148 CACAO 



grow a short dry period readily kills it, and so also does 

 an excess of moisture. In the fermentation of cacao we 

 find operators adopting both methods which are destructive 

 to the vitality of seeds, for it is certain that the vitality of 

 the embryo of the cacao must be completely destroyed before 

 it can become cured cacao. The cacao-bean, however, 

 does not need fermentation for the purpose of destroying 

 its vitality, for simple drying invariably destroys the germ. 

 It is a well-known fact that seeds from many members 

 of the same family are very difficult to preserve for any 

 length of time, owing to their vitality being easily destroyed 

 by contact with the air. 



Therefore it is not simply the death of the embryo 

 which is needed, neither is it the " malting " process which 

 has been considered by a few as the basis of the process of 

 curing. To malt a seed it must germinate and grow, and 

 its starch must be changed into sugar. It is not necessary, 

 however, to allow the cacao bean to germinate at all to 

 produce a good sample, for, though a fair sample may be 

 made of germinated bean if the process is not too far 

 advanced, it is much better that the bean should not 

 gern^inate to the extent which allows the radicle to pierce 

 the testa of the seed, though it is certain that cacao may 

 be much more quickly cured if germination is allowed to 

 take place previous to fermentation, as the absorption by 

 the passage or outlet pierced by the radicle would be 

 much more rapid, but the testa, once pierced by the radicle 

 opens the way to easy destruction of the contents by giving 

 access to the spores of microscopic fungi, and the produce 

 is seldom of first-class quality. 



Probably the most important consideration in the different 

 methods of " fermentation " is the creation of a certain 

 amount of absorption through the testa or skin of the bean, 

 which is secured by most methods. A certain amount of 

 heat is required. Some may make use of sun heat, others 

 use the heat of fermentation induced in various ways, 

 while others again use both. Small quantities are best 

 fermented by being put into a tin vessel and then exposed 



