Cocoa powder is a mixture of many substances remaining after cocoa butter is extracted from cacao beans. When sold as an end product, it may also be called cocoa powder or cocoa. In contrast, the fatty component of chocolate is cocoa butter. Cocoa butter is 50% to 57% of the weight of cocoa beans and gives chocolate its characteristic melting properties. Cocoa liquor or cocoa mass is a paste of roasted cocoa beans with cocoa butter and solids in their natural proportions. Chocolate requires the addition of extra cocoa butter to cocoa liquor, leading to an excess of cocoa solids and thus a relatively cheap supply of cocoa powder. This contrasts with the earliest European usage of cocoa where, before milk and dark chocolate was popularized, cocoa powder was the primary product and cocoa butter was little more than a waste product.
Cocoa powder is one of the richest sources of flavone antioxidants. They are a key ingredient of chocolate, chocolate syrup, and chocolate confections.
Physical and Chemical Characteristics:
| pH | 7.2 – 7.6 |
| Fat Content (%) | 10 –12 |
| Fineness, (%< 75µm) | 99.75min. (wet method, through 200 mesh sieve) |
| Moisture (%) | 5.0 max. |
| Shell Content (%) | 1.75max (Shell in Nib after Winnowing) |
| Colour | Up to standard |
| Flavour | Up to standard |
Microbiological Characteristics:
| Total Plate Count / g | 3,000 max. |
| Yeast & Mold / g | 50 max. |
| Enterobacteriaceae / g | Negative |
| Coliforms / g | Negative |
| E. coli / g | Negative |
| Salmonellae / 100g | Negative |
Packing:
25kg pasted valve paper bag, which has 3-ply SCL HP where the second ply is with PE coated and a layer of thermos valve coating.
