Fermentation of Cacao

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. Over thirty years ago, when I first took up the study of the cultivation and manufacture of tea, that industry was then in the very position of cacao today. We have reduced the area of cultivation but increased the outturn; we have improved the quality but reduced the cost. These are great triumphs of scientific precision as also of inventive ingenuity brought to bear on tea, but the same thing can be and will be accomplished with cacao. It seems to me possible that far too much merit is attributed to fermentation. That fermentation is necessary with the presently accepted method of curing goes without saying, but I would not be surprised were a new process introduced where fermentation could be entirely discontinued. The parallel with tea is worthy of the most careful study. But it is perhaps useless to speculate; the Opinions your authors advance are certain to be tested at. The plantations, and out of the new experience thus gained must evolve the future system of manufacture.