,
chief chemist of the Canadian Inland Revenue Department, suggested an
improvement upon Baron von Liebig's method, whereby Canadians might
obtain an ideal cup of coffee. It was to combine two well-known methods.
One was to boil a quantity of ground coffee to get a maximum of body or
soluble matter. The other was to percolate a similar quantity to get the
needed caffeol. By combining the decoction and the infusion, a finished
beverage rich in body and aroma might be had. Most Canadians continue to
drink tea, however, although coffee consumption is increasing.

MEXICO. In Mexico, the natives have a custom peculiarly their own. The
roasted beans are pounded to a powder in a cloth bag which is then
immersed in a pot of boiling water and milk. The _vaquero_, however,
pours boiling water on the powdered coffee in his drinking cup, and
sweetens it with a brown sugar stick.

Among the upper classes in Mexico the following interesting method
obtains for making coffee:

Roast one pound until the beans are brown inside. Mix with the
roasted coffee one teaspoonful of butter, one of sugar, and a
little brandy. Cover with a thick cloth. Cool for one hour; then
grind. Boil one quart of water. When boiling, put in the coffee and
remove from fire immediately. Let it stand a few hours, and strain
through a flannel bag, and keep in a stone jar until required for
use; then heat quantity required.

[Illustration: SIDEWALK CAFE, LISBON]

UNITED STATES. In no country has there been so marked an improvement in
coffee making as in the United States. Although in many parts, the
national beverage is still indifferently prepared, the progress made in
recent years has been so great that the friends of coffee are hopeful
that before long it may be said truly that coffee making in America is a
national honor and no longer the national disgrace that it was in the
past.

[Illustration: THESE COFFEE POTS ARE WIDELY USED IN SWEDEN FOR BOILING
COFFEE

Left, copper pot with wooden handle and iron legs designed to stand in
the coals--Center, glass-globe pot, for stove use, enclosed in
felt-lined brass cosey--Right, hand-made hammered-brass kettle for stove
use]

Already, in the more progressive homes, and in the best hotels and
restaurants, the coffee is uniformly good, and the service all that it
should be. The American breakfast cup is a food-beverage because of the
additions of milk or cream and sugar; and u