America's Test Kitchen LogoCook's Country LogoCook's Illustrated Logo

Reviews You Can Trust.
See Why.

The Best Cocoa Powder

The big debate in cocoa powder has always been Dutch-processed versus natural. Is that really the most important factor?

Top Pick

WinnerDroste Cacao

Our longtime favorite Dutched supermarket cocoa powder was the clear overall winner. It has a high fat content and therefore has less starch, so cookies were “perfectly chewy and moist.” Cakes were very “moist,” “rich,” and “fudgy.” We also loved its dark color and “earthy,” “woodsy” chocolate flavor.
pH: 7.90Fat: 20.14%Style: DutchedPrice at Time of Testing: $9.99 for 8.8-oz package ($1.14 per oz)
Our longtime favorite Dutched supermarket cocoa powder was the clear overall winner. It has a high fat content and therefore has less starch, so cookies were “perfectly chewy and moist.” Cakes were very “moist,” “rich,” and “fudgy.” We also loved its dark color and “earthy,” “woodsy” chocolate flavor.
pH: 7.90Fat: 20.14%Style: DutchedPrice at Time of Testing: $9.99 for 8.8-oz package ($1.14 per oz)

What You Need to Know

When we want big chocolate flavor in everything from cookies and cakes to puddings and pies, we turn to cocoa powder. It has a higher proportion of flavorful cocoa solids than any other form of chocolate, so ounce for ounce, it tastes more intensely chocolaty. It's made in two styles—Dutch-processed and natural—and there's fierce debate in the baking world about which is best. Both styles have staunch supporters who are convinced that using the wrong type will ruin a dessert. For years, we also viewed Dutched and natural cocoa powders as distinctly different products. But when we last evaluated cocoa powder, something surprising happened: A natural powder won, a Dutched powder came in second, and the rest of the lineup was a jumble.

In the years since, we've remained curious about cocoa powder. Some of our test cooks prefer the dark color of Dutched powder and swear that it has richer, deeper chocolate flavor to match. Are they onto something? Is choosing between Dutched and natural the most important decision you can make when buying cocoa powder, or is there more to it than that?

To find out, we sampled eight nationally available cocoa powders (priced from $0.34 to $1.70 per ounce): four Dutched and four natural. To zero in on how much Dutch processing matters, we carefully selected recipes for testing: two different sheet cake recipes—one that calls for natural cocoa powder and another that uses Dutched—and a cookie recipe that doesn't specify which style to use.

The results were mixed. While some desserts were simply acceptable, others were excellent. The good-enough cakes and cookies were tall and “airy” with a “crumbly” structure but a little “dry.” Across the board, we preferred “moist” and “fudgy” desserts. Our favorite cakes had a “plush” texture, and cookies toed the line between chewy and tender. As for flavor, samples ranged from “mild” and “slightly fruity” to “intense,” “complex,” and “earthy,” with the slight bitterness of good espresso or dark chocolate. Why had some desserts been dry, mild, and lean, while others were so rich, flavorful, and decadent?

From Pod to Powder

Cocoa powder—and all real chocolate—starts with cacao pods, the fruit of the tropical evergreen tree Theobroma cacao. Each pod contains between 20 and 50 beans (also called seeds). The beans generally taste bitter and are surrounded by a fruity-tasting, milky-white pulp, according to Gregory Ziegler, a chocolate expert and professor of food science at Penn State University. The beans are fermented, a critical process that develops their dark brown color, before being roasted. The fermented beans are either roasted whole or are shelled and roasted as nibs. Next, the nibs are ground into a paste called chocolate liquor, which contains a mix of cocoa solids and cocoa butter. Some of the chocolate liquor is used to make candy and chocolate products. The rest is pressed to remove most of the cocoa butter, which is also used to make chocolate. The cocoa solids that remain are ground into small particles and become cocoa powder.

The Journey from Pod to Powder

To deliver rich-tasting cocoa powder, producers must perfect every step of the process.

Dutching Process

An alkalizing agent such as potassium carbonate or sodium carbonate is added to the nibs, the cocoa liquor, or the final pressed powder. This optional step darkens the powder’s color and mellows its astringent notes.

