Make a Tasty Mocha at Home: Easy Coffee Recipe


If you’re a coffee lover and you also happen to be a big fan of chocolate, a mocha is the perfect caffeinated beverage for you.

What I’ve found is that it tastes even better when you enjoy it in the comfort of your own home. That’s why I decided to share with you how to make a mocha by following an easy recipe.

The dark chocolate sauce used in the making of the DIY mocha will take your homemade beverage to a whole new level. This sauce is also vegan, so if you use plant-based milk, you will get to enjoy an incredibly delicious vegan mocha latte at home.

In terms of calories, the homemade mocha that I made by using whole milk contains around 180 kcal if it’s not topped off with whipped cream.

If you’re generous with the toppings, or you simply want to make a copycat Starbucks caffè mocha (that has whipped cream on top of it), the calorie count will go up to 230 kcal.

This might seem a lot to some, but whenever I treat myself to a delicious mocha coffee, I tend to enjoy it to the fullest, without thinking about the calories. After all, we all deserve an occasional treat and a guilt-free moment of relaxation while enjoying a cozy yummy drink.

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Now, let’s dive in.

Ingredients

Here are the ingredients that you’re going to need in order to make a mocha at home:

  • Espresso: a double shot (around 2 fl. oz. or 60 ml.)

    To be fair, a serving of mocha is usually made with a single shot, so if you don’t want the extra caffeine, don’t use a double.

    With that being said, I like pouring a double espresso shot into my homemade mochas or lattes, as I prefer a stronger coffee flavor. The stronger taste is balanced out by the milk and the dark chocolate. So if you don’t mind the extra caffeine kick, I recommend trying it out.

    If you want to make a mocha at home without an espresso machine, that’s possible too. Just use 2 fl. oz. (60 ml) of coffee brewed in a Moka pot. The Moka pot brew is the most adequate espresso alternative because of its rich flavor and relatively high caffeine content per serving.

    Related Read: Moka pot brew guide

    If you don’t have a Moka pot, feel free to use whatever you have at hand.

    A friend of mine makes her improvised homemade mochas and lattes with a teaspoon or two of instant coffee dissolved into 1 to 2 fl. oz. of hot water. She calls that an instant shot. She isn’t that rigorous about her coffee’s flavor, and she loves the dark chocolate mocha she gets to have by using this, may I say, controversial espresso substitute.

    She uses my guidelines when it comes to the other ingredients and the preparation method, so the DIY mocha she gets to have is similar to what I achieve by using a shot of espresso (almost identical in terms of looks).
  • Milk: 4 fl. oz. or 120 millilitres.

    To lower the calorie count of your drink and make a skinny mocha, you can use skim milk instead of whole. Contrarily, if you want to make your dark chocolate coffee beverage creamier, you might want to use half-and-half.

    Furthermore, for a vegan homemade mocha stick to almond, soy, coconut, oat, or another dairy-free dairy milk substitute. Just keep in mind that carton coconut milk and almond milk are more watery and it’s harder to froth them.

    With that being said, I haven’t had any issue frothing almond milk at home by using a battery-operated drink mixer, like this one by Zulay.

    Those milk frothing devices are perfect for you if you enjoy making lattes, mochas, bulletproof coffee drinks, or other cool beverages at home. This type of hand mixer is affordable and very convenient to use. There are also rechargeable ones, such as the frother by FoodVille:

    Click here to check out its price on Amazon.
  • Dark Chocolate Sauce: 2 tablespoons or 2 pumps.

    Ever since I’ve tried out a mocha made with the gourmet dark chocolate sauce by Monin, I’ve been using it.


    It’s very tasty and it goes well not only with homemade mocha coffee drinks, but it’s also a great addition to homemade ice cream and sundaes as a topping.

    Furthermore, the Monin dark chocolate gourmet sauce is 100% vegan, so if you want to make a delicious plant-based mocha at home, I recommend trying it out. You can check the Monin sauce on Amazon by clicking here.

    I have a large bottle with a pump. Each pump equals a tablespoon and contains 52 kcal.

    If you want to lower the number of calories your DIY mocha contains, use a tablespoon instead of two. Your beverage will still have a rich chocolate flavor and it will be sweet enough.

    Of course, you don’t have to use the Monin sauce in order to make a tasty mocha at home.

