Characteristics. The grains of the Cacao on the market are ovoidal, more or less flattened, long, it depends on the variety, 16-26 mm, large 10-19 and thick 3,5-10 mm, heavy about g 0,9-1,8 (average 1,25), the colour is violaceus or brown-greyish or reddish, irregularly and more or less visibly reticular. The tegument (shell) of the grains is made up of an external membrane coriaceus, fragile, brown, and of an internal membrane, very thin, whitish, which wrap up the almond and penetrates in it dividing it in several angular lobes. The almond consists of a small embryos (germ) and of two big convex cotyledons, of changing colour from reddish-brown to violaceus, depending on the type,irregularly covered by furrows of thick consistency, fragile, oily at the touch.The shell is as to the grain, of variable quantity depending on the quality (from 10-20% of the grain).Cacao grains contain oily substances (Cacao butter), starchy, sugary, albuminoid, tannic, cellulose, humidity, mineral salts; they contain an alcaloid, the theobromine together with a small quantity of caffeine, and a colouring agent (red cacao) which develops in ripe seeds. In general the composition of cacao grains is as follows:

The starchy grains of Cacao appear under the microscope of ovoidal shape, they are very small having a maximum diametre of 3-12 .A very small quantity of copper is found in the ashes of Cacao, it represents about 0,002% of the grains decorticated and 0,02% of the teguments.

Adulterations and frauds.Cacao grains can be altered, for damages, mixtures with grains of bad quality, etc.; Adulterations are recognizable by the aspect, the taste, the smell. Cacao beans must have the shell intact without cracks, they must not adhere to each other because of residues of pulp not eliminated.The almond must not be black, humid and soft, it must not have white spots of mould or an acid taste or be too bitter.Powdered Cacao can be sophisticated in many ways: with cacao deprived of its fat, with cacao shells, with powders of adulterated coffees, with dextrin, various types of flours, acorns, chestnuts, roasted hazelnuts and almonds, with mineral substances. To identify those frauds a microscopic observation is needed for the determination of the fat, the humidity, the ashes and the theobromine. To identify those frauds a microscopic observation is needed for the determination of the fat, the humidity, the ashes and the theobromine.

Some images of the production:

Uses and products.Cacao is used for the extraction of cacao butter and the preparation of different products, among them is chocolate.Generally before being used to make chocolate or other preparations, cacao grains are roasted in order to develop a good aroma, to refine the taste and destroy the acids of fermentation and modify the tannic acids,so that the amid granules swell, the teguments are broken off more easily and the almond is more friable.The toasting is made by means of special instruments, at a temperature of 130°-140°. During the toasting process there is a loss of humidity and of small quantities of other substances ( the total loss is of 5-8%)The shells of the toasted beans, which are a residue of the production of cacao are called chaff of cacao and they are used for the production of coffee substitutes , or as raw material for the production of theobromine. They are used also as fertilizer or for breeding cattle (sometimes dangerous for the content in alcaloids) or rather they are grinded and used to adulterate cacao powder or coffee or some drugs, or they are directly sold to prepare an infusion (tea made from cacao).

Preparations and specialities.Among the preparations based on cacao and cacao mixtures with other substances in addition to cacao, which are dealt with separately, let us remember the following products: Cacao in mass or cacao paste, obtained after grinding the roasted and shelled grains, and after pressing the product, softened through heating, in blocks or bars. Powdered cacao, obtained after removing to some extent the fat from the cacao in mass with hydraulic presses and grinding and sifting the panels; it still contains on average 20-30 % of fat. If the panels are put through a hot rolling we have cacao in thin leaves of the same composition. Soluble cacao or solubilized: it differs from the previous one because, in addition to the removing of the fat, it has undergone a vapour treatment or a treatment with ammonia or ammonium carbonate,  in this way there is an alteration of the structure, so that the insoluble parts in the hot-water treatment leave less easily a deposit at the bottom, and to a large extent they turn into soluble substances. Solubilized cacaos have a composition quite similar to powdered cocoa.

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