7 Best Cocoa Powders in India 2021 - Buying Guide Reviewed by Nutritionist

Ruchi Wadhwa is a certified Nutritionist with a keen interest in Ayurvedic sciences. She has a wholesome, holistic, and sustainable approach to nutrition. Check out our Food and drinks section as more articles are reviewed by expert Ruchi Wadhwa.

From Sattvic Foods to Hershey's, here are our seven recommendations for the best cocoa powders you can buy online in India. We will discuss more on the various types of cocoa powders later in this article. Keep reading!

It is bitter and may not taste the way you expect. But there are so many benefits to eating dishes made with cocoa powder or simply a hot chocolate drink. It has a high fiber content. Almost all of the products we have listed above contain approx. 30% fiber. It helps with digestion, promotes good bowel movement, and feeds the healthy gut microbiome.

The polyphenols present in cocoa have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This improves your heart health, regulates blood sugar levels, and also provides anti-aging benefits. Eating cocoa powder has some psychological benefits too. If you are feeling depressed, grab a bar of dark chocolate or make yourself a hot chocolate drink.

It will make you feel happier and also improve your cognitive function and memory. Add cocoa powder to your weight-loss diet. It helps your body metabolize dietary fat in a better way to keep you thin. But these benefits are not the same across all types of cocoa powders and store-bought cookies and chocolate bars.

Keep reading to learn the difference between cocoa powder and cacao powder, how alkalization changes the flavor and nutritional content of cocoa powder, the significance of the amount of fat in cocoa powders, and many more from the sections below. This buying guide is reviewed by nutritionist Ruchi Wadhwa, so keep reading!

You can classify cocoa powders depending on the type of process it goes through. Find out the difference between natural, dutch-processed, and dark cocoa powder from the sections below.

Natural cocoa powder. a comparatively higher amount of antioxidants and flavonoids compared to the varieties. And because of its acidic nature, the cocoa powder will react with baking soda in your recipe, making your cake or cookies rise. The resulting baked goods will be drier with an airy texture. 

This type is bitter, has a more intense flavor, and is best suited for recipes with cocoa powder as the main ingredient. Natural cocoa powder is also called non-alkalized cocoa powder since it doesn't go through the alkalization process. If you want more of the nutritious benefits of cocoa to be present in your baked goods or chocolate drinks, we recommend going for natural cocoa powder.

After the cocoa beans are sun-dried and ground, it is treated with an alkaline solution that neutralizes its acidity to an extent. This is how dutch-processed cocoa is made. It is less bitter and has a more "chocolatey" flavor compared to natural cocoa powder. The process also makes the cocoa powder darker or reddish-brown.

If your recipe requires cocoa powder just to enhance the taste of the dish and not to overpower other flavors, you can use dutch-processed cocoa powder. Also, since there is very little acidity left in the cocoa powder, it won't react much with baking soda, resulting in less rise and fudgier pastries and cookies.

Ultra-dutched, dark, or black cocoa powder is made by treating ground cocoa beans with an alkaline solution until all the acidity is gone. This heavily dutched cocoa powder is almost black with very less nutritional value and completely non-bitter. You can use it as a coloring agent for brownies and cakes.

Sometimes you will not find black cocoa to have any cocoa or chocolate taste at all. But manufacturers have found a way to overcome this drawback of the ultra-dutching process—by manipulating the fat content of the final product. Find out the significance of fat content in the cocoa powder from the next section.

Another way of classifying cocoa powders is based on the amount of fat present in them. Low-fat cocoa powders have fat content between 10% - 12%, while high-fat cocoa powders have 21% - 24%. Fat carries flavor too. You will find high-fat cocoa powders to have significantly more flavor than low-fat cocoa powders.

We found that brands rarely mention whether their product is high-fat or low-fat, so check the nutrition information to determine the fat content. Cookies and cakes made with high-fat cocoa powder will be moister and darker. Yes, the fat content is also responsible for the color of the cocoa powder.

As you already know, the alkalization process destroys the cocoa flavor. So manufacturers reduce the amount of cocoa butter they press out of the ground and treated cocoa beans. Compared to low-fat, dutch-processed cocoa powder, high-fat cocoa powder will have a more intense cocoa flavor. Following a keto diet for weight loss? Go for cookies and brownies made with high-fat cocoa powder.

Here is another classification for cocoa powders—sweetened and unsweetened. If the ingredients list says 100% cocoa powder, it means the cocoa powder is unsweetened. Those who have tried and loved real cocoa should go for unsweetened cocoa powder. You will have more control over the amount of sweetening agent you decide to add to your recipe.

Sweetened cocoa powders are mostly chocolate drink mixes. You can add them to hot milk or water, stir and drink it directly. Most recipes on the internet usually require the use of unsweetened cocoa powder, but if you have the expertise or enjoy experimenting, go ahead and use it in your milkshakes, brownies, pies, tiramisu, and tarts.

You don't have to go through any tedious process to prepare some confectionery desserts when you get chocolate cravings. Here is a simple recipe that uses just two ingredients—cocoa powder and condensed milk to prepare a decadent chocolate truffle. Nino, the chef in this video, breaks down the cooking process into four:

1. Heating condensed milk
2. Mixing cocoa powder
3. Refrigerating, and
4. Garnishing

How about some healthy, energizing, and immunity-boosting drinks to freshen you up? Click on the links below to find out our ten recommendations and buying guides for the best summer drinks, coffee brands, and giloy juice brands available to buy online in India. Remember to consume these in moderation, so you get the maximum benefits without any side effects.

Now you are well-versed in the types of cocoa powders and their health benefits. Here is everything in a nutshell. Cacao powder is different from cocoa powder since it is not subjected to high heat processing. Thus cacao powder contains more nutrients than cocoa powder. But roasting changes the flavor profile and makes cocoa powder more chocolatey.

Go for a natural cocoa powder since it has flavor as well as a better nutrition profile. But it is bitter and may require you to use sugar, honey, or other sweetening agents. Alkalization reduces the bitterness and makes the cocoa powder darker. Black cocoa powder is heavily dutched, so it is not at all bitter, while regular dutch processed cocoa powder is slightly bitter with a more intense chocolate flavor.

Author - Arun F Xaviour