at it is
not a necessity in Trinidad, where the curing is also
excellent. Or in Venezuela? What's the buyer's objection to
claying?

MANUFACTURER: Simply that claying is camouflage. Actually the
buyer doesn't mind so long as the clay is not too generously
used. He objects to paying for beans and getting clay.
However, it's really too bad to colour up with clay the black
cacao from diseased pods; it might deceive even experienced
brokers.

PLANTER: Ha! ha! Then it's a very sinful practice. I don't
think that ever gets beyond the local tropical market. I know
the merchants judge largely by "the skin," but I thought the
London broker----.

MANUFACTURER: You see it's like this. Just as you associate a
certain label with a particularly good brand of cigar so the
planter's mark on the bag and the external appearance of the
beans influence the broker by long association. But just as
you cannot truly judge a cigar by the picture on the box, so
the broker has to consider what is under the shell of the
bean. One or two manufacturers go further, but don't trust
merely to "tasting with their eyes"--they only come to a
conclusion when they have roasted a sample.

PLANTER: But a buyer can get a shrewd idea without roasting,
surely? You agree. Well, what exactly does he look for?

MANUFACTURER: Depends what nationality the bean is--I mean
whether it was grown in Venezuela, Brazil, Trinidad, or the
Gold Coast. In general he likes beans with a good "break,"
that is beans which, under the firm pressure of thumb and
forefinger, break into small crisp nibs. Closeness or
cheesiness are danger signals, warnings of lack of
fermentation,--so is a slate-coloured interior. He prefers a
pale, even-coloured interior,--cinnamon, chocolate, or
cafe-au-lait colour and----.

PLANTER: One moment! I've heard before of planters being told
to ferment and cure until the bean is cinnamon colour. Why,
man, you couldn't get a pale brown interior with beans of the
Forastero or Calabacillo type if you fermented them to
rottenness.

MANUFACTURER: True! Well, if the breed on your plantation is
purple Forastero, and more than half of the cacao in the
world is, you must develop as much brown in the beans as
possible. They should have the characteristic refreshing
odour of raw cacao,