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 - o = 1,183 



Protein 18-3 = 340 



Cacao Starch io - 2 1 



Other Digestible Carbohydrates, etc. 28*4 I ' 



. , . Theobromine re 



Stimulants ^ n- .i 



Caftein o - 6 



Mineral Matter 5"o 



Crude Fibre 4'0 



Moisture 4*0 



ioo"o 2,241 



(" 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 



