All About Coffee Part 125

J.C. Prims, of Battle Creek, Mich., was granted a United States patent in 1908, on a corrugated cylinder improvement for a gas and coal roaster designed for retail stores. The A.J. Deer Co., Hornell, N.Y., acquired this machine in 1909, and began to market it as the Royal coffee roaster. An improvement patented in 1915 by J.C. Prims was a.s.signed to the A.J. Deer Co.

In 1915, and again in 1919, Jabez Burns & Sons, New York, patented their Jubilee roaster, an inner-heated machine in which the gas is burned inside a revolving cylinder in a combustion chamber protected from direct coffee contact. The heat is deflected downward and then pa.s.ses upward through the coffee.

In 1919, William Fullard (_d._ 1921), of Philadelphia, was granted a United States patent on a "heated fresh air system" roaster, in which the fresh air is forced by an electric fan through a pipe to a set of coils over gas, coal, or oil flame. At the top of the coils is a manifold, the hot air being forced through small holes to circulate in and around a regulation perforated roasting cylinder; the vapors and spent air are then drawn into an overhead exhaust pipe that connects with a pipe provided with a fresh-air intake, the idea being to return them to the roasting cylinder after being mixed with fresh air and heated in the coils as before. This patent has not been successfully marketed at the time of writing. The purpose is to roast by heated air not mixed with any furnace gases. Whether this can be done with sufficient fuel economy, and whether coffee thus roasted would have any greater value, are questions that are raised by the coffee experts.

_Coffee-Grinding and Coffee-Making Chronology_

To return to our coffee-grinding and coffee-making chronology, it is to be noted that in 1875-76-78, Turner Strowbridge, of New Brighton, Pa., was granted three United States patents on a box coffee mill, first made by Logan & Strowbridge, later the Logan & Strowbridge Iron Company, the latter being succeeded by the Wrightsville Hardware Co. in 1906.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MAGIC GAS MACHINE (FRENCH)]

In 1878, a United States patent was issued to Rudolphus L. Webb, a.s.signor to Landers, Frary & Clark, New Britain, Conn., on an improved box coffee grinder for home use.

In 1878, and in 1880, United States patents were issued to John C. Dell of Philadelphia on a store coffee mill.

In 1879, and in 1880, United States patents were issued to Orson W.

Stowe, of the Peck, Stowe & Wilc.o.x Co., Southington, Conn., on a household coffee mill.

In 1879, Charles Halstead, of New York, was granted the first United States patent on a metal coffee pot having a china interior. It was an infuser for home use.

In 1880, coffee pots, with tops having muslin bottoms for clarifying and straining, were first made in the United States by the Duparquet, Huot & Moneuse Co., of New York.

The name Hungerford first appears in the United States patent records in 1880-81, in connection with patents granted to G.W. and G.S. Hungerford on machines for cleaning, scouring, and polishing coffee. In 1882, the Hungerfords, father and son, brought out a roaster. This machine and the one patented by Chris Abele, of New York, already referred to, were constructions resulting from the expiration of the original Burns patent of 1864. In 1881, Jabez Burns patented the improved Burns roaster, comprising a turn-over front head serving for both feeding and discharging. Additional United States coffee-roaster patents were issued to G.W. Hungerford in 1887-89. In the latter year, David Fraser, who came to the United States from Glasgow in 1886, established the Hungerford Co., succeeding the business of the Hungerfords, and later being granted certain United States patents, already mentioned. In 1910, the Hungerford Co. business was discontinued in New York; and David B.

Fraser moved to Jersey City, where he continued to operate as the Fraser Manufacturing Co. This business was discontinued in 1918.

