4 best recipes for making Mocha coffee (+ variety description)

When talking about mocha, you can mean both a famous type of coffee and the name of a popular drink.

The variety got its name from the Yemeni province, where coffee beans were first grown and collected, giving the drinks brewed from them a pleasant chocolate taste and aroma. Today, this variety is widely grown not only in Yemen, but also on coffee plantations in other countries. Being one of the elite varieties of Arabica, real mocha coffee has a high price and is not found in every store.

In addition to the variety of coffee beans, the name mocha also has a cocktail, for the preparation of which traditionally strong coffee, milk and chocolate are used (in some recipes it is replaced with cocoa). This drink can also be called mochaccino or chocolate latte.

Losing some of its invigorating properties due to the addition of chocolate and milk, mocha has a mild warming effect and is perfect for evening gatherings with family or close friends. You can get to know its unusual taste not only by visiting a good coffee shop, but also by starting to prepare this wonderful drink at home.

History of mocha coffee

In the 15th–16th centuries, when plantations had not yet been established in the New World, Yemen had a monopoly trade in coffee. Arabica, which was grown in this country, had a chocolate flavor. Yemeni coffee was transported to Turkey through the port of Mocha (al-Mocha). Over time, the Yemeni Arabica variety began to be called Mocha. This variety is still considered one of the best.

Residents of the United States are known for their passion for coffee and milkshakes. In the 1980s, an unknown barista prepared something between a latte and a cappuccino, but with more chocolate. By analogy with cappuccino, the drink was dubbed mochaccino (mochaccino, mochachino, there is no established spelling yet). Sweet tooths all over the world love the new dessert cocktail. Its name is sometimes shortened to mocha or mocha.

Where does the name mocha come from and what does it mean?

Back in ancient times, there was a monopoly on the supply of coffee. Its homeland is considered to be the Mokha province in Yemen. Only merchants from the Yemeni coffee province of Mokha distributed dried beans throughout their region. Local residents tried their best to prevent coffee beans from getting to strangers.

Today, the word “Mocha” refers to any type of coffee from Yemen.

Where did coffee plantations come from in Yemen? Researchers are still debating this issue. One group of scientists believes that coffee plantations grew here without human help, while another claims that the Arabs themselves planted coffee trees in this mountainous area near the city of Al-Mokha.

The decision to use coffee plantations for profit was made by Sheikh Saadi. Plantations began to reach the sea, where the ruler built a port. Thus, he connected Yemen with Europe and established coffee exports. Almost until the beginning of the 18th century, mocha was the only type of coffee that was supplied to the Old World.

It is interesting that coffee was supplied to Europe in the form of dried beans, so that foreigners would not reveal the secret of the drink.

Once the Europeans received fresh coffee beans, the city of Al Moha was no longer the only supplier of coffee. The name "mocha" comes from the name of the city of Al-Mokha, which Europeans used to call coffee beans from Yemen. What is "mocha"? This is a variety of Arabica.

Ingredients

Chocolate and dairy products hide the subtle notes in the taste and aroma of coffee, so it makes no sense to spend expensive single-origin Arabica beans on a moccacino. The sweetness of chocolate dominates not only the delicate sourness of Arabica, but also the bitterness of Robusta. The coffee base can be brewed from any blend: inexpensive 100% Arabica or a blend with Robusta.

Medium or dark roasting is preferable: the taste of lightly roasted beans will be “lost” against the background of milk and chocolate. Grinding depends on how the coffee base is prepared. In cafes, mocha is made from double espresso, but at home you can use any black coffee. True, with instant coffee, moccacino will not be as tasty as with natural coffee.

The coffee base is brewed in soft, unboiled water with a mineralization of 75–250 mg/l.

Any chocolate can be used to make mocha coffee. The difference in calorie content between dark and milk chocolate is small, and the drink as a whole is so high in calories that it makes no sense to limit yourself by giving up dark chocolate in favor of milk.

Some mocha recipes froth the milk, others do not. If the recipe requires milk to be frothed, it is better that it has a fat content in the range of 2.5–3.2%.

