Coffee Basics: Detailed Guide to Making Espresso-based Mocha Coffee (Illustrated)

Autumn, a season that can heal the soul~ Holding a cup of rich mocha coffee in the morning, watching the blue sky and falling leaves outside the window, with the breeze swaying the curtains and sunlight warming your heart—everything is calm, full of character, yet understated.

The Origin of Mocha Coffee

The word "mocha" originates from the port of Mocha in Yemen. As the first country in the world to cultivate and produce coffee beans on a large scale, Yemen began exporting its first batch of coffee beans to Europe in the early 17th century. At that time, Yemen had only one small port for exports to Europe—the port of Mocha. All goods exported from here were stamped with "MOCHA" to prove they were transported from the port of Mocha, so Europeans began calling the delicious coffee shipped from Mocha port "mocha coffee."

Although mocha coffee beans are small in size, they possess an exceptionally rich and aromatic flavor. They have noticeable acidity, strong body, and fermented characteristics, with moderate sweetness in the aftertaste and a finish rich in dark cocoa aroma.

By the 18th century, the port of Mocha came under the control of the Ottoman Empire (a multi-ethnic empire established by the Turks). The Turks had a particular fondness for Yemeni coffee, so fewer and fewer Yemeni coffee beans were exported to Europe. At that time, Italians greatly missed the rich cocoa aroma of mocha coffee beans, so they tried adding dark cocoa to espresso, thus beginning a new wave of mocha popularity—Italian mocha coffee.

How to Make Italian Mocha Coffee

The mocha coffee we see today is an espresso-based milk coffee. FrontStreet Coffee's mocha coffee consists of espresso, chocolate sauce, cocoa powder, and fresh milk. Some coffee shops also use dark chocolate blocks.

Choosing the Coffee Cup

FrontStreet Coffee uses a 300ml round-bottom latte cup when making mocha coffee. Round-bottom coffee cups help milk and coffee blend better, and provide more space for creating latte art patterns.

Adding 20g Chocolate Sauce & 5g Unsweetened Dark Cocoa Powder

Chocolate sauce adds chocolate flavor and sweetness to the coffee, while unsweetened dark cocoa powder further enhances the coffee's body and richness.

Espresso Extraction

FrontStreet Coffee's espresso is made using Sunflower Warm Sun coffee beans, a blend of sherry barrel-aged and sun-processed Yirgacheffe. For mocha coffee, double espresso is used, with an extraction recipe of 20g coffee grounds yielding 35g espresso liquid, extracted over 27 seconds, then mixed thoroughly with the chocolate sauce and cocoa powder in the cup~

Using Chilled Fresh Milk

Chilled fresh milk better preserves the proteins and milk fat. Proteins are key to forming milk foam, while milk fat further stabilizes the foam, slowing down its breakdown while also adding richness to the coffee.

When the espresso is stirred with chocolate sauce and cocoa powder, the crema on top dissipates, losing its ability to further stabilize the milk foam. At this point, if you use milk with low protein/milk fat content, the frothed foam will lack stability and be too thin. When it comes time for latte art, you'll find: the pattern drifts!

Frothing the Milk

Use a medium-sized milk pitcher and pour in 200-230ml of chilled fresh milk. Before inserting the steam wand into the pitcher, purge it to release condensed steam water. Place the steam wand 1cm below the milk surface and turn on the steam. When the steam contacts the milk surface, it will make a hissing sound—this is the key step for creating milk foam.

As mentioned earlier, after the espresso is stirred with chocolate sauce, the crema loses its ability to further stabilize the milk foam. Therefore, the foam should be frothed to 1.2cm thickness (slightly thicker than latte foam, but thinner than cappuccino foam). When frothing, stop aerating after hearing 4-5 hissing sounds, then tilt the pitcher to a 45-degree angle to create a vortex that eliminates large bubbles (no more hissing sound at this point) and heat to 55-65°C~

Combining Milk with Chocolate Coffee

Before combining the milk with coffee, find a pivot point on the table and use wrist strength to rotate the pitcher clockwise, ensuring the foam and milk haven't separated before pouring latte art. The pouring technique also matters~ Hold the coffee cup with your left hand and the pitcher with your right hand, starting to pour in a circular motion from the 3 o'clock to 6 o'clock position of the cup.

Creating Latte Art

Pour milk from a height of 5cm. When swirling to combine, you can use a faster flow rate, but switch to a slower flow rate when creating the pattern. Simultaneously, coordinate both hands—while pouring milk, adjust the cup's angle, so the foam can form a proper pattern~

How to Make Iced Mocha Coffee

Friends from southern regions have said: "It's still so hot here!!! Do you have a tutorial for iced mocha coffee?" Of course! We've got you covered right away.

FrontStreet Coffee's method for making iced mocha coffee is similar to hot mocha coffee. Add 100g ice cubes and 150g milk to a cold drink cup, then mix 35ml espresso liquid with 20g chocolate sauce and 5g cocoa powder until well combined, and pour into the cup~

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473