Mocha coffee, or simply a mocha, is espresso, chocolate and steamed milk. If you like a latte and you like hot chocolate, it's the two in one cup.
It's one of the sweetest café coffees, which makes it a good start if plain coffee tastes too bitter to you. Among the types of coffee built on espresso and milk, it's the dessert-like one.
What is mocha coffee?
A cafe mocha is espresso mixed with chocolate and steamed milk, often topped with whipped cream. It's roughly 1 part espresso, 1 part chocolate and 4 parts milk, so think of it as a latte with chocolate. It tastes like a creamy, chocolatey coffee, and it's sweeter than a latte.
The chocolate can be cocoa powder, chocolate syrup or melted chocolate. You can have a mocha hot, or iced over cold milk.
Mocha meaning: where the name comes from
The name comes from Al Mokha, or Mocha, a port in Yemen where coffee was traded from the 15th century, according to BBC Good Food. Beans shipped from there were sold as mocha. Today the word means coffee with chocolate.
Mocha coffee recipe
For one mug:
- 60 ml espresso (a double shot), or the same amount of very strong moka pot coffee, or 4 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 4 tbsp (60 ml) hot water
- 2 tsp cocoa powder
- 1–2 tsp sugar (or about 1 tbsp chocolate syrup in place of the cocoa and sugar)
- About 150 ml full-fat milk
- Whipped cream to top, if you like
A moka pot is a stovetop brewer that makes strong, concentrated coffee. Espresso is traditional, but very strong instant or moka pot coffee works well, as BBC Food's mocha recipe shows.
How to make mocha coffee at home
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Put the cocoa and sugar in your mug. Stir in 1–2 tbsp of the hot coffee to make a smooth paste. Dry cocoa stirred straight into a full mug forms lumps.
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Add the rest of the coffee and stir until smooth.
- Heat the milk until it steams, about 60–65°C, and take it off before it boils. Froth it with a steam wand, a French press, a shaken jar or a handheld frother. You can also whisk the hot milk hard in the pan until it's foamy.
- Pour the milk into the mug, holding back some of the foam with a spoon.
- Spoon the foam on top, or add whipped cream and a light dusting of cocoa.
Taste it before adding more sugar. The chocolate already sweetens it.
Iced mocha coffee
For an iced mocha coffee, make the cocoa-coffee paste the same way while the coffee is hot, so the cocoa and sugar dissolve. Fill a tall glass with ice, pour in 150 ml cold milk, then add the mocha mix and stir.
For a frothy mocha cold coffee, put the same ingredients in a blender with the ice and blend until foamy, the way you'd make our cold coffee.
What is a white mocha?
A white mocha is made with white chocolate, usually a syrup, in place of regular chocolate. It's sweeter and creamier than a regular mocha.
Mocha vs latte vs cappuccino
| Drink | What's in it | How it tastes |
|---|---|---|
| Latte | espresso with about 3 times as much steamed milk and a thin foam | creamy, mild |
| Mocha | a latte with chocolate | sweet, chocolatey |
| Cappuccino | equal parts espresso, steamed milk and milk foam | stronger, foamy |
If you want the same creaminess without chocolate, try a latte. For more coffee taste and lots of foam, go for a cappuccino.
Mocha FAQs
Is mocha just coffee with chocolate?
Mostly, yes. It's espresso with chocolate and a lot of steamed milk, so it's closer to a chocolate latte than to black coffee with chocolate stirred in.
Is mocha a strong coffee?
Not really. It has the same espresso as a latte, but the milk and chocolate soften it, so it tastes mild and sweet.
Is mocha sweet?
Usually, yes, from the chocolate and the sugar. Made with unsweetened cocoa and no extra sugar, it tastes more like dark chocolate.
Is mocha hot or cold?
Both. The classic mocha is hot, and iced mocha and mocha cold coffee are the cold versions.
Make it your way
Adjust the cocoa and sugar until it's as sweet or as dark as you like. For a less sweet mocha, use a little more cocoa and skip the sugar.