Sometimes mocha is decorated with whipped cream. You can use natural cream of any fat content or vegetable cream from a can.

Homemade mocha recipe

First, you need to understand some important points and subtleties in order to prepare a good and tasty mocha at home.
It is better to use Arabica coffee, but other coffee is also possible. The main thing is that the coffee is of high quality, natural and freshly ground (if possible). Of course, you can use instant coffee, but it is obvious that the taste, aroma and benefits of the drink will be lower and worse than when using bean coffee.

As mentioned above, it is better to grind coffee before cooking and store it in beans so that it opens during cooking and imparts all its taste and aroma to the drink.

When brewing in a Turkish coffee pot, it is important to strain the coffee before adding it to other ingredients to avoid any grains getting into the finished drink.

Mocha is best served in tall glass glasses, such as an Irish glass. It is worth pouring each layer carefully so as not to mix them. This must be done in the order indicated in the recipe.

And finally, the “cherry on the cake” is decoration. It is customary to sprinkle mocha with grated chocolate or cinnamon, as well as a mixture of both.

There are a lot of recipes for making mocha. Of course, it would be correct to consider the classic recipe first.

Ingredients for making a classic mocha for one person:

• fine ground coffee – 7-10 grams;
• chilled water – 35-50 milliliters;
• cold milk – 50 milliliters;
• hot chocolate (bitter) – 50 milliliters;
• whipped cream – 50 grams;
• grated chocolate (bitter) – 10-15 grams;
• vanillin, sugar, cinnamon - to taste.

Characteristics of mocha coffee

Moccaccino consists of several layers and looks very impressive, so the drink is prepared in tall transparent glasses. If the moccacino is warm, the glass is heated; for iced mocha, it is cooled.

Arabic mocha

What can you say about this type of coffee? It is mega rich, strong, invigorating, perfectly energizing for the whole day. It is not recommended to drink at night, because going to bed after Arabic coffee will be difficult. The Arabs know a lot about coffee; it was they who began exporting coffee beans to other countries. Interestingly, for many years the port city of Moss, the birthplace of mocha, held a monopoly in the field of coffee, as it sold only carefully dried seeds to visiting merchants and did not allow visitors to local plantations. However, one enterprising stranger managed to steal a handful of fresh grains and plant them in India. So, mocha beans began to be received all over the world.

You will need:

• 3 tsp mocha seeds;
• 2 tsp Sahara;
• ice;
• 50 ml. water;
• Salt.

How to cook:

1. Roast the mocha beans and grind them.
2. Mix sugar with water.
3. Place crushed grains in a Turk and fill with sweet water.
4. Let it cook. As soon as foam forms on the surface, remove from heat, wait until the foam subsides and return to heat. This process is repeated 2-3 times.
5. Place an ice cube in the brewed coffee.
6. After pouring the drink into the coffee cup, sprinkle salt on top.

Classic mocha recipe (moccaccino)

Ingredients:

• 50 ml black coffee (or double espresso);
• 50 ml milk +1 tbsp. l. to melt the chocolate;
• 60 g chocolate;
• 15–20 g whipped cream (optional);
• sugar - to taste.

Preparation

1. Grind 10 g of chocolate.
2. Melt 50 g of chocolate with 1 tbsp in a water bath. l. milk.
3. Pour the melted chocolate into the glass.
4. Brew black coffee (sweeten if necessary) and pour it into a glass. Do not stir.
5. Froth the cold milk with a cappuccino maker (must heat up to +65 °C).
6. Using the blade of a knife, pour the milk over the coffee.
7. If the cream is natural, whip it (with sugar) into a stiff foam.
8. Spread the cream on top of the milk.
9. Sprinkle with grated chocolate.

In this case, the coffee layer will be clearly separated from the milk layer. It is not necessary to add cream, although the drink tastes better with it. Melted chocolate can be replaced with chocolate syrup.

There is another option for making mocha coffee: pour whipped milk over the chocolate, then pour in a thin stream of coffee, which mixes with the milk and still contrasts in color with the snow-white milk foam.

