Customer Reviews

Callebaut Baking Cocoa Powder 2.2lb. bag

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After Hershey decided to "improve" it's Dutch chocolate I had to find a replacement for my chocolate desserts. I brought every brand Amazon sold and tried them in my ice cream receipe. The taste just wasn't right, so I knew the cakes, pies and other desserts would be a disappointment to a family of chocoholics until I tried Callebaut. The taste is what you want for ice cream, and no one could believe I could make a better devil's food cake than I already did. So don't waste your time or money, stick with a proven winner!

When Hershey decided to change their Dutch Process cocoa powder around 2004, I was compelled to find a replacement that was as good. I tried every cocoa powder out there and nothing was as good. About a year later, Cooks Illustrated did a taste test on cocoa powder and Callebaut came out on top (January 2005). I found it online and decided to order it even though it came in a large quantity and it was a bit pricey. I have never used any other cocoa powder since. It is fantastic and worth it. I get huge compliments on all of my chocolate recipes and I know it is the Callebaut cocoa. Your brownies will never taste as good with any other cocoa powder. Your homemade hot chocolate will be the envy of all the kids in the neighborhood. I find ways to use the quantity within a year and no one complains!

I did a side by side comparison between this and the Frontier Dutch Cocoa Powder I had on hand and all 10 of the people I fed the chocolate cookies to chose the Callebaut and said it was WAY better.

"Our top performer won raves for balance and rich chocolate flavor" states America's Test Kitchen.
The only problem I have is finding it other than on-line.
Delicious and worth the effort. The very best cocoa I've ever tasted--both for drinking and baking.
[...]

I have used every brand of cocoa available. Some of the best (and cheapest) I've used are A&P's Master Choice Premium and the no longer available Hersey's European Style with the silver label. I prefer dutch processed cocoa and found Callebaut was not quite as good as Bensdorf, available from King Arthur Flour online.

This is the best cocoa powder I've used. I had tried supermaket brands before and the best of those was Ghirardelli. That's good, but this is terrific. It has a wonderful deep chocolate flavor. I make my own chocolate syrup and it comes out wonderful with Callebaut. It even has a deeper darker color. Everyone noticed the improvement. This makes a great hot chocolate too. And it improves baked items. It's all I'll use from now on.

I wanted to try this Callebaut Cocoa Powder after it was top-rated by America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Illustrated (they never let me down!). It is great. It is a very large bag so I wouldn't buy it if you just bake occasionally, but I'm guessing you wouldn't be here in that case anyway :) It is also a lot messier than the old Hershey's cans because the side of the bag is coated with plastic so the chocolate sticks to it and all over the inside of the bag. I just store my bag of cocoa powder inside of the storage bag it was shipped in (bag inside of a bag) and it keeps all chocolate off my cupboards and shelves. I do get chocolate all over my hands every time I need to measure some out, though, and end up washing my hands multiple times to avoid transferring it to the outside of the bag and the rest of my kitchen. However, I will still buy it again; it is worth the quality to me, if you can afford it. Sorry to ramble about the mess; otherwise its great!!

I've been making a simple hot cocoa recipe to try various cocoa powders, and I hadn't found one that impressed me until I tried the Callebaut powder. The flavor is rich, deep, and complex. Plus, the powder is very fine, and it dissolved well in hot water/milk.

Note: When I ordered it, it was "Prime Eligible, fulfilled by Amazon." Right now, it's not eligible, which increases the cost by almost 40%. But I'd still probably pay for it, because this stuff is so much better than the competition.

I've reviewed this cocoa previously because I buy it periodically. It's the only cocoa I'll buy. It was rated the best cocoa by the testers on America's Test Kitchen television program (Cooks Illustrated magazine), and it lives up to that rating. It's smooth, with no burned or harsh aftertaste. It's expensive, but worth every penny.

Excellent taste and smell. The Callebaut smells like good chocolate with no hint of an acrid chemical smell. I've noticed that smell in other (even more expensive) brands. The taste is a beautifully rich and redolant of fine chocolate. It has a silk like mouth feel - no grit. It's the best cocoa powder in my experience.