Essence of Coffee

[unclefrank]

I'm going to try making some of this stuff, and I have a recipe. Does anyone know how well the paste will keep before it goes bad? It's the milk part that worries me. Thanx all!

[Charles Heath]

Re: Essence of Coffee

Over 100 pages of rich, creamy, frothy, rations goodness:

What, you expect folks to actually read this stuff?

Essence will last well over a century without spoiling. Whether the flavor improves or not is up to the individual coffee drinker.

Not a bad link from an unapproved shoe vendor:

Cutting To The Chase & Sanborn

[rebinnj]

Re: Essence of Coffee

I made some last year, and used it for two events (these events were about two weeks apart). After that it had a funny smell, I didn't really want to take a chance so I tossed it out. Be sure to experiment, for my first batch I didn’t add enough condensed milk because I thought I would ruin the batch by thinning it way too much, but it condensed to real tough taffy and when cold, it is like rock candy, that I used by rifle butt to break it up.

[lambrew]

Re: Essence of Coffee

I made two batches. One with milk, one without two years ago. both are still good, and keeping very well. It did however take me three tries to get the recipe just right.

Happy drinking....
Sean Collicott

[mboyce]

Re: Essence of Coffee

I made some some and used it only lasted about a month, because I liked it so much that I drank it at home too. The problem I had is that I think I would get the water too hot, and it would "curdle" the milk most of the time.

[Prodical Reb]

Re: Essence of Coffee

I made a batch using the Fugawee recipe. I used the whole can of Bordens sweetened condensed milk. It kept in the refridgerator in a sealed (butter bowl) container for well over a year until the wife threw it out because she was cleaning the fridge and had been in there to long. It wasn't bad at that point yet. I liked to eat it as a sweet treat rather than w/hot water; kinda like a cappacino chew!
I was looking for a period container to carry it in that would one could open and close and get an army spoon in and out of. Never found one!

[ContinentalMorganGuard]

Re: Essence of Coffee

I make it all the time, and as long as I keep it in the fridge it stays good until I use it all up. But the first time I made it and kept it in the cuppboard it turned to penicillin in a few weeks.

[Charles Heath]

Re: Essence of Coffee

I was looking for a period container to carry it in that would one could open and close and get an army spoon in and out of. Never found one!

Mike,

The container quest is easier than you think, but more about that in a moment.

Coffee in itself is interesting enough. Hank posts this quote from "Coffee and Its Adulteration in New York," John C. Draper, The Galaxy, February 1869, from time to time, but it is worth repeating here:

The best coffee is the Mocha, the next is the Java, and closely approximating is the Jamaica and Berbice. (Domestic and Rural Affairs. Ed. by E. G. Storke, 1859.)

While good Rio coffee sells at 10 1/4 a 11 3/4 cts., and Java at 14 1/2 cts., chicory, roasted and ground, sells at 4 and 5 cts., and in its green and dried state sells at 1 and 2 cts. per pound. Hence the inducement for the perpetration of the fraud on such an immense scale. It has reached such a pitch that we doubt whether there is a coffee roaster or grinder in New York, Boston, or Philadelphia, that does not sell more or less ground coffee mixed with chicory... (The Coffee Trade--Its Production and Consumption, Debow's Review, Sept. 1857)

The character of coffee varies considerably with the climate and mode of culture. Consequently, several varieties exist in commerce, named usually from the sources from which they are derived. The Mocha coffee, which is in small and roundish grains, takes precedence of all others. The Java coffee is highly esteemed in this country; but our chief supplies are derived from the West Indies and South America. Some good coffee has been brought from Liberia. Coffee improves by age, losing a portion of its strength, and thus acquiring a more agreeable flavour. It is said to be much better when allowed to become perfectly ripe upon the tree, than as ordinarily colllected. The grains should be hard, and so heavy as readily to sink in water. (U.S. Dispensatory, 1851)

