o twelve cents per pound because it did not, or would not
believe the reports of frost damage, and thought prices too high, was
frantically bidding up to twenty and twenty-two cents for 4s in March
and April, 1919. According to the ideas of some enthusiasts, fifty cents
was not an impossibility. Naturally such a bubble must burst eventually.
Government control had nothing to do with such natural conditions as
frost, or as the buyers' indifference. Expansion and inflation were in
the air, and had to run their course. The year 1920 brought the
aftermath; and in the deflation, coffee, with all other commodities,
went down to prices far below its intrinsic value. The expected European
demand did not materialize; the interior buyer was overloaded with
stock; and the losses of the coffee trade in 1920 will, it is to be
hoped, never be repeated.

_The Story of Soluble Coffee_

For nearly two decades, many coffee men and chemists have been seeking a
soluble coffee, or dried coffee extract, that would simplify the
preparation of the beverage. Thus far, all the products that have
appeared on the market are somewhat deficient in aroma and in the more
delicate flavors of coffee. A satisfying average cup of coffee can be
prepared from the better brands; the chief advantages of which are
rapidity of preparation, absence of any grounds, and uniformity of
drink.

Considerable progress has been made in certain directions; enough to
warrant telling here, though briefly, the story of soluble coffee to
date.

Some there are among trade experts and coffee connoisseurs who maintain
soluble coffee is an _ignis fatuus_; that it can never be manufactured
without destroying the aromatic principle; that at best it is a delusion
and a snare. Certainly, many absurd claims have been made for some of
the soluble coffees on the market. However, there are others that are
not without their merits; and the story of their introduction to the
trade and the consuming public is entertaining and instructive.

Dr. Sartori Kato, a Japanese chemist, of Tokio, brought a soluble tea to
Chicago about 1899. It was not a commercial success; but it served to
bring him in touch with some coffee men and chemists, for whom he
produced a soluble coffee in the same year. A company was organized to
promote the product. It was called the Kato Coffee Co., and included, in
addition to Dr. Kato; Fillip Kreissel, a chemist; W.R. Ruffner, a
green-coffee broker; and I.D. R