WHEN practically all coffees were sold as either Java or Java and Mocha, the housekeeper was perfectly satisfied. She knew exactly what it was she wanted, and expected to get it at whatever price suited her fancy. When she objected to paying thirty-five to forty cents the pound there was not the slightest difficulty in accommodating her, and even at less than twenty cents, pound packages could be obtained, branded in large type with the magic words, " Old Government Java and Mocha Coffee."

A great change in the methods of preparing and labeling foods has taken place within the last few years due to the enactment of the Food and Drugs Act of June 30th, 1906. A multitude of masqueraders have been unmasked, and many thousands of packages must now stand forth for what they really are. The housekeeper is all at sea. The coffee does not taste the same as it used to. Great has been the fall, far-reaching the frauds that have been stopped. Therefore, it is not strange to find the housekeeper slow to look with favor on the package commodity that for many years has been grossly misrepresented.

Briefly, a few of the coffees that were offered under a Java and Mocha label and that found favor so long as the price was low and they made a good appearance, were as follows: Santos coffee from Brazil was the worst offender, for the reason that about three times more coffee is grown there than is grown in all the other coffee-producing countries put together, and naturally over seventy-five per cent of our breakfast beverage is that particular growth. Santos coffees were packed straight or in combination with small amounts of other coffees as Java, or Java and Mocha, and sold at the lowest possible figures. When a slightly better value was desired, a percentage of Maracaibo was used with Santos or with the smaller bean Bourbon-Santos, this latter combination more nearly resembling the genuine Java and Mocha in appearance.

Other packers claimed that a Bucaramanga was not only similar in style to a Sumatra coffee, then known as Java, but of the same character in the cup. Some dealers have even contended that it was impossible to detect any difference. There were therefore combinations of Bucaramanga and small bean Bourbon-Santos sold as Java and Mocha.

A degree higher in cup quality, as well as in price, are combinations of Bogota and Bourbon-Santos. Eliminating the packages containing Brazil coffee only, and no other combination of coffees has had so wide a distribution as Java and Mocha. An acid Bourbon-Santos is the nearest approach in the cup to Mocha of any coffee grown, and it is supposed to have been cultivated in the first instance from Mocha seed. In appearance it is far superior to the irregular quakerish Mocha, though usually equally inferior in the cup. This is not always the case, as there are winey Bourbon coffees that out-drink some of the world-famed coffees from Arabia, although such coffees are rare.

Bogota (Colombian coffee) found a market as Java, or, in connection with Bourbon-Santos, as Java and Mocha, for three reasons: First, the price was less than demanded for coffees from the Dutch East Indies. Second, the roast was very much handsomer than that of coffees from Java or Sumatra, excepting certain washed types. Third, on account of the real merit there is in this growth of coffee.

It should be noted that some of the finest coffees grown, equaling if not exceeding the coffees of the Dutch East Indies, are produced in Colombia (Bogota), Guatemala, and in Mexico.

It has been frequently stated that the housekeeper was more or less responsible for the misbranding of coffee. There is some truth in the statement, for the consumer has insisted upon obtaining Java and Mocha at whatever price it was their purpose to pay. However that may be, it also is quite true that the buyer for the most part received fair value for the amount paid. Whose ever the fault, the fact remains that under the proper labels many brands are for the most part decidedly unsatisfactory in the cup. The housekeeper is beginning to realize that she has been purchasing a much lower grade of goods than she supposed. In other words, the veneer is off, the true material stands revealed, and she doesn't like it because it is not what she supposed it to be.

Naturally the questions arise, What is a good coffee? How is the purchaser to know what to ask for, and is it possible to get Java and Mocha? In this discussion we must eliminate coffees bought for a price, or those bought for a premium. Neither of these propositions results in satisfactory brands of coffees.

Rio coffee is harsh and unpleasant in taste, and demand for it is rapidly decreasing. Santos coffees with even a touch of the harsh Rio tang are to be avoided, and although smooth drinking Santos coffees have a place, they are rather lacking in character and snap. A combination of Venezuelan coffee known as Maracaibo with Santos is the next step toward desirable cup results. This coffee, however, is inclined to be irregular in roast and does not produce uniform results in the cup, as it is inclined to turn bitter if permitted to stand even a short time.

Maracaibo coffees, as a rule, are heavier in the cup than Santos, more decided in character, but more uncertain in cup results. They are also inclined to be irregular roasters.

Above this we reach the coffee of Colombia known as Bogota. Many satisfactory blends are combinations of Bogota and Bourbon-Santos in varying proportions. There is nothing in a moderate price coffee that will give better results than a blend composed of two parts full-bodied Bogota and one part acid Bourbon-Santos. Properly made a smooth palatable liquor results. Bogota coffee develops into a large handsome bean, a uniform roaster, full of flavor, body, and aroma. The stripe down the center of the bean is pronounced and at one end this stripe is inclined to make a slight twist or turn. It is a very satisfactory coffee to use alone, and if the housewife can purchase a good Bogota it is always possible for her to prepare a good cup of coffee.