~Accra~ cacao, then, as the sorts of the African Gold Coast _The Manufacture of Chocolate and other Cacao Preparations

collectively named, also promises to be the cacao of the future, if

it can maintain its quantitative and qualitative excellence. There is

indeed no want of soil and adequate labour strength in that province.

Apart from Accra, Addah, Axim, Cape Coast Castle, Prampram, Winebah,

Saltpond, Secondi must be mentioned above all. The chief harvest is

from October to February.

~Togo~, the small German colony adjoining the British Gold Coast, has

till now had only a yearly yield of 250 tons in a variety resembling

Accra. The excellent beans prepared on the plantations fetch several

shillings a cwt. more than Accra, whilst the deliveries of the natives

rank below the current specimens of this sort. Its port is Lome.

~Lagos~, the British Colony bordering on Dahomey and east of the Gold

Coast, is watered by the Niger and possesses cacao exporting ports in

Lagos, Bonni and Old Calabar, and exports about 4,000 tons of a sort

resembling Accra, but nevertheless not so well prepared and so of

inferior value.

The cacao plantations of the Lagos colony,—more properly known as

Southern Nigeria—lie on either side of the great Niger delta, in low

lying land where the climatic and geological conditions are quite

different from those in the neighbouring German possession of

~Kameroon~, in which country steep slopes and the narrow coastal strip

at the foot of the Kameroon range, lofty mountains, perhaps 13,000

ft. high, constitute the cacao cultivating region. Consequently the

same variety of seed, the Forastero, here produces a different kind of

fruit. The Kameroon bean has its own peculiar characteristics; although

there is some resemblance to that produced on the opposite islands of

Fernando Po, Principe, and St. Thomas; and the milder sorts from the

“Victoria” and “Moliwa” plantations often do duty as a substitute for

the latter variety. There is no other bean which contains so much

acid as the Kameroon, and although this statement must be modified in

view of improvements in recent years, the fact prevents the largest of

German colonial sorts from serving as any other than a mixing variety.

Cultivation is the rule throughout Kameroon, with the exception of

Doula, and the produce of the separate plantations, such as Victoria,

Bibundi, and Moliwe, Bimbia, Debundscha and so forth, all of which

belong to large Berlin and Hamburg companies, is influenced and

differentiated by variations in the technique of preparation. There

are smooth beans with blackish-brown shells, and others of a red-brown

hue and shrivelled, some with traces of fruit pulp, and others again

quite light-coloured, with occasional black specks resulting from a too

thorough drying.

The chief gathering begins in September and ends in January.

Exportation began in the year 1899 with 5 cwts. The produce in 1898

figured at 200 tons and it had in the year 1910 grown to 3,500 tons.

Germany is of course the principal consumer, although England has since

1909 bought very much Kameroon cacao as St. Thomas.

~Kongo~ is a bean resembling the finer St. Thomas, but smaller and

often smoky. It comes on the market via Antwerp. Up to the present

French Congo has only produced a few thousand hundredweights yearly,

but the Belgian Congo Free State has managed to achieve an annual

output of 900 tons towards the close of the last decade; and when this

country takes the Gold Coast as model, perhaps Congo cacao will one day

play an important rôle in the world of commerce.

~St. Thomas~, the small Portuguese island lying in the Gulf of

Guinea, and almost on the Equator, produces a sort which enjoys immense

popularity, and especially in Germany, which traces a fourth part of

its consumption back to this island. The export figures are

1889 2,000 tons.

1894 6,000 tons.

1899 11,500 tons.

1904 18,000 tons.

1910 38,000 tons.

These are estimates which make the Portuguese planter worthy of all

respect. It is true that “Black ivory” has been utilised on a large

scale, the exploiting of black labour having resulted in a boycotting

of these St. Thomas sorts on the part of some English manufacturers,

but less on account of harsh treatment on the plantations themselves as

the manner of recruiting in Angola.

