What to Know About Cocoa Powder Color Measurement

For more than 70 years, HunterLab has pioneered solutions for the food industry. Color measurement is key to creating a consistent brand identity through your products and maintaining consumer trust in your processes. Foods like cocoa powder are in nearly every home cupboard, so delivering a superior solution with the expected appearance is the best way to beat the competition. Learn more about cocoa powder color measurement today.

Types of Cocoa Powder

Based on processing methods, the cocoa bean can produce three types of cocoa powder, each with its own color and flavor profile:

• Natural cocoa powder: This light brown powder is the most common form of cocoa powder in the United States, and it's what most people look for when they go to the grocery store. It's sometimes referred to as “pure” cocoa powder, as once the product is separated from the cocoa butter, it does not undergo any further processing before being ground and packaged.
• Dutch process cocoa powder: This powder is darker in color and less bitter, as it goes through an alkalization process following separation, where it is washed with a potassium carbonate solution.
• Black cocoa powder: This powder, as its name suggests, is the darkest type of cocoa powder. It is further processed through an alkaline solution to reduce the acidity even more than in Dutch cocoa powder.

Reasons for Variation in Cocoa Powder Color

Based on the above information, it's easy to deduce that acidity is one of the most important factors in the color of cocoa powder. The less acidic a cocoa powder is, the more processing it has gone through, deepening its color from natural reds and light brown to dark brown nearing black. However, to maintain consistency in these well-known products, every other factor should fit the expected characteristics. When processing cocoa beans, other characteristics to keep in mind include:

• Fermentation time: Beans should ferment for four to five days before harvesting them for cocoa powder.
• Water content: Water content should stay below 5% to encourage flavor maturation.
• Fat content: Fat content should be about 50% of the bean.
• pH: Optimal pH for cocoa beans after fermentation is between 5-5.4.
• Storage temperature: The best storage temperature for cocoa bean fermentation and processing is about 46°C.

Use the Best Tools for the Job

When it comes to measuring the color of cocoa powder, HunterLab's suite of tools has a streamlined solution in ColorFlex L2. This compact device is designed for coloration measurement of powders like this, delivering efficient and accurate results. Request a quote on this process-revolutionizing tool today.