  1. Harvest Pods: Football-shaped pods are collected from tropical cacao trees. Each pod contains from 20 to 50 beans (seeds), which are surrounded by fruity pulp.
  2. Dry Beans: Cacao beans are fermented for two to nine days and then dried for up to several weeks before being bagged and sent to processing facilities.
  3. Roast Beans or Nibs: Cacao beans are either roasted whole and then shelled or shelled first, leaving just the meaty centers—the nibs—to roast.
  4. Grind Powder: The roasted nibs are ground into a paste called chocolate liquor, which is pressed to extract cocoa butter. The remainder is then dried and ground into a powder.

In the 19th century, a Dutch chemist and chocolatier named Conrad Van Houten developed an optional step for the above process, known as Dutching, Dutch processing, or alkalizing. Chocolate is naturally slightly acidic, and so is cocoa powder. Treating the cocoa with an alkalizing agent neutralizes the acid, raising the powder's pH from about 5 to about 7. Natural cocoa powder is usually sandy brown with a reddish tint and tastes bright and fruity; Dutch processing darkens the color to velvety brown or near-black and mellows the cocoa's more astringent notes so that its deeper, earthy notes come to the forefront.

Dutching is not a one-size-fits-all process. Ziegler told us that manufacturers use a variety of alkalizing agents, such as potassium carbonate or sodium carbonate. They can also adjust the temperature and time of the process and may opt to alkalize the nibs, the cocoa liquor, or the final pressed powder.

a hand reaches for a sample of cake during a tasting
We made chocolate sheet cake with each of the eight cocoa powders. Luckily, it wasn’t too hard to get volunteers to take part in the tasting.

Given the potential variation in processing, we were curious about how our powders compared with each other, so we asked an independent laboratory to measure the pH of each cocoa. The lab reported that the pH of the natural powders ranged from 5.36 to 5.73 and the pH of the Dutched powders ranged from 6.88 to 7.90. It doesn't sound like much, but one point indicates a tenfold difference in acidity.

When we reviewed the results of our recipe tests, we saw that some trends fell in line with the Dutched versus natural division. The more acidic natural powders produced some of the tallest, airiest, and crumbliest cookies and cakes. On the other hand, most of the Dutched powders produced baked goods that hadn't risen quite as tall. This makes sense: Baking soda, a common chemical leavener that was in all three of the recipes we tested, releases carbon dioxide bubbles when it reacts with acid and moisture; this is one of the reasons that doughs and batters rise in the oven. The acidity level affected how our cocoa powders interacted with the baking soda and seemed to have played a role in how high our baked goods rose.

a stack of tall, slightly dry cookies made with natural cocoa powder next to a stack of less acidic, fudgier cookies made with Dutched cocoa powder
Leavening agents such as baking soda react with acid and moisture to create carbon dioxide, which causes baked goods to rise and creates a drier, airy texture. The Dutching process neutralizes some of the cocoa’s acidity, resulting in less lift and a fudgier consistency.

In general, the tall, airy cakes and cookies made with natural cocoa powder were perceived as much drier. Our tasters preferred the fudgier, moister desserts made with less-acidic Dutched powders. In fact, a Dutch-processed cocoa powder won every tasting—even when used in a recipe that was specifically designed using natural cocoa powder—and Dutched products took the top three spots overall. But one Dutched powder consistently landed at the bottom of the rankings; baked goods made with it were slightly dry instead of tender and rich. Dutching is clearly an important variable, but it wasn't the whole story.

Fat Is Another Major Factor

There's another big divide in the world of cocoa powder: fat content. When the cocoa liquor is pressed, some cocoa butter remains with the solids, so commercial cocoa powders generally contain between 10 and 24 percent fat. While that full range is technically achievable, cocoa powders don't run the full spectrum. Instead, they're manufactured in two levels: low fat and high fat. An independent lab analyzed the samples and reported that three products in our lineup contained about 11 to 12 percent fat; the rest had nearly double that, about 20 to 22 percent.

Suddenly, things started to come into focus. Most of those high-fat powders scored high in our tastings. Why? Fat adds richness and flavor. It can also help ensure that cookies and cakes bake up moist and tender. The flip side is that desserts made with the low-fat powders, though still acceptable, tended to be dry. The only low-fat cocoa powder to land in the top half of our rankings was Hershey's, which may owe its high score to its familiar flavor. Our other favorites contained at least 20 percent fat, for rich, moist, flavorful cakes and cookies.

high-starch, low fat cocoa powder slurry that holds its shape next to a soft, runny cocoa powder slurry made with a low-starch, high fat product
The lower the fat content, the more starch cocoa powder contains. That moisture-absorbing starch results in baked goods that are drier and crumblier as compared with the chewy, fudgy consistency of those made with high-fat cocoa powder. To zero in on those differences, we performed a test with cocoa powder–water mixtures that were cooked to exactly the same temperature.

