Chocolate and coffee as a combination have been a thing for a long time. It goes back to more than two centuries, back in 18th century Austria! Back then, Vienna was a hotspot for all sorts of delicious concoctions and cuisine. It was here that many different coffees were crafted—in particular, it is believed that the mocha was created in Vienna.
Mocha is a delicious coffee. It combines hot chocolate and coffee—these two drinks already have a lot in common and their flavor profiles compliment each other perfectly. They were meant to be together in many ways.
What about white chocolate, though? If a regular mocha is good, then it stands to reason that a white mocha would be even better!
White Mocha: What is White Chocolate?
The name white chocolate gives way to a few confusions. If you’re not aware, chocolate is brown. That much everyone knows. Chocolate basically comes from cocoa, and cocoa comes from cocoa beans. In this respect, cocoa and coffee are very alike. They come from seeds that are roasted and ground and then turned into a beverage. Cocoa even contains a decent amount of caffeine.
By this logic, a seed (or “bean”) that is roasted and ground should always have a brown-black color. So you can’t really make “white” chocolate.
In reality, white chocolate is a sort of confection that is made from cocoa. The main ingredient to make it is cocoa butter, which is delicious and has a chocolatey flavor, which is why white chocolate actually does taste similar to chocolate. Combining cocoa butter, milk, and sugar, you get white chocolate.
The difference isn’t much, really. There just isn’t any actual cocoa in it: only cocoa butter. Regular chocolate bars are made from much the same ingredients—butter, sugar, and milk—but the only difference is that they do contain ground cocoa.
How to Make a Tasty Starbucks Iced White Chocolate Mocha?
With that knowledge, how do we make this beverage? It’s actually quite easy. We can’t use ground cocoa like you could with a regular mocha, because there isn’t any ground white cocoa. The answer is simple: you use already manufactured white chocolate. This can be anything from white chocolate bars to white chocolate sauce or syrup.
Once you realize that, it all becomes quite simple. Figuring out that one ingredient is the only real work here. The rest is just following a few easy steps:
Ingredients
- Whole (or half) white chocolate bar. Cookies n cream doesn’t count.
- 60ml espresso
- 210ml milk of choice
- A few ice cubes
- Sweetener of your preference
- Lots of whipped cream!
How to Make
- Brew your coffee and pour in a tall glass.
- Pour milk, add sweetener, and mix.
- Dump all your white chocolate into a small pot or pan. You can break it into smaller pieces to make this step easier (or just buy white chocolate chips)
- Turn the heat to medium and wait for the chocolate to be melted. Stir so that it all melts evenly.
- Once done, pour into your cup with coffee and milk.
- Taste test. If needed, add sweetener.
- Add ice and stir.
- Add plenty of whipped cream on top.
- Enjoy!
Just like that, you’ve made a perfect iced white chocolate mocha. It was so easy—and it’s so delicious!
You can accompany this beverage with almost anything, although it’s always a good idea to come up with the perfect pair. They say that sweet and bitter go great together, as they intensify each other’s flavors. And since you’re drinking a white chocolate drink, then the answer is clear. Dark, bitter chocolate!
A few pieces of luscious dark chocolate are the perfect pair for this beverage and each bite of dark chocolate will enhance the next sip of the iced white chocolate mocha, which in turn enhances the next bite of dark chocolate. It’s a delicious chocolate cycle!
FAQs
Can I Use White Chocolate Syrup Instead of a White Chocolate Bar?
Yes, of course, you can. Although, this part is a little counterintuitive. At first, you may think that because this is a liquid, a beverage, then a solid chocolate bar isn’t precisely the best idea—and so you think about white chocolate syrup. But the white chocolate syrup isn’t as creamy as actual white chocolate.
Melting a white chocolate bar achieves the ultimate creaminess, and it’s what makes this recipe so good. Simply using white chocolate syrup is convenient, but it’s just not the same.
You can, but it is strongly recommended that you don’t. Actual, solid white chocolate is the way to go.
Can I Make It Hot Instead of Iced?
Well, the recipe here is for an iced coffee, so it wouldn’t make a lot of sense to make it hot. But, if you prefer a regular white chocolate mocha, then simply heat up the milk and don’t add ice. That way, you’ll have a perfect white chocolate mocha, piping hot!
Is White Chocolate Bad for You?
Some people argue that white chocolate is bad for you because it has a lot of cocoa butter, therefore having a lot of fat. Fat, as you may know, is an important macronutrient and when ingested in moderation, it is beneficial for your health. In fact, you need to consume a certain amount of fat every day for your body to function properly.
The problem is when we consume too much fat. White chocolate has a lot of fat, and this recipe also has two other ingredients high in fat: whipped cream and milk. Milk has a decent fat percentage, while whipped cream is almost 100% fat.
White chocolate, when consumed in moderation, is perfectly healthy for you. Cocoa butter is actually revered for its healthy properties, so a little bit of cocoa butter every now and then is actually good for you.
As long as you are aware of its fat content and try to make up for it (by using skim milk, for example), you don’t have to worry about whether it is healthy.