Cacao Powders Colouring & Flavouring

How cocoa powder is used for Colour

Cacao Powder Colours

The alkalisation process also darkens the colour (reddish-brown hues), enhances the flavours (stronger cacao notes) and has an impact on the dispersibility and wettability of the final cacao powder.

Cacao powder	Flavour	Colour	pH range
Natural (non-alkalised)	Sweet chocolate flavour with spices & fruity notes	Yellowish, light brown	5.0-6.0
Lightly alkalised	Chocolate flavour with caramel & dairy notes	Brown	6.1-7.2
Moderately alkalised	Intense cacao flavour with nutty notes	Dark brown to reddish brown	7.3-8.3
Highly alkalised	Bitter cacao with dried flowers notes	Deep dark brown/ red	7.9-8.4

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How cocoa powder is used for flavouring

Cacao powder flavours

The flavour profile of an alkalised cacao powder is influenced by both the roasting and the alkalisation steps. Alkaline agents used during the production neutralise the acids present in the cacao and reduce astringency.

The cocoa and bitter note increase during alkalinisation is caused by the same mechanism and by the large amount of water used during this step. This water will be evaporated during roasting, at around 100°C (the temperature of the main Maillard reactions) which will form the aromatic compounds.

∕ Natural (non-alkalised): Sweet chocolate flavour with spices & fruity notes
∕ Lightly alkalised Chocolate: flavour with caramel & dairy notes
∕ Moderately alkalised: Intense cocoa flavour with nutty notes
∕ Highly alkalised Bitter cocoa with dried flowers notes