Espresso · Milk
Mocha: espresso, chocolate and steamed milk
A mocha is a latte with chocolate in it.
- Coffee
- 18 g
- Cup
- 226 ml
- Temp
- 93 °C
- Time
- 1:40
The chocolate goes in first, the espresso dissolves it, and the milk goes on top. Unlike the other drinks in this family, the mocha has a fourth ingredient that changes the rules: chocolate is sweet and thick, so it can hide the coffee and it can sit unmixed at the bottom of the cup. This page is about getting the syrup to dissolve, keeping the coffee audible, and a sweetness setting you can change. It assumes an espresso machine with a steam wand. Compare it with the plain latte.
The spec
| Part | Amount |
|---|---|
| Espresso dose | 18 g |
| Espresso yield | 36 g (1:2 beverage ratio) |
| Chocolate syrup | 20 ml |
| Cold milk | 150 ml |
| Foam | 20 ml |
| Liquid in the cup | 226 ml |
| Cup | 350 ml mug, so the drink fills 65 % of it |
| Milk temperature | 50 to 60 °C when you stop steaming |
| Total time | 100 seconds |
Syrup, espresso, milk and foam add up to 226 ml in the 350 ml mug. This build is CupTune's own: the milk drinks builder has no mocha, so none of these volumes come from it.
You need
- An espresso machine with a steam wand, and a grinder.
- A scale that reads to 0.1 g.
- Chocolate syrup, or sweetened chocolate sauce. Read the label, as brands differ in sugar and thickness.
- A 350 ml milk pitcher and a thermometer.
- A 350 ml mug and a spoon.
Ratio 1:2 · Grind: Espresso · grind chart
Starting ranges come from your grinder maker’s own guide. Burrs, beans and calibration vary, so treat them as where to begin.
Steps
- 0:00, Syrup in mug, pull 18 g into 36 g.
Pour 20 ml of chocolate syrup into the mug and zero the scale under it. Pull 18 g of coffee into 36 g of espresso straight onto the syrup. The heat of the shot loosens it.
- 0:30, Stir until the syrup is gone.
Stir with a spoon until no syrup is left on the bottom. Scrape the bottom, not just the middle.
- 0:40, Steam 150 ml to about 60 °C.
Purge the wand and steam 150 ml of cold milk. Let air in for about five seconds, then spin it to 60 °C. Wipe the wand.
- 1:10, Tap and swirl until glossy.
Tap, swirl, and look for a glossy surface.
- 1:20, Pour milk and 20 ml foam.
Pour the milk into the mug. The result is about 226 ml of drink, with 20 ml of foam on top.
My notes for this recipe
The dissolving problem
Syrup is dense. If you pour milk onto a cup that holds a lump of syrup, it stays at the bottom and the last mouthfuls are a sugar slick. Putting the syrup in first and pulling the shot onto it, then stirring before the milk goes in, is the order CupTune recommends. It is an authored recommendation based on how thick syrups behave, not a tested comparison of orders. If you pour the shot and then the syrup, you will have to stir harder.
Why these numbers
36 g espresso. The 1:2 ratio is the average that surveyed baristas reported in the SCA's espresso article. The 18 g dose is authored.
20 ml syrup. Authored. It is about four teaspoons. The sweetness depends entirely on the syrup you use, so treat 20 ml as a starting measure and then change it by 5 ml at a time. If you use cocoa powder and sugar instead, that is a different recipe and these numbers do not carry over.
150 ml milk and 20 ml foam. Authored. Chocolate adds volume and sweetness, so the milk is closer to a cappuccino's than a latte's, and the cup is smaller than the latte bowl.
50 to 60 °C. Klimanova et al. (2022) steam-frothed milk across 30 to 80 °C and report 50 to 60 °C as the optimal final temperature for microfoam. They did not test chocolate drinks. Some people find chocolate tastes muddy when the drink is very hot, but that is a preference, not a measurement.
Five seconds of air. Authored. The drink is more liquid than foam.
If it looks or tastes wrong
- Sugar slick at the bottom. The syrup was not stirred in. Next time stir before the milk and scrape the base.
- You cannot taste coffee. Cut the syrup to 12 ml, or lengthen the yield to 40 g.
- Too sweet. Use less syrup. Chocolate sweetness is often high.
- Syrup is stiff and will not pour. It is cold. Stand the bottle in warm water for a minute.
- Grainy texture. If the syrup contains cocoa solids that did not dissolve, strain it or switch brand.
None of these fixes was tested; they are CupTune's judgement.
Evidence and limits
Two numbers have a published source: the 1:2 ratio and the 50 to 60 °C foam range. The volumes, the order and the times are authored. No composition for a mocha is defined by a standard, and the name is used for drinks from one-third chocolate to almost none. Syrups differ in sugar and fat, so the sweetness cannot be predicted from this page. CupTune makes no nutrition claims. The 100-second sequence is a paper plan, not a timed trial.
Questions
Is a mocha a hot chocolate with coffee in it?
It can be. Here it is a coffee-first drink with a modest amount of chocolate, in a latte-shaped build.
Can I add whipped cream?
Yes, on top of the foam. It will increase the volume, so use a larger mug.
Should the chocolate go in before the milk or after?
Before, so the shot can dissolve it.