The varieties offered for sale in our market are: First, Mocha, which is distinguished by the smallness of its seed, and its bright yellow color; it is the most valuabl. Second, Java and Ceylon, or East Indian, of a pure yellow tint, large size, and next in value to the Mocha. Third, Maracaibo, La Guayra, or West Indian, of intermediate size and a greenish grey, or bluish grey color, and of the least value. So long as the seed is not roasted, there is but little difficulty in distinguishing between these three classes, and even after roasting, the aroma will enable an adept to determine with considerable accuracy between them; but if a small portion of Mocha is ground up with the inferior kinds it is very difficult to determine the sophistication, though there are some who can detect it whe the solution is made. Not only are there inferior varieties, but seeds of any variety may themselves be inferior; such may be distinguished by the fact that those of good quality are hard, and so heavy that they sinkat once when thrown on water; they have a faint coffee-like odor, are free from any smell of dampness or mouldiness, and possess a sweetish taste. When the seeds have not been properly cured, or where they have been subjected to the action of water during transportation by sea or land, these qualities are lost in a greater or less degree; and the opposite conditions prevail.... The foreign substances used in the adulteration of coffee are very numerous, but that generally employed is chiccory, succory, or wild endive...

In a recent 1862 commissary of subsistence document, the Rio coffee was being used for the enlisted men, and the Java coffee was purchased with the express intent of sales to officers. Where we'd normally see "Coffee, Roast and Ground" (or some variant thereof), actually spotting a breakdown between coffee varieties was pleasant.

Someone, and unfortunately I don't recall who, sent me a darn nice .pdf of an 1851 newspaper ad, and the ad is straightfoward enough:

Alden's Magic Coffee. This delicious preparation from pure coffee, combined with sugar and cream may be made ready for use in One Minute, by merely adding boiling water. One teaspoon of this paste will make a cup of high flavored, clarified coffee, sweetened and creamed. Put up in one pound cases.

Alden & Wilkinson, Proprietors 11 & 14 Wall-st., and at T. Hope & Co's. 132 Chambers St.

Source: New York Daily Times (1851-1857); Oct 10, 1851; ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851 - 2003) pg. 3

The above ad adds to the short list of "roofing tar" suppliers, with Tilden and Hummel being well known. The Tilden product could be had in 42-gallon barrels, which is probably not a single serving. ;)

The following is an excerpt from an article about our 2nd Bull Run NPS LH in Civil War Historian a couple of years ago.

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"Essence of Coffee

Essence of coffee receives much bad press in period accounts, but is really quite good. We used a receipt that has worked well for Marc Benedict of the 1st Minnesota, and improved upon it slightly by adding in the sweetened condensed milk per the period receipt. It only took about an hour to manufacture approximately 1.5 quarts of what looks much like old fashioned roofing tar. The amount produced was enough to fill approximately ten of the C & D Jarnagin tins provided for this very purpose. These coffee tins come complete with labels, and compare favorably with original tins of Essence of Coffee.

One teaspoon or less of this essence of coffee makes a cup of coffee, with the added benefit of no grounds to be skimmed through the teeth of the consumer. The second kettle of coffee made Sunday morning was simply an open can of essence thrown in the kettle, and we had some good stuff to drink. Randy Vallee, 2nd US Infantry, our bugler, was quickly addicted to this stuff.

Essence of Coffee

Ingredients:

6 – 8 oz jars instant freeze dried coffee
1 – 16 oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups water

Utensils:

Large wooden spoon
Table spoon
4 quart stock pot

Instructions:

Put four ounces of water in the pot, and add the contents from one jar of the freeze dried coffee. After this is mixed and grainy, start this goo on very low heat. Add water one tablespoonful at a time, and stir gentle. After the first jar becomes the consistency of molasses, add the whole can of sweetened condensed milk. Add in the other five jars of instant, freeze dried coffee and water one spoonful at a time until the substance becomes as if good grade of roofing tar. If the mix looks like a liquid Nestlé’s Crunch candy bar, then add a little more water. If it looks like soup, let it evaporate a little longer. This whole process takes less than 30 minutes.

Presentation:

One teaspoonful of Essence makes a cup of coffee, and one entire can dropped into a medium size mess kettle of boiling water will make enough for a platoon of men.
Documentation suggests the coffee came in several different types and size containers; however, a commercially available small tin container with a dandy label with both German and English instructions can be had from C & D Jarnagin at

http://www.jarnaginco.com/CWUtencilsboxescans.html

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The current tins are not what they were 10-15 years ago, but they will suffice. Some of the fellows still carry original essence of coffee tins in the field (even with the original labels intact), but a misstep on a haversack can send a nice relic to oblivion. You can also get very similar (if not exactly the same) tins to the ones in the link above for far less from McMaster-Carr, and if you are prepping 10-12 pounds of essence of coffee for distribution, the cost savings can be substantial.

