68 The Fermentation of Cacao 
of 96 per cent. alcohol, in which the beans, 
after all the pulp surrounding them has been 
carefully removed, are laid for ten minutes, and 
then left for four or five days suspended over 
the alcohol. After this they must be laid for 
one minute in ,water, and then dried. The 
germs can also be killed by freezing if the 
beans, placed in a glass vessel filled with 
water, are exposed to the influence of a freez- 
ing apparatus. In both cases it is with the 
access of air that the cotyledons in the bean 
gradually turn brown and, at the same time, 
lose their bitter taste ; but such beans differ 
from those that have been fermented in one 
point, viz., in the aroma. This is but natural, 
and could not be otherwise, as the fermenting 
process causes all sorts of substances to pene- 
trate into the beans, and these affect the taste 
and aroma, beneficially or otherwise. Never- 
theless the beans so treated (ze, placed in 
alcohol or under the influence of freezing 
water) still have the recognized chocolate 
flavour. : 
The browning of the cotyledons and the 
removal of the bitter taste are in the relation 
of cause and effect. The bitter taste is to 
be attributed to the presence of substances 
containing. tannin, and the brown colouring 
is due to the changes that the beans undergo 
on account of the oxidation of these tannic 
substances. If a bean is cut through, the 
exposed surface turns brown, which peculiarity 
