Cocoa powder is a direct product of the nib of the cacao bean. After the nib of the bean has been exposed, fermented, and roasted, it is ground, resulting in cocoa liquor. Cocoa liquor is processed further to separate out most of the cocoa butter and a dry, crumbly chocolate is left. This dry, crumbly chocolate is dried completely to produce cocoa powder. If Dutch cocoa powder is the end product, alkali is added to the chocolate, yielding a mildly flavored powder.