The plant thrives best in a loamy soil in an average annual temperature of about 27 degrees C., with considerable moisture and shade. Most plantations are at an elevation of 1,000 feet to 2,500 above the sea-level. In order to insure larger yields and to make gathering easier the trees of the South American plantations are clipped so as to keep their height at about 6 feet to 6.5 feet. The yield begins with the third year and continues increasingly up to the twentieth year. The fruit matures at all seasons, and is gathered about three times each year. In Arabia, where the trees are usually not clipped, and hence comparatively large, the fruit is knocked off by means of sticks. In the West Indies and South America the red, not fully matured fruit is picked by hand. The outer hard shell (fruit coat, pericarp) is removed by pressure, rolling, and shaking. The beans are now ready for the market.

All of the different varieties or kinds of coffee found upon the market are from two species of Coffea; namely, C. Arabica and C. Liberica; the latter yielding the Liberian coffee, which is of excellent quality.

There are a number of so-called coffees which are used as substitutes for true coffee, of which the following are the more important. California coffee is the somewhat coffee-like fruit of Rhamnus Californica. Crust coffee is a drink resembling coffee in color, made from roasted bread crusts steeped in water. Mogdad or Negro coffee is the roasted seeds of Cassia occidentalis, which are used as a substitute for coffee, though they contain no caffein. Swedish coffee is the seeds of Astragalus Boeticus used as coffee, for which purpose it is cultivated in parts of Germany and Hungary. Wild coffee is a name given to several plants native in India, as Faramea odoratissima, Eugenia disticha, and Casearia laetioides. Kentucky coffee is a large leguminous tree (Gymnocladus Canadensis) of which the seeds (coffee nut) are used as a substitute for coffee.

The coffee beans are roasted before they are in suitable condition for use. At first the green beans were used. According to one story, a shepherd noticed that some of his sheep ate the fruit of the coffee tree, and, as a result, became very frisky. Presuming that the coffee beans were the cause, he also ate of the beans and noted an exhilarating effect. The use of the roasted beans was said to have originated in Holland. Roasting should be done carefully in a closed vessel in order to retain as much of the aroma as possible.

This process modifies the beans very much; they change from green or greenish to brown and dark brown and become brittle; they lose about 15 to 30 per cent. of their weight, at the same time increasing in size from 30 to 50 percent. The aroma is almost wholly produced by the roasting process, but if continued too long or done at too high a temperature the aroma is again lost. The temperature should be uniform and the beans should be stirred continually. It should also be remembered that not all kinds or grades of coffee should be roasted alike. In order to develop the highest aroma, Mocha coffee should be roasted until it becomes a reddish yellow, and has lost 15 per cent of its weight. Martinique coffee should be roasted to a chestnut brown, with a loss of 20 percent in weight; Bourbon to a light bronze and a loss in weight of 18 percent.

The various coffee drinks prepared differ very widely in quality. This is dependent upon the varying methods employed in making them. The following method is highly recommended. It is advised to purchase a good quality of the unroasted beans and proceed as follows:

1. Sorting Berries. — Carefully remove bad berries, dirt, husks, stones and other foreign matter usually present in larger or smaller quantities.

2. Roasting. — Roast as indicated above. Coat the hot beans with sugar to retain the aromatic principles; cool rapidly and keep in a dry place.

3. Grinding. — Grind fine just before the coffee is to be made.

4. Preparing the Coffee. — Coffee is usually made according to three methods; by infiltration, by infusion, and by boiling. Coffee by infiltration is made by allowing boiling water to percolate through the ground coffee. It is stated that much of the aroma is lost by this method. In the second process boiling water is poured upon the ground coffee and allowed to stand for some time. This gives a highly aromatic but comparatively weak coffee. In the third process the coffee is boiled for about five or ten minutes. This gives a strong coffee, but much of the aroma is lost. Since these methods do not give an ideal coffee an eminent authority recommends a fourth, as follows: For three small cups of coffee take one ounce of finely ground coffee. Place three-fourths of this in the pot of boiling water and boil for five or ten minutes; then throw in the remaining one-fourth and remove from the fire at once, stirring for one minute. The first portion of the coffee gives strength , the second the flavor. It is not advisable to filter the coffee as it is apt to modify the aroma. Allow it to stand until the grounds have settled.