-r
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
COCOA AND
CHOCOLATE
Thar History
from Plantation to Consumer
By
ARTHUR W. KNAPP
B.Sc (B'ham.), F.I.C., B.Sc (Lond.)
Member of the Society of Public Analysts; Member of the Society
of Chemical Industry ; Fellow of the Institute of Hygiene.
Research Chemist to Messrs. Cadbury Bros., Ltd.
LONDON
CHAPMAN AND HALL, Ltd.
1920
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2007 with funding from
Microsoft Corporation
http://www.archive.org/details/cocoachocolatethOOknapuoft
PREFACE
ALTHOUGH there are several excellent scien-
tific works dealing in a detailed manner with
the cacao bean and its products from the various
view points of the technician, there is no comprehen-
sive modern work written for the general reader. Until
that appears, I offer this little book, which attempts to
cover lightly but accurately the whole ground, includ-
ing the history of cacao, its cultivation and manufacture.
This is a small book in which to treat of so large a
subject, and to avoid prolixity I have had to generalise.
This is a dangerous practice, for what is gained in
brevity is too often lost in accuracy : brevity may be
always the soul of wit, it is rarely the body of truth.
The expert will find that I have considered him in that
I have given attention to recent developments, and if
I have talked of the methods peculiar to one place as
though they applied to the whole world, I ask him to
consider me by supplying the inevitable variations and
exceptions himself.
The book, though short, has taken me a long time to
write, having been written in the brief breathing spaces
of a busy life, and it would never have been completed
but for the encouragement I received from Messrs.
Cadbury Bros., Ltd., who aided me in every possible
way. I am particularly indebted to the present Lord
Mayor of Birmingham, Mr. W. A. Cadbury, for advice
and criticism, and to Mr. Walter Barrow for reading
the proofs. The members of the staff to whom I am
indebted are Mr. W. Pickard, Mr. E. J. Organ, Mr.
T. B. Rogers ; also Mr. A. Hackett, for whom the
diagrams in the manufacturing section were originally
made by Mr. J. W. Richards. I am grateful to Messrs.
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
J. S. Fry and Sons, Limited, for information and
photographs. In one or two cases I do not know whom
to thank for the photographs, which have been culled
from many sources. I have much pleasure in thanking
the following : Mr. R. Whymper for a large number of
Trinidad photos ; the Director of the Imperial In-
stitute and Mr. John Murray for permission to use
three illustrations from the Imperial Institute series
of handbooks to the Commercial Resources of the
Tropics ; M. Ed. Leplae, Director-General of Agri-
culture, Belgium, for several photos, the blocks of
which were kindly supplied by Mr. H. Hamel Smith,
of Tropical Life ; Messrs. Macmillan and Co. for five
reproductions from C. J. J. van Hall's book on Cocoa ;
and West Africa for four illustrations of the Gold
Coast.
The photographs reproduced on pages 2, 23, 39,
47, 49 and 71 are by Jacobson of Trinidad, on pages
85 and 86 by Underwood & Underwood of London,
and on page 41 by Mrs. Stanhope Lovell of Trinidad.
The industry with which this book deals is changing
slowly from an art to a science. It is in a transition
period (it is one of the humours of any live industry
that it is always in a transition period). There are
many indications of scientific progress in cacao cul-
tivation ; and now that, in addition to the experimental
and research departments attached to the principal
firms, a Research Association has been formed for the
cocoa and chocolate industry, the increased amount of
diffused scientific knowledge of cocoa and chocolate
manufacture should give rise to interesting develop-
ments.
A. W. Knapp.
Birmingham,
February, 1920.
VI
CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE
INTRODUCTION i
CHAPTER I
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE— A SKETCH OF THEIR
HISTORY 5
CHAPTER II
CACAO AND ITS CULTIVATION . . . . .17
CHAPTER III
HARVESTING AND PREPARATION FOR THE MARKET 45
With a dialogue on " The Kind of Cacao the Manufac-
turers Like."
CHAPTER IV
CACAO PRODUCTION AND SALE 81
With notes on the chief producing areas, cacao markets,
and the planter's life
CHAPTER V
THE MANUFACTURE OF COCOA AND CHOCOLATE 119
CHAPTER VI
v THE MANUFACTURE OF CHOCOLATE . . .139
vii
CONTENTS
PAGE
CHAPTER VII
BY-PRODUCTS OF THE COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
INDUSTRY . ■ 157
(a) Cacao Butter, (b) Cacao Shell
CHAPTER VIII
THE COMPOSITION AND FOOD VALUE OF COCOA
AND CHOCOLATE 165
(including Milk Chocolate)
CHAPTER IX
ADULTERATION, AND THE NEED FOR DEFINI-
TIONS 179
CHAPTER X
THE CONSUMPTION OF CACAO 183
BIBLIOGRAPHY 191
A List of the Important Books on Cocoa and Chocolate
from the earliest times to the present day
INDEX 205
Vlll
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Cacao Pods ..... . . 2
Old Drawing of an American Indian, with Choco-
late Whisk, etc. ..... 6
Native American Indians Roasting the Beans, etc. 9
Ancient Mexican Drinking Cups : . .16
Cacao Tree, with Pods and Leaves . . 19
Cacao Tree, shewing Pods Growing from Trunk 20
Flowers and Fruits on main branches of a Cacao
Tree ........ 21
Cacao Pods . . . . . . 23
Cut Pod, revealing the White Pulp round the
Beans ........ 24
Cacao Pods, shewing Beans inside ... 25
Drawing of Typical Pods illustrating varieties 27
Tropical Forest, Trinidad . . . . .'29
Characteristic Root System of the Cacao Tree . 31
Nursery with the Young Cacao Plants in Baskets,
Java -33
Planting Cacao from Young Seedlings in Bam-
boo Pots, Trinidad ..... 34
Cacao in its Fourth Year . . . . -35
Copy of an Old Engraving shewing the Cacao
Tree, and a tree shading it • • • 37
Cacao Trees shaded by Kapok, Java ... 38
Cacao Trees shaded by Bois Immortel, Trinidad 39
Cacao Tree with Suckers . . • • 4 1
Cutlassing ........ 43
Common Types of Cacao Pickers ... 46
Gathering Cacao Pods, Trinidad • • • 47
Collecting Cacao Pods into a Heap . . 49
Men Breaking Pods, etc. . . . • ■ 5 1
Sweating Boxes, Trinidad . . . • 53
ix
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Fermenting Boxes, Java ..... 54
Charging Cacao on to Trucks in the Plantation,
San Thome ....... 56
Cacao in the Fermenting Trucks, San Thome . 58
Tray-barrow for Drying Small Quantities . 63
Spreading the Cacao Beans on mats to dry, Ceylon 64
Drying Trays, Grenada ..... 65
" Hamel Smith " Rotary Dryer .... 67
Drying Platforms with Sliding Roofs, Trinidad 68
Cacao Drying Platforms, San Thome ... 69
Washing the Beans, Ceylon .... 70
Claying Cacao Beans, Trinidad . . . 71
Sorting Cacao Beans, Java ..... 73
Diagram : World's Cacao Production ... 80
MAP of the World, with only Cacao-Producing
Areas marked ...... 83
Raking Cacao Beans on the Driers, Ecuador . 8=5
Gathering Cacao Pods, Ecuador .... 85
Sorting Cacao for Shipment, Ecuador . . 86
MAP of South America and the West Indies . 89
Workers on a Cacao Plantation .... 90
MAP of Africa, with only Cacao-Producing Areas
marked ....... 92
Foreshore at Accra, with Stacks of Cacao ready
for Shipment ...... 93
Carriers conveying Bags of Cacao to Surf Boats,
Accra . . . . . . . -9?
Crossing the River, Gold Coast . . . -97
Drying Cacao Beans, Gold Coast ... 98
Shooting Cacao from the Road to the Beach, Accra 99
Rolling Cacao, Gold Coast ..... 100
Rolling Cacao, Gold Coast ..... 101
Carrying Cacao to the Railway Station, Gold Coast 102
Wagon Loads of Cacao being taken from Depot
to the Beach, Accra . . . . .103
The Buildings of the Boa Entrada Cacao Estate,
San Thome ....... 104
x
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Drying Cacao, San Thome . . . -105
Barrel Rolling, Gold Coast . . . .106
Bagging Cacao, Gold Coast . . . .107
Surf Boats by the Side of the Ocean Liner, Accra 108
Bagging Cacao Beans for Shipment, Trinidad no
Transferring Bags of Cacao to Lighters, Trinidad no
Diagram showing Variation in Price of Cacao
Beans, 1913-1919
Group of Workers on Cacao Estate
Carting Cacao to Railway Station, Ceylon
The Carenage, Grenada
Early Factory Methods
Women Grinding Chocolate
Cacao Bean Warehouse
Cacao Bean Sorting and Cleaning Machine
Diagram of Cacao Bean Cleaning Machine
Section through Gas Heated Cacao Roaster
Roasting Cacao Beans ....
Cacao Bean, Shell and Germ
Section through Kibbling Cones and Germ
Screens .....
Section through Winnowing Machine
Cacao Grinding .....
Section through Grinding Stones
A Cacao Press .....
Section through Cacao Press-pot and Ram-plate
Chocolate Melangeur ....
Plan of Chocolate Melangeur
Chocolate Refining Machine
Grinding Cacao Nib and Sugar '.
Section through Chocolate Grinding Rolls
" Conche " Machines
Section through " Conche " Machine .
Machines for Mixing or " Conching " Chocolate
Chocolate Shaking Table .
Girls Covering or Dipping Cremes, etc.
The Enrober .....
13
15
18
18
20
21
23
24
25
26
27
29
3i
32
33
35
36
37
4 1
4 1
42
43
45
47
47
48
49
b
52
XI
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
A Confectionery Room . . . . . 153
Factory at which Milk is Evaporated for Milk
Chocolate Manufacture . . . 155
Cocoa and Chocolate Despatch Deck . . .167
Boxing Chocolates . . . . . 173
Packing Chocolates ...... 177
Factory at which Milk is Evaporated for Milk
Chocolate Manufacture . . . .181
Cacao Pods, Leaves and Flowers . . .187
xn
INTRODUCTION
IN a few short chapters I propose to give a plain
account of the production of cocoa and chocolate.
I assume that the reader is not a specialist and
knows little or nothing of the subject, and hence both
the style of writing and the treatment of the subject
will be simple. At the same time, I assume that the
reader desires a full and accurate account, and not a
vague story in which the difficulties are ignored. I hope
that, as a result of this method of dealing with my sub-
ject, even experts will find much in the book that is of
interest and value. After a brief survey of the history
of cocoa and chocolate, I shall begin with the growing
of the cacao bean, and follow the cacao in its career
until it becomes the finished product ready for con-
sumption.
Cacao or Cocoa ?
The reader will have noted above the spelling
" cacao," and to those who think it curious, I would
say that I do not use this spelling from pedantry. It is
an imitation of the word which the Mexicans used for
this commodity as early as 1500, and when spoken by
Europeans is apt to sound like the howl of a dog. The
Mexicans called the tree from which cacao is obtained
cacauatl. When the great Swedish scientist Linnaeus,
the father of botany, was naming and classifying (about
1735) the trees and plants known in his time, he christ-
ened it Theobroma Cacao, by which name it is called
by botanists to this day. Theo-broma is Greek for
" Food of the Gods." Why Linnaeus paid this ex-
traordinary compliment to cacao is obscure, but it
has been suggested that he was inordinatelv fond of
2 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
the beverage prepared from it — the cup which both
cheers and satisfies. It will be seen from the above that
the species-name is cacao, and one can understand
Cacao Pods
(Amelonado type) in various states
of growth and ripeness.
that Englishmen, finding it difficult to get their in-
sular lips round this outlandish word, lazily called it
cocoa.
In this book I shall use the words cacao, cocoa, and
chocolate as follows :
Cacao, when I refer to the cacao tree, the cacao pod,
or the cacao bean or seed. By the single word, cacao, I
imply the raw product, cacao beans, in bulk.
Cocoa, when I refer to the powder manufactured
from the roasted bean by pressing out part of the
butter. The word is too well established to be changed,
INTRODUCTION 3
even if one wished it. As we shall see later (in the
chapter on adulteration) it has come legally to have a
very definite significance. If this method of distin-
guishing between cacao and cocoa were the accepted
practice, the perturbation which occurred in the public
mind during the war (in 19 16), as to whether manu-
facturers were exporting " cocoa " to neutral coun-
tries, would not have arisen. It should have been spelled
" cacao," for the statements referred to the raw beans
and not to the manufactured beverage. Had this been
done, it would have been unnecessary for the manu-
facturers to point out that cocoa powder was not being
so exported, and that they naturally did not sell the
raw cacao bean.
Chocolate. — This word is given a somewhat wider
meaning. It signifies any preparation of roasted cacao
beans without abstraction of butter. It practically
always contains sugar and added cacao butter, and is
generally prepared in moulded form. It is used either
for eating or drinking.
Cacao Beans and Coconuts.
In old manuscripts the word cacao is spelled in all
manner of ways, but cocoa survived them all. This
curious inversion, cocoa, is to be regretted, for it has
led to a confusion which could not otherwise have
arisen. But for this spelling no one would have dreamed
of confusing the totally unrelated bodies, cacao and the
milky coconut. (You note that I spell it " coconut,"
not " cocoanut," for the name is derived from the
Spanish " coco," " grinning face," or bugbear for
frightening children, and was given to the nut because
the three scars at the broad end of the nut resemble a
grotesque face). To make confusion worse confounded
the old writers referred to cacao seeds as cocoa nuts (as
for example, in The Humble Memorial of Joseph Fry,
quoted in the chapter on history), but, as in appearance
cacao seeds resemble beans, they are now usually
4 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
spoken of as beans. The distinction between cacao
and the coconut may be summarised thus :
Cacao.
Coconut.
Botanical Name
Theobroma Cacao
Tree
Cocos nucifera
Palm
Fruit
Cacao pod, containing
many seeds (cacao
beans)
Coconut, which with
outer fibre is as
large as a man's
head
Products
Cocoa
Chocolate
Broken coconut(copra)
Coconut matting
Fatty Constituent
Cacao butter
Coconut oil
CHAPTER I
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE— A SKETCH OF
THEIR HISTORY
Did time and space allow, there is much to be told on
the romantic side of chocolate, of its divine origin, of the
bloody wars and brave exploits of the Spaniards who con-
quered Mexico and were the first to introduce cacao into
Europe, tales almost too thrilling to be believed, of the
intrigues of the Spanish Court, and of celebrities who met
and sipped their chocolate in the parlours of the coffee and
chocolate houses so fashionable in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries.
Cocoa and Chocolate (Whymper).
ON opening a cacao pod, it is seen to be full of
beans surrounded by a fruity pulp, and whilst
the pulp is very pleasant to taste, the beans
themselves are uninviting, so that doubtless the beans
were always thrown away until .... someone tried
roasting them. One pictures this " someone," a pre-
historic Aztec with swart skin, sniffing the aromatic
fume coming from the roasting beans, and thinking
that beans which smelled so appetising must be good
to consume. The name of the man who discovered the
use of cacao must be written in some early chapter of
the history of man, but it is blurred and unreadable :
all we know is that he was an inhabitant of the New
World and probably of Central America.
Original Home of Cacao.
The corner of the earth where the cacao tree origin-
ally grew, and still grows wild to-day, is the country
6 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
watered by the mighty Amazon and the Orinoco. This
is the very region in which Orellano, the Spanish
adventurer, said that he had truly seen El Dorado,
which he described as a City of Gold, roofed with gold,
and standing by a lake with golden sands. In reality,
El Dorado was nothing but a vision, a vision that for
a hundred years fascinated all manner of dreamers and
adventurers from Sir Walter Raleigh downwards, so
that many braved great hardships in search of it,
groped through the forests where the cacao tree grew,
Old Drawing of an American Indian; at his feet
a Chocolate-Cup, Chocolate-Pot, and Chocolate
Whisk or " Molinet."
(From Traitez Nouveaux et Curieux du Cafe", du The 1 , et
du Chocolate. Dufour, 1693).
A SKETCH OF THEIR HISTORY 7
and returned to Europe feeling they had failed. To
our eyes they were not entirely unsuccessful, for whilst
they failed to find a city of gold, they discovered the
home of the golden pod.
Montezuma — the First Great Patron of Chocolate.
When Columbus discovered the New World he
brought back with him to Europe many new and
curious things, one of which was cacao. Some years
later, in I5i9,the Spanish conquistador, Cortes, landed
in Mexico, marched into the interior and discovered
to his surprise, not the huts of savages, but a beautiful
city, with palaces and museums. This city was the
capital of the Aztecs, a remarkable people, notable
alike for their ancient civilisation and their wealth.
Their national drink was chocolate, and Montezuma,
their Emperor, who lived in a state of luxurious mag-
nificence, " took no other beverage than the chocolatl,
a potation of chocolate, flavoured with vanilla and
other spices, and so prepared as to be reduced to a
froth of the consistency of honey, which gradually
dissolved in the mouth and was taken cold. This
beverage if so it could be called, was served in golden
goblets, with spoons of the same metal or tortoise-shell
finely wrought. The Emperor was exceedingly fond of
it, to judge from the quantity — no less than fifty jars
or pitchers being prepared for his own daily con-
sumption : two thousand more were allowed for that
of his household."* It is curious that Montezuma took
no other beverage than chocolate, especially if it be
true that the Aztecs also invented that fascinating
drink, the cocktail (xoc-tl). How long this ancient
people, students of the mysteries of culinary science,
had known the art of preparing a drink from cacao, is
not known, but it is evident that the cultivation of
cacao received great attention in these parts, for if we
* Prescott's Conquest of Mexico.
8 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
read down the list of the tributes paid by different
cities to the Lords of Mexico, we find " 20 chests of
ground chocolate, 20 bags of gold dust," again " 80
loads of red chocolate, 20 lip-jewels of clear amber,"
and yet again " 200 loads of chocolate."
Another people that share with the Aztecs the honour
of being the first great cultivators of cacao are the
Incas of Peru, that wonderful nation that knew not
poverty.
The Fascination of Chocolate.
That chocolate charmed the ladies of Mexico in
the seventeenth century (even as it charms the ladies
of England to-day) is shown by a story which Gage
relates in his New Survey of the West Indias (1648).
He tells us that at Chiapa, southward from Mexico,
the women used to interrupt both sermon and mass
by having their maids bring them a cup of hot choco-
late ; and when the Bishop, after fair warning, ex-
communicated them for this presumption, thev
changed their church. The Bishop, he adds, was poisoned
for his pains.
Cacao Beans as Money.
Cacao was used by the Aztecs not only for the pre-
paration of a beverage, but also as a circulating medium
of exchange. For example, one could purchase a
" tolerably good slave " for 100 beans. We read that :
" Their currency consisted of transparent quills of
gold dust, of bits of tin cut in the form of a T, and of
bags of cacao containing a specified number of grains."
' Blessed money," exclaims Peter Martyr, " which
exempts its possessor from avarice, since it cannot be
long hoarded, nor hidden underground ! ' :
Derivation of Chocolate.
The word was derived from the Mexican chocolatl.
The Mexicans used to froth their chocolatl with curious
whisks made specially for the purpose (see page 6).
A SKETCH OF THEIR HISTORY
io COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
Thomas Gage suggests that choco, choco, choco is a
vocal representation of the sound made by stirring
chocolate. The suffix all means water. According to
Mr. W. J. Gordon, we owe the name of chocolate to a
misprint. He states that Joseph Acosta, who wrote as
early as 1604 of chocolatl, was made by the printer to
write chocolate, from which the English eliminated
the accent, and the French the final letter.
First Cacao in Europe.
The Spanish discoverers of the New World brought
home to Spain quantities of cacao, which the curious
tasted. We may conclude that they drank the prepar-
ation cold, as Montezuma did, hot chocolate being a
later invention. The new drink, eagerly sought by
some, did not meet with universal approval, and, as
was natural, the most diverse opinions existed as to
the pleasantness and wholesomeness of the beverage
when it was first known. Thus Joseph Acosta (1604)
wrote : " The chief use of this cocoa is in a drincke
which they call Chocholate, whereof they make great
account, foolishly and without reason ; for it is loath-
some to such as are not acquainted with it, having a
skumme or frothe that is very unpleasant to taste, if
they be not well conceited thereof. Yet it is a drincke
very much esteemed among the Indians, whereof they
feast noble men as they passe through their country.
The Spaniards, both men and women, that are accus-
tomed to the country are very greedy of this chocholate."
It is not impossible that the English, with the defeat
of the Armada fresh in memory, were at first con-
temptuous of this " Spanish " drink. Certain it is,
that when British sea-rovers like Drake and Frobisher,
captured Spanish galleons on the high seas, and on
searching their holds for treasure, found bags of cacao,
they flung them overboard in scorn. In considering
this scorn of cacao, shown alike by British buccaneers
and Dutch corsairs, together with the critical air of
Joseph Acosta, we should remember that the original
A SKETCH OF THEIR HISTORY n
chocolatl of the Mexicans consisted of a mixture of
maize and cacao with hot spices like chillies, and con-
tained no sugar. In this condition few inhabitants of
the temperate zone could relish it. It however only
needed one thing, the addition of sugar, and the in-
troduction of this marked the beginning of its European
popularity. The Spaniards were the first to manufac-
ture and drink chocolate in any quantity. To this day
they serve it in the old style — thick as porridge and
pungent with spices. They endeavoured to keep secret
the method of preparation, and, without success, to
retain the manufacture as a monopoly. Chocolate was
introduced into Italy by Carletti, who praised it and
spread the method of its manufacture abroad. The
new drink was introduced by monks from Spain into
Germany and France, and when in 1660 Maria Theresa,
Infanta of Spain, married Louis XIV, she made choco-
late well known at the Court of France. She it was of
whom a French historian wrote that Maria Theresa
had only two passions — the king and chocolate.
Chocolate was advocated by the learned physicians
of those times as a cure for many diseases, and it was
stated that Cardinal Richelieu had been cured of
general atrophy by its use.
From France the use of chocolate spread into
England, where it began to be drunk as a luxury by
the aristocracy about the time of the Commonwealth.
It must have made some progress in public favour by
1673, for in that year " a Lover of his Country " wrote
in the Harleian Miscellany demanding its prohibition
(along with brandy, rum, and tea) on the ground that
this imported article did no good and hindered the
consumption of English-grown barley and wheat.
New things appeal to the imaginative, and the absence
of authentic knowledge concerning them allows free
play to the imagination — so it happened that in the
early days, whilst many writers vied with one another
in writing glowing panegyrics on cacao, a few
thought it an evil thing. Thus, whilst it was praised
12 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
by many for its " wonderful faculty of quenching
thirst, allaying hectic heats, of nourishing and fatten-
ing the body," it was seriously condemned by others
as an inflamer of the passions !
Chocolate Houses and Clubs.
" The drinking here of chocolate
Can make a fool a sophie."
In the spacious days of Queen Elizabeth, tea, coffee,
and chocolate were unknown save to travellers and
savants, and the handmaidens of the good queen drank
beer with their breakfast. When Shakespeare and Ben
Jonson forgathered at the Mermaid Tavern, their
winged words passed over tankards of ale, but later
other drinks became the usual accompaniment of news,
story, and discussion. In the sixteen-sixties there were
no strident newspapers to destroy one's equanimity,
and the gossip of the day began to be circulated and
discussed over cups of tea, coffee, or chocolate. The
humorists, ever stirred by novelty, tilted, pen in
hand, at these new drinks : thus one rhymster de-
scribed coffee as
" Syrrop of soot or essence of old shoes."
The first coffee-house in London was started in St.
Michael's Alley, Cornhill, in 1652 (when coffee was
seven shillings a pound) ; the first tea-house was
opened in Exchange Alley in 1657 (when tea was five
sovereigns a pound), and in the same year (with choco-
late about ten to fifteen shillings per pound) a French-
man opened the first chocolate-house in Queen's Head
Alley, Bishopsgate Street. The rising popularity of
chocolate led to the starting of more of these chocolate
houses, at which one could sit and sip chocolate, or
purchase the commodity for preparation at home.
Pepys' entry in his diary for 24th November, 1664,
contains : " To a coffee house to drink jocolatte, very
good." It is an artless entry, and yet one can almost
hear him smacking his lips. Silbermann says that
A SKETCH OF THEIR HISTORY 13
" After the Restoration there were shops in London
for the sale of chocolate at ten shillings or fifteen shill-
ings per pound. Ozinda's chocolate house was full of
aristocratic consumers. Comedies, satirical essays,
memoirs and private letters of that age frequently
mention it. The habit of using chocolate was deemed
a token of elegant and fashionable taste, and while the
charms of this beverage in the reigns of Queen Anne
and George I. were so highly esteemed by courtiers,
by lords and ladies and fine gentlemen in the polite
world, the learned physicians extolled its medicinal
virtues." From the coffee house and its more aristo-
cratic relative the chocolate house, there developed a
new feature in English social life — the Club. As the
years passed the Chocolate House remained a rendez-
vous, but the character of its habitues changed from
time to time. Thus one, famous in the days of Queen
Anne, and well known by its sign of the " Cocoa Tree,"
was at first the headquarters of the Jacobite party, and
the resort of Tories of the strictest school. It became
later a noted gambling house (" The gamesters shook
their elbows in White's and the chocolate houses round
Covent Garden," National Review, 1878), and ulti-
mately developed into a literary club, including amongst
its members Gibbon, the historian, and Byron, the
poet.
Tax on Cacao.
The growing consumption of chocolate did not
escape the all-seeing eye of the Chancellors of England.
As early as 1660 we find amongst various custom and
excise duties granted to Charles II :
" For every gallon of chocolate, sherbet, and tea
made and sold, to be paid by the maker thereof
8d."
Later the raw material was also made a source of
revenue. In The Humble Memorial of Joseph Fry, of
Bristol, Maker of Chocolate, which was addressed to
the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury in 1776
14 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
(Messrs. Fry and Sons are the oldest English firm of
chocolate makers, having been founded in 1728), we
read that " Chocolate . . . pays two shillings and
threepence per pound excise, besides about ten shill-
ings per hundredweight on the Cocoa Nuts from which
it is made."
In 1784 a preferential customs rate was proposed in
favour of our Colonies. This they enjoyed for many
years before 1853, when the uniform rate, until re-
cently in force, was introduced. This restrictive tariff
on foreign growths rose in 1803 to 5s. iod. per pound,
against is. iod. on cacao grown in British possessions.
From this date it gradually diminished. High duties
hampered for many years the sale of cocoa, tea and
coffee, but in recent times these duties have been
brought down to more reasonable figures. For many
years before 19 15 the import duty was id. per pound
on the raw cacao beans, id. per pound on cacao butter,
and 2s. a hundredweight (less than a farthing a pound)
on cacao shells or husks. In the Budget of September,
1 91 5, the above duties were increased by fifty per
cent. A further and greater increase was made in the
Budget of April, 191 6, when cacao was made to pay a
higher tax in Britain than in any other country in the
world. In 1919 Imperial preference was introduced
after a break of over sixty years, the duty on cocoa
from foreign countries being fd. a pound more than
that from British Possessions.
Duty on Cacao.
^SS^^S WS I 9 I 6. i9 J 9-
Cacao beans per lb. id. i~ld. 6d. 4-Jd. foreign, 3|d. British
Cacao butter per lb. id. i|d. 6d. 4 1 d. foreign, 3fd. British
Cacao shells per cwt. 2s. 3s. 12s. 6s. foreign, 5s. British
In considering this duty and its effect on the price of
the finished article, it should be remembered that
there are substantial losses in manufacture. Thus the
beans are cleaned, which removes up to 0.5 per cent.;
A SKETCH OF THEIR HISTORY 15
roasted, which causes a loss by volatilisation of 7 per
cent. ; and shelled, the husks being about 12 per cent.
Therefore, the actual yield of usable nib, which has
to bear the whole duty, is about 80 per cent. It may be
well to add that the yield of cocoa powder is 48 per
cent, of the raw beans, or roughly, one pound of the
raw product yields half a pound of the finished article.
Introduction of Cocoa Pozvder.
The drink " cocoa " as we know it to-day was not
introduced until 1828. Before this time the ground
bean, mixed with sugar, was sold in cakes. The bever-
age prepared from these chocolate cakes was very rich
in butter, and whilst the British Navy has always con-
sumed it in this condition (the sailors generally re-
move with a spoon the excess of butter which floats to
the top) it is a little heavy for less hardy digestions.
Van Houten (of the well-known Dutch house of that
name) in 1828 invented a method of pressing out part
of the butter, and thus obtained a lighter, more appetis-
ing, and more easily assimilated preparation. As the
butter is useful in chocolate manufacture, this process
enabled the manufacturer to produce a less costly
cocoa powder, and thus the circle of consumers was
widened. Messrs. Cadbury Bros., of Birmingham, first
sold their " cocoa essence " in 1866, and Messrs. Fry
and Sons, of Bristol, introduced a pure cocoa by press-
ing out part of the butter in 1868.
Growing Popularity of Cacao Preparations.
The incidence of import duties did not prevent the
continuous increase in the amount of cacao consumed
in the British Isles. When Queen Victoria came to the
throne the cacao cleared for home consumption was
about four or five thousand tons, more than half of
which was consumed by the Navy. At the time of
Queen Victoria's death it had increased to four times
this amount, and by 191 5 it had reached nearly fifty
1 6 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
thousand tons. (For statistics of consumption, see
P . i8 3 ).
