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.
Fig. 5. (the german text is [here]).
Fig. 6. 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.