Chris Abele was an active compet.i.tor of the Hungerfords and of the Fraser Manufacturing Co.; and his Knickerbocker roaster was sold over a wide territory. He died in 1910; and his son-in-law, Gottfried Bay, succeeded to the business.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BURNS JUBILEE GAS MACHINE]

In 1881, the Morgan Brothers, Edgar H. and Charles, began the manufacture of household coffee mills, the business being acquired in 1885 by the Arcade Manufacturing Co., of Freeport, Ill. The latter concern brought out the first pound coffee mill in 1889. Its mills became very popular in the United States. In 1900, Charles Morgan was granted a United States patent on a gla.s.s-jar coffee mill, with removable gla.s.s measuring cup.

[Ill.u.s.tration: DOUBLE AROMATIC GAS ROASTING OUTFIT (FRENCH)]

In 1881, Harvey Ricker, of Brooklyn, later of Minneapolis, introduced to the trade in the United States a "minute coffee pot" and urn known as the Boss, the name being subsequently changed to Minute. He improved and patented the device in 1901 as the Half-Minute coffee pot. It is a filtration device employing a cotton sack with a thickened bottom.

In 1882, Chris Abele, of New York, patented an improvement on the old-style Burns roaster, with openings cut in the front plate. It was known as the Knickerbocker. As already noted, the machine was a compet.i.tor of the Hungerford machine patented the same year.

In 1882, a German patent was granted to Emil Newstadt, of Berlin, on one of the earliest coffee-extract machines.

In 1883, Jabez Burns was granted a United States patent on his improved sample-coffee roaster.

In 1884, the Star coffee pot, later known as the Marion Harland, was introduced to the trade. It employed a wire-gauze drip device, called a "filter," which was fitted to a metal pot. It was extensively advertised and attained considerable popularity. The same year, Finley Acker, of Philadelphia, brought out an improved coffee pot for family trade.

Later, he produced his Mo-Kof-Fee pot and an individual porcelain drip pot for testing-table use.

In 1885, F.A. Cauchois, New York, brought out an improved porcelain-lined urn.

In 1887-88, the Etruscan coffee pot was invented and put on the market by the Etruscan Coffee Pot Co., of Philadelphia. It employed a muslin cylinder with metal ends and a mechanism for combining "agitation, distillation and infusion." It was not unlike the Dakin device of 1848, previously mentioned.

In 1890, A. Mottant, Bar-le-Duc, France, began to manufacture a line of coffee-roasting machinery which included vertical ball-and-cylinder machines, using wood, coal, c.o.ke, or gas for fuel. His best known makes are Magic and Sirocco (see page 642).

Before 1895, the commercial roaster was little used in France. Since then, the industry has developed, but without displacing the smaller roaster for family use. Ball roasters are popular with shop-keepers, especially the variety manufactured by the etabliss.e.m.e.nts Lauzaune at Paris, and known as Aromatic, being equipped with electric motors. This firm builds also a larger machine known as Moderne.

Other makes of roasters that have attained prominence in France are the Lambert, equipped with a steam condenser; Van den Brouck's, having the roasting cylinder lined with wire gauze; and Resson's machine for wholesale plants.

The French led off with gla.s.s-cylinder roasters for home use in the early seventies. They are still popular. One of the developments of the last decade was known as the Bijou, and was operated by clock work. A similar automatic machine, made of gla.s.s, was manufactured and sold in New York in 1908 under the name of the Home roaster. As late as 1914, an American inventor produced a home roaster for use in a stove hole. This device had a stirrer in the cover to be rotated by hand. A similar device was sold in 1917 under the name Savo. Home roasting, however, has become a lost art in America.

[Ill.u.s.tration: LAMBERT'S VICTORY GAS MACHINE]

In 1897, Joseph Lambert, of Vermont, began the manufacture and sale in Battle Creek, Mich., of the Lambert self-contained coffee roaster without the brick setting then required for coffee-roasting machines. In 1900, he was joined by A.P. Grohens. In 1901, the Lambert Food and Machinery Co. was organized. In 1904, the company was reorganized. Since then, many improvements have been made under Mr. Grohens' direction. The Lambert gas roaster, one of the first machines employing gas as fuel for indirect roasting, dates back to 1901, as previously mentioned. The Economic roaster is Mr. Grohens' latest development for coal or c.o.ke fuel. It is a compact self-contained equipment operating in connection with a new-type rotary cooler. He has also recently (1922) brought out a gas-fired, electrically operated 600-pound Victory roaster and a fifty-pound miniature coffee-roasting plant designed for retail stores.