This brief sketch of the history of cacao owes much
to " Cocoa — all about it," by Historicus (the pseu-
donym of the late Richard Cadbury). This work is out
of print, but those who are fortunate enough to be
able to consult it will find therein much that is curious
and discursive.
Ancient Mexican Drinking Cups
(British Museum)
I?
CHAPTER II
CACAO AND ITS CULTIVATION
O tree, upraised in far-off Mexico !
" Ode to the Chocolate Tree," 1664.
HOW seldom do we think, when we drink a cup
of cocoa or eat some morsels of chocolate, that
our liking for these delicacies has set minds
and bodies at work all the world over i'Many types of
humanity have contributed to their production. Picture
in the mind's eye the graceful coolie in the sun-satur-
ated tropics, moving in the shade, cutting the pods
from the cacao tree ; the deep-chested sailor helping
to load from lighters or surf-boats the precious bags of
cacao into the hold of the ocean liner ; the skilful work-
man roasting the beans until they fill the room with a
fine aroma ; and the girl with dexterous fingers pack-
ing the cocoa or fashioning the chocolate in curious
and delicate forms. To the black and brown races, the
negroes and the East Indians, we owe a debt for their
work on tropical plantations, for the harder manual
work would be too arduous for Europeans unused to
the heat of those regions.
Climate Necessary.
Cacao can only grow at tropical temperatures, and
when shielded from the wind and unimpaired by
drought. Enthusiasts, as a hobby, have grown the tree
under glass in England ; it requires a warmer tem-
perature than either tea or coffee, and only after in-
finite care can one succeed in getting the tree to flower
1 8 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
and bear fruit. The mean temperature in the coun-
tries in which it thrives is about 80 degrees F. in the
shade, and the average of the maximum temperatures
is seldom more than 90 degrees F., or the average of
the minimum temperatures less than 70 degrees F. The
rainfall can be as low as 45 inches per annum, as in the
Gold Coast, or as high as' 150 in ches, as in Java, pro-
vided the fall is uniformly distributed. The ideal spot
is the secluded vale, and whilst in Venezuela there are
plantations up to 2000 feet above sea level, cacao can-
not generally be profitably cultivated above 1000 feet.
Factors of Geographical Distribution.
Climate, soil, and manures determine the possible
region of cultivation — the extent to which the area is
utilised depends on the enterprise of man. The original
home of cacao was the rich tropical region, far-famed
in Elizabethan days, that lies between the Amazon
and the Orinoco, and but for the enterprise of man it
is doubtful if it would have ever spread from this region.
-Monkeys often carry the beans many miles — man, the
master-monkey, has carried them round the world.
First the Indians spread cacao over the tropical belt
■of the American continent and cultivated it as far
North as Mexico. Then came the Spanish explorers
of the New World, who carried it from the mainland
to the adjacent West Indian islands. Cacao was planted
by them in Trinidad as early as 1525. Since that date
it has been successfully introduced into many a tropical
island. It was an important day in the history of Ceylon
when Sir R. Horton, in 1834, had cacao plants brought
to that island from Trinidad. The carefully packed
plants survived the ordeal of a voyage of ten thousand
miles. The most recent introduction is, however, the
most striking. About 1880 a native of the Gold Coast
obtained some beans, probably from Fernando Po.
In 1 891, the first bag of cacao was exported ; it weighed
80 pounds. In 191 5, 24 years later, the export from the
Gold Coast was 120 million pounds.
CACAO AND ITS CULTIVATION
*9
Cacao Tree, with Pods and Leaves
The Cacao Tree.
Tropical vegetation appears so bizarre to the visitor
from temperate climes that in such surroundings the
cacao tree seems almost commonplace. It is in appearance
as moderate and unpretentious as an apple tree, though
20
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
somewhat taller, being, when full grown, about twenty
feet high. It begins to bear in its fourth or fifth year
Smooth in its early youth, as it gets older it becomes
covered with little bosses (cushions) from which many
flowers spring. I saw one fellow, very tall and gnarled „
and with many pods on it ; turning to the planter I
enquired " How old is that tree ? " He replied, almost
• - f
1
*
• •'■•■"Itiii. ■*-»-»■ |
Cacao Tree, showing Pods Growing
from Trunk.
reverentially : " It's a good deal older than I am ;
must be at least fifty years old." " It's one of the tallest
cacao trees I've seen. I wonder ." The planter
perceived my thought, and said \- " I'll have it meas-
ured for you." It was forty feet high. That was a tall
one ; usually they are not more than half that height.
The bark is reddish-grey, and may be partly hidden
by brown, grey and green patches of lichen. The bark
is both beautiful and quaint, but in the main the tree
CACAO AND ITS CULTIVATION
21
owes its beauty to its luxuriance of prosperous leaves,
and its quaintness to its pods.
Flowers and Fruits on main branches of a Cacao Tree
(Reproduced from van Hall's Cocoa, by permission of Messrs. Macmillan & (. o.
The Flozcers, Leaves and Fruit.
Although cacao trees are not unlike the fruit trees
of England, there are differences which, when first one
sees them, cause expressions of surprise and pleasure
22 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
to leap to the lips. One sees what one never saw before,
the fruit springing from the main trunk, quite close to
the ground. An old writer has explained that this is due
to a wise providence, because the pod is so heavy that
if it hung from the end of the branches it would fall off
before it reached maturity. The old writer talks of
providence ; a modern writer would see in the same
facts a simple example of evolution. On the same cacao
tree every day of the year may be found flowers, young
podkins and mature pods side by side. I say " found >:
advisedly — at the first glance one does not see the
flowers because they are so dainty and so small. The
buds are the size of rice grains, and the flowers are not
more than half an inch across when the petals are fully
out. The flowers are pink or yellow, of wax-like appear-
ance, and have no odour. They were commonly stated
to be pollinated by thrips and other insects. Dr. von
Faber of Java has recently shown that whilst self-
pollination is the rule, cross fertilisation occurs between
the flowers on adjacent or interlocking trees. These
graceful flowers are so small that one can walk through
a plantation without observing them, although an
average tree will produce six thousand blossoms in a
year. Not more than one per cent, of these will become
fruit. Usually it takes six months for the bud to develop
into the mature fruit. The lovely mosses that grow on the
stems and branches are sometimes so thick that they
have to be destroyed, or the fragile cacao flower could
not push its way through. Whilst the flowers are small,
the leaves are large, being as an average about a foot in
length and four inches in breadth. The cacao tree never
appears naked, save on the rare occasions when it is
stripped by the wind, and the leaves are green all the
year round, save when they are red, if the reader
will pardon an Hibernianism. And indeed there is
something contrary in the crimson tint, for whilst
we usually associate this with old leaves about to fall,
with the cacao, as with some rose trees, it is the tint of
the young leaves.
CACAO AND ITS CULTIVATION 23
Cacao Pods.
The Cacao Pod.
The fruit, which hangs on a short thick stalk, may
be anything in shape from a melon to a stumpy, irregu-
lar cucumber, according to the botanic variety. The
intermediate shape is like a lemon, with furrows from
end to end. There are pods, called Calabacillo, smooth
2 4
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
and ovate like a calabash, and there are others, more
rare, so " nobbly " that they are well-named " Alli-
gator." The pods vary in length from five to eleven
inches, " with here and there the great pod of all, the
blood-red sangre-tora." The colours of the pods are
as brilliant as they are various. They are rich and strong,
Cut Pod, revealing the White Pulp
round the beans (ceylon.)
and resemble those of the rind of the pomegranate.
One pod shows many shades of dull crimson, another
grades from gold to the yellow of leather, and yet
another is all lack-lustre pea-green. They may be
likened to Chinese lanterns hanging in the woods. One
does not conclude from the appearance of the pod that
the contents are edible, any more than one would sur-
mise that tea-leaves could be used to produce a re-
freshing drink. I say as much to the planter, who smiles.
CACAO AND ITS CULTIVATION 25
With one deft cut with his machete or cutlass, which
hangs in a leather scabbard by his side, the planter
severs the pod from the tree, and with another slash
cuts the thick, almost woody rind and breaks open the
pod. There is disclosed a mass of some thirty or forty
beans, covered with juicy pulp. The inside of the rind
and the mass of beans are gleaming white, like melting
snow. Sometimes the mass is pale amethyst in colour. I
perceive a pleasant odour resembling melon. Like
Cacao Pods, shewing Beans inside.
little Jack Horner, I put in my thumb and pull out a
snow-white bean. It is slippery to hold, so I put it in
my mouth. The taste is sweet, something between
grape and melon. Inside this fruity coating is the bean
proper. From different pods we take beans and cut
them in two, and find that the colour of the bean varies
from purple almost to white.
Botanical Description.
Theobroma Cacao belongs to the family of the
Stercidiaceae , and to the same order as the Limes and
Mallows. It is described in Strasburger's admirable
Text-Book of Botany as follows :
26 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
" Family. Sterculiaceae.
Important Genera. The most important plant is
the Cocoa Tree {Theobroma Cacao). It is a low tree
with short-stalked, firm, brittle, simple leaves of
large size, oval shape, and dark green colour. The
young leaves are of a bright red colour, and, as in manv
tropical trees, hang limply downwards. The flowers
are borne on the main stem or the older branches, and
arise from dormant axillary buds (Cauliflory). Each
petal is bulged up at the base, narrows considerably
above this, and ends in an expanded tip. The form of
the reddish flowers is thus somewhat urn-shaped with
five radiating points. The pentalocular ovary has
numerous ovules in each loculus. As the fruit develops,
the soft tissue of the septa extends between the single
seeds ; the ripe fruit is thus unilocular and many-
seeded. The seed-coat is filled by the embryo, which
has two large, folded, brittle cotyledons."
The last sentence conveys an erroneous impression.
The two cotyledons, which form the seed, are not
brittle when found in nature in the pod. They are
juicy and fleshy. And it is only after the seed has re-
ceived special treatment (fermentation and drying) to
obtain the bean of commerce, that it becomes brittle.
Varieties of Theobroma Cacao.
As mentioned above, the pods and seeds of Theo-
broma Cacao trees show a marked variation, and in
every country the botanist has studied these variations
and classified the trees according to the shape and
colour of the pods and seeds. The existence of so many
classifications has led to a good deal of confusion, and
we are indebted to Van Hall for the simplest way of
clearing up these difficulties. He accepts the classi-
fication first given by Morris, dividing the trees into
two varieties — Criollo and Forastero :
CACAO AND ITS CULTIVATION
27
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28 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
Extremes of Characteristics .
Criollo.
Forastero.
(Old Red, Caracas, etc.)
Grading from Cundeamor
(bottle-necked) to Calahacillo
(smooth).
Pod walls. Thin and warty.
Thick and woody.
Beans. Large and plump.
White.
Sweet.
Small and flat.
Heliotrope to purple.
Astringent.
The cacao of the criollo variety has pods the walls of
which are thin and warty, with ten distinct furrows.
The seeds or beans are white as ivory throughout,
round and plump, and sweet to taste. The forastero
variety includes many sub-varieties, the kind most
distinct from the criollo having pods, the walls of
which are thick and woody, the surface smooth, the
furrows indistinct, and the shape globular. The seeds
in these pods are purple in colour, flat in appearance,
and bitter to taste. This is a very convenient classi-
fication. Personally I believe it would be possible to
find pods varying by almost imperceptible gradations
from the finest, purest, criollo to the lowest form of
forastero (namely, calabacillo). The criollo yields the
finest and rarest kind of cacao, but as sometimes hap-
pens with refined types in nature, it is a rather delicate
tree, especially liable to canker and bark diseases, and
this accounts for the predominance of the forastero in
the cacao plantations of the world.
The Cacao Plantation.
One can spend happy days on a cacao estate. " Are
you going into the cocoa ? " they ask, just as in England
we might enquire, " Are you going into the corn ? ' :
CACAO AND ITS CULTIVATION
29
Tropical Forest, Trinidad.
This has to be cleared before planting begins.
Coconut plantations and sugar estates make a strong
appeal to the imagination, but for peaceful beauty they
cannot compare with the cacao plantation. True, coco-
nut plantations are very lovely — the palms are so grace-
ful, the leaves against" the sky so like a fine etching—
but " the slender coco's drooping crown of plumes "
is altogether foreign to English eyes. Sugar estates are
generally marred by the prosaic factory in the back-
ground. They are dead level plains, and the giant grass
30 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
affords no shade from the relentless sun. Whereas the
leaves of the cacao tree are large and numerous, so that
even in the heat of the day, it is comparatively cool and
pleasant under the cacao.
Cacao plantations present in different countries
every variety of appearance — from that of a wild forest
in which the greater portion of the trees are cacao, to
the tidv and orderly plantation. In some of the Trinidad
plantations the trees are planted in parallel lines twelve
feet apart, with a tree every twelve feet along the line ;
and as you push your way through the plantation the
apparently irregularly scattered trees are seen to flash
momentarily into long lines. In other parts of the world,
for example, in Grenada and Surinam, the ground may
be kept so tidv and free from weeds that they have the
appearance of gardens.
Clearing the Land.
When the planter has chosen a suitable site, an exer-
cise requiring skill, the forest has to be cleared. The
felling of great trees and the clearing of the wild tangle
of undergrowth is arduous work. It is well to leave the
trees on the ridges for about sixty feet on either side,
and thus form a belt of trees to act as as wind screen.
Cacao trees are as sensitive to a draught as some human
beings, and these " wind breaks " are often deliberately
grown — Balata, Poui, Mango (Trinidad), Galba
(Grenada), Wild Pois Doux (Martinique), and other
leafy trees being suitable for this purpose.
Suitable Soil.
It was for many years believed that if a tree were
analysed the best soil for its growth could at once be
inferred and described, as it was assumed that the best
soil would be one containing the same elements in
similar proportions. This simple theory ignored the
characteristic powers of assimilation of the tree in
question and the " digestibility " of the soil constituents.
However, it is agreed that soils rich in potash and lime
CACAO AND ITS CULTIVATION
32 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
(e.g., those obtained by the decomposition of certain
volcanic rocks) are good for cacao. An open sandy or
loamy alluvial soil is considered ideal. The physical
condition of the soil is equally important : heavy clays
or water-logged soils are bad. The depth of soil required
depends on its nature. A stiff soil discourages the
growth of the " tap " root, which in good porous soils
is generally seven or eight feet long.
Manure.
The greater part of the world's cacao is produced
without the use of artificial manures. The soil, which is
continually washed down by the rains into the rivers,
is continually renewed by decomposition of the bed
rock, and in the tropics this decomposition is more
rapid than in temperate climes. In Guayaquil, " not-
withstanding the fact that the same soil has been cropped
consecutively for over a hundred years, there is as yet
no sign of decadence, nor does a necessity yet arise for
artificial manure."* However, manures are useful with
all soils, and necessary with many. Happy is the planter
who is so placed that he can obtain a plentiful supply
of farmyard or pen manure, as this gives excellent
results. " Mulching " is also recommended. This con-
sists of covering the ground with decaying leaves,
grasses, etc., which keep the soil in a moist and open
condition during the dry season. If artificial manures
are used they should vary according to the soil, and,
although he can obtain considerable help from the
analyst, the planter's most reliable guide will be ex-
periment on the spot.
Planting.
In the past insufficient care has been taken in the
selection of seed. The planter should choose the large
plump beans with a pale interior, or he should choose
the nearest kind to this that is sufficiently hardy to
thrive in the particular environment. He can plant
* Bulletin, Botanic Dept., Jamaica, February, 1900.
34
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
(i) direct from seeds, or (2) from seedlings — plants
raised in nurseries in bamboo pots, or (3) by grafting
or budding. It is usual to plant two or three seeds in
each hole, and destroy the weaker plants when about a
foot high. The seeds are planted from twelve to fifteen
feet apart. The distance chosen depends chiefly on the
richness of the soil ; the richer the soil, the more ample
Planting Cacao, Trinidad, from Young
Seedlings in Bamboo Pots.
room is allowed for the trees to spread without choking
each other. Interesting results have been obtained by
Hart and others by grafting the fine but tender criollo
on to the hardy forastero, but until yesterday the prac-
tice had not been tried on a large scale. Experiments
were begun in 191 3 by Mr. W. G. Freeman in Trinidad
which promise interesting results. By 19 19 the Depart-
ment of Agriculture had seven acres in grafted and
budded cacao. In a few years it should be possible to
CACAO AND ITS CULTIVATION
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36 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
say whether it pays to form an estate of budded cacao
in preference to using seedlings.
There are no longer any mystic rites performed
before planting. In the old days it was the custom to
solemnize the planting, for example, by sacrificing a
cacao-coloured dog (see Bancroft's Native Races of the
Pacific States.)
Shade : Temporary and Permanent.
When the seeds are planted, such small plants as
cassava, chillies, pigeon peas and the like are planted
with them. The object of planting these is to afford
the young cacao plant shelter from the sun, and to
keep the ground in good condition. Incidentally the
planter obtains cassava (which gives tapioca), red
peppers, etc., as a " catch crop " whilst he is w r aiting
for the cacao tree to begin to yield. Bananas and, plan-
tains are planted with the same object, and these are
allowed to remain for a longer period. Such is the
rapidity of plant growth in the tropics that in three or
four years the cacao tree is taller than a man, and begins
to bear fruit in its fourth or fifth year. Now it is agreed
that, as with men, the cacao tree needs protection in its
youth, but whether it needs shade trees when it is fully
grown is one of the controverted questions. When the
planter is sitting after his day's work is done, and no
fresh topic comes to his mind, he often re-opens the
discussion on the question of shade. The idea that
cacao trees need shade is a very ancient one, as is
shown in a very old drawing (possibly the oldest draw-
ing of cacao extant) beneath which it is written : "Of
the tree which bears cacao, which is money, and how
the Indians obtained fire with two pieces of wood."
In this drawing you will observe how T lovingly the shade
tree shelters the cacao. The intention in using shade
is to imitate the natural forest conditions in which the
wild cacao grew. Sometimes when clearing the forest
certain large trees are left standing, but more frequently
and with better judgment, chosen kinds are planted.
CACAO AND ITS CULTIVATION
37
Many trees have been used : the saman, bread fruit,
mango, mammet, sand box, pois doux, rubber, etc. In
the illustration showing kapok acting as a parasol for
cacao in Java, we see that the proportion of shade trees
to cacao is high. Leguminous trees are preferred be-
cause they conserve the nitrogen in the soil. Hence in
Trinidad the favourite shade tree is Erythrina or Bois
Copy of an Old Engraving showing the Cacao Tree,
and a tree shading it.
(From Boniekoe s li'ori-s.)
Immortel (so called, a humourist suggests, because it
is short-lived). It is also rather prettily named, " Mother
of Cacao." Usually the shade trees are planted about 40
feet apart, but there are cacao plantations which might
cause a stranger to enquire, " Is this an Immortel
plantation ? " so closely are these conspicuous trees
planted. When looking down a Trinidad valley, richly
planted with cacao, one sees in every direction the
silver-grey trunks of the Immortel. In the early months
38
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
of the year these trees have no leaves, they are a mass
of flame-coloured flowers, each " shafted like a scimi-
tar." It well repays the labour of climbing a hill to look
down on this vermilion glory. Some Trinidad planters
believe that their trees would die without shade, yet
in Grenada, onlv a hundred miles North as the steamer
sails, there are whole plantations without a single shade
Cacao Trees, shaded by Kapok {Eriodendron Anjrachiosum)
in Java.
(Reproduced from van Hall's Cocca, by permission of Messrs. Macmillan & Co. I
tree. The Grenadians say : " You cannot have pods
without flowers, and you cannot have good flowering
without light and air." Shade trees are not used on
some estates in San Thome, and in Brazil there are
cocoa kings with 200,000 trees without one shade tree.
It should be mentioned, however, that in these coun-
tries the cacao trees are planted more closely (about
eight feet apart) and themselves shade the soil. Pro-
fessor Carmody, in reporting* recently on the result
of a four years' experiment with (1) shade, (2) nc
* Bulletin Dept. of Agriculture, Trinidad, 1916.
CACAO AND ITS CULTIVATION
39
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shade, (3) partial shade, says that so far partial shade
has given the best results. No general solution has yet
been found to the question of the advantage of shade,
and, as Shaw states for morality, so in agriculture, " the
golden rule is that there is no golden rule." Not only
is there the personal factor, but nature provides an
infinite variety of environments, and the best results
are obtained by the use of methods appropriate to the
local conditions.
Form of Tree-growth Desired : Suckers.
Viscount Mountmorres, in a delightfully clear ex-
position of cacao cultivation which he gave to the
native farmers and chiefs of the Gold Coast in 1906,
said : ' In pruning, it is necessary always to bear in
mind that the best shape for cacao trees is that of an
enlarged open umbrella," with a height under the
umbrella not exceeding seven feet. With this ideal in
his mind, the planter should train up the tree in the
way it should go. Viscount Mountmorres also said
that everything that grows upwards, except the main
stem, must be cut off.
This opens a question which is of great interest to
planters as to whether it is wise to allow shoots to grow
out from the main trunk near the ground. Some hold
that the high yield on their plantation is due to letting
these upright shoots grow. ' Mi Amigo Corsicano
said : ' Diavolo, let the cacao-trees grow, let them
branch off like any other fruit-tree, say the tamarind,
the ' chupon ' or sucker will in time bear more than its
mother.' "* There seems to be some evidence that old
trees profit from the "chupons" because they continue
to bear when the old trunk is weary, but this is com-
pensated for by the fact that the " chupons " (Portuguese
for suckers) were grown at the expense of the tree in
its youth. Hence other planters call them " thieves,";
and " gormandizers," saying that they suck the sap
from the tree, turning all to wood. They follow the
* "How Jose formed his Cocoa Estate."
CACAO AND ITS CULTIVATION
4 1
Cacao Tree, with Suckers, Trinidad.
advice given as early as 1730 by the author of The
Natural History of Chocolate, when he says : " Cut or
lop off the suckers." In Trinidad, experiments have
been started, and after a five years' test, Professor
Carmody says that the indications are that it is a
matter of indifference whether " chupons " are allowed to
grow or not.
After hunting, agriculture is man's oldest industry,
and improvements come but slowly, for the proving
of a theory often requires work on a huge scale carried
42 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
out for several decades. The husbandry of the earth
goes on from century to century with little change,
and the methods followed are the winnowings of ex-
perience, tempered with indolence. And even with
the bewildering progress of science in other directions,
sound improvements in this field are rare discoveries.
There is great scope for the application of physical
and chemical knowledge to the production of the raw
materials of the tropics. In one or two instances
notable advances have been made, thus the direct pro-
duction of a white sugar (as now practised at Java) at
the tropical factory will have far-reaching effects, but
with many tropical products the methods practised
are as ancient as they are haphazard. Like all methods
founded on long experience, they suit the environment
and the temperament of the people who use them, so
that the work of the scientist in introducing improve-
ments requires intimate knowledge of the conditions
if his suggestions are to be adopted. The various De-
partments of Agriculture are doing splendid pioneer
work, but the full harvest of their sowing will not be
reaped until the number of tropically-educated agri-
culturists has been increased by the founding of three
or four agricultural colleges and research laboratories
in equatorial regions.
There is much research to be done. As yet, however,
many planters are ignorant of all that is already estab-
lished, the facilities for education in tropical agri-
culture being few and far between. There are signs,
however, of development in this direction. It is pleasant
to note that a start was made in Ceylon at the end of
19 17 by opening an agricultural school at Peradenija.
Trinidad has for a number of years had an agricul-
tural school, and is eager to have a college devoted to
agriculture. In 1919, Messrs. Cadbury Bros, gave
£5000 to form the nucleus of a special educational
fund for the Gold Coast. The scientists attached to the
several government agricultural departments in Java,
Ceylon, Trinidad, the Philippines, Africa, etc., have
CACAO AND ITS CULTIVATION
43
done splendid work, but it is desirable that the num-
ber of workers should be increased. When the world
wakes up to the importance of tropical produce, agri-
cultural colleges will be scattered about the tropics,
so that every would-be planter can learn his subject
on the spot.
Cutlassing.
Diseases of the Cacao Tree.
Take, for example, the case of the diseases of plants.
Everyone who takes an interest in the garden knows
how destructive the insect pests and vegetable parasites
can be. In the tropics their power for destruction is
very great, and they are a constant menace to economic
products like cacao. The importance of understanding
their habits, and of studying methods of keeping them
in check, is readily appreciated ; the planter may be
ruined by lacking this knowledge.
44 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
The cacao tree has been improved and " domesti-
cated " to satisfy human requirements, a process which
has rendered it weaker to resist attacks from pests and
parasites. It is usual to classify man amongst the pests,
as either from ignorance or by careless handling he
can do the tree much harm. Other animal pests are the
wanton thieves : monkeys, squirrels and rats, who
destroy more fruit than they consume. The insect
pests include varieties of beetles, thrips, aphides, scale
insects and ants, whilst fungi are the cause of the
"Canker" in the stem and branches, the "Witch-
broom " disease in twigs and leaves, and the " Black
Rot " of pods.
The subject is too immense to be summarised in a
few lines, and I recommend readers who wish to know
more of this or other division of the science of cacao
cultivation, to consult one or more of the four classics
injEnglish on this subject :
Cocoa, by Herbert Wright (Ceylon), 1907.
Cacao, by J. Hinchley Hart (Trinidad), 191 1.
Cocoa by W. H. Johnson (Nigeria), 191 2.
Cocoa, by C. J. J. van Hall (Java), 19 14.
45
CHAPTER III
HARVESTING AND PREPARATION FOR THE
MARKET
The picking, gathering, and breaking of the cacao are
the easiest jobs on the plantation.
" How Jose formed his Cocoa Estate.'"
Gathering and Heaping.
IN the last chapter I gave a brief account of the cul-
tivation of cacao. I did not deal with forking, spray-
ing, cutlassing, weeding, and so forth, as it would
lead us too far into
purely technical
discussions. I pro-
pose we assume
that the planter has
managed his estate
well, and that the
plantation is before
us looking very
healthy and full of
fruit waiting to be
picked. The ques-
tion arises : How
shall we gather it ?
Shall we shake the tree ? Cacao pods do not fall
off the tree even when over-ripe. Shall we knock off
or pluck the pods ? To do so would make a scar on the
trunk of the tree, and these wounds are dangerous in
tropical climates, as they are often attacked by canker.
A sharp machete or cutlass is used to cut off the pods
which grow on the lower part of the trunk. As the tree
is not often strong enough to bear a man, climbing is
46
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
W
-
lA^J
(i) Common Type of Cacao Picker.
(2) Agostini Cacao Picker.
out of the question,
and a knife on a pole
is used for cutting off
the pods on the upper
branches. Various
shaped knives are used
by different planters, a
common and efficient
kind (see drawing),
resembles a hand of
steel, with the thumb
as a hook, so that the
pod-stalk can be cut
either by a push or a
pull. A good deal of
ingenuity has been
expended in devising
a " foolproof" picker
which shall render
easy the cutting of
the pod-stalk and yet
not cut or damage the
bark of the tree. A
good example is the
Agostini picker, which
was approved by
Hart.
The gathering of
the fruits of one's
labour is a pleasant
task, which occurs
generally only at rare
intervals. Cacao is
gathered the whole
year round. There is,
however, in most dis-
tricts one principal
harvest period, and
a subsidiary harvest.
HARVESTING AND PREPARATION 47
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48 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
With cacao in the tropics, as with corn in England,
the gathering of the harvest is a delight to lovers of the
beautiful. It is a great charm of the cacao plantation
that the trees are so closely planted that nowhere
does the sunlight find between the foliage a space
larger than a man's hand. After the universal glare
outside, it seems dark under the cacao, although the
ground is bright with dappled sunshine. You hear a
noise of talking, of rustling leaves, and falling pods.
You come upon a band of coolies or negroes.
One near you carries a long bamboo — as long as a
fishing rod — with a knife at the end. With a lithe
movement he inserts it between the boughs, and, by
giving it a sharp jerk, neatly cuts the stalk of a pod,
which falls from the tree to the ground. Only the ripe
pods must be picked. To do this, not only must the
picker's aim be true, but he must also have a good eye
for colour. Whether the pods be red or green, as soon
as the colour begins to be tinted with yellow it is ripe
for picking. This change occurs first along the furrows
in the pod. Fewer unripe pods would be gathered if
only one kind of pod were grown on one plantation.
The confusion of kinds and colours which is often
found makes sound judgment very difficult. That the
men generally judge correctly the ripeness of pods
high in the trees is something to wonder at. The pickers
pass on, strewing the earth with ripe pods. They are
followed by the graceful, dark-skinned girls, who gather
one by one the fallen pods from the greenery, until
their baskets are full. Sometimes a basketful is too heavy
and the girl cannot comfortably lift it on to her head,
but when one of the men has helped her to place it
there, she carries it lightly enough. She trips through
the trees, her bracelets jingling, and tumbles the pods
on to the heap. Once one has seen a great heap of
cacao pods it glows in one's memory : anything
more rich, more daring in the way of colour one's
eye is unlikely to light on. The artist, seeking only
an aesthetic effect would be content with this for the
HARVESTING AND PREPARATION 49
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5 o ' COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
consummation and would wish the pods to remain
unbroken.
Breaking and Extracting.
There are planters who believe that the product is
improved by leaving the gathered pods several days
before breaking ; and they would follow the practice,
but for the risk of losses by theft. Hence the pods are
generally broken on the same day as they are gathered.
The primitive methods of breaking with a club or by
banging on a hard surface are happily little used.
