214 COCOA 



CHAP. 



A second disadvantage of washing is that washed 

 beans need more care in drying. They dry more 

 quickly, but they cannot stand so high a temperature 

 as unwashed beans ; they soon become too brittle and 

 are therefore more liable to damage. 



Finally, the flavour suffers from washing. In the 

 case of the ordinary varieties this drawback is not very 

 serious, but in the case of the finer Venezuelan and 

 Ecuadorian (Arriba) varieties, washing would result in 

 a distinct deterioration in quality. 



Against these drawbacks must be mentioned the 

 advantage that washed seeds are less liable to become 

 mouldy, either during drying or when packed in bags, 

 for the pulp which remains adhering to the unwashed 

 seeds is hygroscopic and contains a certain percentage of 

 sugar, so that it is a favourable place for fungi. This 

 disadvantage of unwashed seeds is, of course, especially 

 felt in the case of those kinds which are only fermented 

 for a short time i.e., generally speaking, the finer 

 varieties. For this reason, washing would most probably 

 be adopted in these cases also, and especially with 

 Venezuelan and Ecuadorian cocoa, if it did not 

 unfortunately damage their quality. Another method 

 has therefore to be used in order to avoid the adhering 

 pulp becoming mouldy. In Venezuela this is achieved 

 by coating the seeds with earth a method followed 

 in Trinidad, though it is not so necessary there. 

 This method will be discussed later. 



On the other hand, in Java and Ceylon, where 

 also only a short fermentation is given, the quality 

 and especially the flavour are not so fine, and washing 

 can be done without spoiling the quality. In Ceylon 

 the method was tried of leaving the beans unwashed 

 and drying them immediately after fermentation ; but 

 the colour was so dark and the appearance so dirty 

 that the cocoa had to be classed among the inferior 

 qualities. In Java, where the cocoa has little flavour 

 and is practically only valuable for its light colour, 

 there is a double reason for washing it thoroughly ; for 



