1892 Drinks of the world

DRINKS.

297

very tall and large, on which this fruit grows, in clusters, ten or twelve of them together ; the outside of it is red, with some mixture of blue ; and the inside, when cut, violet colour and brown. It comes once a year, is of a harsh, sharp taste, but quenches the thirst, and makes water relish so well, that most of the Blacks carry it about them, wheresoever they go, frequently chewing, and some eat it all day, but forbear at night, believing it hinders their sleeping. The whole country abounds in this Cola, which yields the natives consider- able profit, selling it to their neighbours up in the in- land ; who, as some Blacks told me, sell it again to a sort of white men, who repair to them at a certain time of the year, and take off great quantities of it. These white men are suppos'd to be of Morocco or Barbary, for the English of Bence island assur'd me, there was a great quantity carry'd yearly by land to Tunis and Tripoli, in Barbary!^ So we see that, although a fair trade was done in Kola over 150 years ago, it is only beginning to be known in Europe. In Congo it is called Makasso, and Guru in Soudan, and the seeds or nuts are used in West and Central Africa to make a refreshing beverage, which is some- what allied to tea, and which has the same active principle as cocoa, without so much fatty matter. It is refreshing, invigorating, and has digestive proper- In the West Indies it is sometimes used by the negroes to counteract the effects of intoxication. It grows in pods, which contains several seeds, about the size of a horse chestnut. At present it is only used as ties.