Rheological Behaviour of Cocoa Dispersions

The steady‐shear viscosities of cocoa mass and cocoa suspensions were measured over a wide range of temperature and cocoa powder content. The effects of gasification, moisture and lecithin contents were also investigated. The viscosity of cocoa mass followed the Quemada or the Casson model. Both viscosity and yield stress decreased with increasing temperature. Degasification also lowered the viscosity and yield stress. The viscosity of concentrated cocoa suspension increased with increasing powder content and exhibited shear‐thinning behaviour, and followed the Kreiger and Dougherty model. While the relative intrinsic viscosity was nearly constant, the maximum volume fraction increased with increasing shear stress or shear rate. Addition of moisture in suspension increased the viscosity due to partial gelation of starch; while addition of lecithin decreased the viscosity due to the lesser number of flocs in the suspension.