Masson of New York made pod-breaking machines,
and Sir George Watt has recently invented an in-
genious machine for squeezing the beans out of the
pod, but at present the extraction is done almost
universally by hand, either by men or women. A
knife which would cut the husk of the pod and was so
constructed that it could not injure the beans within,
would be a useful invention. The human extractor has
the advantage that he or she can distinguish the
diseased, unripe or germinated beans and separate
them from the good ones. Picture the men sitting
round the heap of pods and, farther out, in a larger
circle, twice as many girls with baskets. The man
breaks the pod and the girls extract the beans. The
man takes the pod in his left hand and gives it a sharp
slash with a small cutlass, just cutting through the
tough shell of the pod, but not into the beans inside ;
and then gives the blade, which he has embedded in
the shell, a twisting jerk, so that the pod breaks in two
with a crisp crack. The girls take the broken pods and
scoop out the snow-like beans with a flat wooden spoon
or a piece of rib-bone, the beans being pulled off the
stringy core (or placenta) which holds them together.
The beans are put preferably into baskets or, failing
these, on to broad banana leaves, which are used as trays.
Practice renders these processes cheerful and easy
work, often performed to an accompaniment of laugh-
ing and chattering.
HARVESTING AND PREPARATION 51
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52 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
Fermenting.
I allow myself the pleasure of thinking that I am
causing some of my readers a little surprise when I
tell them that cacao is fermented, and that the fer-
mentation produces alcohol. As I mentioned above,
the cacao bean is covered with a fruity pulp. The bean
as it comes from the pod is moist, whilst the pulp is
full of juice. It would be impossible to convey it to
Europe in this condition ; it would decompose, and,
when it reached its destination, would be worthless.
In order that a product can be handled commercially
it is desirable to have it in such a condition that it does
not change, and thus with cacao it becomes necessary
to get rid of the pulp, and, whilst this may be done by
washing or simply by drying, experience has shown
that the finest and driest product is obtained when
the drying is preceded by fermentation. Just as broken
grapes will ferment, so will the fruity pulp of the cacao
bean. Present day fermentaries are simply convenient
places for storing the cacao whilst the process goes
on. In the process of fermentation, Dr. Chittenden
says the beans are "stewed in their own juice."
This may be expressed less picturesquely but more
accurately by saying the beans are warmed by the
heat of their own fermenting pulp, from which they
absorb liquid.
In Trinidad the cacao which the girls have scooped
out into the baskets is emptied into larger baskets,
two of which are " crooked " on a mule's back, and
carried thus to the fermentary. In Surinam it is con-
veyed by boat, and in San Thome by trucks, which
run on Decauville railways.
The period of fermentation and the receptacle to
hold the cacao vary from country to country. With
cacao of the criollo type only one or two days fermenta-
tion is required, and as a result, in Ecuador and Ceylon,
the cacao is simply put in heaps on a suitable floor.
In Trinidad and the majority of other cacao-producing
HARVESTING AND PREPARATION 53
" Sweating " Boxes, Trinidad.
The man is holding the wooden spade used for turning
the beans.
areas, where the forastero variety predominates,
from five to nine days are required. The cacao is
put into the " sweat " boxes and covered with banana
or plantain leaves to keep in the heat. The boxes may
measure four feet each way and be made of sweet-
smelling cedar wood. As is usual with fermentation,
the temperature begins to rise, and if you thrust your
hands into the fermenting beans you find they are as
hot and mucilaginous as a poultice.
Time. Temperature.
When put in 25 C. or 77 F.
After 1 day 30 C. or 89 F.
After 2 days 37 C. or 98 F.
After 3 days 47 C. or 115 F.
(After the third day the heat is maintained, hut the
temperature rises very little.)
The temperature is the simplest guide to the amount
of fermentation taking place, and the uniformity of
the temperature in all parts of the mass is desirable,
as showing that all parts are fermenting evenly. The
54
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
cacao is usually shovelled from one box to another every
one or two davs. The chief object of this operation is
to mix the cacao and prevent merely local fermenta-
tion. To make mixing easy one ingenious planter uses
a cylindrical vessel which can be turned about on its
axis.
Fermenting Boxes, Java.
From the last box the beans are shovelled into the washing basin.
(Reproduced from van Hall's Cocoa, by permission of Messrs. Marmillan & Co.)
In other places, for example in Java, the boxes are
arranged as a series of steps, so that the cacao is trans-
ferred with little labour from the higher to the lower.
In San Thome the cacao is placed on the plantation
direct into trucks, which are covered with plaintain
leaves, and run on rails through the plantation right
into the fermentary. Some day some enterprising
firm will build a fermentary in portable sections easily
erected, and with some simple mechanical mixer to
HARVESTING AND PREPARATION 55
replace the present laborious method of turning the
beans by manual labour.
The general conditions* for a good fermentation
are :
(1) The mass of beans must be kept warm.
(2) The mass of beans must be moist, but not
sodden.
(3) In the later stages there must be sufficient air.
(4) The boxes must be kept clean.
Changes daring Fermentation.
No entirely satisfactory theory of the changes in
cacao due to fermentation has yet been established. It
is known that the sugary pulp outside the beans fer-
ments in a similar way to other fruit pulp, save that
for a yeast fermentation the temperature rises un-
usually high (in three days to 47 degrees C), and also
that there are parallel and more important changes in
the interior of the bean. The difficulty of establishing
a complete theory of fermentation of cacao has not
daunted the scientists, for they know that the roses of
philosophy are gathered by just those who can grasp
the thorniest problems. Success, however, is so far
only partial, as can be seen by consulting the best in-
troduction on the subject, the admirable collection of
essays on The Fermentation of Cacao, edited by
H. Hamel Smith. Here the reader will find the valuable
contributions of Fickendey, Loew, Nicholls, Preyer,
Schulte im Hofe, and Sack.
The obvious changes which occur in the breaking
down of the fruity exterior of the bean should be care-
fully distinguished from the subtle changes in the bean
itself. Let us consider them separately:—
(a) Changes in the Pulp. — Just as grape-pulp fer-
ments and changes to wine, and just as weak wine if
left exposed becomes sour ; so the fruity sugary pulp
* For full details see the pamphlet by the author on The Practice
of Fermentation in Trinidad.
56
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
HARVESTING AND PREPARATION 57
outside the cacao bean on exposure gives off bubbles
of carbon dioxide, becomes alcoholic, and later be-
comes acid. The acid produced is generally the pleasant
vinegar acid (acetic acid), but under some circumstances
it may be lactic acid, or the rancid-smelling butyric
acid. Kismet ! The planter trusts to nature to provide
the right kind of fermentation. This fermentation is
set up and carried on by the minute organisms (yeasts,
'-acteria, etc.), which chance to fall on the beans from
\e air or come from the sides of the receptacle. One
yeast-cell does not make a fermentation, and as no yeast
is added a day is wasted whilst any yeasts which happen
to be present are multiplying to an army large enough
to produce a visible effect on the pulp. Any organism
which happens to be on the pod, in the air, or on the
inside of the fermentary will multiply in the pulp, if
the pulp contains suitable nourishment. Each kind of
organism produces its own characteristic changes. It
would thus appear a miracle if the same substances
were always produced. Yet, just as grape-juice left
exposed to every micro-organism of the air, generally
changes in the direction of wine more or less good, so
the pulp of cacao tends, broadly speaking, to ferment
in one way. It would, however, be a serious error to
assume that exactly the same kind of fermentation
takes place in any two fermentaries in the world, and
the maximum variation must be considerable. As the
pulp ferments, it is destroyed ; it gradually changes
from white to brown, and a liquid (" sweatings ")
flows away from it. The " sweatings " taste like sweet
cider. At present this is allowed to run away through
holes in the bottom of the box, and no care is taken to
preserve what may yet become a valuable by-product.
I found by experiment that in the preparation of one
cwt. of dry beans about i\ gallons of this unstable
liquid are produced. In other words, some seven or
eight million gallons of " sweatings " run to waste
every year. In most cases only small quantities are
produced in one place at one time. This, and the lack
58
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
Cacao in the Fermenting Trucks, San Thome .
The covering of banana leaves keeps the beans warm.
of knowledge of scientifically controlled fermentation,
and the difficulty of bottling, prevent the starting of
an industry producing either a new drink or a vinegar.
The cacao juice or " sweatings " contains about fifteen
per cent, of solids, about half of which consists of sugars.
If the fermentation of the cacao were centralised in the
various districts, and conducted on a large scale under
a chemist's control, the sugars could be obtained, or
an alcoholic liquid or a vinegar could easily be pre-
pared.
The planter decides when the beans are fermented
by simply looking at them ; he judges their condition
by the colour of the pulp. When they are ready to be
removed from the fermentary they are plump, and
brown without, and juicy within.
HARVESTING AND PREPARATION 59
(b) Changes in the Interior of the Bean. — What is
the relation between the comparatively simple fer-
mentation of the pulp and the changes in the interior
of the bean ? This important question has not yet been
answered, although a number of attempts have been
made.
As far as is known, the living ferments (micro-
organisms) do not penetrate the skin of the bean, so
that any fermentation which takes place must be
promoted by unorganised ferments (or enzymes). Mr.
H. C. Brill* found raffinase, invertase, casease and
protease in the pulp ; oxidase, raffinase, casease and
emulsinlike enzymes in the fresh bean ; and all these
six, together with diastase, in the fermented bean. Dr.
Fickendey says : ' The object of fermentation is, in
the main, to kill the germ of the bean in such a manner
that the efficiency of the unorganised ferment is in no
way impaired."
From my own observations I believe that forastero
beans are killed at 47 degrees C. (which is commonly
reached when they have been fermenting 60 hours),
for a remarkable change takes place at this temperature
and time. Whilst the micro-organisms remain outside,
the juice of the pulp appears to penetrate not only the
skin, but the flesh of the bean, and the brilliant violet
in the isolated pigment cells becomes diffused more
or less evenly throughout the entire bean, including
the " germ." It is certain that the bean absorbs liquid
from the outside, for it becomes so plump that its skin
is stretched to the utmost. The following changes occur :
(1) Taste. An astringent colourless substance (a tannin or a body
possessing many properties of a tannin) changes to a tasteless
brown substance. The bean begins to taste less astringent as
the " tannin " is destroyed. With white (criollo) beans this
• change is sufficiently advanced in two days, but with purple
(forastero) beans it may take seven days.
(2) Colour. The change in the tannin results in the white (criollo
beans becoming brown and the purple (forastero) beans be-
* Philippine Journal of Science. 191 7.
60 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
coming tinged with brown. The action resembles the brown-
ing of a freshly-cut apple, and has been shown to be due to
oxygen (activated by an oxidase, a ferment encouraging com-
bination with oxygen) acting on the astringent colourless
substance, which, like the photographic developer, pyrogallic
acid, becomes brown on oxidation.
(3) Aroma. A notable change is that substances are created within
the bean, which on roasting produce the fine aromatic odour
characteristic of cocoa and chocolate, and which Messrs.
Bainbridge and Davies have shown is due to a trace (0.001
per cent.) of an essential oil over half of which consists of
linalool.*
(4) Stimulating Effect. It is commonly stated that during ferment-
tation there is generated theobromine, the alkaloid which
gives cacao its stimulating properties, but the estimation of
theobromine in fermented and unfermented beans does not
support this.
(5) Consistency . Fermented beans become crisp on drying. This
development may be due to the " tannins " encountering, in
their dispersion through the bean, proteins, which are thus
converted into bodies which are brittle solids on drying (com-
pare tanning of hides). The " hide " of the bean may be
similarly " tanned "—the shell certainly becomes leathery
(unless washed)- — but a far more probable explanation, in
both cases, is that the gummy bodies in bean and shell set
hard on drying.
We see, then, that although fermentation was prob-
ably originally followed as the best method of getting
rid of the pulp, it has other effects which are entirely
good. It enables the planter to produce a drier bean,
and one which has, when roasted, a finer flavour, colour,
and aroma, than the unfermented. Fermentation is
generally considered to produce so many desirable
results that M. Perrot's suggestion j- of removing the
pulp by treatment with alkali, and thus avoiding fer-
mentation, has not been enthusiastically received.
Beans which have been dried direct and those which
have been fermented may be distinguished as follows :
'Journal of the Chemical Society, 191 2.
f Comptes Rendus, 191 3.
HARVESTING AND PREPARATION
CACAO BEANS
6l
DRIED DIRECT.
FERMENTED AND DRIED
Shape of bean
Flat
Plumper
Shell
Soft and close fitting
Crisp and more or
less free.
Interior : colour
Slate-blue or mud-
Bright browns and
brown
purples
,, consistence
Leather to cheese
Crisp
„ appearance
Solid
Open-grained
,, taste
More or less bitter
Less astringent
or astringent
Whilst several effects of fermentation have not been
satisfactorily accounted for, I think all are agreed that
to obtain one of the chief effects of fermentation,
namelv the brown colour, oxidation is necessary. All
recognise that for this oxidation the presence of three
substances is essential :
(i) The tannin to be oxidised.
(2) Oxygen.
(3) An enzyme which encourages the oxidation.
All these occur in the cacao bean as it comes irom the
pod, but why oxidation occurs so much better in a
fermented bean than in a bean which is simply dried
is not very clear. If you cut an apple it goes brown
owing to the action of oxygen absorbed from the air,
but as long as the apple is uncut and unbruised it
remains white. If you take a cacao bean from the pod
and cut it, the exposed surface goes brown, but if you
ferment the bean the whole of it gradually goes brown
without being cut. My observations lead me to believe
that the bean does not become oxidised until it is
killed, that is, until it is no longer capable of germin-
ation. It can be killed by raising the temperature, by
fermentation or otherwise, or as Dr. Fickendey has
shown, by cooling to almost freezing temperatures. It
may be that killing the bean makes its skin and cell
walls more permeable to oxygen, but my theory is
that when the bean is killed disintegration or weaken-
ing of the cell walls, etc., occurs, and, as a result, the
62 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
enzyme and tannin, hitherto separate, become mixed,
and hence able actively to absorb oxygen. The action
of oxygen on the tannin also accounts for the loss of
astringency on fermentation, and it may be well to
point out that fermentation increases the internal sur-
face of the bean exposed to air and oxygen. The bean,
during fermentation, actually sucks in liquid from the
surrounding pulp and becomes plumper and fuller.
On drying, however, the skin, which has been ex-
panded to its utmost, wrinkles up as the interior con-
tracts and no longer fits tightly to the bean, and the
cotyledons having been thrust apart by the liquid,
no longer hold together so closely. This accounts for
the open appearance of a fermented bean. As on drying
large interspaces are produced, these allow the air to
circulate more freely and expose a greater surface of
the bean to the action of oxygen. Since the liquids in all
living matter presumably contain some dissolved
oxygen, the problem is to account for the fact that the
tannin in the unfermented bean remains unoxidised,
whilst that in the fermented bean is easily oxidised.
The above affords a partial explanation, and seems
fairly satisfactory when taken with my previous sug-
gestion, namely, that during fermentation the bean is
rendered pervious to water, which, on distributing
itself throughout the bean, dissolves the isolated masses
of tannin and diffuses it evenly, so that it encounters
and becomes mixed with the enzymes. From this it
will be evident that the major part of the oxidation of
the tannin occurs during drying, and hence the im-
portance of this, both from the point of view of the
keeping properties of the cacao, and its colour, taste
and aroma.
It will be realised from the above that there is still
a vast amount of work to be done before the chemist
will be in a position to obtain the more desirable
aromas and flavours. Having found the necessary
conditions, scientifically trained overseers will be re-
quired to produce them, and for this they will need
HARVESTING AND PREPARATION 63
to have under their direction arrangements for fer-
mentation designed on correct principles and allowing
some degree of control. Whilst improvements are
always possible in the approach to perfection, it must
be admitted that, considering the means at their dis-
posal, the planters produce a remarkably fine product.
For Drying Small Quantities.
A simple tray- barrow, which can be run under the house
when rain comes on.
Loss on Fermenting and Drying.
The fermented cacao is conveyed from the ferment-
ary to the drying trays or floors. The planter often has
some rough check-weighing system. Thus, for ex-
ample, he notes the number of standard baskets of
wet cacao put into the fermentary, and he measures the
fermented cacao produced with the help of a bottom-
less barrel. By this means he finds that on fermentation
the beans lose weight by the draining away of the
" sweatings," according to the amount and juiciness of
the pulp round them. The beans are still very wet, and
on drying lose a high percentage of their moisture by
evaporation before the cacao bean of commerce is
obtained.
64 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
The average losses may be tabulated thus :
Weight of wet cacao from pod ioo
Loss on fermentation 20 to 25
Loss on drying 40
Cacao beans of commerce obtained
35 to 4°
Spreading the Cacao Beans on mats to dry in the
sun, Ceylon.
The drying of cacao is an art. On the one hand, it is
necessary to get the beans quite dry (that is, in a con-
dition in which they hold only their normal amount of
water — 5 to 7 per cent.), or they will be liable to go
mouldy. On the other hand, the husk or shell of the
bean must not be allowed to become burned or brittle.
Brittle shells produce waste in packing and handling,
and broken shells allow grubs and mould to enter the
beans when the cacao is stored. The method of drying
varies in different countries according to the climate.
Jose says : " In the wet season when ' Father Sol
chooses to lie low behind the clouds for days and your
cocoa house is full, your curing house full, your trees
HARVESTING AND PREPARATION
66 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
loaded, then is the time to put on his mettle the ener-
getic and practical planter. In such tight corners, amigo,
I have known a friend to set a fire under his cocoa
house to keep the cocoa on the top somewhat warm.
Another friend's plan (and he recommended it) was to
address his patron saint on such occasions. He never
addressed that saint at other times."
In most producing areas sun-drving is preferred,
but in countries where much rain falls, artificial dryers
are slowly but surely coming into vogue. These vary
in pattern from simple heated rooms, with shelves, to
vacuum stoves and revolving drums. The sellers of
these machines will agree with me when I say that
every progressive planter ought to have one of these
artificial aids to use during those depressing periods
when the rain continually streams from the sky. On
fine days it is difficult to prevent mildew appearing on
the cacao, but at such times it is impossible. However,
whenever available, the sun's heat is preferable, for it
-encourages a slow and even drying, which lasts over
a period of about three days. As Dr. Paul Preuss says :
II faut eviter une dessiccation trop rapide. Le cacao
ne peut etre seche en moins de trois jours. "* Further,
most observers agree with Dr. Sack that the valuable
changes, which occur during fermentation, continue dur-
ing drying, especially those in which oxygen assists. The
full advantage of these is lost if the temperature used
is high enough to kill the enzymes, or if the drying is too
rapid, both of which may occur with artificial drying.
Sun-drying is done on cement or brick floors, on
■coir mats or trays, or on wooden platforms. In order
to dry the cacao uniformly it is raked over and over
in the sun. It must be tenderly treated, carefully
" watched and caressed," until the interior becomes
quite crisp and in colour a beautiful brown.
Sometimes the platforms are built on the top of the
fermentaries, the cacao being conveyed through a hole
in the roof of the fermentary to the drying platform.
* Dr. Paul Preuss, Le cacao. Culture et Preparation.
HARVESTING AND PREPARATION
67
" Hamel- Smith " Rotary Dryer.
(Made by Messrs. David Bridge and Co., Manchester).
The receiving cylinders, six in number, are filled approximately
three-quarters full with the cacao to be dried. These are then placed
in position on the revolving framework, which is enclosed in the
casing and slowly revolved. The cylinders are fitted with baffle plates,
which gently turn over the cacao beans at each revolution so that
even drying throughout is the result. The casing is heated to the
requisite temperature by means of a special stove, the arrangement
of which is such as to allow the air drawn from the outside to
circulate around the stove and to pass into the interior of the casing
containing the drying cylinders. The fumes from the fuel do not
in any way come in contact with the material during drying.
68
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
Drying Platforms, Trinidad, with sliding roofs,
In Trinidad the platform always has a sliding roof,
which can be pulled over the cacao in the blaze of noon
or when a rainstorm comes on. In other places, sliding
platforms are used which can be pushed under cover
in wet weather.
The Washing of Cacao.
In Java, Ceylon and Madagascar before the cacao
is dried, it is first w'ashed to remove all traces of pulp.
This removal of pulp enables the beans to be more
rapidly dried, and is considered almost a necessity in
Ceylon, where sun-drying is difficult. The practice
appears at first sight wholly good and sanitary, but
although beans so treated have a very clean and bright
appearance, looking not unlike almonds, the practice
HARVESTING AND PREPARATION 69
£3 .3
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2 .5
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cannot be recommended. There is a loss of from 2 to
10 per cent, in weight, which is a disadvantage to the
planter, whilst from the manufacturer's point of view,
washing is objectionable because, according to Dr.
Paul Preuss, the aroma suffers. Whilst this may be
Washing the Beans in a Vat to clean
off the Pulp, Ceylon.
questioned, there is no doubt that washing renders
the shells more brittle and friable, and less able to bear
carriage and handling ; and when the shell is broken,
the cacao is more liable to attack by grubs and mould.
Therein lies the chief danger of washing.
Claying, Colouring, and Polishing Cacao.
Just as in Java and Ceylon, to assist drying, they
wash off the pulp, so in Venezuela and often in Trin-
idad, with the same object, they put earth or clay on
HARVESTING AND PREPARATION 71
Claying Cacao Beans in Trinidad.
the beans. In Venezuela it is a heavv, rough coat, and
in Trinidad a film so thin that usually it is not visible.
In Venezuela, where fermentation is often only allowed
to proceed for one day, the use of fine red earth may
possibly be of value. It certainly gives the beans a very
pretty appearance ; they look as though they have
been moistened and rolled in cocoa powder. But in
Trinidad, where the fermentation is a lengthy one, the
use of clay, though hallowed by custom, is quite un-
necessary. In the report of the Commission of Enquiry
(Trinidad, 19 15) we read concerning claying that "It
is said to prevent the bean from becoming mouldy in
wet weather, to improve its marketable value by giving
it a bright and uniform appearance, and to help to pre-
serve its aroma." In the appendix to this report the
following recommendation occurs : ' The claying of
cacao ought to be avoided as much as possible, and
when necessary only sufficient to give a uniform colour
ought to be used." In my opinion manufacturers
72 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
would do well to discourage entirely the claying of
cacao either in Trinidad or Venezuela, for from their
point of view it has nothing to recommend it. One per
cent, of clay is sufficient to give a uniform colour, but
occasionally considerably more than this is used. If
we are to believe reports, deliberate adulteration is
sometimes practised. Thus in Hozv Jose formed his
Cocoa Estate we read : "A cocoa dealer of our day
to give a uniform colour to the miscellaneous brands
he has purchased from Pedro, Dick, or Sammy will
wash the beans in a heap, with a mixture of starch,
sour oranges, gum arabic and red ochre. This mixture
is always boiled. I can recommend the 'Chinos' in
this dodge, who are all adepts in all sorts of ' adulter-
ation ' schemes. They even add some grease to this
mixture so as to give the beans that brilliant gloss
which you see sometimes." In Trinidad the usual
way of obtaining a gloss is by the curious operation
known as " dancing," which is performed on the
moistened beans after the clay has been sprinkled on
them. It is a quaint sight to see a circle of seven or
eight coloured folk slowly treading a heap of beans.
The dancing may proceed for any period up to an
hour, and as they tread they sing some weird native
chant. Somewhat impressed, I remarked to the planter
that it had all the appearance of an incantation. He
replied that the process cost 2d. per cwt. Dancing
makes the beans look smooth, shiny, and even, and it
separates any beans that may be stuck together in
clusters. It may make the beans rounder, and it is said
to improve their keeping properties, but this remains
to be proved. On the whole, if it is considered desir-
able to produce a glossy appearance, it is better to use
a polishing machine.
The Weight of the Cured Cacao Bean.
Planters and others may be interested to know the
comparative sizes of the beans from the various pro-
ducing areas of the world. Some idea of these can be
HARVESTING AND PREPARATION 73
74
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
gained by considering the relative weights of the beans
as purchased in England.
Average
weight.
Kind.
of one Bean.
Grenada
ro
grammes
Para
1*0
,,
Bahia
i'i
,,
Accra
1*2
,,
Trinidad
1*2
,,
Cameroons
1*2
,,
Ceylon
1*2
,,
Caracas
• r 3
,,
Machala
• r 4
,,
Arriba
.. r 5
,,
Carupano
.. r6
> >
Number of Beans
to the lb.
45°
45°
410
380
380
380
380
35°
33°
300
280
The Yield of the Cacao Tree.
The average yield of cacao has in the past generally
been over-stated. Whether this is because the planter
is an optimist or because he wishes others to think his
efforts are crowned with exceptional success, or be-
cause he takes a simple pride in his district, is hard to
tell. Probably the tendency has been to take the finer
estates and put their results down as the average.
Of the thousands of flowers that bloom on one tree
during the year, on an average only about twenty
develop into mature pods, and each pod yields about
ii ounces of dry cured cacao. Taking the healthy
trees with the neglected, the average yield is from il
to 2 pounds of commercial cacao per tree. This seems
very small, and those who hear it for the first time
often make a rapid mental calculation of the amazing
number of trees that must be needed to produce the
world's supply, at least 250 million trees. Or again,
taking the average yield per acre as 400 lbs., we find
that there must be well over a million acres under cacao
cultivation. At the Government station at Aburi (Gold
Coast) three plots of cacao gave in 19 14 an average
yield of over 8 pounds of cacao per tree, and in 19 18
HARVESTING AND PREPARATION 75
some 468 trees (Amelonado) gave as an average 7*8
pounds per tree. This suggests what might be done
by thorough cultivation. It suggests a great oppor-
tunity for the planters — that, without planting one
more tree, they might quadruple the world's pro-
duction.
The work which has been started by the Agricultural
Department in Trinidad of recording the yield of in-
dividual trees has shown that great differences occur.
Further, it has generally been observed that the heavy
bearing trees of the first year have continued to be
heavy bearers, and the poor-yielding trees have re-
mained poor during subsequent years. The report
rightly concludes that : " The question of detecting
the poor-bearing trees on an estate and having them
replaced by trees raised from selected stock, or budded
or grafted trees, of known prolific and other good
qualities is deserving of the most serious consideration
by planters."
The Kind of Cacao that Manufacturers Like*
Planters have suggested to me that if the users and
producers of cacao could be brought together it would
be to their mutual advantage. Permit me to conceive a
meeting and report an imaginary conversation :
planter : You know we planters work a little in the dark. We don't
know quite what to strive after. Tell me exactly what kind of
cacao the manufacturers want ?
manufacturer : Every buyer and manufacturer has his tastes and
preferences and .
planter : Don't hedge !
manufacturer : The cacao of each producing area has its special
characters, even as the wine from a countrv, and part of the
good manufacturer's art is the art of blending.
planter : What — good with bad ?
manufacturer : No ! Good of one type with good of another tvpe.
planter : What do you mean exactly by good ?
* For further information read The Qualities in Cacao Desired
by Manufacturers, by N. P. Booth and A. W. Knapp, International
Congress of Tropical Agriculture, 1914.
76 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
manufacturer : By good I mean large, ripe, well-cured beans. By
indifferent I mean unripe and unfermented. By abominable I
mean germinated, mouldy, and grubby beans. Happily, the
last class is quite a small one.
planter : You don't mean to tell me that only the good cacao sells ?
manufacturer : Unfortunately, no ! There are users of inferior
beans. Practically all the cacao produced — good and indifferent
— is bought by someone. Most manufacturers prefer the fine,
healthy, well fermented kinds.
planter : Well fermented ! They have a strange way of showing
their preference. Why, they often pay more for Guayaquil than
they do for Grenada cacao. Yet Guayaquil is never properly
fermented, whilst that from the Grenada estates is perfectly
fermented.
manufacturer : Agreed. Just as you would pay more for a badly-
trained thoroughbred than for a well-trained mongrel. It's
breed they pay for. The Guayaquil breed is peculiar ; there is
nothing else like it in the world. You might think the tree had
been grafted on to a spice tree. It has a fine characteristic aroma,
which is so powerful that it masks the presence of a high per-
centage of unfermented beans. However, if Guayaquil cacao
was well-fermented it would (subject to the iron laws of Supply
and Demand) fetch a still higher price, and there would not
be the loss there is in a wet season when the Guayaquil cacao,
being unfermented, goes mouldy. I think in Grenada they
plant for high yield, and not for quality, for the bean is small
and approaches the inferior Calabacillo breed. Its value is
maintained by an amazing evenness and an uniform excellence
in curing. The way in which it is prepared for the market does
great credit to the planters.
planter : They don't clay there, do they ?
manufacturer : No ! and yet it is practically impossible to find a
mouldy bean in Grenada estates cacao. Evidently claying is
not a necessity — in Grenada.
planter : Ha ! ha ! By that I suppose you insinuate that it is not a
necessity in Trinidad, where the curing is also excellent. Or in
Venezuela ? What's the buyer's objection to claying ?
manufacturer: Simply that claying is camouflage. Actually the
buyer doesn't mind so long as the clay is not too generously
used. He objects to paying for beans and getting clay. How-
ever, it's reallv too bad to colour up with clay the black
cacao from diseased pods ; it might deceive even experienced
brokers.
