Coffee

To have coffee in perfection the berry must be freshly roasted and freshly ground. This can be done with frying-, pan and pistol-butt; yet few but old-timers take the trouble.

There are two ways of making good coffee in an ordinary pot. (1) Put coffee in pot with cold water (one heaped tablespoonful freshly ground to one pint, or more, if canned ground) and hang over fire. Watch it, and when water first begins to bubble, remove pot from fire and let it stand five minutes. Settle grounds with a tablespoonful of cold water poured down spout. Do not let the coffee boil. Boiling extracts the tannin, and drives off the volatile aroma which is the most precious gift of superior berries. (2) Bring water to hard boil, remove from fire, and quickly put coffee in. Cover tightly and let steep ten minutes. A better way, when you have a seamless vessel that will stand dry heat, is to put coffee in, place over gentle fire to roast until aroma begins to rise, pour boiling water oyer the coffee, cover tightly, and set aside.

Tea

Pour boiling water over tea (one heaped teaspoonful tea to the pint), cover tightly, and steep away from fire four minutes by the watch. Then, if you have no percolator, strain into separate vessel. If tea is left steeping more than five or six minutes the result is a liquor that will tan skin into leather.

To boil tea is—well, it is like watering a rare vintage. You know what the old Colonel said: "My friend, if you put water in that wine, God'll never forgive you!"

Chocolate

Fot each quart of boiling water scrape up four tablespoonfuls of chocolate. Boil until dissolved. Then add half a pint milk. Stir with a peeled stick until milk has boiled up once. Let each man sweeten his own cup.