What Causes Differences in Cocoa Powder Color?
Most shoppers buy the cheapest or best-looking box of cocoa powder on the shelves, but as someone involved with the product, you should know more about what goes into every box. The three types of cocoa powder each offer a darker, richer color than the one before:
- Natural
- Dutch process
- Black
The cocoa beans that produce each powder also have varying levels of acidity, fermentation time, and other factors — all of which impact the appearance of the final result. Though some of the color differences are not obvious to the human eye, they can affect quality and even taste over time. That is why it is necessary to compare samples and measure results using color measurement equipment like a spectrophotometer from HunterLab.
How to Measure the Color of Cocoa Powder
At HunterLab, we have spent decades developing color measurement tools for foods and ingredients of every kind. Many of the spectrophotometers in our collection are designed with specific ingredients in mind, like the ColorFlex EZ.
The ColorFlex EZ is perfect for powders like sugar, flour, and cocoa powder. It is a compact, benchtop spectrophotometer that uses geometrical analysis to perceive color similarly to human eyes. Once you place it on the scanner, you'll have results in minutes to transfer to a computer or printer for further data collection or analysis.