Fine Thomas is the description of those sorts which have been used

in an unmixed condition owing to their indigestibility, but properly

gathered and fermented. The inferior and slightly damaged cacaos picked

out from these are called by the Portuguese planter “Escolas”, or

assorted. Yet they do not come into commerce under this designation,

being mostly used for making up sample collections which illustrate the

difference between these and ~Fine Thomas~. The latter is traded

through Lisbon “On Approval of Sample

All the St. Thomas cacao trade passes through Lisbon; for the tariff

regulations of the Portuguese government make direct connection between

the island and the consuming land practically impossible. France indeed

chooses the route via Madeira, unloading and reloading, to avoid the

additional duties. The cacao is at Lisbon stored in the two great

Custom-houses there, and prepared for despatch to the respective lands.

Fine St. Thomas is reshipped in the original sacks.

The samples are offered under various marks, either the initials of

the planter or the name of a plantation. We mention a few of the best

known; U. B., D. V., R. O., “M. Valle Flor”, “Boa Entrada”, “Monte

Café”, “Santa Catarina”, “Pinheira”, “Agua Izé”, “Colonia Acoriana”,

“Queluz”, “Gue Gue”, “Rosema”, “Pedroma”, “Monte Macaco

The beans vary, as far as shell and kernel are concerned, according

to the mode of preparation on the plantations and the structure of

the soil from which they spring. Many which were formerly universally

esteemed are now no longer preferred because the soil in the meantime

has been worked out; and many are now described under different marks.

Yet particular characteristics still continue; there are mild and

strong sorts, smooth and shrivelled varieties which look as though they

have been washed, and others black like the Cameroon bean. All are

offered as Fine Thomas, and enjoy an immense popularity.

Good ~medium Thomas~ is the commercial designation of those

cacaos hailing from small plantations which have undergone a scarcely

sufficient preparation owing to the lack of proper apparatus, and

which are always interspersed with black or sham beans. In so far

as these are delivered from large plantations, they generally owe

their origin to overripe fruit, probably overlooked in the gathering

season; or fruits bitten by the rats which infest this island may also

contribute such beans. Almost all these inferior cacaos are sorted

in the Lisbon custom-houses, and thinned down to the quality “Medium

Thomas” free from objection or “Good Medium Thomas The two months of

the Summer harvest, July and August, supply a somewhat better variety

of cacao, known in commerce as “Pajol”, i. e. literally, “Hailing from

the country”, which generally fetches a rather higher price. During

the Winter harvest from November to February the medium St. Thomas

varieties come on the market, but not before the beginning of the

year, as previous to that point of time only the regular harvest of

~Fine St. Thomas~ comes into consideration. All attempts on the

part of consumers to effect an improvement in the quality of the medium

varieties have unfortunately hitherto proved abortive, for they are

regarded as by-produce on the larger estates, and the small ones do not

possess the apparatus necessary for a thorough preparation. Then again

it is seen that these inferior sorts are taken off the market at very

reasonable prices.

Fernando Po, a mountainous island, situated immediately off Cameroon,

may be regarded as a source of supply for the Motherland, Spain,

and only as such, for its yearly output of 2500 tons need fear no

competition, thanks to the excessive tariffs laid on the produce of

other lands here. The qualities here are inferior to those from St.

Thomas and Cameroon, chiefly because most plantation are in the hands

of blacks and consequently not well managed.

~German East Africa~, ~Madagascar~, ~Mayotta~ (Comoren) and ~Réunion~

with their dwarfish yield are only worthy of passing mention.

III. Asiatic Cacao Sorts.

The only cacao plantations deserving the name on the continent of

Asia are those occurring on the two islands of Ceylon and Java, both

producing a sort differing entirely from the Africans, the predominant

seedling here planted being the Trinidad-Criollo. The Ceylon-Java bean

is, like the genuine Criollo, oval shaped, inclining to a sphere; its

kernel is light brown and among the finer sorts even whitish. So both

varieties are principally used for colouring and covering the cacao

mass, for neither has a very pronounced flavour. The shell is light

brown or reddish brown after washing, and appears free from all traces

of pulp. It sits loosely on the kernel, at least in the case of the

Java bean, and is consequently often met with broken.