Making mocha coffee: how to make mocha at home

1. Coffee is brewed in a convenient and familiar way (in a coffee maker, Turkish coffee maker, geyser coffee maker). You need to brew espresso - use the classic brewing method. Let's look at the process of making espresso from mocha coffee beans.

As mentioned earlier, it is better to use freshly ground, strongly roasted beans; you can also add a little robusta to them to make the coffee stronger, but not more than 15-20% of the total volume. The water should be at least filtered, but it is better to use bottled water.

In a coffee machine: coffee beans are placed and tamped, water is added, the coffee maker is turned on and after 20-30 seconds the espresso is ready.

In a geyser coffee maker: add coffee, pour in water, put the geyser on low heat and let it sit until ready.

In the Turk: first we heat the Turk itself, then pour coffee into it, heat it until heat and aroma appear, add water and bring this mixture to a boil. At the moment of boiling, remove the Turk, mix the contents, return to the stove, bring to a boil again, remove from the heat and let it brew under a saucer.

1. Melt the chocolate in a water bath, remove the structure from the heat, but do not remove the container from the water bath until the remaining ingredients are prepared - so that the chocolate does not harden again.
2. We heat the milk, but do not boil.
3. Pour the melted chocolate into an Irish glass, pour the milk on top using a bar spoon, but be very careful not to mix the layers. Pour the brewed (strained, if necessary) espresso over the milk (with the same spoon).
4. Decorate the finished mocha with whipped cream, prepared yourself or bought in a store in a can, and sprinkle with grated chocolate and cinnamon to taste.

P.S. Sugar and vanillin are added to brewed espresso. When preparing in a Turk, sugar is added to dry coffee during heating without water.

Interesting to know - what is coffee latte?

White (white) mocha

The ingredients are the same as for the classic one, only instead of bitter chocolate, white chocolate is used in the main composition, and you can use any chocolate for sprinkling.

Mocha with syrup

Compound:

• espresso – 50 milliliters;
• melted chocolate - 20 grams;
• milk – 50 milliliters;
• cream (whipped) – 50 grams;
• syrup (chocolate, coconut, almond, etc.) – 20 milliliters;
• coconut flakes – 5-7 grams.

The cooking process is the same as in the first (classic) recipe. Initially, hot chocolate is poured into the glass, syrup is poured on top, then hot milk and, finally, espresso. The drink, again, is decorated with cream and sprinkled with coconut. All ingredients are also poured in carefully so that the layers are even and not mixed.

What is coffee latte? It’s interesting to know!

Ice mocha

To prepare iced mocha, use the same ingredients as in the main recipe. There are only two differences in preparation:

• the milk is whipped not with a cappuccino maker, but with a blender so that it does not heat up;
• After preparing the coffee, cool it slightly, then pour it into a shaker filled with ice cubes and shake for 20–40 seconds (the ice should not melt rapidly). The coffee is strained and then poured over the melted chocolate.

Mocha with white chocolate

This method of preparing coffee at home has widely proven itself throughout the world, since this type of Arabica coffee is distinguished by its amazing tenderness and softness, with sweet milky notes. Sometimes in appearance you can confuse mocha, brewed with white chocolate, and latte macchiato, a completely different type of drink. However, their similarity is only external; the latte does not contain a single gram of chocolate. The calorie content of coffee depends entirely on the chosen chocolate and on average is about 300 kcal. It is better to choose chocolate without extraneous additives (for example, without raisins, hazelnuts, peanuts, etc.) to get a sophisticated white mocha.

You will need:

• 70 ml. espresso;
• 70 ml. milk;
• 70 ml. melted chocolate;
• prepared whipped cream;
• 2 tsp Sahara.

How to cook:

To make coffee with white chocolate, follow the step-by-step recipe for making a drink with dark chocolate.

Cocktail serving

Traditionally, mocha-chocolate is served in tall glass glasses for Irish coffee or transparent cups for cappuccino. The whipped foam should occupy at least ¼ of the volume of the container. For ease of use, a saucer with a coffee spoon is served, which is convenient for skimming off the whipped cream.

