Buy none except the very best coffee. A mixture of Mocha and Java in equal proportions is perhaps the most popular with good judges of the beverage.

"Coffee," says the dietetist whom we have quoted so often in these pages, "owes its stimulant effect of the circulatory and nervous systems to the theime (or caffeine) and aromatic oil present. In order that coffee may be enjoyed in perfection, not only must it be free from admixture with the cheap and miserable adulterants commonly stated to improve its taste, but it must be freshly roasted to the right extent, freshly ground, and so made into a beverage that its soluble constituents are extracted without dissipating the aroma."

Soyer, the distinguished French cook, contended that coffee should never be boiled. He was as strenuous in insisting that it must always be run twice (at least) through the strainer or filter attached to the French "biggin" or coffee-pot. When made, the coffee should be clear, bright, and have almost the color of strong old brandy.

Breakfast Coffee

A half-pint of ground coffee; a quart of freshly boiled water. It must be on the active boil. Put the coffee into the filter, or strainer, set the pot on the side of the range and pour the water (measured) from a boiling kettle into the upper strainer, until the whole quart is in. Wait until it has filtered through, when pour through the spout of the lower pot into a saucepan or other hot vessel, and run it again through the filter. Do this three times, let the coffee-pot stand for three or four minutes in boiling water to make it scalding-hot, and serve by pouring it into a heated silver pot or directly into hot cups. It must not boil after it is made.

Black, Or After-Dinner Coffee

One cupful of freshly ground coffee; three large cupfuls of freshly boiled water. Make as directed in last recipe, running through the filter three times. Serve in small cups, and give the drinkers their choice of sugar or no sugar.

Black coffee is a good digestive agent and is far more whole-some than coffee mixed with cream or milk.

Cafe Au Lait

One-half cupful of ground coffee; two cupfuls of boiling water; one cupful and a half of fresh milk.

Make the coffee in the usual way. Strain into a coffee-pot or pitcher, add the milk, scalding-hot, and set for five minutes, closely covered, in boiling water.

When allowed to cool and then iced this is a favorite beverage at hot-weather luncheons and picnics.