MEDICAL.

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 7221, 17 July 1884, Page 4

MEDICAL.

Coffee and Tea. Perhaps the most brilliant address which has yet been delivered at the Parkes Museum since the evening lectures have been inaugurated was that given by Dr G-. V. Pooie on December 0. Sir Henry Thompson occupied the chair, and amongst the audience were to be seen Dr. Russel Reynolds, Mr Berkeley Hill, Professor Corfield, and other distinguished medical men. The subject chosen by the lecturer was “ Coffee and Tea." After stating his belief that stimulants, both alcoholic and alkaloidal, had their uses, and that wo ought to bo sure of our ground before we attempt to override appetite by dogma—as the Mahomedans had done—Dr. Poore proceeded to contrast “ Coffee with Tea.” The cup of coffee, provided it were genuine, contained more alkaloidal stimulant than the cup of tea, and owing to the absence of tannin the action of coffee was more rapid than that of tea. The specific gravity of a cup of tea was about 1003, that of strong coffee 1009, and of cafe-au-lait, sweetened, 1035. Tea was more of a pure beverage than oofl'eo, an hence it was possible to use it as a mere luxury, for it required scarcely any digestive effort, and did not “ cloy ” the palate. The danger of excessive tea-drink-ing lay mainly in the, largo amount of astringent matter. This was a most potent cause of dyspepsia amongst women of the sempstress class, who frequently consumed tea which had been boiled. When the system stood in need of a stimulant there was nothing equal to a cup of strong coffee ; and if it were desired to wean the drunkard from his spirits a real stimulant must be supplied, and not the sickly, bitter, unwholesome stuff which was called “coffee” in this country. In order to make good coffee the berry must be fresh roasted and ground. There was no difficulty whatever in roasting coffee, and this ought to bo part of the daily routine of every well-regulated household. It was important to use enough coffee ; one and a half to two ounces of coffee to a pint of water made a first-rate beverage. Elaborate coffee machines for grinding were by no means necessary. If the coffee required for breakfast were put into a common earthenware jug overnight, and cold water poured upon it, it might bo heated to the boiling point in the morning by being allowed to stand in a saucepan of water over the fire. Violent ebullition was thus avoided, and the aroma was preserved. Chicory and other allied bodies arc in no way substitutes for coffee,’for they possess no stimulant p>roperties. Out of ninety samples of ground coffee purchased in London shops only five were found to bo genuine.—Lancet.