~Ceylon~, with the shipping port of Colombo, produces in a good

year from 3,500 to 4,000 tons, about two-thirds of which are traded

through London. Direct shipments to Germany have recently been more

and more frequent; Australia also claims consideration as a consuming

land.

The different sorts, or rather, qualities, for a very careful

preparation ensures the excellence of the goods, go under the

description fine, or medium, or ordinary, and occasionally are

utilised as typical examples. The better sorts come exclusively from

plantations, and the ordinary are the result of native enterprise.

~Java~ also produces a large quantity, the cacao here being chiefly

planted on the north side of this long, narrow island. More than a half

is exported from the port of Samarang, then follow Batavia, Soerabaja

and a few minor places, with a total output of about 2,500 tons. The

larger proportion of this cacao is sold in the markets of Amsterdam

and Rotterdam to Dutch merchants, who pass it on to other consuming

countries. England, North America, Australia, China and the Philippines

are the chief customers.

Those sorts coming from the neighbouring islands of Celebes, Timor,

Bali, Amboina and Lombok may also be considered as sub-classes of the

Java; but they do not total more than 75 tons.

IV. Australian Cacao Sorts.

Cacao plantation in Australia is still in its early stages. Most

progressive is

~Samoa~, which has increased its 1900 export of 30 cwt. to 200 tons at

the present time, among which right excellent qualities occur, culled

from Criollo trees. The deteriorated Forastero has also recently been

planted, which we must allow to be more fruitful and less dependent on

careful nursing. The Samoa Criollo bean resembles the large fine Ceylon

variety, except that it has a more pronounced flavour.

~New Guinea and Bismarck-Archipelagoes~ can only claim casual mention

as experimentally interested in cacao cultivation.

g) The Trade in Cacao and the Consumption of Cacao Products; Statistics.

Although cacao and cacao products have always been held in the highest

esteem, ever since they first became known in Europe, yet price

considerations long prevented them from enjoying the same widespread

popularity among the lower classes as tea and coffee. Thanks, however,

to the improved means of transport established in the course of

the last fifty years, which has cheapened all exotic produce, the

demand for these wares has of late been more frequent and urgent,

and is reflected in the constantly increasing influx of cacao on the

European markets and the systematic opening out of new regions to the

raw material, just as corresponding extensions in the factory world

contribute towards a reduction in the cost of the products. Hence cacao

may now be described as a luxury within the reach of everyman. Its

diffusion among all grades of the population may be regarded as a great

blessing, for in it has arisen a new [Transcriber’s Note: a line is

missing here] merely a stimulant, like tea or coffee, but a beverage in

the proper sense of the term, analytically so established.

It will accordingly prove of interest to glance through the returns

in connection with the trade in these goods, their importation

and exportation, commercial values of the same, and the relative

consumption of cacao, tea and coffee.

Such figures are always at hand. The surprisingly rapid growth of the

cacao cultivation, and the manufacture of cacao products, is e. g.

at once apparent in statistics furnished by the French government.

In 1857 the number of 5,304,207 kilos of beans were consumed there.

The importations of the year 1895, on the other hand, amounted to

32,814,724 kilos, having in the space of 38 years increased more than

sixfold. Of this quantity, almost the half, comprising about 15,234,163

kilos, is disposed of retail.

Turning to the trade in Germany, the cacao industry here and its

consumption,[19] we are again greeted with cheery prospects. According

to the official inquiry, German trade in Cacao products for the years

1907-1910 is shown in the following table:

~Table~ 1.

