tend to under eat, the appetite of a child could be dulled by drinking a beverage that had no better recommendation than "it tastes good".
I must share in its entirety the next paragraph:
"The nerves of adults are already developed, and since adults are rather inclined to overeat, because they are not active enough, the same arguments do not hold true in discussing tea and coffee in their diets. It may be said in favor of tea and coffee that many persons take water in this form who do not otherwise drink enough water. The stimulating property is treasured by grownups and is especially helpful to old people, but it is not always good even for adults."
Tannin is a substance also found in tea and coffee and is undesirable both because it slows digestion and because too much makes the flavor bitter. If either is properly made you have little tannin in the beverage. Caffeine is much more readily soluble in water just below the boiling point where tannin is soluble on boiling even for a few minutes. Black tea is darker in color when brewed but contains less tannin than green tea.
The quality of tea varies from country to country or even district where it is grwond, and with the tenderness of the leaf, the degree of fermentation with the length of time it has ben kept. ay people who like tea are very particular and it would be a good thing to find out information about preference when you plan to serve tea at a gathering. There is very little tea grown in the United States but South Carolina is the oldest producer on the mainland.
Tea: Tea is dried leaves from the tea bush, in general there are three kinds of tea, green, black and oolong. They are from the same plant but the difference is the method of drying and curing. Green tea is unfermented and is steam dried. Black tea is fermented and kiln dried, while Oolong tea is partly fermented.
Tea Pots: Do not use a tin teapot as the tannic acid will attack the metal. Most teapots you will find of quality will be earthenware, china, porcelain, or enamel or sometimes glass.
Serving Tea: Tea is not generally used for breakfast in this country but is universal in England. One famous brand is "English Breakfast". Tea in England is served with cream and sugar for breakfast, but other times lemon may be preferred, especially if it is iced. English use cream; Russians use lemon.
Experiment 14 Tea
Coffee: The experiment involving brewing coffee is included in the previous part A of this section
Source and production: Brazil is still the largest producer of the world's supply of coffee as it was when this book was published. Now over 70 countries produce coffee.
The coffee tree produces a red berry, the seed of which is two flattened halves of the coffee bean. These beans are dried and exported as green coffee.
Buying: Coffee is then roasted in particular ways to develop the flavor due to cafeol, the volatile oil that gives it the particular aroma and taste. Ground coffee should be purchased in tin containers or paraffin bags and should be purchased in small quantities because flavors deteriorate rapidly. (This is still true today, do not freeze your ground coffee as it will deteriorate the flavor faster when thawing) Some people such as in New Orleans prefer to roast their own coffee as the flavor is even better fresh. The French Quarter is still noted for its coffee which is a very black beverage The intense blackness is largely due to chicory which also changes the flavor
Coffeepots: Coffeepots also should not be of tin for the same reason as tea pots, the tannic acid. Earthenware pots are also not suitable for coffee. Enamelware or aluminum coffeepots were most used. Today, many many choices abound. The experiments in the previous post will show that a percolator or a drip maker were the best of the "old ways" to make coffee.
Coffee substitute. A beverage similar to coffee in appearance and taste was prepared from parched cereals. Postum was the most used example. Sanka was another of the first instant type coffee substitutes This substituted did not contain caffeine. It was neither a food nor a stimulant. The food value of the cereal was destroyed in the parching. There are a number of coffee substitutes available today but to a true coffee drinker the taste may be offputting.
The third beverage for breakfast and that more acceptable for children is cocoa.
Experiment 16
In the home practice list for this chapter, was 5) Help your mother with the dishwashing. Humm even back then it had to be a class assignment. as well as 1) keep track of the water you drink in a day. If you do not drink your daily half dozen glasses, try to establish the habit.
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