The Opposite of Fat Is . . . Starch?

Baking with a low-fat cocoa powder means risking dry baked goods—but not just because fat adds richness and helps prevent baked goods from drying out. Starch is a natural component of all chocolate and cocoa powder, and the less fat cocoa powder has, the more starch it contains. These starches are very absorbent; they're able to soak up 100 percent of their weight in moisture. By comparison, flour can absorb 60 percent of its weight. Like excess flour in a recipe, the extra cocoa starch present in low-fat powders traps moisture and makes for dry cakes and cookies. It's especially noticeable when recipes call for a high ratio of cocoa powder to flour, as with one of the chocolate sheet cakes we made.

To isolate the role of starch, we performed a simple experiment with all eight cocoas. We whisked together precise amounts of cocoa powder and water, transferred the slurries to bags and vacuum-sealed them, and heated the mixtures in a sous vide water bath to exactly 180 degrees, the temperature at which the starches in cocoa powder gel, or thicken. The differences were striking. Some were very firm and bouncy, like a memory foam pillow, and others were almost runny.

Of course, none of our desserts had been liquid-y or pillowy, but the results lined up nearly perfectly with the textural differences we'd noticed in the cookies and cakes. The cocoa powders that were the firmest in our experiment had lots of moisture-absorbing starch and made tall, airy cakes that tended to be dry; those that produced the runnier slurries had less starch and resulted in moist, fudgy cakes. The pattern was even more evident when we looked at the cookies. Using high-starch powders gave us cookies that rose and had crumbly, cakey textures. Cookies made with low-starch powders spread more, and the available moisture in the dough helped keep them chewy and fudgy. The difference in how much the cookies spread was dramatic. The cookies with the most starch averaged about 3.2 inches in diameter, compared with almost 3.8 inches for those with the least amount of starch—a difference of more than ½ inch. That's a big variation for a chocolate sugar cookie.

Buying the Best Cocoa Powder

By the end of testing, we realized that the old Dutched versus natural debate wasn't wrong but it also wasn't the whole story. The performance of cocoa powder is determined by a complex system of factors including pH, fat, and starch content. For moist and tender baked goods, we recommend buying a Dutch-processed cocoa powder that's high in fat and therefore low in moisture-absorbing starch. (If the nutrition label is all you have to go by, seek out a product with at least 1 gram of fat per 5-gram serving.)

piles of cocoa powder labeled with their brand names and whether they are Dutched, natural, or Dutched and low fat
Although a combination of factors determines how a cocoa powder performs, our three favorites were Dutch-processed.

Our top three scorers fell into this category. Each produced “moist” and “fudgy” cakes and cookies that struck the right balance between “chewy” and “tender.” The best of the bunch was our former runner-up (and longtime favorite Dutched product), Droste Cacao ($9.99 for 8.8 ounces), which has the right combination of factors to ensure decadent chocolate desserts with perfectly moist textures and the “sophisticated,” “complex” flavors of good espresso and fancy chocolate. It's well worth seeking out.

  • Bake in Chocolate Sugar Cookies, which doesn't specify Dutched or natural cocoa powder, then sample in blind tasting
  • Bake in Chocolate Sheet Cake, which calls for Dutched cocoa powder, then sample in blind tasting
  • Bake in Midnight Cake, which calls for natural cocoa powder, then sample in blind tasting
  • Send samples to independent lab for analysis of pH (a measure of acidity) and fat content
  • Cook cocoa powder slurry in sous vide water bath to exactly 180 degrees, the temperature at which starches in cocoa powder gel

  • Dutch-processed, or treated with an alkali solution, which mellows the powder's astringency, for a richer and earthier chocolate flavor
  • Lower acidity level, so the reaction with baking soda produces baked goods that tend to be moist and fudgy instead of tall and crumbly
  • Contains at least 20 percent fat (or a minimum of 1 gram per serving), for baked goods that are rich, flavorful, and less prone to dryness
  • High fat content, which correlates with less moisture-absorbing starch, so that baked goods are moist, fudgy, and less likely to taste dry

FAQs

Yes and no. We've got a whole article on the topic to explain.

