iG2 The Fermentation of Cacao 



not recognize the real object of them, viz., to 

 bring about the oxidation of the partly dried 

 beans at higher temperatures. At the same 

 time they admitted that cacao treated by this 

 process was of better quality. 



I have already pointed out that by the 

 fermentation and drying methods at present 

 employed, satisfactory results are obtained em- 

 pirically in some cases, and that quite good 

 cacao can be made from beans having lighter 

 coloured nibs or cotyledons, i.e., such as con- 

 tain a smaller amount of bitter substances. I 

 propose now to enter more fully into the 

 methods of gathering, fermenting, drying and 

 dispatching the cacao that are usually adopted 

 at the present time so far as they are known 

 to me, and shall also point out how the 

 method I have proposed might perhaps be 

 used without necessitating any great changes 

 being made. Finally, I shall suggest how in 

 starting a new plant or cacao curing installa- 

 tion the method of oxidation I have proposed 



may best be taken into consideration. 







The Gathering of the Cacao. 



On smaller plantations it is possible to pick 

 cacao every week, and the pods will then be 

 found to have reached an approximately equal 

 stage of maturity or ripeness, but on larger 

 plantations this cannot be done. In practice, 

 therefore, one can never be in a position to 

 treat pods of the same degree of maturity, 



