There are two types of cocoa powder, natural and Dutch processed.
Natural cocoa powder tends to be acidic and in many cases, harsh because inferior quality cocoa beans are often used to produce it.
Dutch-processed cocoa powder has been treated to reduce its alkali.
Adding alkali to natural cocoa powder mellows its flavor and darkens its color.
The process adding alkali to cocoa powder was discovered in the early nineteenth century by Coenraad Van Houten, who was Dutch: that’s the reason this type of coca is known as Dutch processed cocoa powder.
Van Houten patented a press that removed most of the bitter fat which accounts for more than half the weight, from the ground, roasted beans.
Through the use of Van Houten’s invention, two distinct products were produced: a hard cacao cake and cacao butter.
Processing of Cocoa Powder
