Most of the cocoa in the world has been treated with an alkali solution before it reaches you. It is called Dutch processing, or "Dutching," and it is the single biggest reason two tins that both say "cocoa" can differ in flavanol content by roughly nine to one.
What Dutch processing actually is
In the 1820s a Dutch chocolate maker, Coenraad van Houten, found that washing cocoa nibs in an alkaline solution (typically potassium carbonate) made the resulting powder darker, milder, less acidic, and easier to mix into liquid. The industry never looked back. Dutched cocoa is what gives Oreos their black color and what makes hot chocolate mixes dissolve without clumping.
The trade-off is chemical. Cocoa flavanols are sensitive to pH. Raise the pH and they degrade. The more aggressive the alkalization, the more you lose.
The numbers
The clearest data comes from a 2008 study by Miller and colleagues at Hershey's research center, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. They measured total flavanols in commercial cocoa powders grouped by how heavily they had been alkalized:
| Cocoa powder | Average total flavanols | Roughly retained |
|---|---|---|
| Natural (not alkalized) | 34.6 mg per gram | 100% |
| Lightly Dutched | 13.8 mg per gram | about 40% |
| Medium Dutched | 7.8 mg per gram | about 25% |
| Heavily Dutched | 3.9 mg per gram | about 10% |
Put that in a cup. A 5 gram tablespoon of natural cocoa carries around 170 mg of flavanols. The same tablespoon of heavily Dutched cocoa carries around 20 mg. To hit the 200 mg that the EFSA blood-flow claim is based on, you would need one heaping tablespoon of natural cocoa, or about ten of the Dutched kind.
How to tell which one you are holding
- Read the ingredient list. "Cocoa processed with alkali," "alkalized cocoa," or "Dutch-process cocoa" all mean the same thing. If the ingredient just says "cocoa" or "cacao," it is probably natural, but the only way to be sure is a flavanol number.
- Look at the color. Natural cocoa is a warm reddish brown. Dutched cocoa runs from dark brown to nearly black. The blacker the powder, the harder it was processed.
- Taste it. Natural cocoa is sharper, fruitier, slightly acidic. Dutched cocoa is smooth and mellow. That smoothness is the flavor of flavanols leaving.
- Check the pH if a brand publishes it. Natural cocoa sits around pH 5 to 6. Dutched cocoa is 7 or above.
Why almost every brand Dutches anyway
Because it is better for everything except flavanols. Dutched cocoa dissolves cleanly, tastes milder, looks richer in photos, and has a longer, more predictable shelf life. If you are making a candy bar or a boxed brownie mix, Dutching is the right call. If you are selling cocoa for its flavanols and still Dutching it, you are selling the color of the thing without the thing.
Does "raw cacao" solve it?
Partly. "Raw" or "cacao" labeling usually means un-alkalized, which is the main win. But raw cacao is often unfermented or lightly fermented and roasted at low temperatures, which affects flavor more than flavanols, and it does nothing about heavy metals. Un-Dutched is the requirement. Raw is a preference.
What we do
Our cacao is never alkalized. That is why it tastes like real chocolate with a bite instead of a hot chocolate packet, and it is why we can print 500 mg of cocoa flavanols per serving on the tin. It is also why the tin says "un-Dutched" on the front in plain English instead of hiding it. The processing is the whole story, so we put it where you can see it.
Read how we handle the rest of the process on The Science, or go straight to the cacao itself.
Sources
- Miller KB, Hurst WJ, Payne MJ, et al. "Impact of Alkalization on the Antioxidant and Flavanol Content of Commercial Cocoa Powders." J Agric Food Chem 2008;56(18):8527-8533.
- EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies. Scientific Opinion on cocoa flavanols and maintenance of normal endothelium-dependent vasodilation. EFSA Journal 2012;10(7):2809.