HARVESTING AND PREPARATION 77
planter : Ha ! ha ! Then it's a very sinful practice. I don't think
that ever gets beyond the local tropical market. I know the
merchants judge largely by " the skin," but I thought the
London broker .
manufacturer : You see it's like this. Just as you associate a certain
label with a particularly good brand of cigar so the planter's
mark on the bag and the external appearance of the beans
influence the broker by long association. But just as you cannot
truly judge a cigar by the picture on the box, so the broker has
to consider what is under the shell of the bean. One or two
manufacturers go further, but don't trust merely to " tasting
with their eyes " — they only come to a conclusion when they
have roasted a sample.
planter : But a buyer can get a shrewd idea without roasting.,
surely ? You agree. Well, what exactly does he look for ?
manufacturer : Depends what nationality the bean is- — I mean
whether it was grown in Venezuela, Brazil, Trinidad, or the
Gold Coast. In general he likes beans with a good " break,'"
that is beans which, under the firm pressure of thumb and
forefinger, break into small crisp nibs. Closeness or cheesiness
are danger signals, warnings of lack of fermentation, — so is a
slate-coloured interior. He prefers a pale, even-coloured in-
terior,- — cinnamon, chocolate, or cafe-au-lait colour and .
planter : One moment ! I've heard before of planters being told
to ferment and cure until the bean is cinnamon colour. Why,
man, you couldn't get a pale brown interior with beans of the
Forastero or Calabacillo type if you fermented them to rotten-
ness.
manufacturer : True ! Well, if the breed on your plantation is
purple Forastero, and more than half of the cacao in the world
is, you must develop as much brown in the beans as possible.
They should have the characteristic refreshing odour of raw
cacao, together with a faint vinegary odour. The buyers much
dislike any foreign smell, any mouldy, hammy, or cheesy
odour.
planter : And where do the foreign odours come from ?
manufacturer : That's debatable. Some come from bad fermenta-
tions, due to dirty fermentaries, abnormal temperatures, or
unripe cacao.* Some come from smoky or imperfect artificial
* Cameroon cacao sometimes has an objectionable odour and
flavour, which may be due to its being fermented in an unripe con-
dition, for, as Dr. Fickendey says : " Cameroon cacao has to be
harvested unripe to save the pods from brown rot."
78 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
drying. Some come from mould. Unfermented cacao is liable
to go mouldy, so is germinated or over-ripe cacao with broken
shells. Some cacao unfortunately gets wet with sea water.
There always seems to me something pathetic in the thought
of finely-cured cacao being drowned in sea water as it goes out
in open boats to the steamer.
planter : You see, we havn't piers and jetties everywhere, and
often it's a long journey to them. Well, you've told me the
buyers note break, colour and aroma. Anything else ?
manufacturer : They like large beans, partly because largeness
suggests fineness, and partly because with large beans the per-
centage of shell is less. Small flat beans are very wasteful and
unsatisfactory ; they are nearly all shell and very difficult to
separate from the shell.
planter: When there's a drought we can't help ourselves; we
produce quantities of small flat beans.
manufacturer : It must be trying to be at the mercy of the weather.
However, the weather doesn't prevent the dirt being picked out
of the beans. Buyers don't like more than half a per cent, of
rubbish ; I mean stones, dried twig-like pieces of pulp, dust,
etc., left in the cacao, neither do they like to see " cobs," that
is, two or more beans stuck together, nor .
planter : How about gloss ?
manufacturer : The beauty of a polished bean attracts, although
they know the beauty is less than skin deep.
planter : And washing ?
manufacturer : In my opinion washing is bad, leaves the shell too
fragile. I believe in Hamburg they used to pay more for washed
beans ; although very little, I suppose less than five per cent.,
of the world's cacao is washed, but in London many buyers
prefer " the great unwashed." However, brokers are con-
servative, and would probably look on unwashed Ceylon with
suspicion.
planter : Well, I have been very interested in everything that you
have said, and I think every planter should strive to produce
the very best he can, but he does not get much encouragement.
manufacturer : How is that ?
planter : There is insufficient difference between the price of the
best and the common.
manufacturer : Unfortunately that is beyond any individual manu-
facturer's control. The price is controlled by the European
and New York markets. I am afraid that as long as there is so
HARVESTING AND PREPARATION 79
large a demand by the public for cheap cocoas so long will
there be keen competition amongst buyers for the commoner
kinds of beans.
planter : The manufacturer should keep some of his own men on
the spot to do his buying. They would discriminate carefully,
and the differences in price offered would soon educate the
planters !
manufacturer : True, but as each manufacturer requires cacao
from many countries and districts, this would be a very costly
enterprise. Several manufacturers have had their own buyers
in certain places in the Tropics for some years, and it is gener-
ally agreed that this has acted as an incentive to the growers to
improve the quality.* But in the main we have to look to the
various Government Agricultural Departments to instruct and
encourage the planters in the use of the best methods.
* The Director of Agriculture, in a paper on The Gold Coast
Cocoa Industry, says : " We are indebted to Messrs. Cadbury Bros.,
of Bournville, for a lead in this direction. They have several agents
in the colony who purchase on their behalf only the best qualities
at an enhanced price, and reject all that falls below the standard of
their requirements."
So
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
The World's Cacao Production.
(Mean of 5 years, 1914-1918. Average world production 295,600
tons per annum.) Diagram showing relative amounts produced by
various countries. The shaded parts show production of British
Possessions.
8i
CHAPTER IV
CACAO PRODUCTION AND SALE
When the English Commander, Thomas Candish, coming
into the Haven Guatulco, burnt two hundred thousand
tun of cacao, it proved no small loss to all New Spain, the
provinces Guatimala and Nicaragua not producing so
much in a whole year.
John Ogilvy's America, 1671.
WHEN one starts to discuss, however briefly,
the producing areas, one ought first to take
off one's hat to Ecuador, for so long the prin-
cipal producer, and then to Venezuela the land of the
original cacao, and producer of the finest criollo type.
Having done this, one ought to say words of praise to
Trinidad, Grenada and Ceylon for their scientific
methods of culture and preparation ; and, last but not
least, the newest and greatest producer, the Gold
Coast, should receive honourable mention. It is in-
teresting to note that in 19 18 British Possessions pro-
duced nearly half (44 per cent.) of the world's supply.
Whilst the war has not very materially hindered the
increase of cacao production in the tropics, the short-
age of shipping has prevented the amount exported
from maintaining a steady rise. The table below, taken
mainly from the " Gordian," illustrates this :
World Production of Cacao.
Total in tons (1 ton = 1000 kilogrammes)
1908 194,000 1914 277,000
1909 206,000 19*5 298,000
1910 220,000 1916 297,000
1911 241,000 1917 343,000
1912 234,000 1918 273,000
1913 258,000 1919 431,000
82
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
The following table is compiled chiefly from Messrs.
Theo. Vasmer & Co.'s reports in the Confectioners''
Union .
Cacao Production of the Chief Producing Areas of the World.
(i ton = iooo kilogrammes).
Country.
1914
i9 J 5
1916
1917
1918
Gold Coast* ^
Tons.
Tons.
Tons.
Tons.
Tons.
53,000
77,300
72,200
91,000
66,300
Brazil
40,800
45,000
43. 7°°
55, 6o °
41,900
' Ecuador
47,200
37,000
42,700
47,200
38,000
San Thome
Trinidad*
San Domingo
Venezuela
3 X A 00
29,900
33,200
31,900
26,600
28,400
24,100
24,000
31,800
26,200
20,700
20,200
2 1 ,000
23,700
18.800
16,900
18,300
15,200
13,100
13,000
Lagos*
4,900
9,100
9,000
15,400
10,200
Grenada*
6,100
6,500
5.5°°
5-5 00
6,700
Fernando Po
3,100
3-9 00
3,800
3.7°°
4,200
Ceylon*
2,900
3>9°°
3,5°°
3>7 00
4,000
Jamaica*
3,800
3,600
3.4 00
2,800
3, coo
Surinam
1,900
1,700
2,000
1,900
2,500
Cameroons
1,200
2,400
3,000
2,800
1 ,300
Haiti
2,100
1,800
1,900
1,500
2,300
French Cols.
1,800
1,900
1,600
2,200
1,700
Cuba
1,800
1,700
1,500
i,5 00
1,000
Java
1,600
1,500
1.500
1,600
800
Samoa
1,100
900
900
1,200
800
Togo
200
300
400
1,600
I, coo
St. Lucia*
700
800
700
600
500
Belgian Congo
500
600
800
800
900
Dominica*
45°
55°
300
300
300
St. Vincent*
100
100
75
5°
75
Other countries
3,200
3,000
3,5°°
3.5 00
3>5 00
Total
275,900
296,100
295,400
344,000
275,600
Total British
Empire
102,000
128,000
1 20 ,000
153,000
119,000
* British Possessions.
CACAO PRODUCTION AND SALE
83
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84 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
SOUTH AMERICAN CACAO.
In the map of South America given on p. 89 the
principal cacao producing areas are marked. Their
production in 19 18 was as follows :
Cacao Beans Exported.
Country. Metric Tons.*
Brazil 4^865
Ecuador 38,000
(Guayaquil alone 34,973 tons)
Venezuela 13, coo
Surinam 2,468
British Guiana 20
South American Total . . 95,353 tons
Percentage
of
World's production.
l 5'4
14/0
5'°
°'9
O'OI
IS'! 1 ?**
cent.
Ecuador.
Arriba and Machala Cacaos. — In Ecuador, for many-
years the chief producing area of the world, dwell the
cacao kings, men who possess very large and wild cacao
forests, each containing several million cacao trees.
The method of culture is primitive, and no artificial
manures are used, yet for several generations the trees
have given good crops and the soil remains as fertile
as ever. The two principal cacaos are known as Arriba
and Machala, or classed together as Guayaquil after
the city of that name. Guayaquil, the commercial
metropolis of the Republic of Ecuador, is an ancient
and picturesque city built almost astride the Equator..
Despite the unscientific cultural methods, and the
imperfect fermentation, which results in the cacao
containing a high percentage of unfermented beans
and not infrequently mouldy beans also, this cacao is
much appreciated in Europe and America, for the beans
* These figures, and others quoted later in this chapter, are
estimates given by Messrs. Theo. Vasmer & Co. in their reports.
CACAO PRODUCTION AND SALE
85
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86
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
are large and possess a fine strong flavour and char-
acteristic scented aroma. The amount of Guayaquil
cacao exported in 19 19 was 33,209 tons.
An interesting experiment was made in 1912, when
a protective association known as the Asociacion de
Agricultores del Ecuador was legalised. This collects
half a golden dollar on every hundred pounds of cacao,
Sorting Cacao for Shipment, Guayaquil,
Ecuador.
and by purchasing and storing cacao on its own account
whenever prices fall below a reasonable minimum,
attempts in the planter's interest to regulate the selling
price of cacao. Unfortunately, as cacao tends to go
mouldy when stored in a damp tropical climate, the
Asociacion is not an unmixed blessing to the manu-
facturer and consumer.
CACAO PRODUCTION AND SALE 87
Brazil.
Para and Bahia Cacaos. — Brazil has made marked
progress in recent years, and has now overtaken Ecu-
ador in quantity of produce ; the cacao, however, is
quite different from, and not as fine as, that from
Guayaquil. The principal cacao comes from the State
of Bahia, where the climate is ideal for its cultivation.
Indeed so perfect are the natural conditions that for-
merly no care was taken in cacao production, and
much of that gathered w r as wild and uncured. During
the last decade there has been an improvement, and
this would, doubtless, be more noteworthy if the means
of transport were better, for at present the roads are
bad and the railways inadequate ; hence most of the
cacao is brought down to the city of Bahia in canoes.
Nevertheless, Bahia cacao is better fermented than the
peculiar cacao of Para, another important cacao from
Brazil, which is appreciated by manufacturers on
account of its mild flavour. Bahia exported in 191 9
about 51,000 tons of cacao.
Venezuela.
Caracas, Carnpano and Maracaibo Cacaos. — Vene-
zuela has been called " the classic home of cacao,"
and had not the chief occupation of its inhabitants
been revolution, it would have retained till now the
important position it held a hundred years ago. It is in
this enchanted country (it was at La Guayra in Caracas,
as readers of Westzvard Ho ! will remember, that
Amyas found his long-sought Rose) that the finest
cacao in the world is produced : the criollo, the bean
with the golden-brown break. The tree which pro-
duces this is as delicate as the cacao is fine, and
there is some danger that this superb cacao may die
out — a tragedy which every connoisseur would wish
to avert.
The Gordian estimates that Venezuela sent out from
her three principal ports in 1919 some 16,226 tons of
cacao.
88 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
THE WEST INDIES.
In the map of South America the principal West
Indian islands producing cacao are marked. Their
production in 191 8 was as follows :
Cacao Beans Exported. Percentage of
Metric Tons . World 's production .
Trinidad (British) 26,177 9/7
San Domingo 1 8,839 7'°
Grenada (British) 6,704 2*5
Jamaica (British) 3, 000 n
Haiti 2,272 o*8
St. Lucia (British) 500 o - 2
Dominica (British) 300 o*i
St. Vincent (British) .... 70 0*02
West Indies Total .... 57,862 tons 21 "42 per cent.
Br. West Indies 36,751 tons 13*6 per cent.
Trinidad and Grenada.*
Cacao was grown in the West Indies in the seven-
teenth century, and the inhabitants, after the destruct-
ive " blast," which utterly destroyed the plantations
in 1727, bravely replanted cacao, which has flourished
there ever since. The cacaos of Trinidad and Grenada
have long been known for their excellence, and it is
mainly from Trinidad that the knowledge of methods
of scientific cultivation and preparation has been
spread to planters all round the equator. The cacao
from Trinidad (famous alike for its cacao and its pitch
lake) has always held a high place in the markets of the
world, although a year or two ago the inclusion of in-
ferior cacao and the practice of claying was abused
by a few growers and merchants. With the object of
stopping these abuses and of producing a uniform
cacao, there was formed a Cacao Planters' Associ-
ation, whose business it is to grade and bulk, and sell
on a co-operative basis, the cacao produced by its
members. This experiment has proved successful, and
* Cacao production in 1919: Trinidad 27,185 tons; Grenada
4,020 tons.
CACAO PRODUCTION AND SALE
89
Map of South America and the West Indies.
Only cacao-producing areas are marked.
9 o
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
in 19 1 8 the Association handled the cacao from over
100 estates. We may expect to see more of these cacao
planters' associations formed in various parts of the
world, for they are in line with the trend of the times
Workers on a Cacao Plantation.
(Messrs. Cadbury's estate in Trinidad.)
towards large, and ever larger, unions and combinations.
Trinidad is also progressive in its system of agricultural
education and in its formation of agricultural credit socie-
ties. The neighbouring island of Grenada is mountain-
ous, smaller than the Isle of Wight and (if the Irish will
forgive me) greener than Erin'sIsle.The methods of cacao
cultivation in vogue there might seem natural to the Bri-
tish farmer, but they are considered remarkable by cacao
planters, for in Grenada the soil on which the trees grow is
forked or tilled. Possibly from this follows the equally
remarkable corollary that the cacao trees flourish without
a single shade tree. The preparation of the bean receives
CACAO PRODUCTION AND SALE 91
as much care as the cultivation of the tree, and
the cacao which comes from the estates has an un-
varied constancy of quality, not infrequently giving
100 per cent, of perfectly prepared beans. It is largely
due to this that the cacao from this small island occu-
pies such an important position on the London market.
The cacao from San Domingo is known commer-
cially as Samana or Sanchez. A fair proportion is of
inferior quality, and is little appreciated on the
European markets. The bulk of it goes to America.
The production in 1919 was about 23,000 tons.
AFRICAN CACAO.
In the map of Africa the principal producing areas
are marked. Their production in 191 8 was as follows :
Cacao Beans Exported.
Metric Tons. Percentage of
World's production.
Gold Coast (British) 66,343 24*5
San Thome 19,185 7'i
Lagos (British) 10,223 3'^
Fernando Po 4,220 i'6
Cameroons 1 ,250 0*4
Togo 1 ,000 o - 4
Belgian Congo 875 0*3
African Total 103,096 tons 38-1 per cent.
British Africa 76,56610ns 28*3 per cent.
The Gold Coast [Industrie, floremus)
Accra Cacao.
The name recalls stories of a romantic and awful
past, in which gold and the slave trade played their
terrible part. Happily these are things of the past ; so
is the " deadly climate." We are told that it is now no
worse than that of other tropical countries. According
to Sir Hugh Clifford, until recently Governor of the
Gold Coast, the " West African Climatic Bogie " is a
9 2
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
Map of Africa — with only cacao-producing
areas marked
CACAO PRODUCTION AND SALE 93
94 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
myth, and the " monumental reputation for unhealthi-
ness " undeserved. When De Candolle wrote con-
cerning cacao, " I imagine it would succeed on the
Guinea Coast,"* as the West African coast is some-
times called, he achieved prophecy, but he little
dreamed how wonderful this success would be. The
rise and growth of the cacao-growing industry in the
Gold Coast is one of the most extraordinary develop-
ments of the last few decades. In thirty years it has
increased its export of cacao from nothing to 40 percent,
of the total of the world's production.
Production of Cacao on the Gold Coast.
Year. Quantity. Value. £
1891 o tons (80 lbs.) 4
1896 34 tons 2,276
1 90 1 980 tons 42.837
1906 8,975 tons 336.269
1911 30, 798 tons 1,613,468
1916 72,161 tons 3,847,720
1917 90,964 tons 3,146,851
1918 66,343 tons l , 796, 985
1 91 9 177,000 tons 8,000,000
The conditions of production in the Gold Coast
present a number of features entirely novel. We hear
from time to time of concessions being granted in
tropical regions to this or that company of enterprising
European capitalists, who employ a few Europeans
and send them to the area to manage the industry. The
inhabitants of the area become the manual wage earners
of the company, and too often in the lust for profits,
or as an offering to the god of commercial efficiency,
the once easy and free life of the native is lost for ever
and a form of wage-slavery takes its place with doubt-
ful effects on the life and health of the workers. In
defence it is pointed out that yet another portion of
the earth has been made productive, which, without
the initiative of the European capitalist, must have lain
*De Candolle, Origin of Cultivated Plants, quoted by R. Whymper.
CACAO PRODUCTION AND SALE 95
96 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
fallow. But in the Gold Coast the " indolent " native
has created a new industry entirely native owned, and
in thirty years the Gold Coast has outstripped all the
areas of the world in quantity of produce. Forty years
ago the natives had never seen a cacao tree, now at
least fifty million trees flourish in the colony. This
could not have happened without the strenuous efforts
of the Department of Agriculture. The Gold Coast
now stands head and shoulders above any other pro-
ducing area for quantity. The problem of the future
lies in the improvement of quality, and difficult though
this problem be, we cannot doubt, given a fair chance,
that the far-sighted and energetic Agricultural Depart-
ment will solve it. Indeed, it must injustice be pointed
out that already a very marked improvement has been
made, and now fifty to one hundred times as much
good fermented cacao is produced as there was ten
years ago.* However, if a high standard is to be main-
tained, the work of the Department of Agriculture
must be supplemented by the willingness of the cacao
buyers to pay a higher price for the better qualities.
The phenomenal growth of this industry is the more
remarkable when we consider the lack of roads and
beasts of burden. The usual pack animals, horses and
oxen, cannot live on the Gold Coast because of the
tsetse fly, which spreads amongst them the sleeping
sickness. And so the native, used as he is to heavy
head-loads, naturally adopted this as his first method
of transport, and hundreds, of the less affluent natives
arrive at the collecting centres with great weights of
* " Towards this latter result Messrs. Cadbury Bros., Ltd.,
rendered great assistance. This firm sent representatives into the
country, who proved to the natives that they were willing to pay an
enhanced price for cocoa prepared in a manner suitable for their
requirements. A fair amount of cocoa was purchased by them, and
demonstrations were made in some places with regard to the proper
mode of fermentation." (The Agricultural and Forest Products of
British West Africa. Imperial Institute Handbook, by G. C. Dud-
geon).
CACAO PRODUCTION AND SALE
97
<
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O
O
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9 8
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
cacao on their heads. "Women and children, light-
hearted, chattering and cheerful, bear their 60 lbs.
head-loads with infinite patience. Heavier loads, ap-
proaching sometimes
two hundredweight,
are borne by grave,
silent H ausa-men ,
often a distance of
thirty or forty miles."
One day, not so
many years ago, some
more ingenious native
in the hills at the back
of the Coast, filled an
old palm-oil barrel
with cacao and rolled
it down the ways to
Accra. And now to-
day it is a familiar sight
to see a man trundling
a huge barrel of cacao,
weighing half a ton,
down to the coast. The
sound of a motor horn
is heard, and he wildly
turns the barrel aside
to avoid a disastrous
collision with the new,
weird transport ani-
mal from Europe.
Motor lorries have
been used with great
seven years ; they have
Drying Cacao Beans at Mramra.
Reproduced bv permission from the Imperial Institute
series of Handbooks to the Commercial Resources of
the Tropics.
effect on the coast for some
the advantage over pack animals that they do not
succumb to the bite of the dreaded tsetse fly, but
nevertheless not a few derelicts lie, or stand on their
heads, in the ditches, the victims of over-work or
accident.
Having brought the cacao to the coast, there yet
CACAO PRODUCTION AND SALE
99
Shooting Cacao from the Road to the Beach, Accra.
100
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
remains the lighterage to the ocean liner, which lies
anchored some two miles from the shore, rising and
falling to the great rollers from the broad Atlantic. A
long boat is used, manned by some twenty swarthy
natives, who glory — vocally — in their passage through
the dangerous surf which
roars along the sloping
beach. The cacao is piled
high on wood racks and
covered with tarpaulins
and seldom shares the
fate of passengers and
crew, who are often
drenched in the surf
before they swing by a
crane in the primitive
mammy chair, high but
not dry, on board the
hospitable Elder Demp-
ster liner.
/
San Thome
(and Principe).
We now turn from the
Gold Coast and the suc-
cess of native ownership
to another part of West
Africa, a scene of singular beauty, where the Portuguese
planters have triumphed over savage nature.
Two lovely islands, San Thome and its little
sister isle of Principe, lie right on the Equator in
the Gulf of Guinea, about two hundred miles from
the African mainland. A warm, lazy sea, the sea
of the doldrums, sapphire or turquoise, or, in deep
shaded pools, a radiant green, joyfully foams itself
away against these fairy lands of tossing palm,
dense vegetation, rushing cascades, and purple,
precipitous peaks. A soil of volcanic origin is
covered with a rich humus of decaying vegetation,
Rolling Cacao, Gold
Coast.
CACAO PRODUCTION AND SALE 101
and this, with a soft humid atmosphere, makes an
ideal home for cacao.
The bean, introduced in 1822, was not cultivated
with diligence till fifty years ago. To-day the two
islands, which together have not half the area of Surrey,
grow 32,000 metric tons of cacao a year, or about one-
tenth of the world's production.* The income of a
Rolling Cacao, Gold Coast.
Reproduced by permission of the Editor of " West Africa."
single planter, once a poor peasant, has amounted
to hundreds of thousands sterling.
Dotted over the islands, here nestling on a moun-
tain side, there overlooking some blue inlet of the sea,
are more than two hundred plantations, or rocas,
whose buildings look like islands in a green sea of cacao
* The Gordian's estimate for the amount exported in 191 9
is '40, 766 tons.
102
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
Carrying Cacao to the Railway Station,
Xsawam, Gold Coast.
shrubs, above which rise the grey stems of such forest
trees as have been left to afford shade.
Here, not only have the cultivation, fermentation
and drying of cacao been brought to the highest state
of perfection, but the details of organisation — planters'
homes, hospitals, cottages, drying sheds and the Decau-
ville railways — are often models of their kind.
Intelligent and courteous, the planters make delight-
ful hosts. At their homes, five thousand miles away
from Europe, the visitor, who knows what it means
to struggle with steaming, virgin forests, rank encroach-
ing vegetation, deadly fevers, and the physical and
mental inertia engendered by the tropics, will marvel
CACAO PRODUCTION AND SALE 103
at the courage and energy that have triumphed over
such obstacles. Calculating from various estimates,
each labourer in the islands appears to produce about
1,640 pounds of cacao yearly, and the average yield
per cultivated acre is 480 pounds, or about 30 pounds
more than that of Trinidad in 1898.
Wagon Loads of Cacao being taken from Messrs.
Cadbury's Depot to the Beach, Accra.
As there is no available labour in San Thome, the
planters get their workers from the mainland of Africa.
Prior to the year 1908, the labour system of the islands
was responsible for grave abuses. This has now been
changed. Natives from the Portuguese colonies of
Angola and Mozambique now enter freely into con-
tracts ranging from one to five years, two years being
the time generally chosen. At the end of their term of
work they either re-contract or return to their native
land with their savings, with which they generally buy
a wife. The readiness with which the natives volunteer
for the work on the islands is proof both of the sound-
ness of the system of contract and of the good treat-
ment they receive at the hands of the planters.
104
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
The Ruildings of the Boa Entrada Cacao Estate,
San Thome.
Unfortunately, the mortality of the plantation
labourers has generally been very heavy, one large and
well-managed estate recording on an average of seven
years an annual death rate of 148 per thousand, and
many rocas have still more appalling records. Against
this, other plantations only a few miles away may show
a mortality approximating to that of an average European
city. In February, 191 8, the workers in San Thome
numbered 39,605, and the deaths during the previous
year, 1917, were 1,808, thus showing on official figures
an annual mortality of 45 per thousand. Comparing
this with the 26 per thousand of Trinidad, and re-
membering that most of the San Thome labourers are
in the prime of life, it will be seen that this death rate
represents a heavy loss of life and justifies the con-
tinued demand from the British cocoa manufacturers
CACAO PRODUCTION AND SALE 105
for the appointment and report of a special medical
commission.
The Portuguese Government is prepared to meet
this demand, for it has recently sent a Commissioner,
Dr. Joaquim Gouveia, to San Thome to make a
thorough examination of labour conditions, including
work, food, housing, hospitals and medical attendance,
and to report fully and confidentially to the Portu-
guese Colonial Secretary.
Drying Cacao at Agua Ize, San Thom£.
The trays are on wheels, which run on rails.
If this important step is followed by adequate
measures of reform there is every reason to hope that
the result will be a material reduction in the death
rate, as the good health enjoyed on some of the rocas
shows San Thome to be not more unhealthy than other
tropical islands.
Cameroons.
The Cameroons, which we took from the" Germans
in 19 1 6, is also on the West Coast of Africa. It lags far
behind the Gold Coast in output, although both com-
menced to grow cacao about the same time. The
io6
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
Barrel Rolling, Gold Coast.
Germans spent great sums in the Cameroons in giving
the industry a scientific basis, they adopted the " estate
plan," and possibly the fact that they employ contract
labour explains why they have not had the same pheno-
menal success that the natives working for themselves
have achieved on the Gold Coast.
Various countries and districts which are respon-
sible for about 97 per cent, of the world's cacao crop
have now been named and briefly commented upon.
Of other producing areas, the islands, Ceylon and
Java, are worthy of mention. In both of these (as also
in Venezuela, Samoa* and Madagascar) is grown the
* Robert Louis Stevenson was one of the pioneers in cacao plant-
ing in Samoa, as readers of his Vailima Letters will remember.
CACAO PRODUCTION AND SALE 107
criollo cacao, which produces the plump, sweet beans
with the cinnamon " break." Cacao beans from Ceylon
or Java are easily recognised by their appearance, be-
cause, being washed, they have beautiful clean shells,
but there is a serious objection to washed shells, namely,
that they are brittle and as thin as paper, so that many
are broken before thev reach the manufacturer. Ceylon
is justlv famous for its fine " old red " ; along with
Bagging Cacao, Gold Coast.
Reproduced by permission of the Editor of " West Africa."
this a fair quantity of inferior cacao is produced, which
by being called Ceylon (such is the power of a good
name), tends to claim a higher price than its quality
warrants.
CACAO MARKETS.
From the Plantation to the European Market.
It is mentioned above that on the Gold Coast cacao
is brought down to Accra as head-loads, or in barrels,
or in motor-lorries. These methods are exceptional ;
in other countries it is usually put in sacks at the estate.
Every estate has its own characteristic mark, which is
io8
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
Surf Boats by the Side of the Ocean Liner, Accra.
CACAO PRODUCTION AND SALE 109
stamped on the bags, and this is recognised by the
buyers in Europe, and gives a clue to the quality of
the contents. There is not as yet a uniform weight for
a bag of cacao, although they all vary between one and
two cwt., thus the bags from Africa contain 1^ cwts.,
whilst those from Guayaquil contain if cwts. In these
bags the cacao is taken to the port on the backs of mules,
in horse or ox carts, in canoes down a stream, or more
rarely, by rail. It is then conveyed by lighters or surf
boats to the great ocean liners which lie anchored off
the shore. In the hold of the liner it is rocked thousands
of miles over the azure seas of the tropics to the grey-
green seas of the temperate zone. In pre-war days a
million bags used to go to Hamburg, three-quarters
of a million to New York, half a million to Havre, and
only a trifling quarter of a million to London. Now
London is the leading cacao market of the world.
During the war the supplies were cut off from Ham-
burg, whilst Liverpool, becoming a chief port for
African cacao, in 1916 imported a million bags. Then
New York began to gorge cacao, and in 1917 created
a record, importing some two and a half million bags,
or about 150,000 tons. Whilst everything is in so fluid
a condition it is unwise to prophesy ; it may, however,
be said that there are many who think, now that the
consumption of cocoa and chocolate in America has
reached such a prodigious figure, that New York may
yet oust London and become the central dominating
market of the world.
Difficulties of Buying.
Every country produces a different kind of cacao,
and the cacao from any two plantations in the same
country often shows wide variation. It may be said that
there are as many kinds of cacao as there are of apples,
cacao showing as marked differences as exhibited by
crabs and Blenheims, not to mention James Grieves,
Russets, Worcester Pearmains, Newton Wonders, Lord
Derbys, Belle de Boskoops, and so forth. Further,
no
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
Bagging Cacao Beans for Shipment, Trinidad.
Transferring Bags of Cacao Beans to
Lighters, Trinidad.