Mocha coffee is a recipe that fascinates with its tenderness and exquisite taste. Perfect for consumption in the evening. It relaxes and gives an additional “breath of vigor”, which is so necessary after a hard day.

Cappuccino

The most popular coffee drink in Italy. Italians drink it exclusively before the lunch siesta and without adding sugar. Cappuccino consists of espresso with the addition of heated foamed milk.

Milk foam for cappuccino is whipped using steam from coffee machines with a cappuccino maker. The name of the drink is associated with the Capuchin monastic order. It resembles the robes of monks - a dark brown robe with a white hood.

The cappuccino is prepared correctly if, when adding sugar, the foam does not settle or spread. It also preserves the temperature and aroma of the drink. Often a serving of cappuccino contains a volume of 150 ml. and served in special glasses.

Gourmets will appreciate torre, a drink that resembles cappuccino and latte at the same time. It is prepared on the basis of espresso, which is covered with foam, thicker and denser than cappuccino.

Nut mocha

Is there really a way to prepare a drink that includes nuts in mocha coffee? Certainly! The history of the nut drink is completely new and began only at the end of the 20th century in Italy. Hazelnuts are usually used, sometimes almonds and peanuts. You can prepare it quickly and easily at home, so quickly memorize the recipe.

You will need:

• 0.1 kg. coffee beans;
• 0.03 kg. hazelnuts;
• 0.3 l. water;
• 2 tsp Sahara.

How to cook:

1. Dry the hazelnuts and coffee beans in the oven (20 minutes), stirring constantly.
2. Roast the beans and grind using a coffee grinder or blender.
3. Grind the hazelnuts.
4. Combine crushed ingredients.
5. Place 5 tsp in a cturk. the resulting mixture.
6. Fill with water, set to cook, bring to a boil.
7. Strain. Add sugar.
8. Pour into cups.

Nut with condensed milk

Whole condensed milk will aromatically enrich the drink and add new notes.

You will need:

• 1 tsp coffee beans;
• 1 tsp condensed milk;
• 0.03 kg. hazelnuts;
• 0.2 l. water;
• 0.2 l. milk.

How to cook:

1. Brew the drink in the usual way, let it brew for 3 minutes.
2. Strain.
3. Dry the nuts in the oven (20 minutes), fry, grind with a coffee grinder.
4. Combine hazelnuts, condensed and whole milk. Set to cook, bring to a boil.
5. Pour nuts in milk into a tall glass.
6. Pour coffee on top.
7. Sprinkle with remaining nuts for decoration.

Peculiarities

Mocha is nothing more than chocolate coffee. This drink should be prepared on the basis of espresso, to which foamed milk, chocolate syrup or topping, cocoa, and cream are added. It is often decorated with cinnamon and chocolate chips.

Mocha is similar in composition to latte. This is one of the ways to prepare it with the addition of cocoa. This drink has a creamy chocolate taste, it is incredibly enveloping and long-lasting.

It is noteworthy that the coffee beans of this variety themselves have different flavors depending on where they grow. They may have fruity, caramel, chocolate, nutty or floral notes. Of course, these features also affect the overall taste of the mocha.

The color of the drink depends on the recipe and proportions of ingredients. It is noteworthy that the whipped cream firmly seats the coffee and milk foam in the cup, thereby forming layers. Mocca is served warm in tall glasses or glasses.

The secret is revealed

Mocha is an Arabica variety that is grown in Ethiopia and undergoes a special wet processing. This variety is distinguished by a special taste of fruity wine, which makes it one of the best and most valuable varieties of coffee.

The rich taste and fruity aftertaste of espresso brewed from this variety of beans is indescribable and unique, but this Arabica variety, prepared according to a special recipe, is especially tasty. The peculiarity of the drink is its combination with milk and chocolate. We will give three recipes for the drink; be sure to try each of them. Let's make a reservation right away. Mocha coffee can be brewed from regular Arabica coffee, but it is better to use the right type of bean.