54 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE. 



tree has already been described. We will now refer briefly to the 

 modern method of manufacture as carried on in the Walter Baker estab- 

 lishment, in which the latest and most improved machinery and appli- 

 ances are used to improve the quality and cheapen the cost of production. 

 The selected cocoa beans are first cleaned from the dust and attached 

 particles which have come from various sources during the fermenta- 

 tion of the seeds. The machines for cleaning the beans are very 

 ingenious and effective, removing from the seed coat every trace of 



foreign matter. 



The cleaned seeds 

 are next roasted in the 

 most careful manner, 

 every precaution being 

 taken to secure a uni- 

 form effect through the 

 whole mass. During 

 the roasting the seeds 

 change color somewhat 

 and become more or 

 less modified in taste. 

 In under-roasted seeds 

 the flavor is not fully 

 developed, while in 

 over-roasted seeds the pleasant taste is likely to become greatly im- 

 paired, or it may even be wholly replaced by a bitter and harsh flavor. 

 These relations of color and taste to the roasting of the seeds make 

 this portion of the manufacture one of the most delicate processes from 

 beginning to end. 



By the roasting the shell becomes more readily detachable, and its 

 complete removal is the next step. The crushing of the seeds into 

 small fragments is easily accomplished ; and this is followed by a 

 thorough winnowing, by which the lighter shells are carried away by 



PRIVATE OFFICE, MILL NO. 4. 