CACAO PRODUCTION AND SALE in
whilst the bulk of the cacao is good and sound, a little
of the cacao grown in any district is liable to have
suffered from drought or from attacks by moulds or
insect pests. It will be realised from these fragmentary
remarks that the buyer must exercise perpetual vigil-
ance.
Cacao Sales.
Before the Cocoa Prices Orders were published
(March, 191 8) the manner of conducting the sale of
cacao in London was as follows. Brokers' lists giving the
kinds of cacao for sale, and the number of bags of each,
were sent, together with samples, to the buyers some
days beforehand, so that they were able to decide
what they wished to purchase and the price they were
willing to pay. The sales always took place at 1 1 o'clock
on Tuesdays in the Commercial Sale Room in Minc-
ing Lane, that narrow street off Fenchurch Street,
where the air is so highly charged with expert know-
ledge of the world's produce, that it would illuminate
the prosaic surroundings with brilliant flashes if it
could become visible. On the morning of the sale
samples of the cacaos are on exhibit at the principal
brokers. The man in the street brought into the broker's
office would ask what these strange beans might be.
" A new kind of almond ? " he might ask. And then,
on being told they were cacao, he would see nothing
to choose between all the various lots and wonder why
so much fuss was made over discriminating amongst
the similar and distinguishing the identical. He might
even marvel a little at the expert knowledge of the
buyers ; yet, frankly, the pertinent facts concerning
quality, known by the buyer, are fewer and no more
difficult to learn than the thousand and one facts a lad
must have at his linger ends to pass the London
Matriculation ; they are valued because they are in-
accessible to the multitude ; only a few people have
the opportunity of learning them, and their use may
make or mar fortunes. The judgment of quality is,
ii2 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
however, only one side of the art of buying. We have
to add to these a knowledge of the conditions prevail-
ing in the various markets of the world, a knowledge of
stocks and probable supplies, and given this know-
ledge, an ability to estimate their effect, together with
other conditions, agricultural, political and social, on
the price of the commodity. The room in which the
sales are conducted is not a large one, and usually
not more than a hundred people, buyers, pressmen,
etc., are present. Not a single cacao bean is visible,
and it might be an auction sale of property for all the
uninitiated could tell. The cacao is put up in lots.
Usually the sales proceed quietly, and it is difficult to
realize that many thousands of bags of cacao are chang-
ing hands. The buyers have perfect trust in the broker's
descriptions ; they know the invariable fair-play of
the British broker, which is a by-word the world over.
The machinery of the proceedings is lubricated by an
easy flow of humour. Sometimes a few bags of sea-
damaged cacao or of cacao sweepings are put up, and
a good deal of keenness is shown by the individuals
who buy this stuff. It is curious that a whole crowd of
busy people will allow their time to be taken up whilst
there is a spirited fight between two or three buyers
for a single bag.
Whilst the London Auction Sales are of importance
as fixing the prices for the various markets, and reflect-
ing to a certain extent the position of supply and de-
mand, only a fraction of the world's cacao changes
hands at the Auction Sales, the greater part*of it being
bought privately for forward delivery.
Prices and Quotations .
The price of cacao is liable to fluctuations like every
other product, thus in 1907 Trinidad cacao rose to one
shilling a pound, whilst there have been periods when
it has only fetched sixpence per pound. On April 2nd,
19 1 8, the Food Controller fixed the prices of the finest
CACAO PRODUCTION AND SALE 113
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ii4 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
qualities of the different varieties of raw cacao as
follows :
British West Africa (Accra) 65s. per cwt.
Bahia
Cameroons /
San Thome f 85s. „ ,,
Congo I
Grenada
Trinidad 1
Demerara 90s. ,, „
Guayaquil |
Surinam
Ceylon
Java 100s. ,,
Samoa J
The diagram on p. 1 13 shows the average market pri
in the United Kingdom of some of the more importa
cacaos before, during, and after the war. The mc
striking change is the sudden rise when the Goven
ment control was removed. All cacaos showed a sut
stantial advance varying from 80 to 150 per cent, o
pre-war values. Further large advances have taken plac.
in the early months of 1920.
The Call of the Tropics.
Many a young man, reading in some delightful book
of travel, has longed to go to the tropics and see the
wonders for himself. There can be no doubt that 2
sojourn in equatorial regions is one of the most edu-
cative of experiences. In support of this I cannot dc
better than quote Grant Allen, who regarded th>
tropics as the best of all universities. " But above al
in educational importance I rank the advantage ol
seeing human nature in its primitive surroundings,
far from the squalid and chilly influences of the tail-
end of the Glacial epoch." ..." We must forge
all this formal modern life ; we must break away fron
this cramped, cold, northern world ; we must fint
ourselves face to face at last, in Pacific isles or Africar
CACAO PRODUCTION AND SALE
"5
forests, with the underlying truths of simple naked
nature."
Many will recall how Charles Kingsley's longing to
see the tropics was ultimately satisfied. In his book,
in which he describes how he " At Last " visited the
West Indies, we read that he encountered a happy
Scotchman living a quiet life in the dear little island
Group of Workers on Cacao Estate.
ome are standing on the Drying Platform, which is the roof of the
Fermentary.
f Monos. " I looked at the natural beauty and re-
>ose ; at the human vigour and happiness ; and I said
o myself, and said it often afterwards in the West
ndies : ' Why do not other people copy this wise
cot ? Why should not many a young couple, who
ave education, refinement, resources in themselves,
at are, happily or unhappily for them, unable to
;ep a brougham and go to London balls, retreat to
)me such paradise as this (and there are hundreds like
n6 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
it to be found in the West Indies), leaving behind them
false civilisation, and vain desires, and useless show ;
and there live in simplicity and content ' The Gentle
Life ' ? "
The Planter's Life.
Few who go to the tropics escape their fascination,
and of those that are young, few return to colder climes.
Some become overseers, others, more fortunate, own
the estates they manage. It is inadvisable for the in-
experienced to start on the enterprise of buying and
planting an estate with less capital than two or three
thousand pounds ; but, once established, a cacao
plantation may be looked upon as a permanent invest-
ment, which will continue to bear and give a good
yield as long as it receives proper attention.
In the recently published Letters of Anthony Farley
the writer tells how Farley encounters in South America
an old college friend of his, who in his early days was
on the high road to a brilliant political career. Here he
is, a planter. He explains :
" My mother was Spanish ; her brother owned this place. When
he died it came to me."
" How did your uncle hold it through the various revolutions ? "
" Nothing simpler. He became an American citizen. When
trouble threatened he made a bee-line for the United States Con-
sulate. I'm British, of course. Well, just when I had decided upon a
political life, I found it necessary to come here to straighten things
out. One month lengthened itself into a year. I grew fascinated.
Here I felt a sense of immense usefulness. On the mountain side
my coffee-trees flourished ; down in the valley grew cacao."
" I grow mine on undulations."
" You needn't, you know, so long as you drain."
" Yes, but draining on the flat is the devil."
" Anyhow, I always liked animals — you haven't seen my pigs
yet — and horses and mules need careful tending. A cable arrived
one morning announcing an impending dissolution. I felt like an
unwilling bridegroom called to marry an ugly bride. I invited my
soul. Here, thought I to myself, are animals and foodstuffs — good,
honest food at that. If I go back it is only to fill people's bellies with
political east wind."
CACAO PRODUCTION AND SALE 117
" To come to the point, I decided to grow coffee and cacao. I
cabled infinite regrets. The decision once made, I was happy as a
sandboy. J'y suis,j'y reste, said I to myself, said I. Nor have I ever
cast one longing look behind."*
This is fiction, but I think it is true that very few,
if any, who become planters in the tropics ever re-
turn permanently to England. The hospitality of the
planters is proverbial : there must be something good
and free about the planter's life to produce men so
genial and generous. There is a picture that I often
recall, and never without pleasure. A young planter
and I had, with the help of more or less willing mules,
climbed over the hills from one valley to the next.
The valley we had left is noted for its beauty, but to
me it had become familiar ; the other valley I saw
now for the first time. The sides were steep and
covered with trees, and I could only see one dwelling
in the valley. We reached this by a circuitous path
through cacao trees. Approaching it as we did, the
bungalow seemed completely cut off from the rest of
the world. We were welcomed by the planter and his
wife, and by those of the children who were not shy.
I have never seen more chubby or jolly kiddies, and I
know from the sweetness of the children that their
mother must have given them unremitting attention.
I wondered indeed if she ever left them for a moment.
I knew, too, from the situation of the bungalow in the
heart of the hills that visitors were not likely to be
frequent. The planter's life is splendid for a man who
likes open air and nature, but I had sometimes thought
that their wives would not find the life so good. I was
mistaken. When we came away, after riding some
distance, through a gap in the cacao we saw across the
valley a group of happy children. They saw us, and all
of them, even the shy ones, waved us adieux.
* Quoted from the New Age, where the Letters of Anthony
Farley first appeared .
n8 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
Carting Cacao to Railway Station, Ceylon.
The Carenage, Grenada.
ii9
CHAPTER V
THE MANUFACTURE OF COCOA AND
CHOCOLATE
The Indians, from whom we borrow it, are not very nice
in doing it ; they roast the kernels in earthen pots, then free
them from their skins, and afterwards crush and grind
them between two stones, and so form cakes of it with
their hands. Natural History of Chocolate,
R. Brookes, 1730.
Early Methods in the Tropics.
AS the cacao bean is grown in tropical countries,
it is there that we must look for the first attempts
at manufacturing from it a drink or a food-
stuff. The primitive method of preparation was very
simple, consisting in roasting the beans in a pot or on
a shovel to develop their flavour, winnowing in the
wind, and then rubbing the broken shelled beans be-
tween stones until quite fine. The curious thing is that
on grinding the cacao bean in the heat of a tropical day
we do not produce a powder but a paste. This is be-
cause half the cacao bean consists of a fat which is
liquid at 90°F., a temperature which is reached in the
shade in tropical countries. This paste was then made
into small rolls and put in a cool place to set. Thus was
produced the primitive unsweetened drinking choco-
late. This is the method, which Elizabethans, who
ventured into the tangled forests of equatorial America,
found in use ; and this is the method they brought
home to Europe. In the tropics these simple processes
are followed to this day, but in Europe they have
undergone many elaborations and refinements.
120 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
If the reader will look at the illustration entitled
" Women grinding chocolate," he will see how the
brittle roasted bean is reduced to a paste in primitive
manufacture. A stone, shaped like a rolling-pin, is
being pushed to and fro over a concave slab, on which
the smashed beans have already been reduced to a paste
of a doughy consistency.
4 fig. ; Fig. i Fig. 2
Early Factory Methods.
Fig. i is a workman roasting the cacao in an iron kettle over a
furnace. He has to stir the beans to keep them from burning. Fig. 2
is a person sifting and freeing the roasted kernels (which when
broken into fragments are called " nibs ") from their husks or shell.
Fig. 3 shows a workman pounding the shell-free nibs in an iron
mortar. Fig. 4 represents a workman grinding the nibs on a hard
smooth stone with an iron roller. The grinding is performed over a
chafing-dish of burning charcoal, as it is necessary, for ease of grind-
ing, to keep the paste in a liquid condition.
Early European Manufacture.
The conversion of these small scale operations into
the early factory process is well shown in the plate
which I reproduce above from Arts and Sciences, pub-
lished in 1768.
A certain atmosphere of dreamy intellectuality is
MANUFACTURE
121
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122 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
associated with coffee, so that the roasting of it is felt
to be a romantic occupation. The same poetic atmos-
phere surrounded the manufacture of drinking choco-
late in the early days : the writers who revealed the
secrets of its preparation were conscious that they were
giving man a new aesthetic delight and the subject is
treated lovingly and lingeringly. One, Pietro Metas-
tasio, went so far as to write a " cantata " describing its
manufacture. He describes the grinding as being done
by a vigorous man, and truly, to grind by hand is a
very laborious operation, which happily in more recent
times has been performed by the use of power-driven
mills.
Operations on a large scale followed the founding of
Fry and Sons at Bristol in 1728, and of Lombart, " la
plus ancienne chocolaterie de France," in Paris in
1760. In Germany the first chocolate factory was
erected at Steinhunde in 1756, under the patronage
of Prince Wilhelm, whilst in America the well-known
firm of Walter Baker and Co. began in a small way in
1765. From the methods adopted in these factories
have gradually developed the modern processes which
I am about to describe. •
MODERN PRACTICE.
As the early stages in the manufacture of cocoa and
of chocolate are often identical, the processes which
are common to both are first described, and then some
individual consideration is given to each.
(a) Arrival at the Factory.
The cacao is largely stored in warehouses, from
which it is removed as required. It has remarkable
keeping properties, and can be kept in a good store for
several years without loss of quality. Samples of cacao
beans in glass bottles have been found to be in perfect
condition after thirty years. Some factories have stores
in which stand thousands of bags of cacao drawn from
many ports round the equator. There is something
MANUFACTURE
123
Part of a Cacao Bean Warehouse, showing Endless
Band Conveyor.
(Messrs. Cadbury Bros'. Works, Bournville).
very pleasing about huge stacks of bags of cacao seen
against the luminous white walls of a well-lighted
store. The symmetry of their construction, and the
continued repetition of the same form, are never better
shown than when the men, climbing up the sides of a
stack against which they look small, unbuild the mighty
heap, the bags falling on to a continuous band which
carries them jauntily out of the store.
(b) Sorting the Beans.
As all cacao is liable to contain a little free shell,
dried pulp (often taken for twigs), threads of sacking
and other foreign matter, it is very carefully sieved
124
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
and sorted before passing on to the roasting shop. In
this process curios are occasionally separated, such as
palm kernels, cowrie shells, shea butter nuts, good
luck seeds and " crab's eyes." The essential part of one
type of machine (see illustration) which accomplishes
this sorting is an inclined revolving cylinder of wire
Cacao Bean Sorting and Cleaning Machine.
Reproduced by permission of Messrs. J. Baker & Sons, Ltd., Willesden.
gauze along which the beans pass. The cylinder forms
a continuous set of sieves of different sized mesh, one
sieve allowing only sand to pass, another only very
small beans or fragments of beans, and finally one
holding back anything larger than single beans (e.g.,
" cobs," that is, a collection of two or more beans stuck
together).
Another type of cleaning machine is illustrated by
the diagram on the opposite page.
This machine with its shaking sieves and blast of air
makes a great clatter and fuss. It produces however,
what the manufacturers desire — a clean bean sorted to
size.
MANUFACTURE
I2 5
Diagram of Cacao Bean Cleaning Machine.
This is a box fitted with shaking sieves down which the cacao
beans pass in a current of air. Having come over some large and very
powerful magnets, which take out any nails or fragments of iron,
they fall on to a sieve (|-inch holes) which the engineer describee as
" rapidly reciprocating and arranged on a slight incline and mounted
on spring bars." This allows grit to pass through. The beans then
roll down a plane on to a sieve (f-inch holes) which separates the
broken beans, and finally on to a sieve with oblong holes which
allows the beans to fall through whilst retaining the clusters. The
beans encounter a strong blast of air which brushes from them any
shell or dust clinging to them.
(c) Roasting the Beans.
As with coffee so with cacao, the characteristic
flavour and aroma are only developed on roasting.
Messrs. Bainbridge and Davies (chemists to Messrs.
Rowntree) have shown that the aroma of cacao is
chiefly due to an amazingly minute quantity (0.0006
per cent.) of linalool, a colourless liquid with a power-
ful fragrant odour, a modification of which occurs in
bergamot, coriander and lavender. Everyone notices
the aromatic odour which permeates the atmosphere
126
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
round a chocolate factory. This odour is a bye-pro-
duct of the roasting shop ; possibly some day an enter-
prising chemist will prevent its escape or capture it,
and sell it in bottles for flavouring confectionery, but
for the present it serves only to announce in an appetis-
ing way the presence of a cocoa or chocolate works.
Roasting is a delicate operation requiring experience
and discretion. Even in these days of scientific man-
agement it remains as much an art as a science. It is
CHflRoinfe Hoppc^^,
I "RoftiiTE^ ~E>RPvUE.U Suxov
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Section through Gas Heated Cacao Roaster.
conducted in revolving drums to ensure constant
agitation, the drums being heated either over coke
fires or by gas. Less frequently the heating is effected
by a hot blast of air or by having inside the drum a
number of pipes containing super-heated steam.
The diagram and photo show one of the types of
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128 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
roasting machines used at Bournville. It resembles an
ordinary coffee roaster, the beans being fed in through
a hopper and heated by gas in the slowly revolving
cylinder. The beans can be heard lightly tumbling
one over the other, and the aroma round the roaster
increases in fullness as they get hotter and hotter. The
temperature which the beans reach in ordinary roas ting
is not very high, varying round i35°C. (275°F), and
the average period of roasting is about one hour. The
amount of loss of weight on roasting is considerable
(some seven or eight per cent.), and varies with the
amount of moisture present in the raw beans.
There have been attempts to replace the aesthetic
judgment of man, as to the point at which to stop
roasting, by scientific machinery. One rather interest-
ing machine was so devised that the cacao roasting
drum was fitted with a sort of steelyard, and this, when
the loss of weight due to roasting had reached a certain
amount, swung over and rang a bell, indicating dram-
atically that the roasting was finished. As beans vary
amongst other things in the percentage of moisture
which they contain, the machine has not replaced the
experienced operator. He takes samples from the
drum from time to time, and when the aroma has the
character desired, the beans are rapidly discharged
into a trolley with a perforated bottom, which is brought
over a cold current of air. The object of this refine-
ment is to stop the roasting instantly and prevent even
a suspicion of burning.
After roasting, the shell is brittle and quite free from
the cotyledons or kernel. The kernel has become
glossy and friable and chocolate brown in colour, and
it crushes readily between the fingers into small angu-
lar fragments (the " nibs " of commerce), giving off
during the breaking down a rich warm odour of
chocolate.
(d) Removing the Shells.
It has been stated (see Fatty Foods, by Re vis and
MANUFACTURE
129
Bolton) that it was formerly the practice not to remove
the shell. This is incorrect, the more usual practice
from the earliest times has been to remove the shells,
though not so completely as they are removed by the
efficient machinery of to-day.
. In A Curious Treatise on the Nature and Quality of
Chocolate, by Antonio Colmenero de Ledesma (1685),
we read : " And if you peel the cacao, and take it out
of its little shell, the drink thereof will be more dainty
and delicious." Willoughby, in his Travels in Spain,
(1664), writes : " They first toast the berries to get off
t)Htu )0~/Z a * 5trim6-< Hb«d
Ge.wn
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Cacao Bean, Shell and Germ.
the husk," and R. Brookes, in the Natural History of
Chocolate (1730), says : " The Indians .... roast
the kernels in earthen pots, then free them from their
130 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
skins, and afterwards crush and grind them between
two stones."
He further definitely recommends that the beans
" be roasted enough to have their skins come off easily,
which should be done one by one, laying them apart
. . . for these skins being left among the chocolate,
will not dissolve in any liquor, nor even in the stomach,
and fall to the bottom of the chocolate-cups as if the
kernels had not been cleaned."
That the " Indian " practice of removing the shells
was followed from the commencement of the industry
in England, is shown by the old plate which we have
reproduced on p. 120 from Arts and Sciences.
The removal of the shell, which in the raw con-
dition is tough and adheres to the kernel, is greatly
facilitated by roasting. If we place a roasted bean in the
palm of the hand and press it with the thumb, the
whole cracks up into crisp pieces. It is now quite easy
to blow away the thin pieces of shell because they offer
a greater surface to the air and are lighter than the
compact little lumps or " nibs " which are left behind.
This illustrates the principle of all shelling or husking
machines.
(e) Breaking the Bean into Fragments.
The problem is to break down the bean to just the
right size. The pieces must be sufficiently small to
allow the nib and shell readily to part company, but it
is important to remember that the smaller the pieces
of shell and nib, the less efficient will the winnowing
be, and it is usual to break the beans whilst they are
still warm to avoid producing particles of extreme
fineness. The breaking down may be accomplished by
passing the beans through a pair of rollers at such a
distance apart that the bean is cracked without being
crushed. Or it may be effected in other ways, e.g., by
the use of an adjustable serrated cone revolving in a
serrated conical case. In the diagram they are called
kibbling cones.
MANUFACTURE
»3>
Section through Kibbling Cones
and Germ Screens.
(J) Separating the Germs.
About one per cent, of the cacao bean fragments
consists of " germs." The " germ " is the radicle of the
cacao seed, or that part of the cacao seed which on
germination forms the root. The germs are small and
rod-shaped, and being very hard are generally assumed
to be less digestible than the nib. They are separated
by being passed through revolving gauze drums, the
holes in which are the same size and shape as the
germs, so that the germs pass through whilst the nib
is retained. If a freakish carpenter were to try separ-
ating shop-floor sweepings, consisting of a jumble of
chunks of wood (nib), shavings (shell) and nails (germ)
by sieving through a grid-iron, he would find that not
only the nails passed through but also some saw-dust
and fine shavings. So in the above machine the finer
132 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
nib and shell pass through with the germ. This germ
mixture, known as " smalls " is dealt with in a special
machine, whilst the larger nib and shell are conveyed
to the chief winnowing machine. In this machine the
±!mc ..i rt^ori -vgien-e
JBli-jlJUL '
Section through Winnowing
Machine.
mixture is first sorted according to size and then the
nib and shell separated from one another. The mixture
is passed down long revolving cylindrical sieves and
encounters a larger and larger mesh as it proceeds, and
thus becomes sieved into various sizes. The separation
of the shell from the nib is now effected by a powerful
current of air, the large nib falling against the current,
whilst the shell is carried with it and drops into another
compartment. It is amusing to stand and watch the
continuous stream of nibs rushing down, like hail in a
storm, into the screw conveyor.
This is the process in essence — to follow the various
partially separated mixtures of shell and nib through
the several further separating machines would be
MANUFACTURE
r 33
tedious ; it is sufficient for the reader to know that
after the most elaborate precautions have been taken
the nib still contains about one per cent, of shell, and
that the nib obtained is only 78.5 per cent, of the
weight of raw beans originally taken. Most of the
larger makers of cocoa produce nib containing less than
two per cent, of shell, a standard which can only be
maintained by continuous vigilance.
Cacao Grinding.
A battery of horizontal grinding mills, by which the cacao nibs
are ground to paste (Messrs. Cadbury Bros., Bournville.)
The shell, the only waste material of any importance
produced in a chocolate factory, goes straight into
sacks ready for sale. The pure cacao nibs (once an
important article of commerce) proceed to the blenders
and thence to the grinding mill.
(g) Blending.
We have seen that the beans are roasted separately
according to their kind and country so as to develop
in each its characteristic flavour. The pure nib is now
blended in proportions which are carefully chosen to
attain the result desired.
134 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
(//) Grinding the Cacao Nibs to Produce Mass.
In this process, by the mere act of grinding, the
miracle is performed of converting the brittle frag-
ments of the cacao bean into a chocolate-coloured fluid.
Half of the cacao bean is fat, and the grinding breaks
up the cells and liberates the fat, which at blood heat
melts to an oil. Any of the various machines used in
the industries for grinding might be used, but a special
type of mill has been devised for the purpose.
In the grinding room of a cocoa factory one becomes
almost hypnotised by a hundred of these circular mill-
stones that rotate incessantly day and night. In Messrs.
Fry's factory the " giddy motion of the whirling mill "
is very much increased by a number of magnificent
horizontal driving wheels, each some 20 feet in diam-
eter, which form, as it were, a revolving ceiling to the
room. Your fascinated gaze beholds " two or three vast
circles, that have their revolving satellites like moons,
each on its own axis, and each governed by master
wheels. Watch them for any length of time and you
might find yourself presently going round and round
with them until you whirled yourself out of existence,
like the gyrating maiden in the fairy tale."
In this type of grinding machine one mill stone
rotates on a fixed stone. The cacao nib falls from a
hopper through a hole in the centre of the upper stone
and, owing to the manner in which grooves are cut in
the two surfaces in contact, is gradually dragged be-
tween the stones. The grooves are so cut in the two
stones that they point in opposite directions, and as
the one stone revolves on the other, a slicing or shear-
ing action is produced. The friction, due to the slicing
and shearing of the nib, keeps the stones hot, and they
become sufficiently warm to melt the fat in the ground
nib, so that there oozes from the outer edge of the
bottom or fixed stone a more or less viscous liquid or
paste. This finely ground nib is known as " mass." It
is simply liquified cacao bean, and solidifies on cooling
to a chocolate coloured block.
MANUFACTURE
i35
Fteio H<
co u ceo
Section through Grinding Stones.
This " mass " may be used for the production of
either cocoa or chocolate. When part of the fat (cacao
butter) is taken away the residue may be made to yield
cocoa. When sugar and cacao butter are added it yields
eating chocolate. Thus the two industries are seen to
be inter-dependent, the cacao butter which is pressed
out of the mass in the manufacture of cocoa being used
up in the production of chocolate. The manufacture
of cocoa will first be considered.
(i) Pressing out the excess of Butter.
The liquified cacao bean or " mass," simply mixed
with sugar and cooled until it becomes a hard cake,
has been used by the British Navy for a hundred years
or more for the preparation of Jack's cup of cocoa. It
produces a fine rich drink much appreciated by our
136
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
hardy seamen, but it is somewhat too fatty to mix
evenly with water, and too rich to be suitable'for those
with delicate digestions. Hence for the ordinary cocoa
of commerce it is usual to remove a portion of this fat.
If " mass " be put into a cloth and pressed, a golden
oil (melted cacao butter) oozes through the cloth. In
practice this extraction of the
butter is done in various types
of presses. In one of the most
frequently used types, the
mass is poured into circular
steel pots, the top and bottom
of which are loose perforated
plates lined with felt pads. A
numberof such potsare placed
one above another, and then
rammed together by a power-
ful hydraulic ram. They look
like the parts of a slowly col-
lapsing telescope. The "mass"
is only gently pressed at first,
but as the butter flows away
and the material in the pot
becomes stiffer, it is subjected
to a gradually increasing
pressure. The ram, being
under pressure supplied by
pumps, pushes up with
enormous force. The steel
pots have to be sufficiently
strong to bear a great strain, as the ram often exerts a
pressure of 6,000 pounds per square inch. When the
required amount of butter has been pressed out, the
pot is found to contain not a paste, but a hard dry cake
of compressed cocoa. The liquified cacao bean put
into the pots contains 54 to 55 per cent, of butter,
whilst the cocoa press-cake taken out usually contains
only 25 to 30 per cent. The expressed butter flows
away and is filtered and solidified (see page 158). All
A Cacao Press.
Reproduced by permission ot Messrs
Lake, Orr & Co., Ltd.
MANUFACTURE
137
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138 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
that it is necessary to do to obtain cocoa from the press
cake is to powder it.
(j) Breaking Down the Press Cake to Cocoa Pozvder.
The slabs of press-cake are so hard and tough that
if one were banged on a man's head it would probably
stun him. They are broken down in a crushing mill,
the inside of which is as full of terrible teeth as a giant's
mouth, until the fragments are small enough to grind
on steel rollers.
(k) Sieving.
As fineness is a very important quality of cocoa, the
powder so obtained is very carefully sieved. This is
effected by shaking the powder into an inclined rota-
ting drum which is covered with silk gauze. In the
cocoa which passes through this fine silk sieve, the
average length of the individual particles is about
0.001 inch, whilst in first-class productions the size of
the larger particles in the cocoa does not average more
than 0.002 inch. Indeed, the cocoa powder is so fine
that in spite of all precautions a certain amount always
floats about in the air of sieving rooms, and covers
everything with a brown film.
(/) Packing.
The cocoa powder is taken to the packing rooms.
Here the tedious weighing by hand has been replaced
by ingenious machines, which deliver with remarkable
accuracy a definite weight of cocoa into the paper bag
which lines the tin. The tins are then labelled and
packed in cases ready for the grocer.
139
CHAPTER VI
THE MANUFACTURE OF CHOCOLATE
Since the great improvements of the steam engine, it is
astonishing to what a variety of manufactures this useful
machine has been applied : yet it does not a little excite
our surprise that one is used for the trifling object of grind-
ing chocolate.
It is, however, a fact, or at least, we are credibly informed,
that Mr. Fry, of Bristol, has in his new manufactory one
of these engines for the sole purpose of manufacturing
chocolate and cocoa.
Berrow's Worcester Journal,
June 7th, 1798.
WHAT I am about to write under this heading
will only be of a general character. Those
who require a more detailed exposition are
referred to the standard works given at the end of the
chapter. In these, full and accurate information will be
found. The information published in modern Ency-
clopaedias, etc., concerning the manufacture of choco-
late is not always as reliable as one might expect. Thus
it states in Jack's excellent Reference Book (19 14) that
" Chocolate is made by the addition of water and
sugar." The use of water in the manufacture of choco-
late is contrary to all usual practice, so much so that
great interest was aroused in the trade some years ago
by the statement that water was being used by a firm
in Germany.
140 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
Specimen Outline Recipe.
Ingredients required for plain eating-chocolate.
Cacao nib or mass 33 parts.
Cacao butter 13 ,,
Sugar 53J „
Flavouring ■ | ,,
100 parts
Since eating-chocolate is produced by mixing sugar
and cacao nib, with or without flavouring materials,
and reducing to a fine homogeneous mass, the prin-
ciples underlying its manufacture are obviously simple,
yet when we come to consider the production of a
modern high-class chocolate we find the processes in-
volved are somewhat elaborate.
(a) Preparing the Nib or " Mass."
