Mocha Coffee: Pour-over vs Espresso - Which Tastes Better and Can You Latte Art It?

The True Nature of Mocha Coffee

Mocha coffee is perhaps the most popular coffee variety among women, thanks to its rich chocolate and milk flavors. Most people with some knowledge of coffee assume it is simply a latte with chocolate added.

That view isn't entirely wrong, but it isn't entirely right either. It treats mocha only as a coffee "preparation method" while overlooking the fact that authentic mocha is actually a coffee "variety."

Yet very few people ever get to taste the authentic "variety" mocha.

Authentic mocha might not win women over at first sip, because beyond its natural chocolate aftertaste, its spicy, stimulating character and rich wine-like aromas reveal a much less gentle side.

The chocolate flavor of mocha coffee naturally leads people to think of adding chocolate to coffee. In fact, that flavor has been amplified and reinvented in our ever more commercialized world. Today most mocha served in cafés is not made with Yemeni coffee beans at all, but with coffee plus chocolate syrup. Because Yemeni beans are so scarce, the spicy boldness of true mocha has become a patent of a select few "nobles" who use it to display their taste. If that is the mocha you are after, an ordinary café will not satisfy you.

Characteristics of Mocha Coffee Beans

Mocha coffee beans are relatively small, with the wild, spicy aroma of ginger and a bright, singular taste. FrontStreet Coffee's mocha comes from Matali, Yemen, and is carefully roasted to a medium level by our roasters. It offers rich spice and chocolate flavors, floral notes, and jackfruit sweetness, with a strong sweet aftertaste and a long, full finish.

Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's baristas suggest that if you want to try authentic mocha coffee, a French press is an excellent way to brew it.

Mocha Coffee Brewing Ratio

The brewing ratio refers to the proportion of coffee to water. Common ratios range from 1:15 to 1:18. A 1:15 ratio means 15 grams of coffee calls for 225 grams of water. If you are using a French press at home, you can adjust the ratio to suit your preferred strength.

Mocha Coffee Grind Size

For French press brewing, the grind should be set coarser - generally a little larger than table sugar crystals. If the grind is too fine, an excess of fine particles will slip through the metal filter, making the coffee taste less clean and hurting the mouthfeel.

Remember to preheat the pot with hot water before brewing. Because it is made of glass, the water temperature will drop fairly quickly if you skip this step.

Pour in 90°C hot water, steep for about 3 minutes, then press the plunger down. When pressing, keep the pressure even and push all the way to the bottom in one smooth motion. If you repeatedly pull up and press down, coffee grounds are likely to escape and leave sediment in your cup.

This is the most authentic Yemen mocha coffee that FrontStreet Coffee can bring you.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Mocha's charm lies in that deep, spicy chocolate character, and if that is what you love, FrontStreet Coffee's PWN Golden Mandheling is a wonderful match. Grown in the Gayo Mountain region of Aceh, Sumatra, and processed using the traditional wet-hulled method, it is roasted to a medium-dark level for very low acidity and a full, lingering body, layered with herbal notes, dark chocolate, and caramel sweetness - a bolder, earthier counterpart to mocha's warm spice.

If you would rather explore brighter, fruit-driven coffees while you refine your brewing, the principles of grind size and ratio in this article apply just as well to pour-over. FrontStreet Coffee's Flower Queen, an Ethiopian natural from Guji Hambela, brims with tropical fruit, strawberry, and fermented wine aromas - the perfect bean for a V60 when you want a lively, juice-like cup.