226 COCOA 



CHAI'. 



is equally divided over the beans. The cocoa is then 

 spread on the drying-floors. Sometimes the staining 

 is done by dipping the cocoa in a sort of mud, made 

 of the red earth and water. 



The object of this treatment will be obvious, when 

 it is remembered that in Venezuela fermentation takes 

 only one day. The fine Criollo and Forastero cocoa 

 of the coastal regions will not stand a longer fermenta- 

 tion. The result must be that the pulp is very 

 imperfectly removed or dissolved, and that a great 

 part of this hygroscopic, sugar-containing stuff still 

 adheres to the seeds. Washing these fine cocoas, with 

 their delicate aroma, would certainly damage the 

 quality ; therefore another way had to be found to 

 prevent them becoming mouldy or mildewed. This is 

 attained by the method of staining or claying. The 

 coating of dry earth not only kills the fungus already 

 present, or at any rate stops its further growth, but 

 also prevents the germination of new fungus-spores. 



Preuss l considers, however, that the principal object 

 of the staining is to give the cocoa a good uniform 

 colour and to conceal discolorations. He therefore 

 recommends that the staining should be omitted, arid 

 uniformity of colour attained by treating the cocoa 

 more carefully in fermentation and curing. It may 

 quite well be that the uniform colour obtained by 

 staining makes the Venezuela cocoa more attractive to 

 the merchants, but this advantage is of minor import- 

 ance. The merchants and manufacturers are clever 

 enough to know that qualities other than the outer 

 appearance determine the value of the product, 

 and they readily pay high prices for Ecuador " Arriba " 

 cocoa, which certainly cannot be said to have a good 

 appearance. 



The best earth for staining is found at the coast ; 

 the planters of Guigue (plateau of Valencia) generally 

 obtain it from Choroni. 



In Trinidad another method of claying is followed, 



1 Expedition, p. 232. 