The nib is obtained in exactly the same way as in
the manufacture of cocoa, the beans being cleaned,
roasted and shelled. The roasting, however, is gener-
ally somewhat lighter for chocolate than for cocoa. The
nibs produced may be used as they are, or they may be
first ground to " mass " by means of mill-stones as
described above.
(b) Mixing in the Sugar.
Some makers use clear crystalline granulated sugar,
others disintegrate loaf sugar to a beautiful snow-
white flour. The nib, coarse or finely ground, is mixed
with the sugar in a kind of edge-runner or grinding-
mixer, called a melangeur. As is seen in the photo, the
melangeur consists of two heavy millstones which are
supported on a granite floor. This floor revolves and
causes the stationary mill-stones to rotate on their
axes, so that although they run rapidly, like a man on
a "joy wheel," they make no headway. The material
is prevented from accumulating at the sides by curved
MANUFACTURE OF CHOCOLATE 141
Chocolate Melangeur.
Reproduced by permission of Messrs. Lake. Orr & Coy. Ltd.
OWWHITC "Roui.r.R5
u mr.s
Plan of Chocolate Melangeur.
142
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
scrapers, which gracefully deflect the stream of material
to the part of the revolving floor which runs under the
millstones. Thus the sugar and nib are mixed and
crushed. As the mixture usually becomes like dough
in consistency, it can be neatly removed from the
melangeur with a shovel. The operator rests a shovel
lightly on the revolving floor, and the material mounts
into a heap upon it.
Chocolate Refining Machine.
Reproduced by permission of Messrs. J, Baker & Sons, Willesden.
(c) Grinding the Mixture.
The mixture is now passed through a mill, which
has been described as looking like a multiple mangle.
The object of this is to break down the sugar and cacao
to smaller particles. The rolls may be made either of
granite (more strictly speaking, of quartz diorite) or
MANUFACTURE OF CHOCOLATE
143
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of polished chilled cast iron. Chilled cast iron rolls
have the advantage that they can be kept cool by having
water flowing through them. A skilled operator is
required to set the rolls in order that they may give a
large and satisfactory output. The cylinders in contact
run at different speeds, and, as will be seen in the
diagram, the chocolate always clings to the roll which
is revolving with the greater velocity, and is delivered
from the rolls either as a curtain of chocolate or as a
spray of chocolate powder. It is very striking to see the
soft chocolate-coloured dough become, after merely
passing between the rolls, a dry powder — the explan-
ation is that the sugar having been more finely crushed
now requires a greater quantity of cacao butter to lubri-
cate it before the mixture can again become plastic.
The chocolate in its various stages of manufacture,
should be kept warm or it will solidify and much time
and heat (and possibly temper) will be absorbed in
remelting it ; for this and other reasons most chocolate
factories have a number of hot rooms, in which the
chocolate is stored whilst waiting to pass on to the
next operation. The dry powder coming from the rolls
is either taken to a hot room, or at once mixed in a
warm melangeur, where curiously enough the whole
becomes once again of the consistency of dough. The
grinding between the rolls and the mixing in the
melangeur are repeated any number of times until the
chocolate is of the desired fineness. Whilst there are a
few people who like the clean, hard feel of sugar crys-
tals between the teeth, the present-day taste is all for
very smooth and highly refined chocolate ; hence the
grinding operation is one of the most important in the
factory, and is checked at the works at Bournville by
measuring with a microscope the size of the particles.
The cost of fine grinding is considerable, for whilst
the first breaking down of the cacao nibs and sugar
crystals is comparatively easy, it is found that as the
particles of chocolate get finer the cost of further re-
duction increases by leaps and bounds. The chocolate
MANUFACTURE OF CHOCOLATE 145
V» iUB Caouto
Section through Chocolate Grinding Rolls.
may now proceed direct to the moulding rooms or it
may first be conched.
(d) Couching.
We now come to an extraordinary process which is
said to have been originally introduced to satisfy a
fastidious taste that demanded a chocolate which
readily melted in the mouth and yet had not the cloy-
ing effect which is produced by excess of cacao butter.
In thi* process the chocolate is put in a vessel shaped
something like a shell (hence called a conche), and a
heavv roller is pushed to and fro in the chocolate.
Although the conche is considered to have revolution-
ized the chocolate industry, it will remain to the unin-
itiated a curious sight to see a room full of machines
engaged in pummelling chocolate day and night.
There is no general agreement as to exactly how the
conche produces its effects — from the scientific point
146 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
of view the changes are complex and elusive, and too
technical to explain here — but it is well known that if
this process is continued for periods varying according
to the result desired from a few hours to a week, char-
acteristic changes occur which make the chocolate a
more mellow and finished confection, having more or
less the velvet feel of chocolat fondant.
(e) Flavouring.
Art is shown not onlv in the choice of the cacao beans
but also in the selection of spices and essences, for,
whilst the fundamental flavour of a chocolate is deter-
mined by the blend of beans and the method of manu-
facture, the piquancy and special character are often
obtained by the addition of minute quantities of
flavourings. The point in the manufacture at which the
flavour is added is as late as possible so as to avoid the
possible loss of aroma in handling. The flavours used
include cardamom, cassia, cinnamon, cloves, coriander,
lemon, mace, and last but most popular of all, the
vanilla pod or vanillin. Some makers use the choice
spices themselves, others prefer their essential oils.
Many other nuttv, fragrant and aromatic substances
have been used ; of these we may mention almonds,
coffee, musk, ambergris, gum benzoin and balsam of
Peru. The English like delicately flavoured confect-j
ions, whilst the Spanish follow the old custom of
heavily spicing the chocolate. In ancient recipes we
read of the use of white and red peppers, and the
addition of hot spices was defended and even recom- 1
mended on purely philosophical grounds. It was given,]
in the strange jargon of the Peripatetics, as a dictum -
that chocolate is by nature cold and dry and therefore
ought to be mixed with things which are hot.
1
(/*) Moulding.
Small quantities of cacao butter will have been added
to the chocolate at various stages, and hence the finished
product is quite plastic. It is now brought from the
MANUFACTURE OF CHOCOLATE 147
" Conche " Machines.
Reproduced by permission of Messrs. J. Baker & Sons, Willesden.
Ch
OCOURTI
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Section through " Conche " Machine.
148
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
Machines for Mining or " Conching " Chocolate
hot room (or the melangeur or the conche) to the mould-
ing rooms. Before moulding, the chocolate is passed
through a machine, known as a compressor, which
removes air-bubbles. This is a necessary process, as
people would not care to purchase chocolate full of
holes. As in the previous operations, every effort has
been made to produce a chocolate of smooth texture
and fine flavour, so in the moulding rooms skill is
exercised in converting the plastic mass into hard bars
and cakes, which snap when broken and which have a
pleasant appearance. Well-moulded chocolate has a
good gloss, a rich colour and a correct shape.
MANUFACTURE OF CHOCOLATE 149
The most important factor in obtaining a good
appearance is the temperature, and chocolate is fre-
quently passed through a machine (called a temper-
ing machine) merely to give it the desired temperature.
A suitable temperature for moulding, according to
r\om-p j t oki •
Toot nrrn
V/heeu
Chocolate Shaking Table.
Zipperer, varies from 28°C. on a hot summer's day to
32°C. on a winter's day. As the melting point of cacao
butter is about 32°C, it will be realized that the butter
is super-cooled and is ready to crystallize on the slightest
provocation. Each mould has to contain the same quan-
tity of chocolate. Weighing by hand has been aband-
oned in favour of a machine which automatically
deposits a definite weight, such as a quarter or half a
pound, of the chocolate paste on each mould. The
chocolate stands up like a lump of dough and has to be
persuaded to lie down and fill the mould. This can be
most effectively accomplished by banging the mould
up and down on a table. In the factory the method
used is to place the moulds on rocking tables which
rise gradually and fall with a bump. The diagram will
make clear how these vibrating tables are worked by
150 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
means of ratchet wheels. Rocking tables are made which
are silent in action, but the moulds jerkily dancing
about on the table make a very lively clatter, such a
noise as might be produced by a regiment of mad
cavalry crossing a courtyard. During the shaking-up
the chocolate fills every crevice of the mould, and any
bubbles, which if left in would spoil the appearance of
the chocolate, rise to the top. The chocolate then passes
on to an endless band which conducts the mould
through a chamber in which cold air is moving. As
the chocolate cools, it solidifies and contracts so that it
comes out of the mould clean and bright. In this way
are produced the familiar sticks and cakes of chocolate.
A similar method is used in producing " Croquettes "
and the small tablets known as " Neapolitans." Other
forms require more elaborate moulds ; thus the chocol-
ate eggs, which fill the confectioners' windows just
before Easter, are generally hollow, unless they are
very small, and are made in two halves by pressing
chocolate in egg-shaped moulds and then uniting the
two halves. Chocolate cremes, caramels, almonds and,
in fact, fancy " chocolates " generally, are produced
in quite a different manner. For these chocolats de
fantaisie a rather liquid chocolate is required known as
covering chocolate.
Specimen Outline Recipe.
Ingredients required for chocolate for covering cremes, etc.:
Cacao nib or mass 30 parts
Cacao butter 20 ,,
Sugar 49! ,,
Flavouring \ ,,
100 parts
It is prepared in exactlv the same way as ordinary
eating chocolate, save that more butter is added to
make it flow readily, so that in the melted condition it
MANUFACTURE OF CHOCOLATE 151
Girls Covering, or Dipping, Cremes, etc.
(Messrs. Cadbury Bros., Bournville.)
has about the same consistency as cream. The oper-
ations so far described are conducted by men, but the
covering of cremes and the packing of the finished
chocolates into boxes are performed by girls. Covering
is light work requiring a delicate touch, and if, as is
usual, it is done in bright airy rooms, is a pleasant
occupation.
The girl sits with a small bowl of warm liquid
chocolate in front of her, and on one side the " centres"
(cremes, caramels, ginger, nuts, etc.) ready for cover-
ing with chocolate. The chocolate must be at just the
right temperature, which is 88°F., or 3i°C. She takes
one of the " centres," say a vanilla creme, on her fork
and dips it beneath the chocolate. When she draws it
out, the white creme is completely covered in brown
chocolate and, without touching it with her finger, she
deftly places it on a piece of smooth paper. A little
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
The Enrober.
A machine for covering cremes, etc., with chocolate.
Reproduced by permission ot Messrs. Savy Jeanjean & Co., Paris.
twirl of the fork or drawing a prong across the chocolate
will give the characteristic marking on the top of the
chocolate creme. The chocolate rapidly sets to a crisp
film enveloping the soft creme. There are in use in
many chocolate factories some very ingenious cover-
ing machines, invented in 1903, which, as they clothe
cremes in a robe of chocolate, are known as " en-
robers " ; it is doubtful, how r ever, if the chocolates so
produced have ever quite so good an appearance as
when the covering is done by hand.
It would be agreeable at this point to describe the
making of cremes (which, by the way, contrary to the
opinion of most writers, contain no cream or butter),
and other products of the confectioner's art, but it
would take us bevond the scope of the present book.
We will only remind our readers of the great variety
of comestibles and confections which are covered in
MANUFACTURE OF CHOCOLATE 531
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i54 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
chocolate — pistachio nut, roasted almonds, pralines,
biscuits, walnuts, nougat, montelimar, fruits, fruit
cremes, jellies, Turkish delight, marshmallows, cara-
mels, pine-apple, noisette, and other delicacies.
Milk Chocolate.
We owe the introduction of this excellent food and
confection to the researches of M. D. Peter of Vevey,
in Switzerland, who produced milk chocolate as early
as 1876. Many of our older readers will remember
their delight when in the eighteen nineties they first
tasted Peter's milk chocolate. Later the then little firm
of Cailler, realising the importance of having the
factory on the very spot where rich milk was produced
in abundance, established a works near Gruyeres. This
grew rapidly and soon became the largest factory in
Switzerland. The sound principle of having your
factorv in the heart of a milk producing area was adopted
by Cadbury's, who built milk condensing factories
at the ancient village of Frampton-on-Severn, in
Gloucestershire, and at Knighton, near Newport, Salop.
Before the war these two factories together condensed
from two to three million gallons of milk a year. Whilst
the amount of milk used in England for making milk
chocolate appears very great when expressed in gallons,
it is seen to be very small (being only about one-half
of one per cent.) when expressed as a fraction of the
total milk production. Milk chocolate is not made from
milk produced in the winter, when milk is scarce, but
from milk produced in the spring and summer when
there is milk in excess of the usual household require-
ments, and when it is rich and creamy. The import-
ance of not interfering with the normal milk supply to
local customers is appreciated by the chocolate makers,
who take steps to prevent this. It will interest public
analysts and others to know that Cadbury's have had no
difficulty in making it a stipulation in their contracts
with the vendors that the milk supplied to them shall
contain at least 3.5 per cent, of butter fat, a 17 per
MANUFACTURE OF CHOCOLATE 155
Factory at Frampton, Gloucestershire, at which Milk is
Evaporated for Milk Chocolate Manufacture.
(Messrs. Cadbury Bros., Ltd.).
cent, increase on the minimum fixed by the Govern-
ment.
Specimen Outline Recipe.
Ingredients required for milk chocolate :
Cacao nib or mass (from 10 to 20 per cent.), say 10
Cacao Butter 20
Sugar 44!
Milk solids (from 15 to 25 per cent.), say .... 25=(200 parts
of milk.)
Flavouring £
100
Milk chocolate consists of an intimate mixture of cacao
nib, sugar and milk, condensed by evaporation. The
manner in which the milk is mixed with the cacao nib
is a matter of taste, and the art of combining milk with
chocolate, so as to retain the full flavour of each, has
156 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
engaged the attention of many experts. At present there
is no general method of manufacture — each maker
has his own secret processes, which generally include
the use of grinding mills, melangeiirs, conches, mould-
ing machines, etc., as with plain chocolate. We cannot
do better than refer those who wish to know more of
this, or other branch of the chocolate industry, to the
following English, French and German standard works
on Chocolate Manufacture :
Cocoa and Chocolate, Their Chemistry and Manufacture, by R.
Whymper (Churchill).
Fabrication du Chocolat, by Fritsch (Scientifique et Indur-
trielle).
The Manufacture of Chocolate, by Dr. Paul Zipperer (Spon).
J 57
CHAPTER VII
BY-PRODUCTS OF THE COCOA AND
CHOCOLATE INDUSTRY
Of Cacao Butter —
It is the best and most natural Pomatum for Ladies to
clear and plump the Skin when it is dry, rough, or shrivel' d,
without making it appear either fat or shining. The Spanish
Women at Mexico use it very much, and it is highly esteem 'd
by them. The Natural History of Chocolate,
R. Brookes, 1730.
Of Cacao Shell—
In Russia and Belgium many families take Caravello at
breakfast. This is nothing but cocoa husk, washed and
then boiled in milk.
Chocolate and Confectionery Manufacture,
A. Jacoutot.
Cacao Butter.
IN that very able compilation, Allen's Organic
Analysis, Mr. Leonard Archbutt states (Vol. II,
p. 176) that cacao butter " is obtained in large
quantities as a by-product in the manufacture of
chocolate." This is repeated in the excellent book on
Oils, by C. A. Mitchell (Common Commodities of
Commerce series). These statements are, of course,
incorrect. We have seen that cacao butter is obtained
as a by-product in the manufacture of cocoa, and is
consumed in large quantities in the manufacture of
chocolate. When, during the war, the use of sugar for
chocolate-making was restricted and little chocolate
was produced, the cacao butter formerlv used in this
industry was freed for other purposes. Thus there was
plenty of cacao butter available at a time when other
fats were scarce. Cacao butter has a pleasant, bland
158 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
taste resembling cocoa. The cocoa flavour is very per-
sistent, as many experimenters found to their regret
in their efforts to produce a tasteless cacao butter
which could be used as margarine or for general pur-
poses in cooking. The scarcity of edible fats during
the war forced the confectioners to try cacao butter,
which in normal times is too expensive for them to use,
and as a result a very large amount was employed in
making biscuits and confectionery.
Cacao butter runs hot from the presses as an amber-
coloured oil, and after filtration, sets to a pale golden
yellow wax-like fat. The butter, which the pharmacist
sells, is sometimes white and odourless, having been
bleached and deodorized. The butter as produced is
always pale yellow in colour, with a semi-crystalline
or granular fracture and an agreeable taste and odour
resembling cocoa or chocolate.
Cacao butter has such remarkable keeping properties
(which would appear to depend on the aromatic sub-
stances which it contains), that a myth has arisen that
it will keep for ever. The fable finds many believers
even in scientific circles ; thus W. H. Johnson, in the
Imperial Institute Handbook on Cocoa, states that :
" When pure, it has the peculiar property of not be-
coming rancid, however long it may be kept." Whilst
this overstates the case, we find that under suitable
conditions cacao butter will remain fresh and good for
several years. Cacao butter has rather a low melting
point (qo°F.), so that whilst it is a hard, almost brittle,
solid at ordinary temperatures, it melts readily when
in contact with the human body (blood heat 98°F).
This property, together with its remarkable stability,
makes it useful for ointments, pomades, suppositories,
pessaries and other pharmaceutical preparations ; it
also explains why actors have found it convenient for
the removal of grease paint. The recognition of the
value of cacao butter for cosmetic purposes dates from
very early days ; thus in Colmenero de Ledesma's
Curious Treatise on the Nature and Quality of Chocolate
BY-PRODUCTS OF THE INDUSTRY 159
(printed at the Green Dragon, 1685), we read : " That
they draw from the cacao a great quantity of butter,
which they use to make their faces shine, which I have
seen practised in the Indies by the Spanish women
born there." This, evidently, was one way of shining in
society.
Cacao butter has been put to many other uses, thus
it has been employed in the preparation of perfumes,
but the great bulk of the cacao butter produced is used
up by the chocolate maker. For making chocolate it is
ideal, and the demand for it for this purpose is so great
that substitutes have been found and offered for sale.
Until recently these fats, coconut stearine and others,
could be ignored by the reputable chocolate makers as
the confection produced by their use was inferior to
true chocolate both in taste and in keeping properties.
In recent times the oils and fats of tropical nuts and
fruits have been thoroughly investigated in the eager
search for new fats, and new substitutes, such as illipe
butter, have been introduced, the properties of which
closely resemble those of cacao butter.
For the information of chemists we may state that the
analytical figures for genuine cacao butter, as obtained
in the cocoa factory, are as follow :
Analytical Figures for Cacao Butter.
Specific Gravity (at 99°C. to water at 15-5 C.) '858 to "865
Melting Point 32 °C. to 34°C.
Titer (fatty acids) 49 C. to 50°C.
Iodine Absorbed 34% to 38%
Refraction (Butyro-Refractometer) at 40 C. 45'6° to 46*5°
Saponification Value 192 to 198
Valenta 94 C. to 96°C.
Reichert Meissel Value 10
Polenske Value 0*5
Kirschner , 0*5
Shrewsbury and Knapp Value 14 to 15
Unsaponifiable matter °"3% to °"8° l(
Mineral matter o'02%too'05%
Acidity (as oleic acid) °"°% to 2*0%
i6o COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
Although the trade in cacao butter is considerable,
there were, before the war, only two countries that
could really be considered as exporters of cacao butter ;
in other words, there were only two countries, namely,
Holland and Germany, pressing out more cacao butter
in the production of cocoa than they absorbed in
making chocolate :
Export of Cacao Butter.
Tons (of iooo kilogrammes)
1911 1912 1913
Holland 4> 6 57 5>47 2 7> l6 °
Germany 3,611 3,581 1,960
8,268 9,°53 9,120
During the war America appeared for the first time
in her history as an exporter of cacao butter. Hitherto
she was one of the principal importers, as will be seen
in the following table :
Imports of Cacao Butter.
Tons (of 1000 kilogrammes)
1912 1913
United States 1 ,842 1 ,634
Switzerland 1 ,821 1 ,634
Belgium 1,127 I » I 97
Austria-Hungary 1 ,062 1,190
Russia 955 M97
England 495 934
The next table shows the imports (expressed in
English tons) into the United Kingdom in more recent
years :
Imports of Cacao Butter.
Year 1912 1913 1914 i9 x 5 x 9 l6 J 9 ] 7
Tons 477 912 1512 599 962 675
The wholesale price of cacao butter has varied in
the last six years from 1/3 per pound to 2/ n per pound,
and was fixed in 191 8 by the Food Controller at 1/6
BY-PRODUCTS OF THE INDUSTRY 161
per pound (retail price 2/- per pound). The control
was removed in 19 19, and immediately the wholesale
price rose to 2/8 per pound.
Cacao Shell.
Although I have described cacao butter as a by-
product, the only true by-product of the combined
cocoa and chocolate industry is cacao shell. I ex-
plained in the previous chapter how it is separated
from the roasted bean. As they come from the husking
or winnowing machine, the larger fragments of shell
resemble the shell of monkey-nuts (ground nuts or pea
nuts), except that the cacao shells are thinner, more
brittle and of a richer brown colour. The shell has a
pleasant odour in which a little true cocoa aroma can
be detected. The small pieces of shell look like bran,
and, if the shell be powdered, the product is wonder-
fully like cocoa in appearance, though not in taste or
smell. As the raw cacao bean contains on the average
about twelve and a half per cent, of shell, it is evident
that the world production must be considerable (about
36,000 tons a year), and since it is not legitimately
employed in cocoa, the brains of inventors have been
busy trying to find a use for it. In some industries the
by-product has proved on investigation to be of greater
value than the principal product — a good instance of
this is glycerine as a by-product in soap manufacture-
but no use for the husk or shell of cacao, which gives it
any considerable commercial value, has yet been dis-
covered. There are signs, however, that its possible
uses are being considered and appreciated.
For years small quantities of cacao shell, under the
name of " miserables," have been used in Ireland and
other countries for producing a dilute infusion for
drinking. Although this " cocoa tea " is not unpleasant,
and has mild stimulating properties, it has never been
popular, and even during the war, when it was widelv
advertised and sold in England under fancy names at
1 62 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
fancy prices, it never had a large or enthusiastic body
of consumers.
In normal times the cocoa manufacturer has no
difficulty in disposing of his shell to cattle-food makers
and others, but during 19 15 when the train service
was so defective, and transport by any other means
almost impossible, the manufacturers of cocoa and
chocolate were unable to get the shell away from their
factories, and had large accumulations of it filling up
valuable store space. In these circumstances they
attempted to find a use near at hand. It was tried with
moderate success as a fuel and a considerable quantity
was burned in a special type of gas-producer intended
for wood.
Cacao shell has a high nitrogenous content, and if
burned yields about 67 lbs. of potassium carbonate
per ton. In the Annual Report of the Experimental
Farms in Canada, (1898, p. 151 and 1899, P- 851,)
accounts are given of the use of cacao shell as a manure.
The results given are encouraging, and experiments
were made at Bournville. At first these were only
moderately successful, because the shell is extremely
stable and decomposes in the ground very slowly in-
deed. Then the head gardener tried hastening the
decomposition by placing the shell in a heap, soaking
with water and turning several times before use. In
this way the shell was converted into a decomposing
mass before being applied to the ground, and gave
excellent results both as a manure and as a lightener
of heavy soils.
On the Continent the small amount of cacao butter
which the shell contains is extracted from it by volatile
solvents. The " shell butter " so obtained is very in-
ferior to ordinary cacao butter, and as usually put on
the market, has an unpleasant taste, and an odour which
reminds one faintly of an old tobacco-pipe. In this
unrefined condition it is obviously unsuitable for edible
purposes.
Shell contains about one per cent, of theobromine
BY-PRODUCTS OF THE INDUSTRY 163
(dimethylxanthine). This is a very valuable chemical
substance (see remarks in chapter on Food Value of
Cocoa and Chocolate), and the extraction of theo-
bromine from shell is already practised on a large
scale, and promises to be a profitable industry. Ordin-
ary commercial samples of shell contain from i'2 to
1*4 per cent, of theobromine. Those interested should
study the very ingenious process of Messrs. Grousseau
and Vicongne (Patent No. 120,178). Many other
uses of cacao shell have been made and suggested ;
thus it has been used for the production of a good coffee
substitute, and also, during the shortage of sawdust,
as a packing material, but its most important use at
the present time is as cattle food, and its most im-
portant abuse as an adulterant of cocoa.
The value of cacao shell as cattle food has been known
for a long time, and is indicated in the following analysis
by Smetham (in the Journal of the Lancashire Agri-
cultural Society, 1914).
Analysis of Cacao Shell.
Water 9-30
Fat 3-83
Mineral Matter 8 - 20
Albuminoids i8'8i
Fibre 13-85
Digestible Carbohydrates 40'oi
IOO'OO
From these figures Smetham calculates the food units
as 102, so that it is evident that cacao shell occupies a
good position when compared with other fodders :
Food Units.
Linseed cake 133 Maize (new crop) 99
Oatmeal 117 Meadow hay 68
Bran 109 Rice husks 43
English wheat 106 Wheat straw 41
Cacao shells 102 Mangels 12
1 64 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
These analytical results have been supported by
practical feeding experiments in America and Ger-
many (see full account in Zipperer's book, The Manu-
facture of Chocolate). Prof. Faelli, in Turin, obtained,
by giving cacao shell to cows, an increase in both the
quantity and quality of the milk. More recent experi-
ence seems to indicate that it is unwise to put a very
high percentage of cacao shell in a cattle food ; in small
quantities in compound feeding cakes, etc., as an
appetiser it has been used for years with good results.
(Further particulars will be found in Cacao Shells as
Fodder, by A. W. Knapp, Tropical Life, 1916, p. 154,
and in The Separation and Uses of Cacao Shell, Society
of Chemical Industry's Journal, 1918, 240). The price
of shell has shown great variation. The following figures
are for the grade of shell which is almost entirely free
from cocoa :
CACAO SHELL.
Average Price per Ton.
Year 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
Price 65/- 70/- 70/- 70/- 90/- 128/- 284/- 161/-
Price per Food Unit.
July, 1 91 5. Jan., 1919.
s. d. 5. d.
English Oats 3 i\ 3 8
Cotton Seed Cake 2 5 3 11
Linseed Cake 1 7 3 5
Brewers Grains (dried) 1 6J 3 8-i
Decorticated Cotton Cake 1 6 3 3 J
Cacao Shell 8} 1 4I
The above table speaks for itself ; the figures are from
the Journal of the Board of Agriculture ; I have added
cacao shell for comparison.
1 6 5
CHAPTER VIII
THE COMPOSITION AND FOOD VALUE OF
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
Before the Spaniards made themselves Masters of
Mexico, no other drink was esteem 'd but that of cocoa ;
none caring for wine, notwithstanding the soil produces
vines everywhere in great abundance of itself.
John Ogilvy^s America, 1671.
THE early writers on chocolate generally be-
came lyrical when they wrote of its value as a
food. Thus in the Natural History of Chocolate,
by R. Brookes (1730), we read that an ounce of chocolate
contains as much nourishment as a pound of beef,
that a woman and a child, and even a councillor, lived
on chocolate alone for a long period, and further :
Before chocolate was known in Europe, good old
wine was called the milk of old men ; but this title is
now applied with greater reason to chocolate, since its
use has become so common, that it has been perceived
that chocolate is, with respect to them, what milk is
to infants."
A more temperate tone is shown in the following,
from A Curious Treatise of the Nature and Quality of
Chocolate, by Antonio Colmenero de Ledesma, a
Spaniard, Physician and Chvrurgion of the city of
Ecija, in Andaluzia (printed at the Green Dragon,
1685) :
So great is the number of those persons, who at present
do drink of Chocolate, that not only in the West Indies,
whence this drink has its original and beginning, but also
in Spain, Italy, Flanders, &c, it is very much used, and
especially in the Court of the King of Spain ; where the
great ladies drink it in a morning before thev rise out of
their beds, and lately much used in England, as Diet and
166 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
Phisick with the Gentry. Yet there are several persons that
stand in doubt both of the hurt and of the benefit, which
proceeds from the use thereof ; some saying, that it ob-
structs and causes opilations, others and those the most
part, that it fattens, several assure us that it fortifies the
stomach : some again that it heats and inflames the body.
But very many steadfastly affirm, that tho' they shou'd
drink it at all hours, and that even in the Dog-days, they
find themselves very well after it.
So much for the old valuations ; let us now attempt
by modern methods to estimate the food value of cacao
and its preparations.
Food Value of Cacao Beans.
In estimating the worth of a food, it is usual to com-
pare the fuel values. This peculiar method is adopted
because the most important requirement in nutrition
is that of giving energy for the work of the body, and
a food may be thought of as being burnt up (oxidised)
in the human machine in the production of heat and
energv. The various food constituents serve in varying
degrees as fuel to produce energy, and hence to judge
of the food value it is necessary to know the chemical
composition. Below we give the average composition
of cacao beans and the fuel value calculated from these
figures :
Average Composition and Fuel Value of freshly roasted
Cacao Beans (nibs).
Co mposition . Energy-giving power
Calories per lb.
Cacao Butter 54 - o = 2,282
Protein (total nitrogen 2-3%) 11-9 = 221
Cacao Starch 6*7 1 _
Other Digestible Carbohydrates, etc. 187 1
_. , (Theobromine .... ro
Stimulants | Caffein ^
Mineral Matter 3-2
Crude Fibre 2'6
Moisture 1*5
ioo"o 2,975
COMPOSITION AND FOOD VALUE 167
It will be seen from the above analysis that the cacao
bean is rich in fats, carbohydrates and protein, and
that it contains small quantities of the two stimulants,
theobromine and caffein. In the whole range of animal
and vegetable foodstuffs there are only one or two
which exceed it in energy-giving power. If expressed
Cocoa and Chocolate Despatch Deck at Bourn ville.
in quite another way, namely, as " food units," the
value of the cacao bean stands equally high, as is shown
by the following figures taken from Smetham's result
published in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural
Society, 19 14 :
" Food Units."
