Mocha recipe: aromatic coffee with chocolate

Rich, hot, aromatic coffee with chocolate—what could be better during the cold winter months? A mocha combines strong coffee with the wonderful aroma of hot chocolate. How do you prepare it, and which additions work well? Here are our suggestions.

A mocha is a milk-based coffee drink with chocolate. In the version described here, the milk is heated rather than frothed, although other café recipes use foamed milk.

There is no single agreed recipe. Some approaches mix sugar and cocoa into hot espresso before adding milk. Others use chocolate powder, chocolate syrup or chocolate pieces melted into milk. We recommend the last option.

Mocha recipe

For a glass of approximately 200 ml, you will need:

• About 50–60 ml of hot espresso, or strong coffee from a moka pot.
• About 140–150 ml of milk with chocolate melted into it. Use dark chocolate, milk chocolate or a mixture.
• Optional toppings: whipped cream, cinnamon, cocoa, chocolate syrup or ice cream.

These are approximate quantities. Aim for roughly one part coffee to two parts chocolate milk, adjusting to your glass and taste and leaving space for any topping.

Method

Start by warming the milk and melting the chocolate into it. You can use a water bath, a saucepan over gentle heat or a milk warmer. Heat the milk well without frothing it.

Add a few squares of chocolate and stir until melted. Decide the milk-to-chocolate ratio for yourself, starting with a modest amount and adding more to taste.

Pour the hot chocolate milk into the glass first, then slowly add the coffee. Stir gently to combine.

Whipped cream is a popular finishing touch, with cocoa or cinnamon sprinkled on top. You can also drizzle over a little chocolate syrup.

For an ice-cream variation, serve a scoop separately and pour the hot drink over it just before enjoying.

White chocolate and zebra mocha

If you love white chocolate, try melting it into the milk instead of dark or milk chocolate. White-chocolate syrup is another option. This version is usually sweeter, so be cautious with extra sugar and toppings.

For a “zebra” mocha, combine white- and dark-chocolate sauces or syrups to create a contrasting presentation.

A note on the names

Here, mocha means a coffee-and-chocolate drink. Related spellings such as “mocca” also appear in coffee names and historical trade terms; they are not a reliable universal botanical distinction. Moka, meanwhile, commonly refers to the Italian stovetop coffee maker.