eng Enviro Research Publishers Current Research in Nutrition and Food Science Journal 2347-467X 2322-0007 2025-08-25 13 2 849 860 10.12944/CRNFSJ.13.2.21 23797 article Wattana Wirivutthikorn 1 Department of Agro Industrial Technology, Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi (RMUTT), Thanyaburi, Pathum Thani, Thailand. Cocoa and chili are important economic plants with important bioactive compounds that are beneficial to the body and are suitable for development into health drinks. This research aimed to study the appropriate amount of chili powder in ready-to-drink cocoa powder products for the optimal physical, chemical, microbiological and sensory characteristics that are acceptable to consumers by using chili powder at 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3%. It was found that the ready-to-drink chili powder cocoa beverage with 0.3% chili powder had the highest brightness (L*), redness (+a*) and yellowness (+b*) values, which were 27.60, 44.11 and 37.13, respectively. The highest value of total soluble solid (control) or 0.0% of chili powder was 25°Brix. The total acidity percentages using the amounts of chili powder at 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3% were not significantly different (p>0.05). The water solubility value using the amounts of chili powder 0.3% had the highest value of 7.92%, which was the most soluble solid due to low moisture content. The moisture content and fat content using the amount of chili powder 0.3% had the lowest values of 4.10 and 1.13%, respectively, which meant that the product was dry and had low fat content. The microbiological analysis results did not find bacteria exceeding the standard criteria in all treatments. The sensory quality of the amount of chili powder that was acceptable less than the control treatment from the panelists found that the taste and overall fondness of the treatment using 0.1% had higher fondness scores than using 0.2 and 0.3% chili powder, indicating that 0.1% was the most appropriate amount and accepted by consumers. The food industry could use the data from this research to develop healthy drinks for consumers. https://www.foodandnutritionjournal.org/volume13number2/product-development-of-ready-to-drink-cocoa-powder-incorporated-with-chili-powder/ Chili Cocoa Development Powder Product Ready to Drink