Cocoa Powder

chocolate · baking · plants

From cacao trees. Cocoa powder starts as seeds inside the pods of Theobroma cacao trees, which grow in tropical parts of the world. These seeds are called cocoa beans.

Roasted and squeezed. The cocoa beans are roasted to bring out their rich chocolate flavor, then ground into a paste. Most of the cocoa butter (the natural fat) is squeezed out, leaving behind the powder we use in baking and hot chocolate.

Two main types. Natural cocoa powder has a sharp, slightly bitter chocolate taste. Dutch-processed cocoa powder is treated with a special ingredient that makes it smoother and less bitter, and it mixes better into liquids.

Baker's best friend. Because cocoa powder has most of the fat removed, it adds amazing chocolate flavor to cookies, cakes, and brownies without making them too greasy. It's also perfect for stirring into milk to make hot cocoa.

Many fat levels. Cocoa powder comes in different versions with varying amounts of remaining cocoa butter, so bakers can choose exactly how rich and creamy they want their chocolate treats to be.