Rolling Cacao, Gold Coast
Rolling Cacao, Gold Coast
Carrying Cacao to the Railway Station, Gold Coast
Wagon Loads of Cacao being taken from Depot to the Beach, Accra
The Buildings of the Boa Entrada Cacao Estate, San Thome
Drying Cacao, San Thome
Barrel Rolling, Gold Coast
Bagging Cacao, Gold Coast
Surf Boats by the Side of the Ocean Liner, Accra
Bagging Cacao Beans for Shipment, Trinidad
Transferring Bags of Cacao to Lighters, Trinidad
Diagram showing Variation in Price of Cacao Beans, 1913-1919
Group of Workers on Cacao Estate
Carting Cacao to Railway Station, Ceylon
The Carenage, Grenada
Early Factory Methods
Women Grinding Chocolate
Cacao Bean Warehouse
Cacao Bean Sorting and Cleaning Machine
Diagram of Cacao Bean Cleaning Machine
Section through Gas Heated Cacao Roaster
Roasting Cacao Beans
Cacao Bean, Shell and Germ
Section through Kibbling Cones and Germ Screens
Section through Winnowing Machine
Cacao Grinding
Section through Grinding Stones
A Cacao Press
Section through Cacao Press-pot and Ram-plate
Chocolate Melangeur
Plan of Chocolate Melangeur
Chocolate Refining Machine
Grinding Cacao Nib and Sugar
Section through Chocolate Grinding Rolls
"Conche" Machines
Section through "Conche" Machine
Machines for Mixing or "Conching" Chocolate
Chocolate Shaking Table
Girls Covering or Dipping Cremes, etc.
The Enrober
A Confectionery Room
Factory at which Milk is Evaporated for Milk Chocolate Manufacture
Cocoa and Chocolate Despatch Deck
Boxing Chocolates
Packing Chocolates
Factory at which Milk is Evaporated for Milk Chocolate Manufacture
Cacao Pods, Leaves and Flowers




INTRODUCTION


In a few short chapters I propose to give a plain account of the
production of cocoa and chocolate. I assume that the reader is not a
specialist and knows little or nothing of the subject, and hence both
the style of writing and the treatment of the subject will be simple. At
the same time, I assume that the reader desires a full and accurate
account, and not a vague story in which the difficulties are ignored. I
hope that, as a result of this method of dealing with my subject, even
experts will find much in the book that is of interest and value. After
a brief survey of the history of cocoa and chocolate, I shall begin with
the growing of the cacao bean, and follow the _cacao_ in its career
until it becomes the finished product ready for consumption.



_Cacao or Cocoa?_

The reader will have noted above the spelling "cacao," and to those who
think it curious, I would say that I do not use this spelling from
pedantry. It is an imitation of the word which the Mexicans used for
this commodity as early as 1500, and when spoken by Europeans is apt to
sound like the howl of a dog. The Mexicans called the tree from which
cacao is obtained _cacauatl_. When the great Swedish scientist Linnaeus,
the father of botany, was naming and classifying (about 1735) the trees
and plants known in his time, he christened it _Theobroma Cacao_, by
which name it is called by botanists to this day. Theo-broma is Greek
for "Food of the Gods." Why Linnaeus paid this extraordinary compliment
to cacao is obscure, but it has been suggested that he was inordinately
fond of the beverage prepared from it--the cup which both cheers and
satisfies. It will be seen from the above that the species-name is
cacao, and one can understand that Englishmen, finding it difficult to
get their insular lips round this outlandish word, lazily called it
cocoa.

[Illustration: CACAO PODS (Amelonado type) in various states of growth
and ripeness.]

In this book I shall use the words cacao, cocoa, and chocolate as
follows:

_Cacao_, when I refer to the cacao tree, the cacao pod, or the cacao
bean or seed. By the single word, cacao, I imply the raw product, cacao
beans, in bulk.

_Cocoa_, when I refer to the powder manufactured from the roasted bean
by pressing out part of the butter. The word is too well established to
be changed, even if one wished it. As we shall see later (in the