56  Cocoa:  Its  Production  and  Use.  {AFebr°ua1ryr?9ao4m* 
that  it  is  almost  entirely  free  from  the  attacks  to  which  coffee  and 
tea  are  subjected  by  those  who  consider  their  use  unhealthful. 
To  compare  the  use  of  cocoa  to  the  use  of  coffee  and  tea  would 
be  somewhat  like  comparing  cake  to  bread.  The  cake  is  used  in 
less  quantity,  is  more  expensive,  is  more  nourishing,  and  appeals 
more  sharply  but  less  enduringly  to  the  taste  than  the  bread.  So 
with  cocoa.  Its  appearance  on  the  table  at  intervals,  even  fre- 
quently, is  hailed  with  delight,  but  it  has  not  been  able  to  establish 
itself  to  any  great  extent  as  part  of  the  regular  diet.  Tea  and  coffee, 
though  of  less  pleasing  taste,  are  wanted  almost  as  regularly  as  bread 
and  the  cocoa  is  wanted  occasionally  like  the  cake.  As  cocoa  is 
usually  prepared  with  milk,  the  beverage  is  much  more  expensive 
than  tea  and  coffee,  which  are  prepared  with  water.  The  raw  cocoa 
itself  also  is  more  expensive  than  either  of  the  other  two  materials, 
if  account  be  taken  of  the  amount  and  cost  of  each  required  to  make 
an  equal  quantity  of  beverage.  The  milk,  the  cocoa  and  the  large 
quantity  of  sugar  used  to  sweeten  to  taste,  all  combine  to  make  the 
beverage  a  rich  and  concentrated  food,  and,  after  a  period  of  its 
steady  use,  headaches  and  other  slight  derangements,  cause  one  to 
turn  from  it,  just  as  happens  after  a  surfeit  of  sweets.  Doubtless  a 
part  of  this  result  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  milk  is  boiled  and  is  taken 
while  hot,  and  hence  has  effects  different  from  those  attaching  to  the 
use  of  cool,  raw  milk.  What  has  been  said  above  is  not  to  be  con- 
sidered as  being  at  all  derogatory  to  the  value  of  the  beverage  as  a 
food,  but  rather  as  being  a  hint  that  in  diet  there  must  be  a  balancing 
of  quality  and  quantity.  An  increase  in  the  former  should  be  accom- 
panied by  a  decrease  in  the  latter.  Unfortunately,  because  of  habit, 
we  are  momentarily  uncomfortable,  unless  we  receive  a  certain  cubic 
measurement  of  food  at  the  usual  periods,  and  we  are  inclined  to  fill 
up  to  a  certain  point  without  much  present  concern  as  to  whether 
the  filling  is  a  highly  concentrated  food  or  a  preparation  of  sawdust, 
so  long  as  the  palate  is  pleased,  the  cubic  requirements  satisfied  and 
the  usual  length  of  time  spent  in  eating. 
From  personal  experience,  I  am  able  to  praise  the  food  value  of 
cocoa,  whether  it  be  in  beverage  form  or  in  the  form  of  chocolate. 
In  the  latter  form,  it  is  especially  valuable  on  occasions  when  a  meal 
is  to  be  postponed  for  an  hour  or  two,  as  often  happens  when  one  is 
traveling.  Possibly  it  is  an  unconscious  recognition  of  its  food  value 
that  makes  chocolate  one  of  the  most  popular  of  the  confections  and 
