Cocoa And Chocolate
The Tree, The Bean The Beverage

72 THE COCOA AND CHOCOLATE INDUSTRY is sprinkled on the beans before they are quite dry. On Venezuelan beans the earthy coating is thick and the added earth is from 2 to 3 per cent of the weight of the bean. In Trinidad the natives used literally to dance on the clayed beans, whereby the amount of clay was reduced to about 1 per cent, which. adhered tightly to the shell, and the beans assumed an even, smooth, and red appearance. Claying is said to assist the planter in drying his cacao, but from the chocolate manufacturers’ point of view it has no advantage. The presence of clay was once the hall-mark of certain plantations producing a fine cacao. Now that this significance is lost, the process of claying has nothing to recommend it. It gives the cacao a uniform appearance which is pleasing to look at, but there is no evidence that it produces any beneficial effects. The clay is said to act as a preservative ; it does not, however, under severe conditions, prevent the cacao going mouldy. It may be of some assistance in preventing the cacao becoming grubby, but cacao which is not clayed (e.g. Grenada) is free from grubs. There is no evidence that it preserves the aroma. To the buyer it has two objectionable features, one is, that by claying inferior cacao can be given the external appearance of good cacao. Thus, taking an extreme case, black cacao from diseased pods, when well clayed, may sometimes be mixed with good cacao. The second objection is that the buyer pays for cacao and obtains clay, the amount on good dass cacaos varying from 0-5 to 2-0 per cent. In 1923, at the request of the planters, a law was introduced in Trinidad making the use of clay or kindred substances illegal. In spite of these facts, such is the effect of tradition, that some buyers still prefer clayed Venezuelan cacao and pay extra for it. A smooth appearance adds nothing to the intrinsic