Cocoa and Chocolate
(e) Breaking the Bean into Fragments.
The problem is to break down the bean to just the right size. The pieces must be sufficiently small to allow the nib and shell readily to part company, but it is important to remember that the smaller the pieces of shell and nib, the less efficient will the winnowing be, and it is usual to break the beans whilst they are still warm to avoid producing particles of extreme fineness. The breaking down may be accomplished by passing the beans through a pair of rollers at such a distance apart that the bean is cracked without being crushed. Or it may be effected in other ways, e.g., by the use of an adjustable serrated cone revolving in a serrated conical case. In the diagram they are called kibbling cones.
SECTION THROUGH KIBBLING CONES AND GERM SCREENS.