Cocoa And Chocolate
The Tree, The Bean The Beverage

118 THE COCOA AND CHOCOLATE INDUSTRY crushed between toothed rollers, and passed through other grinding or disintegrating machines which reduce them to a fine powder. As it is important that the cocoa should. be a very fine and even powder, great care is taken in sieving it. In some factories a vast space is devoted to an elaborate system of sifting by means of wind, only those cocoa particles which settle in almost still air being used. The more usual process is to sieve the powder in a revolving, inclined, hexagonal drum, the sides of which are made of fine silk gauze. 3. Packing. The modern automatic weighing, pack-ing and labelling machines are marvels of ingenuity. The empty, open packets stand like a waiting procession, and one by one are brought under a stream of cocoa which is cut off automatically when the correct weight has been supplied. The machine gently bumps the packet to shake down the powder, inserts a check Coupon, puts a dab of gum on the paper and closes the packet. Later, one sees the filled circular tins rolling merrily along, one after the other, over a pile of gummed labels. A label adheres to each tin, and they roll out of the machine in a condition suitable for dispatch to the grocer’s shop. 4. “ Soluble ” Cocoa. Besides the cocoas prepared in the simple manner described above, there is an important dass which is called “ Soluble ” cocoa. These cocoas are obtained by treating the cacao with an alkali or salt of the alkalies. The originator of this process was C. J. van Houten, and it is generally known as the “ Dutch method.” Similar methods are now followed very widely, and, with notable exceptions, the majority of the cocoa powders on the market are prepared in this way. Both the alkaline substance and the method of application vary. Potassium, sodium, ammonium or magnesium carbonates or bicarbonates