Five Ways to Spice up Your Mocha Coffee

Chocolate and coffee are the perfect team to combat lack of sleep, early mornings, and Mondays. The luxurious sweetness of chocolate, and the rich nutty flavor of espresso form the basis of mocha beverages like a mocha latte, a mochaccino, and a café mocha. You’ve probably ordered your dose of mocha in one of these ways, but you might not know that you’re really ordering the same thing. All these beverages refer to a mix of chocolate, espresso and steamed milk.

Five Ways to Switch up Your Mocha

That’s right. If you’ve been switching up your café mocha by ordering a mocha latte, you haven’t really been switching it up at all. Sometimes a dollop of whipped cream is all that stands between you and the same old same old.

So it’s no wonder that maybe you’re getting a little bored with your go-to drink. You’d love to branch out, but you don’t want to lose the sweet factor, or the caffeine. Coffee shop menus can be confusing, overwhelming, and even secret. This can make it hard to pick a new drink, especially when dozens of patrons would like you to hurry up already.

Here are five easy ways that you can make your mocha more versatile, and up the ante on your morning routine.

1. A Peppermint Mocha

Though primarily touted as a perfect holiday drink, a peppermint mocha is good for any dreary day, or chilly morning. It blends the winning combination of coffee and chocolate with the decadent combination of chocolate and peppermint. A swirl of whipped cream on top adds to the desert-like indulgence of this sweet treat. You might even find it topped with chocolate sprinkles or crushed candy canes.

Your doctor would likely caution against making this an everyday drink, but you know, Mondays are hard. Also, probably the only thing that can make February bearable is a nice hot peppermint mocha and an upcoming vacation to someplace warm.

2. A Café Borgia

The recipe for this fancy sounding drink varies from place to place, but, generally, it combines chocolate, coffee, orange rind, orange flavoring, and whipped cream. It’s decadent, delicious, and definitely a change of pace. You might not realize what a citrus undertone so many coffee beans have, but the orange element in this drink really brings it out. The small addition of zest will put a little extra pep in your step.

3. An Iced Mocha

Sometimes there just isn’t enough time to sit and savor your coffee, right? Some days are so hectic that there’s no time to wait for a hot beverage to cool down, and there’s no middle ground between boiling hot and completely undrinkable. An iced mocha is perfect for that situation. You don’t have to wait for it to cool down, and you can put it in the fridge, or add extra ice to keep sipping it all day long.

Because of the milk in mochas, it’s not advisable to reheat them once they’ve gone cold, but iced mochas are a different story. As long as you keep the drink chilled, you can enjoy it all day long, and you can get your money’s worth out of your coffee run. No more pouring a half a drink down the drain and still feeling tired.

4. A White Chocolate Mocha

People get a little weird about white chocolate. It’s not for everyone, and they take their stance very personally. However, white chocolate in coffee is totally different, and it deserves at least a chance. The white chocolate syrup used in coffee drinks is rich, creamy, and super sweet. You skip the odd texture that white chocolate candy bars can have, and you go straight for the sweetness. Don’t let the name scare you off, and you’ll be enjoying this coffee drink anytime you have a serious sweet tooth craving.

5. A Coffee Pairing

This might sound crazy, but a great way to enjoy mocha doesn’t even involve putting chocolate in your coffee. You’ve probably heard a lot about coffee pairings without ever giving them much thought. They sound pretty pretentious, but they can actually be useful. Maybe you’re trying to cut back on the decadent drinks. Maybe you’re actually considering drinking your coffee black, without cream or sugar, let alone mocha sauce.

Before you go cold turkey, consider pairing your black coffee with a small square of dark chocolate. Take a sip of your coffee, and take a bite of the chocolate. The flavor of the one brings out the flavor of the other. The piece of chocolate actually helps give your coffee the illusion of being much sweeter. It might even help you enjoy black coffee completely on its own.

Enjoy Mocha Now More than Ever with These Five Ways

For the lover of coffee and chocolate, there is nothing better than finding more ways to enjoy them together. From making coffee at home to enjoying it out, you now have five different ways to get your mocha latte fix without getting bored.