    You can prepare it with a homemade sauce, or simply use a teaspoon (5 to 8 grams) of cacao or cocoa powder, add sugar to taste, and mix it with the milk while frothing.

    If you do the latter, the ombre effect of your drink won’t be so well-pronounced, but it will still look cool.
  • Cocoa or Cacao powder.

    This recipe ingredient I use to decorate my mocha.

    Nevertheless, as previously mentioned, it may be used as the only chocolate component of your cozy drink.

    That being said, I recommend using cacao instead of cocoa powder. The former is more beneficial, as it generally has a higher antioxidant content.
  • Whipped Cream (optional as a topping).

    At Starbucks, if you order a caffè Mocha, your drink will be topped off with whipped cream.

    To be fair, the mochas in many cafès are served with this topping.

    Even if you’re making a vegan mocha, you can prepare plant-based whipped cream by whipping some coconut cream with a bit of sugar. You can check the full recipe of how to make vegan whipped cream by clicking here.

    With that being said, I tend to skip this component.

    I simply top off my drink with a bit of cacao. You can also top off your drink with a bit of chocolate drizzle, by using the dark chocolate sauce, but more on the topping options later.

In the following photo you can find all of the recipe ingredients that I used in the making of this mocha coffee:

How to make a mocha at home: recipe instructions

To make a mocha at home, do the following:

  1. Bring milk to a simmer and froth it.
  2. Add dark chocolate sauce into a serving cup
  3. Pour the milk into the cup.
  4. Pour the espresso on top.

By following these instructions, your homemade mocha will have an ombre effect, as seen in the following photo:

I sprinkled it with a bit of cacao powder and served it with a metal straw which I usually use to stir my hot drink.

If you first add the espresso and then pour the milk on top of it, the ombre effect won’t be present. The espresso and the milk will get mixed immediately.

There will still be a cool white foam layer on top of your drink, though. Here’s what your DIY mocha will look like if you add the milk after the espresso:

Instead of adding the dark chocolate sauce to the bottom of the cup, you can have it mixed with the milk.

Another option would be to decorate the serving glass with the dark chocolate sauce and then pour the milk and the espresso:

Since the liquid is hot, the dark chocolate sauce will quickly dissipate into the mocha, enriching it with its nice flavor.

When it comes to toppings, apart from sprinkling your drink with a bit of cacao powder, you can also top it off with whipped cream, whipped cream and cacao powder, or whipped cream, cacao powder and dark chocolate sauce.

If you like the Starbucks caffè mocha, you will definitely love the one you’ll get to have by following this easy recipe.

I hope that you found some useful information in this post.

I recommend trying out this coffee drink as soon as possible.

Yield: 1

Dark Chocolate Mocha

Dark Chocolate Mocha

Delicious Dark Chocolate Mocha, made with espresso, milk, and rich dark chocolate sauce.

Prep Time 3 minutes
Cook Time 2 minutes
Additional Time 1 minute
Total Time 6 minutes

Ingredients

  • Espresso - 1 single or 1 double shot*
  • Milk  - 4 fl. oz. or 120 ml.
  • Dark Chocolate Sauce* - 2 tablespoons
  • Cocoa or Cacao Powder (optional, as a topping)
  • Whipped Cream (optional, as a topping)

Instructions

  1. Pour the milk into a saucepan and heat it.
  2. Add the dark chocolate sauce into a serving cup.
  3. Froth the milk. In case you don't have an espresso machine with a steam wand to steam and froth the milk, use a drink mixer or a whisk.
  4. Add the milk to the serving cup.
  5. Pour the coffee on top.
  6. Add toppings of your choice.

Notes

*If you don't have an espresso machine, use Moka pot brew. If the latter is not an option, use whatever coffee brewing device you have at hand. Even a teaspoon of instant coffee, dissolved in 1 fl. oz. to 2 fl. oz. of hot water may result in a nice mocha drink.

*Instead of dark chocolate sauce, you can add a teaspoon of cacao powder and 2 teaspoons of sugar to the milk before frothing. If you do so, the milk will turn brown, which means that your chocolate-flavored drink won't have as well-pronounced layered look, compared to the mocha that you can see in the photo. Nevertheless, it will still be tasty.

Nutrition Information:

Serving Size:

9 fl. oz.

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 180

Drop me a comment below to share how your dark chocolate mocha turned out. I’d love to know!

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