What Is the Best Way to Measure the Color of Cocoa Powder?

For those who love the sweeter things in life, cocoa powder is a must-have pantry staple. Whether it's a necessary ingredient in baking or a finishing touch on the sweetest confections, many people buy cocoa powder at some point in their life. Therefore, they know exactly what it's meant to look like.

Though cocoa powder can come in a range of shades, anything too out of the ordinary may be perceived as low quality or expired, driving consumers to new brands to find their next container. Measuring the color of your cocoa powder helps maintain quality assurance and keeps your processes running as they should.

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:

1. Natural
2. Dutch process
3. 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.

Measure Cocoa Powder Color With ColorFlex EZ

Spectrophotometers are ideal for any facility looking to improve product consistency and quality assurance for its consumers. If the ColorFlex EZ is the right choice for your cocoa powder color measurement needs, contact HunterLab today. Our team is standing by to give you a quote and answer all your questions about color gauging and how it can help you start improving your sales.