Coffee and Chicory

Simmonds, P. L. (Peter Lund), 1814-1897Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.3

Word count: 178K words
Chapters: 18

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Coffee and Chicory: by P. L. SimmondsAuthor: Simmonds, P. L. (Peter Lund), 1814-1897,Language: English, Class: SB: Agriculture: Plant culture, Release Date: Jun 16, 2018

Editor's review

This book is a monograph on coffee and chicory by P. L. Simmonds, a nineteenth-century English writer on botany and commerce. It belongs to the literature of agricultural plant cultivation and has been prepared by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain e-book. Its value lies not in serving as a practical growing manual for today but in offering a historical snapshot: how nineteenth-century Europeans understood coffee as a tropical crop, how they discussed chicory as a substitute for or adulterant of coffee, and how commodities, cultivation, and diet were written about at the time. The book shows the period's characteristic interweaving of botanical description and commercial concern, and is of documentary value to those studying food history, colonial trade history, and agricultural literature. It is suited to reading as supplementary material for specialized research, or for browsing by readers interested in old natural-history writing. Note that it is a historical text whose plant classification, processing methods, and market judgments carry the limitations of its era; it should not be used as a modern guide to coffee cultivation or food safety.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Scholars and graduate students studying nineteenth-century agricultural and botanical literature
Readers interested in the history of food commodities such as coffee and chicory
General readers who enjoy browsing public-domain natural-history and commercial writing
Those who need original English materials for translation or textual analysis

Not a good fit for

Readers looking for modern coffee-growing techniques and practical roasting manuals
Those expecting systematic food science or nutritional knowledge
Beginners who struggle with English reading and need extensive annotations
Readers who want only light stories or literary works

Reading tips

Read the table of contents and introduction first to establish the book's scope, then selectively read closely the chapters on coffee and chicory.
Take notes on nineteenth-century botanical descriptions and commodity ideas as you read, comparing them with present-day common knowledge rather than adopting them directly.
For research, pair the book with secondary literature on food history or colonial trade history and use it as primary material.
For the English original, read through once for the gist, then excerpt and translate key passages as practice.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book suitable as a modern guide to coffee cultivation?

No. It is a nineteenth-century historical document discussing the botanical understanding, cultivation ideas, and commodity conditions of its time, and its classification, methods, and judgments carry the limitations of that era. For coffee growing or processing today, consult modern agronomy and food science; this book is better read as historical background and primary material.

What role does chicory play in the book?

Judging from the title and the author's nineteenth-century commercial-writing context, chicory appears as an object discussed alongside coffee, usually in connection with its use as a substitute or adulterant. Specific arguments should be checked against the original text; readers may understand it within the context of European food commodities and dietary habits of the time, rather than as present-day dietary advice.

Can I read it without a background in botany?

Yes, but expectations should be adjusted. The book contains period botanical descriptions and commercial terminology; without a foundation, there is no need to grasp every point—first get the gist and themes, then use reference works to check key concepts. If the aim is to understand the historical scene rather than master botanical knowledge, the barrier to entry is not high.

This is a public-domain e-book; what should I keep in mind when reading it?

This book is released by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain electronic text, so its layout and proofreading differ from a printed book, and old spellings or scanning artifacts may appear. Read primarily for content and compare questionable words with other editions; when citing, note the source and version information, and avoid treating typographical issues in the electronic text as errors in the original.

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About the author

Simmonds, P. L. (Peter Lund), 1814-1897 Author

P. L. Simmonds (Peter Lund Simmonds, 1814–1897) was a nineteenth-century British writer and compiler. Public information about his life is limited, and many details of his biography remain unclear; today he is known mainly through the works he left behind. Two of his works are held here, both concerned with practical economic and commodity knowledge. The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom gives a systematic account of plant products used in trade and industry, ranging across the continents and showing his sustained attention to raw materials, processing and market circulation. Coffee and Chicory focuses on coffee and chicory as beverage ingredients, discussing their properties, uses and the question of blending. His writing is distinguished by careful compilation, clear organization and a practical emphasis, offering useful texts for the study of nineteenth-century commercial products and everyday consumption.