The colour characteristics of paprika powder with different moisture contents were analysed. The colour, determined by using the CIELab colour system, was measured with a Minolta CR-300 tristimulus colorimeter. We investigated several quality Hungarian paprika powders. The moisture contents of these paprika powders were increased by 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5% relative to the initial sample. Increase of moisture content caused significant change in L*, b*, and colour values. The moisture content increase of 3-5% caused decrease of hue angle by 2-4°, decrease of lightness coordinate by 1.5-2 unit, and decrease of chroma by 1.5-2 unit. The colour difference calculated between the initial samples and the samples with various added moisture contents crossed over the minimum perceptible (threshold) of total colour difference 1.5, when added moisture was 3-5%.