04:32

America's Test KitchenCocoa PowderWatch Now

Everything We Tested

Recommended

WinnerDroste Cacao

Our longtime favorite Dutched supermarket cocoa powder was the clear overall winner. It has a high fat content and therefore has less starch, so cookies were “perfectly chewy and moist.” Cakes were very “moist,” “rich,” and “fudgy.” We also loved its dark color and “earthy,” “woodsy” chocolate flavor.
pH: 7.90Fat: 20.14%Style: DutchedPrice at Time of Testing: $9.99 for 8.8-oz package ($1.14 per oz)
Our longtime favorite Dutched supermarket cocoa powder was the clear overall winner. It has a high fat content and therefore has less starch, so cookies were “perfectly chewy and moist.” Cakes were very “moist,” “rich,” and “fudgy.” We also loved its dark color and “earthy,” “woodsy” chocolate flavor.
pH: 7.90Fat: 20.14%Style: DutchedPrice at Time of Testing: $9.99 for 8.8-oz package ($1.14 per oz)

Guittard Cocoa Rouge Cocoa Powder

Because this cocoa powder contains the most fat in our lineup, it also contains the least starch. As a result, it trapped less moisture than other powders and baked goods were delightfully decadent and “fudgy.” With less starch to absorb moisture and no acidity to react with the baking soda, it produced the widest and flattest cookies in our lineup. Cookies and cakes had “deeper chocolate flavor” that was reminiscent of good “espresso” and “molasses.”
pH: 7.22Fat: 22.09%Style: DutchedPrice at Time of Testing: $7.99 for 8-oz package ($1.00 per oz)
Because this cocoa powder contains the most fat in our lineup, it also contains the least starch. As a result, it trapped less moisture than other powders and baked goods were delightfully decadent and “fudgy.” With less starch to absorb moisture and no acidity to react with the baking soda, it produced the widest and flattest cookies in our lineup. Cookies and cakes had “deeper chocolate flavor” that was reminiscent of good “espresso” and “molasses.”
pH: 7.22Fat: 22.09%Style: DutchedPrice at Time of Testing: $7.99 for 8-oz package ($1.00 per oz)

Valrhona Cocoa Powder

The priciest cocoa powder in our lineup delivered “intense,” “rich chocolate flavor” in all three recipes. Some tasters even detected slightly “smoky,” “bitter” notes, which added complexity. Cookies were pleasantly tender and chewy, and cakes had a “brownie-like” and “velvety crumb.”
pH: 6.91Fat: 20.73%Style: DutchedPrice at Time of Testing: $14.99 for 8.82-oz package ($1.70 per oz)
The priciest cocoa powder in our lineup delivered “intense,” “rich chocolate flavor” in all three recipes. Some tasters even detected slightly “smoky,” “bitter” notes, which added complexity. Cookies were pleasantly tender and chewy, and cakes had a “brownie-like” and “velvety crumb.”
pH: 6.91Fat: 20.73%Style: DutchedPrice at Time of Testing: $14.99 for 8.82-oz package ($1.70 per oz)

Hershey's Natural Unsweetened Cocoa

By far our favorite natural cocoa powder, this product had “mild” yet pleasant chocolate flavor that “tasted familiar.” Cookies rose higher than with Dutched powders due to the combination of fairly high acidity and high levels of moisture-absorbing starch. Some tasters deemed the sheet cakes “light and almost airy.” Others on our panel thought they were “a little dry.”
pH: 5.36Fat: 10.97%Style: NaturalPrice at Time of Testing: $3.99 for 8-oz package ($0.50 per oz)
By far our favorite natural cocoa powder, this product had “mild” yet pleasant chocolate flavor that “tasted familiar.” Cookies rose higher than with Dutched powders due to the combination of fairly high acidity and high levels of moisture-absorbing starch. Some tasters deemed the sheet cakes “light and almost airy.” Others on our panel thought they were “a little dry.”
pH: 5.36Fat: 10.97%Style: NaturalPrice at Time of Testing: $3.99 for 8-oz package ($0.50 per oz)

