EFFECTS OP DRYING COCOA 157 



but cocoa of finest quality and appearance can be made 

 without the addition of any single particle of extraneous 

 matter, if the methods of the best estates are adopted." 



Curing or Drying Cocoa. — Fermented cocoa beans are 

 dried either by exposing them to the sun and air or by 

 subjecting them to artificial heat. The latter method 

 is becoming yearly more general, especially on large 

 estates, where sufficient bright weather does not obtain 

 during the principal crop seasons. 



Sun-drying produces a more uniform product and also 

 imparts a brighter and more attractive appearance to 

 the beans. 



Sun-Drying.^ — The beans which are to be dried by 

 natural agencies are spread out thinly in the sun on 

 various substances, such as coir-matting, cement floors, 

 or on wooden platforms. The beans are frequently 

 stirred with wooden rakes to ensure uniform drying. 

 During very hot weather the beans are sometimes pro- 

 tected from the sun for two or three hours during the 

 hottest part of the day to prevent too rapid drying. If 

 the moist beans are exposed to too much heat the in- 

 tegument of the bean shrivels and assumes a hard, baked 

 consistency which is readily fractured. The pale brown 

 colour of the integuments of washed cocoa beans is 

 gradually altered, during the drying process, to a bright 

 reddish brown, and if the moisture be gradually evapor- 

 ated, the integument assumes a more pliable character. 

 The kernels of white beans change to a light cinnamon- 

 brown colour and those of purple beans to a deep choco- 

 late-brown colour, if fermenting and drying have been 

 properly conducted. Beans which have been well 

 fermented and cured crackle when lightly pinched. 



Drying Platforms. — Platforms on which cocoa is dried 

 are often mounted on small wheels, which enable them 

 to run upon rails under the shelter of a roof at night or 

 during rainy weather. In some countries the beans are 

 spread out to dry upon the floor of a building with a 

 movable roof ; the latter is fitted with wheels which 

 run on rails, so that it can be expeditiously replaced in 

 case of sudden rainfall. 



Plate 11 shows the type of drying platforms which 

 have been adopted at the " Rio do Ouro " estate in San 

 Thome. Part of the system shown contains four tiers of 



