Cocoa And Chocolate
The Tree, The Bean The Beverage

 8 i? C i? g: I K K: 112 THE COCOA AND CHOCOLATE INDUSTRY mixture passes down, it is sieved into the various sizes. Each of the grades meets a current of air, which carries away the shell and allows the nib to pass on. By such processes are obtained (a) shell almost free from nib, (b) large fragments of perfectly clean glossy nib; and (c) a mixture of fine material which requires a further special separation. The shell is bagged up and sold to cattle food manufacturers. The shell-free nib is the material from which cocoa and chocolate are made. («) Cacao Shell. This is the principal by-product of the cocoa and chocolate industry, about 5,000 tons being produced annually in Great Britain. This skin or husk is a crisp material, rieh brown in colour, with a pleasant characteristic odour resembling that of chocolate. It keeps uncommonly well and in a dry place will remain unchanged for years, showing no signs of rancidity or mouldiness. It is bulky, the ordinary sack in which it is sold holding, according to the size of the pieces of shell, from 56 Ibs. to 84 Ibs. A small amount of cacao shell is used in Ireland to prepare a drink called “ Cocoa tea,” and during the war a preparation of cacao shell for the same purpose was widely advertised in England under the name of “ Celesco.” The bulk of cacao shell, however, is used in the manufacture of compound cattle cakes.1 In the standard exposition of “ The Valuation of Feeding Stuffs,” by Mr. A. Smetham {Royal Lancashire Agricultural Society’s Journal, 1921), two analyses of cacao shell are recorded. (See page 114.) Considering its food value the cost of cacao shell is low. The average price is about £5 a ton, or roughly about Is. the food unit. Cacao shell is distinguished 1 For a discussion of other commercial uses, see “ The Separation and uses of Cacao Shell,” by A. W. Knapp, Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry (1918). p. 240.