In 1897, the Enterprise Manufacturing Co. of Pennsylvania was the first regularly to employ electric motors for driving commercial coffee mills by means of belt-and-pulley attachments.

In 1898, the Hobart Manufacturing Co., of Troy, Ohio, introduced to the trade another early coffee grinder connected with an electric motor and driven by belt-and-pulley attachment.

In 1900, the first gear-driven electric coffee grinder was put on the market by the Enterprise Manufacturing Co. of Pennsylvania.

In 1902, the Coles Manufacturing Co., (Braun Co., successor) and Henry Troemner, of Philadelphia, began the manufacture and sale of gear-driven electric coffee grinders.

In 1905, the A.J. Deer Co., Buffalo, N.Y., (now at Hornell, N.Y.) began to sell its Royal electric coffee mills direct to dealers on the instalment plan, revolutionizing the former practise of selling coffee mills through hardware jobbers.

In 1905, H.L. Johnston was granted a United States patent on a coffee mill. He a.s.signed the patent to the Hobart Manufacturing Co.

In 1900, Charles Lewis was granted a United States patent on an improved reversible filtration coffee pot known as the Kin-Hee. This pot has since been further improved, and the patent rights sold in several foreign countries. It employs a filter cloth in place of the metal or china strainer used in the French drip pot.

In 1901, Landers, Frary & Clark's improved Universal percolator was patented in the United States. This pot has proved to be one of the most popular percolators on the American market. This firm brought out the Universal Cafenoira, a double gla.s.s filtration device, in 1916. It is covered by design and structural patents issued in 1916 and 1917.

In 1900, the Burns swing-gate sample-roasting outfit was patented in the United States.

In 1901, Robert Burns, of New York, was granted two United States patents on a coffee roaster and cooler.

In 1901, Freidrich Kuchelmeister, Brux, Austria-Hungary, was granted a United States patent on a coffee roaster having a double-walled drum, the inner being of wire gauze, and the outer of solid iron, designed to prevent scorching of the beans.

In 1902, W.M. Still & Sons, London, were granted an English patent on a steam coffee-making machine employing twelve ounces of coffee to the gallon.

In 1902, T.K. Baker, of Minneapolis, was granted two United States patents on a cloth-filter coffee-making device.

In 1903, A.E. Bronson, Jr., a.s.signor to the Bronson-Walton Company, Cleveland, Ohio, was granted a United States patent on a coffee mill.

In 1903, John Arbuckle was granted a United States patent on a coffee-roasting apparatus employing a fan to force the hot fire gases into the roasting cylinder. From this was developed the Jumbo roaster, now used in the Arbuckle plant, which roasts ten thousand pounds an hour.

_Electric Coffee-Roasting_

In 1903, George C. Lester, of New York, was granted a United States patent on an electric coffee roaster, that is, a machine to roast by electric heat. There were two cylinders, the inner being of wire gauze, and the outer of copper and asbestos. Between the two, four electric heaters were placed.

There was demonstrated in Germany, in 1906, an electric coffee roaster employing a number of resistance coils, consisting of strips of Krupp metal two and one-half mm. thick, five mm. broad, and thirteen and one-half mm. long, wound on porcelain tubes, which transmitted the heat to the air within the roasting cylinder. a.n.a.lysis showed that coffee electrically roasted contained more substances soluble in water than that roasted by c.o.ke, as well as considerably more material soluble in ether. This machine was invented by Captain Carl Moegling about 1900.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ONE OF THE FIRST ELECTRIC COFFEE MILLS]