8 



COCOA. 



aspect. In Trinidad tlie quality of the produce is modified by various 

 modes of treatment wlien prepared for the market. 



The best quality irrespective of treatment is produced by the 

 CrioUo cocoa of the Spanish inhabitants, who almost monopolize this 

 cultivation, and it is getting scarce. The pods are smaller than those 

 of the better varieties of other kinds, but the seeds are thicker, 

 shorter, and almost globular. The interior of the seed is of a pale 

 crimson, toning down into pink, and the taste slightly bitter. 



The Forastero kinds are here much prized ; there is the Cundeamar 

 of two kinds, one with yellow, the other with red pods. The former 

 are sooner fit for drying ; it has the largest seeds, which are easily 

 fermented and prepared. They are of a pale crimson, approaching 

 the Criollo. 



The Amelonado comes next, and then the Calabacillo, which is the 

 lowest kind ; its seeds are small and very bitter, and the crimson 

 pigment is so dark that it is very easily distinguished from the other 

 varieties by this mark alone. 



The fruit after being picked is either left under the trees in large 

 heaps unopened, or opened at once and brought to the fermenting and 

 drying houses. In the former case a sort of fermentation begins in 

 the fruit, and some planters consider it a good process. The pulp sur- 

 rounding the seeds contains abundance of saccharine, which causes or 

 rather feeds the fermentation. In many establishments the seeds are 

 fermented in barrels, in others they are merely heaped in a close 

 room. According to the quantity of seeds the planter wishes to 

 obtain, and according to the quality of the seed, this fermentation 

 is continued from three to ten days. The best Forastero cocoas 

 require less time than the other qualities, but [more than the Criollo, 

 which completes the process in three days. 



The influence of the fermentation is twofold ; first it destroys the 

 pulp, which surrounds the seeds and the saccharine matter, which would 

 interfere with the drying process ; and, further, it produces a sort of 

 sweetness and flavour in the seed, accompanied by a change from violet 

 to brownish-red or cinnamon colour. Some hold that fermentation 

 lessens the bitterness of the berry, but on this point doubts are admis- 

 sible. Cocoa must of course be fermented to prepare it for drying, 

 but the process is attended with some risk in wet weather, when the 

 berries are prone to blister. 



Not very many years ago fine red cocoaj that is cocoa having a 

 very clear skin of a reddish colour, fetched the highest price in the 

 English market, and no attention was paid to the flavour of the kernel. 

 The opinions of buyers have since changed, and the samples that now 

 fetch the highest prices are all highly fermented. Red cocoa is, 

 however, still in favour, probably on account of the small percentage 

 the manufacturer loses when the berry is clean. Trinidad manufac- 

 turers and consumers prefer the light-brown kernel, irrespective of the 

 colour of the skin. The substance of the kernel itself is not changed 

 by fermentation ; the starch is left intact, and suffers no loss in 

 weight. A great deal depends upon the weather for curing the cocoa 

 for shipment. 



The Criollo red-skinned cocoa, abundant in Caracas, requires but 