========================+===================+============================

No. on offic. statistics| | Exports from Germany

+———————————————————+ |Duty|

|Description| Imports to Germany |Free|—————— inclusive —————

| | 1907 | 1908 | 1909 | 1910 |1910| 1907| 1908| 1909| 1910

====+===========+======+======+======+======+====+=====+=====+=====+=====

| | | | | | | | | |

63 |Cacao Bean | | | | | | | | |

| raw |345154|343519|407248|439413| — | 1390| 1186| 1429| 1620

| | | | | | | | | |

64 |Cacao Shell| | | | | | | | |

| whole | 55| 1| 6| 6| — |12802| 9901|11825|17006

| | | | | | | | | |

168 |Cacao Butter| | | | | | | | |

| Cacao Oil | 243| 106| 208| 263|22223|20804|18494|27291|22465

| | | | | | | | | |

203a|Cacao Mass,| | | | | | | | |

| shells | 165| 1196| 128| 58| 125| 3430| 3519| 3694| 5219

| | | | | | | | | |

203b|Cacao | 6792| 8148| 6497| 6446|2599| 3050| 1752| 2803| 3755

| | | | | | | | | |

204a|Chocolate &| | | | | | | | |

|Equivalents| 11636| 10050| 12197| 15183|1513| 5021| 3671| 4609| 4712

| | | | | | | | | |

204b|Products | | | | | | | | |

| and | | | | | | | | |

| Oat cacaos| 1239| 1281| 1258| 1140|2027| 4260| 4439| 4555| 4964

The year 1910 brought a total import of 878,413 cwts. of raw cacao,

thus overtopping the figures of the previous year, which had created a

record with 814,496 cwts., by 64,330 cwts.

Coming to the geographical distribution, we find that they were

imported into Germany in the following proportions, namely:

Comparison

1910 1909 with

years

British West Africa cwts. 206 180 189 686 + 6 494

Port. West Africa (St. Thomas etc.) " 239 756 181 230 + 58 526

Brazil (Bahia) " 128 760 137 396 - 8 636

Ecuador (Guayaquil) " 97 454 101 038 - 3 584

Dominican Republic (Samana) " 64 932 66 210 - 1 278

The Rest of British America " 21 266 40 658 - 5 08

Venezuela " 40 068 36 002 - 44 26

Cameroon " 20 426 22 026 - 1 420

Ceylon " 15 892 12 488 - 3 402

East Indies (Dutch) " 8 802 6 772 - 2 030

Cuba " 2 610 3 066 - 456

Haiti " 3 676 2 614 - 1 562

Samoa " 3 216 2 230 - 314

Togo " 564 250 - 314

These figures, which we quote from the Thirty First Year’s Report of

the Association of German Chocolate Makers, speak volumes for the

recent development of the cacao trade. It is interesting, in view of

recent occurrences, to note the quantities despatched from the various

places. The importations from St. Thomas, for instance, show a striking

increase. They stand at the head of the raw cacao products coming into

Germany, with 239,756 cwts., and have pushed Accras down to second

place, this variety having failed to maintain its 1909 lead, for 1910

did not add more than 6,496 cwts. to its previous total of 199,686

cwts. Bahias came third, then as now, with 128,760 cwts. This order has

not always remained constant, but has suffered considerable deviations

in progressive years. We give below a table showing the chief cacao

producing lands and their imports into Germany between 1900 and 1908.

