dark Brown alkaline cocoa powder

June 8, 2020

Cocoa powder alkalization process

Introduction of Latamarko dark Brown alkaline cocoa powder

Although cocoa powders are usually divided into two categories of natural and alkalized, there are various types of cocoa powders that differ in color and taste. The natural type is acidic. To reduce the acidity and produce dark Brown alkaline cocoa powder, Latamarko uses alkaline compounds to perform a process called Dutch process, which darkens the color of the powder, and improves its taste and smell.

dark Brown alkaline cocoa powder

Introduction of Latamarko dark Brown alkaline cocoa powder

Although cocoa powders are usually divided into two categories of natural and alkalized, there are various types of cocoa powders that differ in color and taste. Turkish company Latamarko produces both natural and alkalized cocoa powder. This article introduces the company’s dark Brown alkaline cocoa powder.

“Theobroma” which means “food of gods“ is a small beautiful tree which bears cocoa fruits. These fruits, which can be the same size as a cucumber, contain large seeds called Cocoa beans. After fermentation, drying, grinding and other processes, cocoa beans turn into a solid or semi-solid mass called “liquor”. In the next step, the liquor is pressed and cocoa butter, which makes up about 50-57% of the liquor, is extracted. What remains is a Stiff mass called “cocoa solid”. Cocoa powder is the powdered form of this solid mass.

As mentioned, cocoa powders are produced in different colors. Some of them have a light color and a rough texture. When you taste these powders, you will notice that they are very bitter. This type is a completely “natural cocoa powder”.

On the other hand, when you look at Brownie, chocolate cake and some biscuit fillers, you see that their chocolate is completely dark. Some of them are even completely black. No one has ever seen a light brown Brownie, and if she did, what she saw was certainly not a brownie!

Natural versus dark Brown alkaline cocoa powder

What makes the color of dark Brown alkaline cocoa powder looks different?

So if the natural color of cocoa powder is light, where does this black or dark brown color come from? Do they dye cocoa powder? Or do they mix it with something else? Maybe cocoa beans themselves have different colors!

No! The correct answer is none of them. In a special process, Latamarko makes changes to the Natural Cocoa Powder and produces the dark Brown alkaline cocoa powder. The natural type is very acidic. Its pH is 5.3 to 5.8. To reduce the acidity of this product, Latamarko uses alkaline compounds to perform a process called Dutch process or alkalization, which reduces the acidity, darkens the color of the powder, and improves its taste and smell. The more intense the alkalization process, the darker the color of the cocoa powder. This color can range from slightly dark brown to almost black. But to produce the dark Brown alkaline cocoa powder, the alkalization process stops before it reaches the endpoint.

The result of the above process is a soft, fine-grained and almost neutral cocoa powder. The fat content of this cocoa powder is less than the natural type. Latamarko dark Brown alkaline cocoa powder is produced from organic cocoa beans. Cocoa beans consumed by Latamarko are purchased from Ivory Coast. Ivory Coast is one of the largest and most important producers of cocoa beans in the world. The different quality standards of this product also indicate its approved quality.