Natural Chocolate Was Originally a Deep Red Color

Picture chocolate in your mind and you probably see rich brown. But the original chocolate, made from unprocessed cocoa beans, was actually a deep shade of red. In 1821, color nomenclature guides listed 'Chocolate Red' as a specific shade—described as a veinous blood red mixed with a little brownish red. The transformation came in 1828 when Dutch chemist Coenraad van Houten discovered how to make powdered chocolate by removing half the natural cacao butter and treating the mixture with alkaline salts. This 'Dutch cocoa' was darker brown and less bitter than natural cocoa. Because it was cheaper and sweeter, it quickly became popular, and our color association shifted to match. Even today, traces of chocolate's red past linger in our language—devil's food cake got its name from the reddish tint of cakes made with natural cocoa.