I store my excess essence of coffee in a steel cut oatmeal tin in the pantry. If properly made, it really doesn't need to be chilled. Perhaps not a period serving suggestion, but it is pretty darn good as an ice cream topping, too.

[Prodical Reb]

Re: Essence of Coffee

Charles,
Who or what is McMaster-Carr? Thanks Mike

[Charles Heath]

Re: Essence of Coffee

Mike,

McMaster-Carr is like a larger version of the local Grainger store; however, they have drastically reduced their tin container selection since the last catalog (drats), but here is the URL:

McMaster-Carr

To cut to the chase, their tin source (with a larger product line) is:

Specialty Bottle Co.

For personal use, some of the usual gaggle of CW hobby tinsmiths used to manufacture a much better product, and a few emails and phone calls may discover that they still do.

[Prodical Reb]

Re: Essence of Coffee

Charles Thanks!

[Charles Heath]

Re: Essence of Coffee

Mike,

Take the time to read through the first 30 pages or so of this Senate document from Googlebooks. Some of the pages are out of order, and the repetitive endorsements can be a bit tedious, but the information about Tilden's, Bordens, and American Desiccating Co., extracts of coffee is very good in terms of pricing, transportation savings, packaging, and even the addition of chicory. I left out at least one of these firms in a period post....oops.

Here's the link:

Coffee Extract Information

This clears up a few things, and adds a few more questions, but just look at the list of regiments that have petitioned for extract of coffee!

[Silas]

Re: Essence of Coffee

So much effort in discussing the production of bad coffee. When old fashioned beans spill from their container, they don't leave a sticky mess. Want instant coffee? Try this : before you bed down, remove the government issue grinder from the scabbard attached to your belt, grind the beans, fill your boiler with water, add the beans to the water, roll into your blanket, go to sleep, roll out of bed, bring the water to a boil, remove the boiler from the fire, pour the mixture slowly into your dipper. Drink.

Leaving the ground beans in water overnight leaches the essence into the water. You don't want to boil the water any longer than necessary to bring it to the desired temperature for drinking. The only hazard is the placement of the boiler overnight. Jonahs have a way of tripping over it during the night. An, "oh, sorry," just don't make adequate restitution for the loss of a necessary beverage to the caffeine addicted and afflicted.

[Charles Heath]

Re: Essence of Coffee

Silas,

Actual field practice indicates removing the lid from a container of "Coffee a la Goo" is quite the challenge, and in some cases requiring the assistance of a torpedo or 32-pound shell to separate the two pieces of tin. Great care must be taken, lest the entire platoon be immediately coated with brown coffee tar, and, thusly confused with wandering minstrels.

Thousands of loyal legionaires who enjoy that early morning sawmill time just before the bugler blows, are happy you grind your beans in the evening rather than wake up at 4:15 a.m. and commence crunching, rattling, tinkling, and jiggling mess cup, bayonet, and what sounds like an entire brigade band composed of nothing more than the contents from a train of tinkers and the inmates of the simian cage from the zoo. Grind. Grind. Grind. Curse. Grind. Grind. Spill. Curse loudly. Grind. Grind. Smartass remark from neighbor. Grind. Grind.

I, myself, enjoy loading up a kettle with coffee (roasted & ground) the night before, thus being able to set it directly on the fire (that the guards neglected to keep going) early in the morning, so that men fresh from nature's own sinks (the woodline, or sidewall of the officer's tents, whichever is closest) can prance and skip to the firepit to inqure at 4:55 a.m.: "IS THE COFFEE READY? IS THAT COFFEE? CAN I HAVE SOME?"

A smart man puts the slop bucket near the fire with a ladle hanging out of it during the hours of darkness, thus preventing that especial question from that one individual ever again.

Only the US Senate could make that much ado over roofing tar sold as coffee.

[mturk64]

Re: Essence of Coffee

Specialty Bottle offers an amazing array of tin containers at a disturbingly low price...so low that I had to order just to see whether they were worth 63 cents each (compared to $10 plus from Jarnagin)