Scharffen Berger Unsweetened Natural Cocoa Powder

Although it's high in fat, this natural cocoa powder couldn't compete with the high-fat Dutched cocoa powders. Its flavor was distinctly “bright” and “fruity,” and some tasters wanted “a bit more bitterness.” Desserts were “fluffy” and “light” and tended toward dryness.
pH: 5.51Fat: 21.54%Style: NaturalPrice at Time of Testing: $7.99 for 6-oz package ($1.33 per oz)
Although it's high in fat, this natural cocoa powder couldn't compete with the high-fat Dutched cocoa powders. Its flavor was distinctly “bright” and “fruity,” and some tasters wanted “a bit more bitterness.” Desserts were “fluffy” and “light” and tended toward dryness.
pH: 5.51Fat: 21.54%Style: NaturalPrice at Time of Testing: $7.99 for 6-oz package ($1.33 per oz)

Nestlé Toll House Baking Cocoa

Alongside boldly flavored samples, this inexpensive, low-fat cocoa powder tasted “mild,” “like milk chocolate.” Throughout our tastings, it produced “tall,” light-colored desserts that were a little more “crumbly” than our favorites.
pH: 5.73Fat: 11.46%Style: NaturalPrice at Time of Testing: $2.69 for 8-oz package ($0.34 per oz)
Alongside boldly flavored samples, this inexpensive, low-fat cocoa powder tasted “mild,” “like milk chocolate.” Throughout our tastings, it produced “tall,” light-colored desserts that were a little more “crumbly” than our favorites.
pH: 5.73Fat: 11.46%Style: NaturalPrice at Time of Testing: $2.69 for 8-oz package ($0.34 per oz)

Ghirardelli 100% Unsweetened Cocoa

Cakes and cookies made with this natural powder tasted “sweet” and “bright” but weren't as deeply chocolaty or intense as those made with higher-ranked products. Although the textures of the cakes and cookies were “perfectly OK,” we preferred products that combined big chocolate flavor and fudgy consistency.
pH: 5.57Fat: 20.51%Style: NaturalPrice at Time of Testing: $4.99 for 8-oz package ($0.62 per oz)
Cakes and cookies made with this natural powder tasted “sweet” and “bright” but weren't as deeply chocolaty or intense as those made with higher-ranked products. Although the textures of the cakes and cookies were “perfectly OK,” we preferred products that combined big chocolate flavor and fudgy consistency.
pH: 5.57Fat: 20.51%Style: NaturalPrice at Time of Testing: $4.99 for 8-oz package ($0.62 per oz)

Equal Exchange Organic Baking Cocoa

This was the only low-fat Dutch-processed cocoa in our lineup, and we missed the extra fat. Its “dark,” “deep,” almost “bitter” flavor earned mixed scores. While cookies made with it had “nice height” and tasters approved of one cake, the other cake was a little too dry.
pH: 6.88Fat: 11.95%Style: DutchedPrice at Time of Testing: $7.99 for 8-oz package ($1.00 per oz)
This was the only low-fat Dutch-processed cocoa in our lineup, and we missed the extra fat. Its “dark,” “deep,” almost “bitter” flavor earned mixed scores. While cookies made with it had “nice height” and tasters approved of one cake, the other cake was a little too dry.
pH: 6.88Fat: 11.95%Style: DutchedPrice at Time of Testing: $7.99 for 8-oz package ($1.00 per oz)

*All products reviewed by America’s Test Kitchen are independently chosen, researched, and reviewed by our editors. We buy products for testing at retail locations and do not accept unsolicited samples for testing. We list suggested sources for recommended products as a convenience to our readers but do not endorse specific retailers. When you choose to purchase our editorial recommendations from the links we provide, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices are subject to change.

Reviews You Can Trust

The mission of America’s Test Kitchen Reviews is to find the best equipment and ingredients for the home cook through rigorous, hands-on testing. Have a question or suggestion? Send us an email at atkreviews@americastestkitchen.com. We appreciate your feedback!

The Expert

byKate Shannon

Deputy Editor, ATK Reviews

Kate is a deputy editor for ATK Reviews. She's a culinary school graduate and former line cook and cheesemonger.

Kate Shannon is a deputy editor for ATK Reviews. She’s covered a wide variety of topics at America’s Test Kitchen, but she especially loves writing about cheese, pantry staples such as anchovies and kosher salt, and cleaning products. One of her proudest accomplishments is finding a life-changing kitchen sponge (really) and proving once and for all that it's a bad idea to leave a soggy sponge in the bottom of your sink. Prior to joining America’s Test Kitchen, she attended Boston University’s culinary program and worked as both a line cook and a cheesemonger.

Reviews You Can Trust.
See Why.

This is a members' feature.

America's Test Kitchen LogoCook's Country LogoCook's Illustrated Logo