~Table~ 2. =Imports in Germany in tons.=

——————————————————————————————————————————————————

| 1900 | 1901 | 1902 | 1903 | 1904 |

————————————+——————+——————+————————+——————+——————+

(Accra) | —— | —— | 559·1| 935·2|1580·9|

(St. | | | | | |

Thomas) |2501·6|3116·0| 4069·2|3878·8|4526·6|

(Bahia) |3776·8|3239·0| 3125·5|2599·8|4130·4|

(Guaquil) |5397·9|4744·8| 4728·6|5092·7|5689·8|

(Samana) | 586·1|1853·0| 2448·8|3116·0|4562·4|

America |1436·9|1195·6| 1544·7|1292·3|1851·5|

(Caracas) |1158·5| 956·6| 893·2| 829·4|1280·3|

Cameroon | —— | 190·9| 361·5| 470·7| 647·5|

Ceylon | —— | 107·4| 344·9| 350·1| 497·7|

(Dutch) | —— | —— | —— | —— | —— |

Cuba | —— | 299·8| 345·3| 144·7| 189·0|

Samoa | —— | —— | —— | 101·3| 203·8|

Columbia | —— | 112·6| 104·3| 52·6| —— |

Togo | —— | —— | —— | —— | 3·7|

lands | 122·1| 363·9| 357·6| 60·9| —— |

Thomas) | 988·1|1311·4| 1349·1|2447·7|1734·9|

Haiti |1796·0| 340·4|In con- | —— | —— |

| | |of | | |

———————————————————————————————————————-

| 1905 | 1906 | 1907 | 1908

————————————+——————+——————+——————+——————

Brit. West | | | |

Africa | | | |

Gold Coast| | | |

(Accra) |2775·9|4045·9|6009·2|5752·5

Portuguese | | | |

West | | | |

Africa | | | |

(St. | | | |

Thomas) |4259·3|4969·6|5559·9|7303·8

Brazil | | | |

(Bahia) |4506·4|6106·1|6937·2|6233·7

Ecuador | | | |

(Guaquil) |5350·3|4693·6|4245·0|4123·6

Dominican | | | |

Republic | | | |

(Samana) |4514·1|5663·8|4037·4|4574·3

Rest of | | | |

British | | | |

North | | | |

America |2009·0|2503·6|2293·2|2083·7

Venezuela | | | |

(Caracas) |1380·9|1685·9|2365·0|1435·6

Cameroon | 839·4|1199·0|1240·3|1397·7

Ceylon | 589·3| 588·0| 788·0| 604·7

East Indies | | | |

(Dutch) | —— | —— | 333·4| 347·2

Cuba | 195·6| —— | 331·4| 120·6

Samoa | 140·0| —— | 52·9| 124·2

Columbia | —— | —— | 75·2| 66·7

Togo | 6·0| —— | 15·0| 18·6

via The | | | |

Nether- | | | |

lands | —— | —— | —— | ——

via Portugal| | | |

(probably | | | |

Thomas) |2853·4|2714·9| 103·3| ——

Haiti | —— | —— | —— | ——

The consumption of cacao in other civilised countries shows a

corresponding increase, although with occasional divergencies and

astounding relapses. We give the following table (3) to indicate its

progress between the years 1901 and 1908, and to facilitate comparison.

It must be borne in mind, when making use of this table (specially in

connection with Germany) that the falling off in the years 1907-8 is to

be attributed to the abnormally bad harvests and consequent increase in

prices.

