its use as a salve and as an article of 

 diet. 



The fruit of the wild growing plants 

 is small and the seeds exceedingly bitter, 

 hence the cultivated cocoa is preferred. 

 The seeds are prepared in two ways, fer- 

 mented and unfermented. In the former 

 the seeds are placed in heaps in holes in 

 the earth, in boxes or barrels, covered 

 with leaves. In the course of four or 

 five days they begin to "sweat" or under- 

 go a mild form of fermentation. During 

 this time the seeds must be stirred about 

 occasionally. At the close of the sweat- 

 ing process most of the bitterness is gone 

 and they have lost about one-half in 

 weight. Afterwards the seeds are rap- 

 idly dried in the sun or in ovens. The 

 fully dried seeds have a rich brown color. 

 The following are the more important 

 market varieties of fermented cocoa : 



1. Mexican or Soconusco Cocoa. — 

 Seeds rather small, delicate flavor and of 

 a golden yellow color. Since Mexico 

 does not produce sufficient cocoa for 

 home consumption this variety is rarely 

 exported. This and the following varie- 

 ties are said to be derived from Theo- 

 broma bicolor, Th. angustifolium and Th. 

 ovolifolium. 



2. Esmeralda Cocoa. — Similar to the 

 Mexican ; somewhat darker in color. 



3. Guatemala Cocoa. — Seeds large, 

 with mild flavor. 



4. Caracas Cocoa. — From Venezue- 

 la. Color pale brown, with a mild, agree- 

 able flavor. Usually coated with a film 

 of soil due to their being buried in the 

 earth during the sweating process. A 

 very highly priced variety. 



5. Guayaquil Cocoa. — From Ecuador. 

 Seeds flattened, somewhat wedge-shaped, 

 wrinkled, reddish brown. An excellent 

 variety. 



6. Berbice Cocoa. — From British 

 Guiana. Seeds small, externally gray, 

 internally reddish brown. 



7. Surinam and Essequibo Cocoa. — 

 Seeds rather large and more firm ; ex- 

 ternally a loamy gray, internally deep 

 reddish brown. Taste somewhat bitter. 



The unfermented cocoa, also known as 

 sun cocoa and island cocoa, is dried rap- 

 idly without fermenting. It is of a beau- 

 tiful reddish brown color and a bitter 



astringent taste. The following are the 

 principal varieties : 



1. Brazilian (Para, Bahia) Cocoa. — 

 Seeds smooth, wedge-shaped, flattened. 

 One edge nearly straight, the other con- 

 vex. 



2. Cayenne Cocoa. — Quite hard, ex- 

 ternally grayish brown, internally pur- 

 plish red. 



3. Antilles Cocoa (Island Cocoa). — 

 Of this there are the following varie- 

 ties : a. Trinidad cocoa, with large, flat, 

 almost black brown seeds ; b, Martinique 

 cocoa, with elongated, flattened, reddish 

 brown seeds ; c, St. Domingo cocoa, with 

 small, flattened, dark purplish brown 

 seeds. 



Cocoa requires considerable care in 

 cultivation. A moist atmosphere and 

 uniform temperature of about 24 to 28 

 degrees C, with considerable shade, is 

 best suited. The tall variety of banana 

 and the tree-like Erythrina Coralloden- 

 dron are the more common shade plants. 

 The plants are grown from seeds which 

 begin to germinate in eight days. The 

 trees begin to bear fruit in about four 

 years. More usually eight to ten years 

 elapse before any considerable fruit is 

 borne. . Two crops are collected annu- 

 ally. It is stated that there is on an av- 

 erage only one fruit to every 3,000 flow- 

 ers. 



Chocolate and cocoa are prepared by 

 roasting the seeds, removing the husks 

 and crushing between hot rollers, which 

 liquefies the solid fat and forms a paste. 

 To make chocolate sugar is added and 

 flavored with vanilla and cinnamon. 

 Sometimes a coloring substance is added. 

 The paste is finally moulded into cakes 

 varying in size and form. Chocolate is 

 frequently adulterated with lard, starch- 

 es, rice flour and other substances. Cheap 

 grades are usually flavored with sassa- 

 fras nuts, cloves and other spices. In 

 the manufacture of cocoa the husks are 

 usually included and mixed with a varia- 

 ble quantity of sugar, starch, flavoring 

 substances, etc. The roasted, hulled and 

 coarsely broken seeds are known as co- 

 coa nibs, and this is the purest kind of 

 cocoa. The powder made from the seeds 

 after the oil has been thoroughly ex- 

 pressed is known as broma. 



47 



