Today, you gonna learn to make one of the most delicious coffee drinks there are. The best thing about it? It’s super easy to make an iced mocha coffee at home, and you can churn out big amounts in one sitting.
The iced mocha is truly one of the most internationally loved coffee drinks. It is one of the best recipes for one to know, one that you can whip out in almost any scenario.
Scenario one: you have some unexpected guests during the daytime, and you don’t have anything decent to offer them. Nothing. Ah! But you always have coffee and milk at home. And with these ingredients and a mere five minutes, you can make… an iced mocha! Your guest will be impressed, delighted, and refreshed.
Scenario two: it’s summertime, and you’ve run out of gas. The heat is taking a severe toll on you, and you’re about to give up and take a nap (which will leave you feeling worse, probably). But wait for a second! You have coffee, milk, and ice! You go and make yourself an iced mocha, which you learned how to do by reading a fantastic article on the internet. In just a few minutes, you’re refreshed and with a lot more energy than before.
See? Learning how to make an iced mocha is simply a gift to yourself in the future. It will quite literally enhance your quality of life.
First, though, let us learn a little bit about the iced mocha. What is a mocha?
What is a Mocha?
The story of the mocha is actually quite interesting. See, coffee was discovered in Africa. From there, coffee was taken east and into the Middle East. There, coffee flourished as a beverage for many years, and the world’s first coffee houses existed in this area in this era.
But when Europe got wind of it, they started shipping it there. It was a big, big hit. It might have been too expensive and exotic for most people, but European elites were completely in love with coffee. And all of the coffee that arrived in Europe came from one port city: Mocha.
Yes, Mocha is actually a city! It is a relatively small port town in Yemen. Coffee was grown in Africa, transported to Yemen, and from there, it would make its way to Europe. So, at first, people just called it by the name of where it came from mocha. For a brief while there, coffee was simply a mocha.
And the name stuck. For hundreds of years after, the name mocha is still being used to refer to coffee. But along the way, people rectified their initial mistake, and the name mocha became applicable only to certain drinks.
The most notable drink was the Austrian mocha drink, which was a coffee drink mixed with hot chocolate. It was a delicacy at the time in a country where sweets were all the rage.
And until today, a mocha is a coffee drink that has chocolate in it. There are countless variations of it, but the essence is that of coffee, chocolate, and milk.
How to Make an Iced Mocha at Home?
Ingredients
- About 14 grams of ground coffee
- Half and half
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Sweetener of choice (brown sugar recommended)
Instructions
- Brew your coffee. You can brew it in any way you like—since it’s at home, you can totally do it in a French press or whatever brewing method you have there. Espresso is fine, too.
- Mix half and half brewed coffee and cocoa powder in a coffee mug.
- Cover the coffee mug with saran wrap and chill in the freezer for ten minutes.
- Take out of the freezer.
- Fill another mug with ice cubes, then pour the mix over the ice cubes. Use a spoon if needed.
- Sprinkle with chocolate shavings.
- Enjoy!
FAQ
Can I use milk instead of half and a half?
Yes, you can. However, keep in mind that half and half have a different taste and, more importantly, a very different texture. There is little comparison in terms of texture between a drink made with half and a half and a drink made with milk instead. But if you prefer the latter, you definitely can!
Can I use chocolate syrup?
Indeed! In fact, you can go ahead and introduce any sort of chocolate toppings you can think of. Chocolate chips, chocolate sprinkles—everything is fair game. With the chocolate syrup, you can even mix some of it along with the cocoa powder and then drizzle more of it on top for a more chocolatey flavor.
Can I Use White Chocolate?
It is a little tricky, but it can be done. Instead of cocoa powder, you can use melted-down white chocolate. This would be called a white iced mocha, and it’s just as delicious. For a complete flavor, you can also try adding a few drops of white chocolate liquor, which goes great with the flavor of white mocha.
Can I Add liquor to My Mocha?
The practice of adding liquor to coffee is older, you may think. It is, in fact, as old as coffee. Coffee used to be much more related to liquor as it is nowadays, as it was transported in the same barrels that they used to age whiskey and other such drinks.
The most popular liquor and also the most adequate to add to mocha would be Italian grappa or if you can’t find grappa, brandy.
Can I use Blended Ice?
In this recipe, we use ice cubes. Some people might feel tempted to use blended ice instead, but we don’t recommend it. The texture of this drink is very important for the experience, and blended ice melts down faster than ice cubes do… In just a couple of minutes, the texture of your drink will have changed significantly. It won’t be as good after the first couple of sips.
So, instead of blended ice, it is better to use ice cubes. Alternatively, chill in the freezer for longer, and don’t use ice cubes at all!