~Table~ 3. =Import or Consumption in the Various Lands in tons.=

————————————————-+————————-+————————-+————————-+————————-+

| 1901 | 1902 | 1903 | 1904 |

=================+=========+=========+=========+=========+

of North America|2066595·8|2312072·8|2850808·2|3216415·6|

Germany |1841000·0|2060170·0|2163440·0|2710140·0|

France |1791650·0|1934300·0|2074150·0|2179450·0|

England |1890800·0|2038600·0|1868119·2|2054250·4|

Holland |1437300·0|1466627·4|1073047·4|1218440·0|

Spain | 593107·7| 925997·6| 602675·2| 581635·9|

Switzerland | 436330·0| 570700·0| 585650·0| 683910·0|

Belgium | 186548·7| 227763·3| 276779·1| 279200·8|

Austria-Hungary | 168650·0| 182010·0| 203460·0| 251010·0|

Russia | — | — | 190068·0| 205570·0|

————————————————-+————————-+————————-+————————-+————————-

| 1905 | 1906 | 1907 | 1908

=================+=========+=========+=========+=========

The United States| | | |

of North America|3523164·5|3794857·5|3752650·5|4261529·3

Germany |2963310·0|3526050·0|3451540·0|3435190·0

France |2174760·0|2340380·0|2318030·0|2044450·0

England |2119071·2|2013204·0|2015947·2|2105152·0

Holland |1073740·0|1122400·0|1221924·9|1582100·0

Spain | 610171·2| 563682·1| 562823·9| 658011·3

Switzerland | 521840·0| 646690·0| 712420·0| 582050·0

Belgium | 301899·7| 386168·6| 325396·7| 455408·1

Austria-Hungary | 266850·0| 331280·0| 347170·0| 370730·0

Russia | 222768·0| 267094·0| 247338·0| 258806·0

The relative consumption of coffee, tea and cacao has also inclined in

favour of the latter as far as Germany is concerned. According to the

19th. Report of the Association of German Chocolate Makers, No. 7,

the imports which passed through the custom-houses of that country, and

intended for consumption, figured at the following in tons; though in

this connection it is as well to remember that the German ton is about

50 lbs. less than the English.

Coffee Cacao Tea

(raw in bean) (raw in bean)

1886 12 360·5 3 686·7 1618·5

1887 101 833·4 4 295·0 1760·0

1888 114 658·1 4 979·8 1778·4

1889 113 228·5 5 565·1 1875·0

1890 118 126·3 6 246·5 1995·0

1891 125 611·2 7 087·0 2221·0

1892 122 031·9 7 460·9 2479·0

1893 122 190·5 7 960·9 2676·0

1894 122 357·5 8 319·9 2840·0

1895 122 390·2 9 950·9 2544·0

1896 129 896·6 12 209·5 2471·0

1897 136 395·0 14 692·5 2852·0

1898 153 270·4 15 464·9 3661·9

From the above columns it will be seen that the importation of coffee

has only increased 24 percent, that of tea 125 percent, but that

of cacao at the surprising rate of 330 percent. A comparison of the

totals for coffee, tea and cacao in the years 1886, 1898 & 1906 will

make the proportions still more evident.

1886 1898 1906

—————— —————— ——————

Coffee 96·0% 89·0% 82·6%

Cacao 2·8% 8·9% 15·6%

Tea 1·2% 2·1% 1·8%

————————————————————————

Total 100·0% 100·0% 100·0%

So that whilst in the year 1886 thirty-five times as much coffee as

cacao found its way into Germany, the imports for 1898 were ten, and in

1906 only five and a half times greater in the case of the first named

article. It follows that there has been a corresponding increase as

regards cacao consumption in Germany. A momentary survey of the graphs

in Fig. 5, which we owe to the kindness of Herr Greiert, Managing

Director of the Association of German Chocolate Manufacturers, will

make this clear to the reader; and the diagram there illustrates the

relative growth of cacao consumption in Germany, when compared with

other countries. On calculating the quantity of cacao consumed per

head of the population, we get a graph (fig. 6) which puts the rapid

increases in this direction at a glance.

[Illustration: Fig. 5. _Ausgestellt vom Verband deutscher

Chocoladefabrikanten._

Sitz Dresden

_Verbrauch von Rohkakao_ 1896-1901

in _Frankreich_. _Grossbrittanien._ _Holland_ den _Verein. Staaten v.

N-A._ und _Deutschland_ in 1000 Dz. (100 kg).

_Einfuhr von Rohkakao über die Deutsche Zollgrenze_ 1883-1901 _in

Doppelzentnern_.

_Prozentuale-Steigerung_ des durchschnittl. Verbrauchs von _Kakao_ (in

Bohnen) _Kaffee_ u. _Tee_ in _Deutschland_ verglichen mit dem Stande

von 1840. ]

[Illustration: Fig. 6.

Consumption of Cacao in Germany.

Gramm Kakao auf den Kopf der Bevölkerung

Graphical representation per head of the population for the last 75

years.]

The curve for the last ten years represents enormous advances, and

contrasts with the more even line developed in earlier years. According

to official reports, the average consumption of cacao per head between

the years 1861-5 amounted to 0·03 kg. (tea 0·02 kg. and coffee 1·87

kg.) but had in 1910 risen to an average of 0·53 kg. per head.

B. Chemical Constitution of the Bean.

a) The Cacao Bean Proper.

~Accra~ cacao, then, as the sorts of the African Gold Coast are