"When doing my research, I ended up going down the biggest rabbit hole of cocoa information I could ever have imagined. For instance, many cocoa powders have been alkalized, which means that they've been treated with potassium carbonate. This allows for changes to be made in acidity level, color, and flavor. And there is more than one alkalization process that can be done, which adds another level to the cocoa processing."
"When it comes to Ghirardelli and Hershey's, neither of them is alkalized. So, that is not going to account for any difference in color or taste between those two. When looking at them, they look nearly identical, although Hershey's was a bit more clumpy, whereas Ghirardelli was finer. They even had the same visual effects on the hot cocoa I made when comparing the two."
Cocoa powders can be alkalized with potassium carbonate to alter acidity, color, and flavor, and multiple alkalization methods exist. Ghirardelli and Hershey's cocoa powders are not alkalized, producing similar visual appearance and similar effects when made into hot cocoa. Hershey's powder appeared slightly more clumpy while Ghirardelli was finer. Both brands are widely available at grocery retailers. Ghirardelli sold as 100% cocoa cost $6.89 for 8 ounces, while Hershey's labeled as 100% cacao cost $5.29 for 8 ounces, a labeling distinction that suggests different processing and acidity.
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