Turnips 8
Carrots 12
Potatoes 26
Rice 102
Corn Flour 104
Wheat 106
Peas 113
Oatmeal 117
Coconut 159 •
Cacao Bean 1 83
These figures indicate the high food value of the raw
material ; we will now proceed to consider the various
products which are obtained from it.
1 68 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
Food Value of Cocoa.
Average Composition and Fuel Value of Untreated Cocoa.
Composition. Energy-giving power
Calories per lb.
Cacao Butter 28*0 = 1,183
Protein i8'3 = 340
Cacao Starch 10*2 /
Other Digestible Carbohydrates, etc. 28*4 I
. , . Theobromine nc
Stimulants ^ n- • .i
Canein o - o
Mineral Matter 5"o
Crude Fibre 4'o
Moisture 4'o
ioo"o 2,241
7i ;
(" Soluble " Cocoa, i.e., cocoa which has been treated with alkaline
salts, is almost identical in composition, save that the mineral matter
is about 7" 5 per cent.).
As cocoa consists of the cacao bean with some of the
butter extracted — a process which increases the per-
centage of the nitrogenous and carbohydrate consti-
tuents — it will be evident that the food value of cocoa
powder is high, and that it is a concentrated foodstuff.
In this respect it differs from tea and coffee, which
have practically no food value ; each of them, however,
have special qualities of their own. Some of the claims
made for these beverages are a little remarkable. The
Embassy of the United Provinces in their address to
the Emperor of China (Leyden, 1655), in mentioning
the good properties of tea, wrote : " More especially
it disintoxicates those that are fuddl'd, giving them
new forces, and enabling them to go to it again." The
Embassy do not state whether they speak from personal
experience, but their admiration for tea is undoubted.
Tea, coffee, and cocoa are amongst our blessings, each
has its devotees, each has its peculiar delight : tea
makes for cheerfulness, coffee makes for wit and wake-
fulness, and cocoa relieves the fatigued, and gives a
comfortable feeling of satisfaction and stability. Of
COMPOSITION AND FOOD VALUE 169
these three drinks cocoa alone can be considered as a
food, and just as there are people whose digestion is
deranged by tea, and some who sleep not a wink after
drinking coffee, so there are some who find cocoa too
feeding, especially in the summer-time. These sufferers
from biliousness will think it curious that cocoa is
habitually drunk in many hot climates, thus, in Spanish-
speaking countries, it is the custom for the priest, after
saying mass, to take a cup of chocolate. The pure cocoa
powder is, as we saw above, a very rich foodstuff, but
it must always be remembered that in a pint of cocoa
only a small quantity, about half an ounce, is usually
taken. In this connection the following comparison
between tea, coffee and cocoa is not without interest. It is
taken from the Farmer's Bulletin 249, an official public-
ation of the United States Department of Agriculture :
Comparison of Energy-giving Power of a Pint of Tea,
Coffee and Cocoa.
Fuel
Kind of Beverage
Water
/o
Protein
/o
Fat
/o
Carbo-
hydrates
%
value
per lb.
Calories
Tea
(o"5 oz, to 1 pt. water)
Coffee
(1 oz. to 1 pt. water)
Cocoa
99' 5
98-9
0"2
0*2
o-6
0-7
1 S
16
(o - 5 oz. to 1 pt. water)
97' l
o-6
°'9
ri
65
These figures place cocoa, as a food, head and shoulders
above tea and coffee. The figures are for the beverages
made without the addition of milk and sugar, both of
which are almost invariably present. A pint of cocoa
made with one-third milk, half an ounce of cocoa, and
one ounce of sugar would have a fuel value of 320
calories, and is therefore equivalent in energy-giving
power to a quarter of a pound of beef or four eggs.
Cocoa is stimulating, but its action is not so marked
1 70
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
as that of tea or coffee, and hence it is more suitable for
young children. Dr. Hutchison, an authority on diet-
etics, writes : " Tea and coffee are also harmful to
the susceptible nervous system of the child, but cocoa,
made with plenty of milk, may be allowed, though it
should be regarded, like milk, as a food rather than a
beverage properly so called."
Hozv to Make a Cup of Cocoa.
Tea, coffee and cocoa are all so easy to make that it
is remarkable anyone should fail to prepare them per-
fectly. Whilst in France everyone can prepare coffee
to perfection, and many
fail in making a cup of
tea, in England all are
adepts in the art of tea-
making, and many do not
distinguish themselves in
the preparation of coffee.
Cocoa in either country
is not always the delight-
ful beverage it should be.
The directions below,
if carefully followed, will
be found to give the cha-
racter of cocoa its full expression. The principal con-
ditions to observe are to avoid iron saucepans, to use
boiling water or milk, to froth the cocoa before serving,
and to serve steaming hot in thick cups.
The amount of cocoa required for two large break-
fast cups, that is one pint, is as much as will go, when
piled up, in a dessert spoon. Take then a heaped
dessert-spoonful of pure cocoa and mix dry with one
and a half times its bulk of fine sugar. Set this on one
side whilst the boiling liquid is prepared. Mix one
breakfast cup of water with one breakfast cup of milk,
and raise to the boil in an enamelled saucepan. Whilst
this is proceeding, warm the jug which is to hold the
cocoa, and transfer the dry sugar-cocoa mixture to it.
COMPOSITION AND FOOD VALUE 171
Now pour in the boiling milk and water. Transfer back
to saucepan and boil for one minute. Whisk vigorously
for a quarter of a minute. Serve without delay.
Digestibility of Cocoa.
We have noted above the high percentage of nutrients
which cocoa contains, and the research conducted by
J. Forster* shows that these nutrients are easily assimil-
ated. Forster found that the fatty and mineral con-
stituents of cocoa are both completely digested, and the
nitrogenous constituents are digested in the same
proportion as in finest bread, and more completely
than in bread of average quality. One very striking
fact was revealed bv his researches, namely, that the
consumption of cocoa increases the digestive power
for other foods which are taken at the same time, and
that this increase is particularly evident with milk.
Dr. R. O. Neumannf (who fed himself with cocoa
preparations for over twelve weeks), whilst not agree-
ing with this conclusion, states that : ' The con-
sumption of cocoa from the point of view of health
leaves nothing to be desired. The taking of large or
small quantities of cocoa, either rich or poor in fat,
with or without other food, gave rise to no digestive
troubles during the 86 days which formed the dur-
ation of the experiments." He considers that cocoas
containing a high percentage of cacao butter are prefer-
able to those which contain low percentages, and that
a 30 per cent, butter content meets all requirements.
It is worthy of note that 28 to 30 per cent, is the quan-
tity of butter found in ordinary high-class cocoas.
As experts are liable to disagree, and it is almost
possible to prove anything by a judicious selection
from their writings, it may be well to give an extract
from some modern text book as more nearly express-
ing the standard opinion of the times. In Second Stage
* Hygienische Rundschau, 1900, p. 305.
-j- Die Beicertung des Kakaos ah Nahrungs- und Genussmittel, 1906.
172 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
Hygiene, by Mr. Ikin and Dr. Lyster, a text book
written for the Board of Education Syllabus, we read,
p. 96 : " . . .in the better cocoas the greater part of
the fat is removed by heat and pressure. In this form
cocoa may be looked upon as almost an ideal food, as
it contains proteids, fats, and carbohydrates in roughly
the right proportions. Prepared with milk and sugar it
forms a highly nutritious and valuable stimulating
beverage."
Stimulating Property of Cocoa.
The mild stimulating property which cocoa possesses
is due to the presence of the two substances, theo-
bromine and caffein. The presence of theobromine is
peculiar to cocoa, but caffein is a stimulating principle
which also occurs in tea and coffee. Whilst in the
quantities in which they are present in cocoa (about
1 .5 per cent, of theobromine and 0.6 per cent, of caffein)
they act only as agreeable stimulants, in the pure con-
dition, as white crystalline powders, they are powerful
curative agents. Caffein is well known as a specific for
nervous headaches, and as a heart stimulant and diuretic.
Theobromine is similar in action, but has the advantage
for certain cases, that it has much less effect on the
central nervous system, and for this reason it is a very
valuable medicine for sufferers from heart dropsy, and
as a tonic for senile heart. That its medicinal proper-
ties are appreciated is shown by its price : during 191 8
the retail price was about 8 shillings an ounce, from
which we can calculate that every pound of cocoa
contained nearly two shillingsworth of theobromine.
" Soluble " Cocoa.
Whilst Forster states that treated cocoa is the most
digestible, experts are not in agreement as to which
is the more valuable foodstuff, the pure untouched
cocoa, or that which is treated during its manufacture
COMPOSITION AND FOOD VALUE 173
with alkaline salts. The cocoa so treated is generally
described as " soluble," although its only claim to this
name is that the mineral salts in the cocoa are rendered
more soluble by the treatment. It is also sometimes
incorrectly described as containing alkali, but actually no
alkali is present in the cocoa either in a free state or as
Boxing Chocolates.
carbonate ; the potassium exists " in the form of phos-
phates or combinations of organic acids, that is to say,
in the ideal form in which these bodies occur in foods
of animal and vegetable origin " (Fritsch, Fabrication
da Chocolat, p. 216).
Food Value of Chocolate.
I ate a little chocolate from my supply, well knowing the miracu-
lous sustaining powers of the simple little block (from Mr. Isaacs,
by F. Marion Crawford).
Whilst the food value of cocoa powder is very high
i74 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
the drink prepared from it can only be regarded as an
accessory food, because it is usual to take the powder
in small quantities — just as with beef-tea it is usual to
take only a small portion of an ox in a tea-cup — but
chocolate is often eaten in considerable quantities at a
time, and must therefore be regarded as an important
foodstuff, and not considered, as it frequently is con-
sidered, simply as a luxury.
The eating of cacao mixed with sugar dates from
very early days, but it is only in recent times that it has
become the principal sweetmeat. What would a " sweet-
shop " be to-day without chocolate, that summit of
the confectioner's art, when the rich brown of chocolate
is the predominant note in every confectioner's
window ? What would the lovers in England do
without chocolates, which enable them to indulge
their delight in giving that which is sure to be well
received ?
As a luxury it is universally appreciated, and be-
cause of this appreciation its value as a food is some-
times overlooked.
During the war chocolate was valued as a compact
foodstuff, which is easily preserved. Dr. Gastineau
Earle, lecturing for the Institute of Hygiene in 1915
on " Food Factor in War," said : " Chocolate is a
most valuable concentrated food, especially when
other foods are not available ; it is the chief constitu-
ent of the emergency ration." Its importance as a con-
centrated foodstuff was appreciated in the United
States, for every " comfort kit " made up for the
American soldiers fighting in the war contained a cake
of sweet chocolate.
There are a number of records of people whose lives
have been preserved by means of chocolate. One of
the most recent was the case of Commander Stewart,
who was torpedoed in H.M.S. " Cornwallis " in the
Mediterranean in 19 17. He happened to have in his
cabin one of the boxes of chocolate presented to the
Army and Navy in 191 5 by the colonies of Trinidad,
COMPOSITION AND FOOD VALUE 175
Grenada, and St. Lucia, who gave the cacao and paid
English manufacturers to make it into chocolate. He
had been treasuring the box as a souvenir, but being
the only article of food available, he filled his pockets
with the chocolate, which sustained him through many
trying hours.*
We have already seen the high food value of the
cacao bean : what of the sugar which chocolate con-
tains ? Sugar is consumed in large quantities in England,
the consumption per head amounting to 80-90 lbs. per
year. It is well known as a giver of heat and energy,
and Sir Ernest Shackleton reports that it proved a
great life preserver and sustainer in Arctic regions.
Our practical acquaintance with sugar commences at
birth — milk containing about 5 per cent, of milk
sugar — and when one considers the amazing activity
of young children one understands their continuous
demand for sugar. Dr. Hutchison, in his well-known
Food and the Principles of Dietetics, says : ' The
craving for sweets which children show is, no doubt, the
natural expression of a physiological need, but they
should be taken with, and not between, meals. Chocol-
ate is one of the most wholesome and nutritious forms
of such sweets."
Both the constituents of chocolate being nourish-
ing, it follows that chocolate itself has a high food
value. This is proved by the figures given below.
As with cocoa, we have first to know the composition
before we can calculate the food value. The relative
proportions of nib, butter and sugar, vary considerably
in ordinary chocolate, so that it is difficult to give an
average composition : there are sticks of eating chocol-
ate which contain as little as 24 per cent, of cacao
butter, whilst chocolate used for covering contains
about 36 per cent, of butter.
As modern high-class eating chocolate contains
* See West India Committee Journal ', p. 55, 191 7.
176 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
about 31 per cent, of butter, we will take this for
purposes of calculation :
Average Composition and Fuel Value of English Eating
Chocolate.
Composition Enet gy-giving power
Calories per lb.
Cacao Butter 31*4 = 1 ,327
Protein (total nitrogen 0-78%) 4-1 = 76
Cacao Starch 2*3 \ ,
Other Digestible Carbohydrates, etc. 6'4-f
„ . , ^Theobromine .... o"l
Stimulants { r> a ■ .
iCartein 01
Mineral Matter V2
Crude Fibre o'o.
Moisture ro
Sugar 52-3 = 973
ioo - o 2 .538
In Snyder's Human Foods (191 6) the official analyses
of 163 common foods are given. They include prac-
tically everything that human beings eat, and only
three are greater than chocolate in energy-giving power.
The result (2,538 calories per lb.) which we obtain
by calculation is lower than the figure (2,768 calories
per lb.) for chocolate given by Sherman in his
book on Food and Nutrition (191 8). Probably his figure
is for unsweetened chocolate. The table below shows
the energy-giving value of cocoa and chocolate com-
pared with well-known foodstuffs. The figures (save
for "eating" chocolate) are taken from Sherman's book,
and are calculated from the analyses given in Bulletin
28 of the United States Department of Agriculture :
Fuel Value of Foodstuffs.
Foodstuff as Calories Foodstuff as Calories
Purchased. per lb. Purchased. per lb.
Cabbage 121 Beef Steak 960
Cod Fish 209 Bread (average white) 1,180
Apples 214 Oatmeal 1,811
Potatoes 302 Sugar 1,815
Milk 314 Cocoa 2,258
Eggs 594 Eating Chocolate . . 2,538
COMPOSITION AND FOOD VALUE 177
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178 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
Food Value of Milk Chocolate.
The value of milk as a food is so generally recog-
nised as to need no commendation here. When milk is
evaporated to a dry solid, about 87*5 per cent, of water
is driven off, so that the dry milk left has about eight
times the food value of the original milk. Milk choco-
late of good quality contains from 15 to 25 per cent, of
milk solids. Milk chocolate varies greatly in com-
position, but for the purpose of calculating the food
value, we may assume that about a quarter of a high-
class milk chocolate consists of solid milk, and this is
combined with about 40 per cent, of cane sugar and
35 per cent, of cacao butter and cacao mass.
Analysis and Fuel Value of Milk Chocolate.
Energy-g ivirtg
power.
Calories per lb.
Milk Fat and Cacao Butter 35-0 = 1,480
Milk and Cocoa Proteins 8 - o = 149
Cacao Starch and Digestible Carbohydrates 3-0 = 56
Stimulants (Theobromine and Caffein).. o'2
Mineral Matter 20
Crude Fibre 0-3
Moisture i'5
Milk Sugar and Cane Sugar 50-0 = 930
2,615
It will be noted that the food* value of milk chocolate
is even greater than that of plain chocolate. It is highly
probable that milk chocolate is the most nutritious of
all sweetmeats. It is not generally recognised that when
we purchase one pound of high-class milk chocolate
we obtain three-quarters of a pound of chocolate and
two pounds of milk !
i79
CHAPTER IX
ADULTERATION AND THE NEED FOR
DEFINITIONS
Those that mix maize in the Chocolate do very ill, for
they beget bilious and melancholy humours.
A Curious Treatise on the Nature and Quality of Chocolate,
Antonio Colmenero de Ledesma, 1685.
COCOA.
COCOA might conveniently be defined as con-
sisting exclusively of shelled, roasted, finely-
ground cacao beans, partially de-fatted, with
or without a minute quantity of flavouring material.
The gross adulteration of cocoa is now a thing of the
past, and most of the cocoa sold conforms with this
definition. Statements, however, get copied from book
to book, and hence we continue to read that cocoa
usually contains arrowroot or other starch. In the old
days this was frequently so, but now, owing to many
legal actions by Public Health Authorities, this abuse
has been stamped out. Nowadays if a Public Analyst
finds flour or arrowroo*t in a sample bought as cocoa,
he describes it as adulterated, and the seller is prose-
cuted and fined. Hence, save for the presence of cacao
shell, the cocoa of the present day is a pure article
consisting simply of roasted, finely-ground cacao beans
partially de-fatted. The principal factors affecting the
quality of the finished cocoa are the difference in the
kind of cacao bean used, the amount of cacao butter
extracted, the care in preparation, and the amount of
cacao shell left in.
180 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
The presence of more than a small percentage of
shell in cocoa is a disadvantage both on the ground of
taste and of food value. This has been recognised from
the earliest times (see quotations on p. 128). In the
Cocoa Powder Order of 191 8, the amount of shell
which a cocoa powder might contain was defined —
grade A not to contain more than two per cent, of shell,
and grade B not more than five per cent, of shell. The
manufacturers of high-class cocoa welcomed these
standards, but unfortunately the known analytical
methods are not delicate enough to estimate accurately
such small quantities, so that any external check is
difficult, and the purchaser has to trust to the honesty
of the manufacturer. Hence it is wise to purchase cocoa
only from makers of good repute.
CHOCOLATE.
We have so far no legal definition of chocolate in
England. As Mr. N. P. Booth pointed out at the
Seventh International Congress of Applied Chemistry :
" At the present time a mixture of cocoa with sugar
and starch cannot be sold as pure cocoa, but only as
' chocolate powder,' and with a definite declaration
that the article is a mixture of cocoa and other in-
gredients. Prosecutions are constantly occurring where
mixtures of foreign starch and sugar with cocoa have
been sold as ' cocoa,' and it seems, therefore, a proper
step to take to require that a similar declaration shall
be made in the case of ' chocolate ' which contains
other constituents than the products of cocoa nib and
sugar." We cannot do better than quote in full the
definitions suggested in Mr. Booth's paper.
The author refers to the absence of any legal stand-
ard for chocolate in England, although in some of the
European countries standards are in force, and points
out, as a result of this, that articles of which the sale
would be prohibited in some other countries, are per-
mitted to come without restriction on to the English
market.
ADULTERATION AND DEFINITIONS 181
Wharf at Factory at Knighton, at which Milk is
Evaporated for Milk Chocolate Manufacture.
(Messrs. Cadbury Bros., Ltd.)
He suggests that the following definitions for chocol-
ate goods are reasonable, and could be conformed to
by makers of the genuine article. These standards are
not more stringent than those already enforced in
some of the Colonies and European countries :
(i) Unsweetened chocolate or cacao mass must be prepared ex-
clusively from roasted, shelled, finely-ground cacao beans,
with or without the addition of a small quantity of flavouring
matter, and should not contain less than 45 per cent, of cacao
butter.
(2) Sweetened chocolate or chocolate.— A preparation consisting
exclusively of the products of roasted, shelled, finely-ground
cacao beans, and not more than 65 per cent, of sugar, with
or without a small quantity of harmless flavouring matter
1 82 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
(3) Granulated, or Ground Chocolate for Drinking purposes. —
The same definition as for sweetened chocolate should apply
here, except that the proportion of sugar may be raised to not
more than 75 per cent.
(4) Chocolate-covered Goods. — Various forms of confectionery
covered with chocolate, the composition of the latter agreeing
with the definition of sweetened chocolate.
(5) Milk Chocolate.- — A preparation composed exclusively of
roasted, shelled cacao beans, sugar, and not less than 15 per
cent, of the dry solids of full- cream milk, with or without a
small quantity of harmless flavouring matter.
Mr. Booth further states that starch other than that
naturally present in the cacao bean, and cacao shell in
powder form, should be absolutely excluded from
any article which is to be sold under the name of
" chocolate."
<«3
CHAPTER X
THE CONSUMPTION OF CACAO
The Kernels that come to us from the Coast of Car aqua,
are more oily, and less bitter, than those that come from the
French Islands, and in France and Spain they prefer them
to these latter. But in Germany and in the North (Fides sit
penes antor em) they have a quite opposite Taste. Several
People mix that of Car aqua with that of the Islands, half in
half, and pretend by this Mixture to make the Chocolate
better. I believe in the bottom, the difference of Chocolates
is not considerable, since they are only obliged to increase
or diminish the Proportion of Sugar, according as the
Bitterness of the Kernels require it.
The Natural History of Chocolate,
R. Brookes, 1730.
THE war has caused such a disturbance that the
statistics for the years of the war are difficult
to obtain. For many years the German publica-
tion, the Gordian, was the most reliable source of
cacao statistics, and so far we have nothing in England
sufficiently comprehensive to replace it, although useful
figures can be obtained from the Board of Trade re-
turns of imports into Great Britain, from Mr. Theo.
Vasmer's reports which appear from time to time in
The Confectioners' Union and elsewhere, from Mr.
Hamel Smith's collated material in Tropical Life, and
from the reports of important brokers like Messrs.
Woodhouse. In 19 19 the Bulletin of the Imperial
Institute gave a very complete resume of cacao pro-
duction as far as the British Empire is concerned.
1 84 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
Great Britain.
Since 1830 the consumption of cacao in the British
Isles has shown a great and continuous increase, and
there is every reason to believe that the consumption
will easily keep pace with the rapidly growing pro-
duction. One effect of the war has been to increase the
consumption of cocoa and chocolate. Many thousands
of men who took no interest in " sweets " learned from
the use of their emergency ration that chocolate was a
very convenient and concentrated foodstuff.
Cacao Beans Cleared for Home Consumption.
Year. English Tons.
1830 450
1 840 900
1 850 1 ,400
i860 1,450
1870 3,100
1 880 4,7 00
1 890 9,000
1900 16,900
19 10 2 4>55°
Retained in
Home
he country
Consumption
tons.
tons.
27-45°
24,600
28,200
23,200
29,600
24,900
54,400
40,300
64.75
29,300
53- IO °
4 I .3°°
Cacao Beans Imported into United Kingdom.
Total
Year. Imported
tons.
1912 .... 33,600
1913 35.°°°
1914 4 I -75°
1915 .... 81,800
1916 88,800
1917 .... 57,900
The above figures are compiled from the Bulletin
of the Imperial Institute (No. I, 19 19). The total im-
ports for 191 8 were 42,390 tons. This sudden and
marked drop in the amount imported was due to short-
age of shipping. There were, however, large quan-
tities of cacao in stock, and the amount consumed
showed a marked advance on previous years, being
61,252 tons.
THE CONSUMPTION OF CACAO 185
The Board of Trade Returns for 19 19 are as follow :
Cacao Beans Imported into United Kingdom.
From
British West Africa,
British West Indies
Ecuador
Brazil
Ceylon
Other Countries
Total
72,886 tons
13,219 tons
9,153 tons
3,665 tons
903 tons
13,820 tons
113,646 tons
Home Consumption 64,613 tons
It will be noted that the import of British cacao is
over 75 per cent, of the total.
Before the war about half the cacao imported into
the United Kingdom was grown in British possessions.
During the war more and more British cacao was im-
ported, and now that a preferential duty of seven
shillings per hundredweight has been given to British
Colonial growths we shall probably see a still higher
percentage of British cacao consumed in the United
Kingdom.
Value of Cacao Beans Imported into the United Kingdom (to
Nearest £1,000).
Total value of Cacao
From British Possessio
Year.
Beans Imported.
Value.
Per cent
1913 ..
£2,199,000
£1,158,000
5*1
1914 ..
£2,439,000
£1,204,000
49"4
1915 ..
£5,747,000
£3,546,000
6r 7
1916
£6,498,000
£4,417,000
68-o
1917 ..
£3,498,000
£3,010,000
86-o
1918 ..
£3,040,000
£2,549,000
83-8
1919 ..
£9,207,000
£6,639,000
72-1
That the consumption of cacao is expected to grow
greater yet in the immediate future is reflected in the
prices of raw cacao, which, as soon as they were no
longer fixed by the Government, rose rapidly, thus
Accra cacao rose from 65s. per hundredweight to over
90s. per hundredweight in a few weeks, and now
(January, 1920) stands at 104s. (See diagram p. 113).
i86
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE
World Consumption.
The world's consumption of cacao is steadily rising.
Before the war the United States, Germany, Holland,
Great Britain, France, and Switzerland were the prin-
cipal consumers. Whilst we have increased our con-
sumption, so that Great Britain now occupies second
place, the United States has outstripped all the other
countries, having doubled its consumption in a few
years, and is now taking almost as much as all the
rest of the world put together. It is thought that since
America has " gone dry " this remarkably large con-
sumption is likely to be maintained.
World's Consumption of Cacao Beans.
(to the nearest thousand tons)
i ton = iooo kilograms.
Country.
U.S.A
Pre-war
Tons.
68,000
51,000
30,000
28,000
28,000
10,000
7,000
6,000
6,000
5,000
3,000
2,000
2,000
1,000
1,000
5,000
War Pe
Average of
1914, 5A&7.
Tons.
103,000
28,000
25,000
41,000
35,000
14,000
2,000
1,000
7,000
4,000
4,000
5,000
2,000
2,000
2,000
8, 000
nod
1918
Tons.
145,000
?
2,000
62,000
39,000
18,000
?
1,000
6,000
p
9,000
6,000
2,000
2,000
2,000
11,000
Post-zvar
1919.
Tons.
145,000
13,000
39,000
66,000
46,000
21,000
2,000
8,000
8,000
?
?
6,000
?
?
?
26,000
Germany
Holland
Great Britain ....
France
Switzerland
Austria
Belgium
Spain
Russia
Canada
Italy
Denmark
Sweden
Norway
Other countries
(estimated)
Total
1 252,000
283,000
305,000
380,000
The above figures are compiled chiefly from Mr.
Theo. Vasmer's reports. The Gordian estimates that
THE CONSUMPTION OF CACAO 187
the world's consumption in 191 8 was 314,882 tons.
In several of our larger colonies and in at least one
European country there is obviously ample room for
increase in the consumption. When one considers the
Cacao Pods, Leaves and Flowers.
Reproduced by permission of Messrs. Fry & Soiif, Ltd., Bristol.
great population of Russia, four to five thousand tons
per annum is a very small amount to consume. It is
pleasant to think of cocoa being drunk in the ice-
bound North of Russia — it brings to mind so picturesque
a contrast : cacao, grown amongst the richlv-coloured
flora of the tropics, consumed in a land that is white
with cold. When Russia has reached a more stable
condition we shall doubtless see a rapid expansion in
the cacao consumption.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
i.9 1
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS ON
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE ARRANGED IN
ORDER OF DATE OF PUBLICATION.
1600-1700
RAUCH, Joan. Franc.
DISPUTATIO MEDICO DICETETICA DE AERE ET
ESCULENTIS, DE NECNON POTU? Vienna 1624
[Condemns cocoa as a violent inflamer of the passions.]
COLMENERO, Antonio de Ledesma.
[Treatise on Chocolate in Spanish entitled :]
CURIOSO TRATADO DE LA NATURALEZA Y
CALIDAD DEL CHOCOLATE, DIVIDIDO EN
QUATRO PUNTOS. Madrid 1631
Translated into English by Don Diego de Vades-
forte 1640
Translated into French by Rene Moreau J &13
Translated into Latin by J. G. Volckamer 1644
Translated into English by J. Wadsworth 1652
Translated into Italian by A. Vitrioli 1667
Moreau's translation edited by Sylvestre Dufour
1 67 1 and 1685
and translated into English by J. Chamberlaine 1685
[for titles, etc., see under translators]
DE VADES-FORTE, Don Diego.
[The magnificent pseudonym of J. Wads-
worth.] (Translated by.)
A CURIOUS TREATISE OF THE NATURE AND
QUALITY OF CHOCOLATE by Antonio de Ledesma
Colmenero. London 1640
i 9 2 BIBLIOGRAPHY
MOREAU, Rene. (Translated by)
DU CHOCOLAT DISCOURS CURIEUX by Antonio
de Ledesma Colmenero. pp. 59. Paris x ^43
[VOLCKAMER, J. G. Translated by.]
CHOCOLATA INDA, OPUSCULUM DE QUALI-
TATE ET NATURA CHOCOLATAE by Antonio de
Ledesma Colmenero. pp. 73. Norimbergae 1644
(In same volume with this is " Opobalsamum Orient-
alae " and " Pisonis Observationes Medicae." Total
pp. 224.)
WADSWORTH, J. (Translated by.)
CHOCOLATE: OR AN INDIAN DRINKE ETC. by
Antonio Ledesma Colmenero. London 1652
STUBBE(S), Henry.
THE INDIAN NECTAR OR A DISCOURSE CON-
CERNING CHOCOLATA. pp. 184. London 1662
BRANCATIUS, Franciscus Maria.
DE CHOCALATIS POTU DIATRIBE, pp. 36. Rome 1664
PAULLI, Simon
COMMENTARIUS DE ABUSU TABACI . . .
THEE. Argentorati (see 1746) 1665
VITRIOLI, A. (Translated by.)
DELLA CIOCCOLATA DISCORSO. [From Moreau's
translation of Colmenero's book.] Rome 1667
SEBASTUS MELISSENUS, F. Nicephorus.
DE CHOCOLATIS POTIONE RESOLUTIO MOR-
ALIS. pp. 36. Naples 1671
SYLVESTRE DUFOUR, P. [Edited by.]
DE L'USAGE DU CAPHE, DU THE, ET DU
CHOCOLAT. pp. 188. Lyon 1671
[The part on chocolate, pp. 59, is a revision of Moreau's
translation of Colmenero's book, plus B. Marradon's
dialogue on chocolate.] Translated into English by J.
Chamberlaine (which see). 1685
BIBLIOGRAPHY 193
HUGHES, William.
THE AMERICAN PHYSITIAN . . . WHERE-
UNTO IS ADDED A DISCOURSE ON THE
CACAO-NUT-TREE, AND THE USE OF ITS
FRUIT, WITH ALL THE WAYS OF MAKING
CHOCOLATE. London 1672
AUTHOR NOT GIVEN.
DESCRIPTION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE
COCOA TREE. Phil. Trans. Abr. 11. pp. 59. 1673
BONTEKOE, Willem.
Sundry short treatises in Dutch on Cocoa and Choco-
late, about 1679
AUTHOR NOT GIVEN.
THE NATURAL HISTORY OF COFFEE, TEA,
CHOCOLATE, TOBACCO AND ALSO THE WAY
OF MAKING MUM. pp. 39. Printed for Christopher
Wilkinson. London 1682
[Condemns chocolate on account of its containing " such
a corrosive salt " as sugar. Mum is a peculiar kind of
beer made from wheat malt.]
MUNDY, Henry.
OPERA OMNIA MEDICO-PHYSICA DE AERE
VITALI, E^CULENTIS ET POTULENTIS CUM
APPENDICE DE PARERGIS IN VICTU ET
CHOCOLATU, THEA, CAFFEA, TOBACCO.
Oxford 1680. Leyden 1685
SYLVESTRE DUFOUR, P.
TRAITEZ,NOUVEAUX ET CURIEUX DU CAFE,
DU THE ET DU CHOCOLAT. [The treatise on
chocolate is compiled from the Spanish of Colmenero
and B. Marradon.] pp. 403. a la Haye. 1685
(With additions bv St. Disdier) pp. 404. a la
Haye. 1693
Published by Deville. pp. 404. Lyon 1688
The above in Latin (bv J- Spon), "TRACTATUS
NOVI DE POTU CAPHE, DE CHIENSIUM,
THE, ET DE CHOCOLATA." pp. 202. Paris 1685
A further Latin translation of the above, " NOVI
TRACTATUS DE POTU CAPHE DE CHI-
ENSIUM, THE, ET DE CHOCOLATA."
pp. 188. Geneva 1699
194 BIBLIOGRAPHY
CHAMBERLAINE, J. (Translated by).
THE MANNER OF MAKING COFFEE, TEA AND
CHOCOLATE, pp. 116. London 1685
[A translation of Sylvestre Dufour's compilation, the
part on Chocolate entitled " A Curious Treatise of the
Nature and Quality of Chocolate," being- a translation
of Colmenero's book.]
BLEGNY, Nicholas de.
LE BON USAGE DE THE, DU CAFFE, ET DU
CHOCOLAT POUR LA PRESERVATION ET POUR
LA GUERISON DES MALADES. pp. 358. Paris 1687
pp. 358. Lyon 1687
MAPPUS, Marcus.
DISSERTATIONES MEDICAE TRES DE RECEP-
TIS HODIE ETIAM IN EUROPA, POTUS CALIDI
GENERIBUS THEE, CAFE, CHOCOLATA. pp.66.
Argentorati ^95
1701-1800
DUNCAN, Dr.
WHOLESOME ADVICE AGAINST THE ABUSE OF
HOT LIQUORS, PARTICULARLY OF COFFEE,
TEA, CHOCOLATE, ETC. pp. 280. London 1706
AUTHOR NOT GIVEN [by De Chelus.]
HISTOIRE NATURELLE DU CACAO ET DU
SUCRE. pp. 227. Paris 1719
pp. 228. Amsterdam 1720
pp. 404. Amsterdam 1720
pp. 95. London J 7 2 4
BROOKES, R. [the above by De Chelus.]
(Translated by).
NATURAL HISTORY OF CHOCOLATE.
pp. 95. Printed for J. Roberts, London 1724
pp. 95 Printed for Browne, London '7-5
pp. 95. Printed for J. Roberts, London 1730
ACT OF PARLIAMENT, George II, 1723.
Relating to "LAYING INLAND DUTIES ON COF-
FEE, TEA AND CHOCOLATE." London 1724
BRUCKMAN, F. E.
RELATIO DE CACAO. Brunswick 1738
BIBLIOGRAPHY 195
BARON, H. T.
AN SENIBUS CHOCOLATAE PUTUS ? Paris 1739
PAULI, S. [PAULLL]
A TREATISE ON TOBACCO, TEA, COFFEE AND
CHOCOLATE. Translated by Dr. James, pp. 171.
London (see 1665) J 746
N.N. [pseudonym of D. CONCINA.]
MEMORIE STORICHE SOPRA L'USO DELLA
CIOCCOLATA IN TEMPO DI DIGIUNO ETC.
Historical memoir on the use of chocolate upon fast
days. pp. 196. Venice 1748
STAYLEY, G.
THE CHOCOLATE MAKERS OR MIMICKRY
EXPOSED. An Interlude. Dublin. 1759
AUTHOR NOT GIVEN.
OBSERVATIONS SUR LE CACAO ET SUR LE
CHOCOLAT. pp. 144. Paris 1 772
SMITH, Hugh.
AN ESSAY ON FOREIGN TEAS, WITH OBSER-
VATIONS ON MINERAL WATERS, COFFEE,
CHOCOLATE, ETC. London 1794
1801-1900
PARMENTIER
ON THE COMPOSITION AND USE OF CHOCO-
LATE. Nicholson's Journal. London 1803
GALLAIS, A.
MONOGRAPHIE DU CACAO, pp. 216. Paris 1827
MITSCHERLICH, A.
DER KAKAO UND DIE SCHOKOLADE. Berlin 1859
GOSSELIN, A.
MANUEL DES CHOCOLATIERS. pp. 53. Paris i860
MANGIN, A.
LE CACAO ET LA CHOCOLAT. Paris 1862
196 BIBLIOGRAPHY
HEWETT, C. (of Messrs. Dunn and Hewett.)
CHOCOLATE AND COCOA, GROWTH AND PRE-
PARATION, pp. 88. London 1862
COMPAGNIE COLONIALE.
CHOCOLATE : ITS CHARACTER AND HISTORY.
pp. 37. Paris 1868
HOLM, J.
COCOA AND ITS MANUFACTURE. Rivers, Lon-
don.
SINCLAIR, W. J.
BEVERAGES, TEA, COCOA, ETC. (Health Lectures,
Vol. 4). Manchester 1881
SALDAU, E.
DIE CHOCOLADE-FABRIKATION. pp. 232. Vienna
(see 1907) 1881
MORRIS, D.
CACAO : HOW TO GROW IT. pp. 45. Jamaica 1882
(see 1887)
TRINIDAD Agricultural Association.
CURING OF COCOA DISCUSSED, pp. 6. 1885
BARTELINK, E. J.
HANDLEIDING VOOR KAKAO-PLANTERS. pp.
68. Amsterdam 1885
English Translation, "THE CACAO PLANTERS'
MANUAL." pp. 57. London 1885
BAKER, W., & Co.
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE, pp. 152. Dorchester,
Mass., U.S.A. (see 1891 and 1899) 1886
MORRIS, D.
CACAO : HOW TO GROW IT. pp. 42. Jamaica 1887
(see 1882)
ZIPPERER, P.
DIE CHOCOLADE FABRIKATION. pp. 181. Ber-
lin (see 1902 and 1913) 1889
BIBLIOGRAPHY 197
BANNISTER, R.
CANTOR LECTURES ON SUGAR, COFFEE, TEA
AND COCOA, pp. 77. London 1890
BAKER, W., & Co.
THE CHOCOLATE PLANT AND ITS PRODUCTS.
pp. 40. Dorchester, Mass., U.S.A. (see 1886 and 1899) 1891
HART, J. H.
CACAO, pp. 77. Port of Spain, Trinidad (see 1900
and 191 1) 1892
HATTON, J.
COCOA, pp. 22. London 1892
HISTORICUS.
COCOA: ALL ABOUT IT. pp. 114. London (see
1896) 1892
GORDIAN, A.
DIE DEUTSCHE SCHOKOLADEN UND ZUCKER-
WAREN INDUSTRIE. Hartleben's Verlag. Ham-
burg- 1895
ROQUE, L. De Belfort de la.
GUIDE PRATIQUE DE LA FABRICATION DU
CHOCOLAT. Paris 1895
HISTORICUS.
COCOA : ALL ABOUT IT. pp. 99. London (see
1892) 1896
VILLON.
MANUEL DU CONFISEUR ET DU CHOCOLAT.
Paris 1896
GOLDOS, L.
MANNUAL DE FABRICACION INDUSTRIAL DE
CHOCOLATE, pp. 261. Madrid 1897
OLIVIERI, F. E.
CACAO PLANTING AND ITS CULTIVATION, pp.
34. Port of Spain, Trinidad (see 1903) ^97
198 BIBLIOGRAPHY
EPPS, James.
THE CACAO PLANT, pp. n. (Transactions Croy-
don Microscopical and Natural History Club) 1898
BAKER, W., & Co.
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE, pp. 71. Dorchester,
Mass., U.S.A. (see 1886 and 1891) 1899
HART, J. H.
CACAO, pp. 117. Port of Spain, Trinidad (see 1892*
and 191 1) *9 00
JUMELLE, H.
LE CACOYER : SA CULTURE ET SON EXPLOI-
TATION, pp. 211. Paris 19 00
MENIER.
HISTORIQUE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MENIER.
(Printed for Exposition Universelle.) pp. 44. Paris 1900
MODERN WORKS, 1901-1920.
(a) Cacao Cultivation.
SMITH, H. Hamel.
SOME NOTES ON COCOA PLANTING IN THE
WEST INDIES, pp. 70 i9 01
WILDEMAN, E. de.
LES PLANTES TROPICALES DE GRANDE CUL-
TURE—CAFE, CACAO, ETC. pp. 304. Bruxelles 1902
PREUSS, Paul.
EXPEDITION NACH CENTRAL UND SUD-
AMERIKA. Berlin. French translation of part of the
above, "LE CACAO, CULTURE ET PREPARA-
TION " (from Bulletin Societe d'Etudes Coloniales).
pp. 249 1902
EITLING, C.
DER KAKAO, SEINE KULTURUND BEREITUNG.
pp. 39 1903
BIBLIOGRAPHY 199
OLIVIERI, F. E.
TREATISE ON CACAO. pp. 101. Trinidad (see
1897) 1903
KINDT, L.
DIE KULTUR DES KAKAOBAUMES UND SEINE
SCHADLINGE. pp. 157. Hamburg 1904
STEUART, M. E.
EVERYDAY LIFE ON A CEYLON COCOA
ESTATE, pp. 256. London I 9°5
CHALOT, C. and LUC, M.
LE CACOYER AU CONGO FRANCAIS. pp. 58 1906
FAUCHERE, A. f
CULTURE PRATIQUE DU CACAOYER ET PRE-
PARATION DU CACAO, pp. 175. Paris 1906
PRUD'HOMME, E.
LE COCOTIER. CULTURE, INDUSTRIE ET
COMMERCE, pp. 491 1906
DE MENDONCA, Monteiro.
BOA ENTRADA PLANTATIONS, SAN THOME.
pp. 63. London I0 < 7
MOUNTMORRES, Viscount.
MAIZE, COCOA, RUBBER, pp. 44. Liverpool 1907
SALDAU, E.
DIE SCHOKOLADEN FABRIKATION. Vienna
(see 1881) 1907
WRIGHT, H.
THEOBROMA CACAO OR COCOA. pp. 249.
Colombo i9°7
RAFAELI, V., and MAXIMILIANO, E.
HOW JOSE' FORMED HIS CACAO ESTATE, pp.
18. Trinidad i9°7
TORAILLE, C. F.
STOLEN FROM THE FIELDS. A TREATISE ON
CACAO AND ITS CULTIVATION. Trinidad 1907
200 BIBLIOGRAPHY
HUGGINS, J. D.
HINTS TO THOSE ENGAGING IN THE CULTI-
VATION OF COCOA, pp. 24. Port of Spain,
Trinidad 19 08
SMITH, H. Hamel.
THE FUTURE OF CACAO PLANTING. pp. 95.
London 19 08
ATBE.
EL CULTIVO LAS DISERSAS INDUSTRIAS DES
COCO. pp. 42. Quito 1909
HART, J. H.
CACAO, pp. 307. Duckworth, London (see 1892 and
1900) 19 11
SMITH, H. Hamel.
NOTES ON SOIL AND PLANT SANITATION ON
CACAO AND RUBBER ESTATES, pp. 603. Bale,
London 19 11
CARVATHO, d'Almeida.
A ILHA DE S. THOME E A AGRICULTURA PRO-
GRESSIVA. (Includes Culturas de Cacoeiro.) pp.
228. Lisbon 1912
JOHNSON, W. H.
COCOA : ITS CULTIVATION AND PREPARATION.
pp. 186. (Imperial Institute.) London 191 2
AUTHOR NOT GIVEN.
CACAO CULTURE IN THE WEST INDIES, pp.
75. Havana. (Published by German Alkali Works,
Cuba.) 19 12
HENRY, Yves.
LE CACAO, pp. 103. Paris 1913
SMITH, H. Hamel.
THE FERMENTATION OF CACAO, pp. 318. Bale,
London 1913
MALINS-SMITH, W. M.
PRACTICAL CACAO PLANTING IN GRENADA.
(West India Committee Circular, April to December.) 1913
BIBLIOGRAPHY 201
HALL, C. J. J. van.
COCOA, pp. 512. Macmillan, London 1914
KNAPP, A. W.
THE PRACTICE OF CACAO FERMENTATION.
pp. 24. Bale, London !9 X 4
(b) Chocolate Manufacture.
BESSELIGH, N.
DIE SCHOKOLADE. pp. 74. Trier.
ZIPPERER, P.
MANUFACTURE OF CHOCOLATE, pp. 277. Ber-
lin, London and New York (see 1889 and 1913) 1902
DUVAL, E.
CONFISERIE MODERNE 1908
BOOTH, N. P., GRIBB, G. H., and
ELLIS-RICHARDS, P. A.
THE COMPOSITION AND ANALYSIS OF CHO-
COLATE. Reprinted from the A nalyst. pp.15. London 1909
FRITSCH, F.
FABRICATION DU CHOCOLAT. pp. 349. Paris 1910
FRANCOIS, L.
LES ALIMENTS SUCRES INDUSTRIELS (Ch o-
colats, Bonbons, etc.) pp. 143. Paris 1912
WHYMPER, R.
COCOA AND CHOCOLATE : THEIR CHEMISTRY
AND MANUFACTURE, pp. 327. Churchill, London 1912
ZIPPERER, P.
DIE SCHOKOLADEN-FABRIKATION. pp. 349.
Berlin (see also 1889 and 1902) 1913
JACOUTOT, Auguste.
CHOCOLATE AND CONFECTIONERY MANU-
FACTURE, pp. xv, 211. J. Baker & Sons. London
202 BIBLIOGRAPHY
(c) General.
WINTON, A. L., SILVERMAN, M., and
BAILEY, E. M.
[ANALYSES OF CACAO AND COCOA.] Report
Connecticut Agri. Expt. Station, U.S.A. pp. 40. 1902
HEAD, Brandon.
THE FOOD OF THE GODS. pp. 109. London 1903
STOLLWERCK, W.
DER KAKAO UND DIE SCHOKOLADEN IN-
DUSTRIE, pp. 102. Jena 1907
U.S. CONSULAR REPORT NO. 50
(Dept. of Commerce and Labour.)
COCOA PRODUCTION AND TRADE, pp. 51.
Washington 1912
CASTILLO, Ledon.
EL CHOCOLATE, pp. vi, 30. Mexico 1917
BULLETIN IMPERIAL INSTITUTE.
COCOA PRODUCTION IN THE BRITISH EMPIRE.
pp. 40-95. London T 9'9
KNAPP, A. W., and McLELLAN, B. G.
THE ESTIMATION OF CACAO SHELL (reprint
from Analyst), pp. 21. London T 9 J 9
The bibliography above is made as complete as
possible as far as bound books in English are con-
cerned. It also gives the more important continental
publications. Should any errors or omissions have
been made here or elsewhere, the author will be grate-
ful if readers will point them out.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 203
PERIODICALS.
Onlv one or two of the important papers in current
literature are mentioned. Much valuable material is
to be found in the following :
Cacao Production
The papers published by the various departments
of agriculture (especially those of Trinidad, Grenada,
Philippines, Java, Ceylon, Gold Coast, Kew, etc.),
the Bulletin of the Imperial Institute, The West India
Committee Circular, Tropical Life, West Africa, Der
Tropenpflanzer , etc.
Statistics
The Gordian, Tea and Coffee Trade Journal.
Manufacture
The Confectioners' Union.
Chemistry
The Analyst, the Journal of the Society of Chemical
Industry, and the Journal of the Chemical Society.
INDEX
207
INDEX
Asterisks denote illustrations.
ACCRA, 74, 91, 114, 1S5 {see also
Gold Coast)
Acids produced by fermentation, 57
Adulterants, 163
Adulteration, cocoa, 179
chocolate, 180
Agostini cacao picker, 46, *^6
Agricultural colleges, 42
education, 90
Alcohol produced by fermentation,
.52, 57
Alkaline treating of cocoa, 173
Allen, Grant, 1 14
Altitude, cacao cultivation, 18
Alligator cacao, 24
Anal)- tical composition — cacao bean,
166
cacao butter, 159
cacao shell, 163
chocolate, 176
cocoa, 168
milk chocolate, 178
ARRIBA, 74, 84 (see also Guayaquil)
Aztec, 5, 7, 8
Bacteria — fermentation, 57
Bagging cacao beans, ^107, *uo
BAHIA, 74, 87. 114
Bainbridge and Davies, 125
Baker & Co., Walter, 121
Beans, 3, 167, *i2g
breaking machine, 130
breaking of, into fragments, 130
changes — fermentation, 57
characteristics of, 75
size and weight of, 74
use as money, 8
Bibliography, 191
Blending, 133
Booth, N. P., 75 1S0
Botanical description, 25
Bournville, 128, 144, 162
Boxing chocolates, * 173
BRAZIL, 38, 82. 84, 87, 185
Breaking cacao pods, 50, *5i
Brill, H. C. ^9
BRITISH GUIANA, 84
BRITISH WEST AFRICA, 18 =
also Gold Coast)
Buying cacao, 109
By-products, 157, 161
{see
Cacao beans, {see beans)
Cacao butter, 135, 157, 159, 166,
168, 171, 176, 178
keeping properties, 158
melting point, 149, 15S
pressing out of, 135
Cacao, cultivation, 17, 38, 116
definition, 2
explanation name, 1
introduction into Europe, 10
keeping properties, 122
manufacturers' requirements, 75
picker, 46, *^6
preparations, popularity of, 15
shell, {see shell)
Cacauatl, 1
Cadbury Bros., 15, 154
Cadbury, Richard, 16
Caffein, 166, 168, 172, 176, 178
Cailler & Co., 154
Calabacillo, 23, *27, 76
CAMEROONS, 74,82,91, 105, 114
CARACAS, 74, 87
Carmody, Professor, 38, 41
CARUPANO, 74, 87
Catch crop, 36
CEYLON, 18, 42, 52, 68, 70, 74, 81
82, 106, 1 14, 185
Chittenden, Dr., 52
Claying, 70, *"]\, 76, 88
Clearing the land, *2g, 30
Clifford, Sir Hugh, 91
Climate, cacao cultivation, 17
Criollo, *27, 34, 52, 59, 87, 107
Chocolate, 176, 180
Chocolate, ancient usage, 10
covering recipe, 150
covering, suggested legal defin-
ition, 182
definition, 3
derivation of word, 8
fascination of, 8
208
INDEX
Chocolate, houses and clubs, 12
powder, 180
recipe, 140
suggested legal definitions, 181
sustaining value, 174
Chocolatl, 7, 8
Chupons, (see suckers)
Cocoa, 168, 169
definition, 2
digestibility of, 171
how to make, 170
origin of word, 3
powder, introduction of, 15
Coconuts, distinction between and
cacao, 3
Colouring beans, 72
Colour, cacao bean, 25, 77
cacao butter, 158
cacao flowers, 22
cacao leaves, 22
cacao pods, 24, 48
changes during fermentation,
57. 59. 61
Columbus, 7
Composition (see analyses)
Compressor, chocolate, 148
Conching, 145
Conche machine, *I47, *I48
CONGO, 82, 91, 114
Consumption, 15, 184
Britisli Isles, 184
World, 186
Contract labour, Cameroons, 106
San Thome, 103
Cortes, 7
Covering ci ernes, * 151
CUBA, 82
Dancing, cacao beans, 72
De Candolle, 94
Decauville railways, 52
DEMERARA, 114
Diseases, cacao tree, 43
DOMINICA, 82, 88
Drying, 62, *63, 64, *6^, *6^, *68,
*6g, *8 5 , * 9 8, *io5
Dryers, artificial. 66, *67
Duty, 13, 185
Duty, cacao beans, 14, 185
cacao butter, 14
cacao shell, 14
Earle, Dr. Gastineau, 174
ECUADOR, 52, 81, 82, 84, 185
Enrobing machine, 152, *I52
Enzymes, 59, 61, 66
Exports, cacao butter, 160
beans, 84
Extracting beans from pod, 50
Faber. Dr. von, 22
Faelli, Professor, 164
Fat (see cacao butter)
Fermentation, 52, 76
changes during, 55
control of, 63
good effects of, 60
loss of weight, during, 64
period of, 52
temperature of, 53, 55, 59, 61
Fermenting boxes, *54, *58
FERNANDO PO, 82, 91
Fickendey, Dr., 55, 59, 61
Flavouring chocolate, 146
Flowers, *2i, 22, 74
Flowers, percentage fruiting, 74
Food value, cacao bean, 166
chocolate, 173, 176
cocoa, 168
milk chocolate, 178
old opinions, 165
Forastero, * 2 j, 34, 53, 59, 77
Forster, J., 171, 172
Freeman, W. G. , 34
FRENCH COLONIES, 82
Fritsch, J., 173
Fruit, cacao, 21
Fry, J. S. & Sons, 14, 15, 122, 134
Fry, Joseph, 3, 13
Fungi, 44
Gage, Thomas, 8, 10
Gathering, 45, *47, *4g, *85
Geographical distribution, 18
Germ, cacao, 59, *I29, 131
screens, * 1 3 1
separation of, 131
Germination, prevention of, 6t
GOLD COAST, :8, 42, 74,81,82,
91, 94, 107 (see also Accra)
native industry, 94
Gordon, \V. J., 10
Gouveia, Dr., 105
Grafting and budding, 34, 75
GRENADA, 30, 38, 74, 76, 81, 82,
88, 90, 1 14
Grinding, 120, 134, *i43
mill, cocoa, *i33, 134, *'35
machine, chocolate, 140, *I42,
*'45
Grousseau & Viconge, 163
GUAYAQUIL, 32, 76, 84, 109, 114
(see also Arriba and Machala)
HAITI, 82, 88
Hart, J. H., 34
Height, cacao tree, 20, 36
Historicus, 16
History, cocoa and chocolate, 1
INDEX
209
Home of cacao, 5
Husk, (see shell)
Hutchison, Dr., 170, 175
Illipe butter, 159
Immortel, Bo is, 37
Imports, cacao butter, 160
cacao bean, 185
Incas, 8
Insect Pests, 44
JAMAICA, 82, S8
JAVA, 18, 37, 4-', 54, 68, 70, 82, 106,
114
Knapp, A. W., 75, 164
LAGOS, 82, 91
Leaves, cacao, 22, *i87
Linnaeus, 1
Linalool, 60, 125
Loew, Dr. O., 55
MACHALA, 74, 84 (see also Guaya-
quil)
MADAGASCAR. 6S, 106
Manufacture, chocolate, 140
cocoa, 134
early methods of, *g, 119, *i20
*t2i, 129
loss on, 14
milk chocolate, *i55, *i8i
Manufacturers' requirements, 75
Manure, 32
cacao shell as, 162
Map, Africa, *92
South America, *89
World, *83
MARACAIBO, 87
Markets, cacao, 107
Mass, 134, 136
Melangeur, 140, * 141 , 144
MEXICO, 1, 7, 18
Milk chocolate, 154, 178, 182
suggested legal definition, iS2
recipe, 155
Montezuma, 7
Mosses, cacao tree, 22
Moulding chocolate, 146
Mountmorres, Viscount, 40
Mulching, 32
Neumann, Dr. R. O., 171
Nib, 15, 120, 128, *i29, 130, 134
Nib, percentage shell, 133
yield of, 1 ^
Nicholls, Dr. L., 55
Nursery, cacao, *33
Odour, cocoa, 77, 146, 161
fermentation, 60
Orellano, 6
Packing chocolates, * 177
cocoa, 138
PARA, 74, 87
Perrot, Professor, 60
PERU, 8
Pests (see diseases)
Peter, M. D., 154
Picker, cacao, 46, *^6
PHILIPPINES, 42
Plantation, cacao, 27, *io4
Planting, 32, '34, 37
Pod, *2, 5, 23, "23, *25, *28, *i87
picking of, 46
yield of cacao, 74
Polishing beans, 72, 78
Pollination, cacao flowers, 22
Press cake, 138
cocoa, *i36, *i37
Pressing cocoa, 136
Preuss, Dr. Paul, .66, 70
Preyer, Dr. Axel, 55
Price, cacao, 86, 96, 112, *i 13, 185
cacao butter, 160
cacao shell, 164
chocolate, 13
theobromine, 172
PRINCIPE, 100
Production of cacao, Africa, 91
British Possessions, 81, 82, 183
British West Africa, 91
British West Indies, 88
Gold Coast, 94
increasing ot, 75
San Thome and Principe, 100
shell, 161
South America, 84
West Indies, 88
World, *8o, 81, 82
Pruning, 40
Pulp, cacao, '24, 25, 52, 55, 60
Rainfall, cacao cultivation, 18
Raleigh, Sir Walter, 6
Refining machine, *i42
Research Association, vi
Revis and Bolton, 128
Richelieu, Cardinal, 11
Roaster, *I26, 128
2IO
Roasting, 119, 1 15
loss on, 1J7
Rocking tables, 140,
Root system, * J t
INDEX
'4D
Sack, Dr., 55, ot>
Sa >s of cacao, 1 1 1
s \m \\ \, ,j,
S WIO \, Ba, 106, 114
SANCHEZ, 91
s \\ DOMINGO • . B8,
■
^ \\ THOME, 38, 5-
11 ^
Schutte im Hofo, Dr. A., 55
Seed, selection of, 3a
Shade, 36, V>7> '38, '39, 00. 10
Shaking table, chocolate, 1 t >,
Shell, caca >. * 1 19, 1 1> 1 , 163
butter, !<>-•
coffee substitute, ibj
as feeding stuff, 16a,
in finished cocoa, 180
iood units, 1 63
fuel, 16a
manure, it>-
removal of, 1 jo, I iS
separating machine, 13a, '
tea from, 161
Sherman, H. C, 176
- ■ . : s
Si se, bea n
coco. 1 particles, 138
sugar particles, 144
Small s
Smetham, V , 163, 1 07
Smith, H. 1
Sin dei , Harry, 17b
S 1 30
Soluble cocoa, 168, 17 2
is, *73, *8t>.
Sorting-cleaning machine, 124,
Stimulating properties, 60, 17:
ST. I UCIA, Ba, 88
StOI ">u cacao, i a a, *i-",
- VINCEN r. 8a, 38
Suckers, to. *4'
Surf boa •
3URIN kM 1 ja.Sa, B4, 114
S
S »gs, 57. t>o
Tamil
8a, i)i ,
'4 l >
'a-
14.
raste, fermentation, 59
Temperature, cacao cultivation, i s
covering chocolate, 151
fermentation, 53, 35, ^g, 6l
germination, 6]
chocolate moulding, 14Q
— bean roas
Tempering machine, 14Q
[Vii\th nt ma cacao, < .
Theobromine, in bean, 1 t>t>
chocolate, 17b
cocoa, it>S, 17a
fermentation, 60
milk chocolate, 17s
shell, it>_-
TOGO, 8a, 91
Transport of cac
*o7. "99, * ioo, *ioi,"
*iob, 107, *ioS; * i 10
Tree, cacao, U), * 19
growth, 40
yield of, 74
TRINID \P, 18, 30, 34. 37
,.-, 68, 70, 7-. 74, :■
3a, B8, 103, 1 14
4'. 4-.
Van Houten, C. J , 15
Varieties of cacao, a€
•1 , rheo., 183, 186
VENEZUELA, 18,70, 76, J1.83.84
1 06
Ig cacao beans, 68, *;
Watt, S *
Weight, bag of
loss on dryin g
loss on fermentation, 04
loss in roas ig, 18
WEST INDIES, B8
3 r INDIES, BRITISH, -
Wind-screen d ees, 30
Winnowing on ichine 1 se* shell sep u -
atiiik; machine)
Whisk,
'gi 57
Yield, cacao pod, 74
cacao tree, 74
per acre, 74, 103
Zipperer, P., 140, 164
THE WESTMINSTER PRESS
HARROW ROAD
LONDON
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