Iced Mocha Recipe

Before you start

Chocolate and cold milk do not mix easily. Bar chocolate hardens into flecks the moment it touches ice, and cocoa powder clumps and floats. The way around it is to dissolve the chocolate into something hot and liquid first, so it stays in suspension when everything gets cold.

A small batch of cocoa syrup, made from cocoa, sugar and boiling water, keeps in the fridge and stirs into cold drinks instantly. For each iced mocha, mix the syrup with hot espresso, then add cold milk and pour over ice. The result tastes like chocolate milk for grown-ups, with coffee bitterness to keep it in check.

Ingredients

• Cocoa syrup25 g (¼ cup) unsweetened cocoa powder — Dutch-process or natural
• 100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
• 120 ml (½ cup) boiling water
• 1 pinch fine salt
• Drink30 ml (1 oz) cocoa syrup — from above
• 18 g espresso coffee beans — ground fine for a double shot
• about 36 g (1¼ oz) water, as brewed espresso
• 180 ml (6 oz) cold whole milk
• 1 heaping cup (about 150 g) ice cubes

Method

1. Whisk the cocoa, sugar and salt together in a small saucepan so the cocoa does not clump.
2. Pour in the boiling water while whisking, then simmer over low heat for 2 to 3 minutes, whisking, until glossy and slightly thickened. It will thicken more as it cools.
3. Measure 30 ml of syrup into a small cup and pull a double shot of about 36 g on top. Stir until fully blended.
4. Pour the cold milk into the tall glass and stir in the chocolate espresso.
5. Add the ice, stir once more, and taste. Add up to 10 ml more syrup if you want a sweeter, darker drink. Serve with a straw.

Tips for success

• Dutch-process cocoa gives a darker, smoother syrup; natural cocoa tastes fruitier and a little sharper.
• Mix the syrup with hot espresso before it meets milk. Cold syrup poured straight into cold milk can streak and settle.
• Make the syrup a day ahead and keep it chilled so every iced mocha takes under 2 minutes.

Substitutions

Cocoa syrup

A good bottled chocolate syrup works one-for-one. Melted dark chocolate does not; it sets into flecks over ice.

Whole milk

Oat or soy milk give a creamy, chocolate-milk texture. Almond milk is thinner and lets the cocoa taste more bitter.

Espresso

60 ml of cold brew concentrate makes a smoother, less acidic iced mocha. Stir the syrup in well, since nothing is hot.

Variations

Iced mint mocha

Add 5 ml peppermint syrup or 2 drops of peppermint extract with the cocoa syrup.

Blended iced mocha

Blend everything with the ice for 20 seconds until slushy; add 10 ml extra syrup because cold blunts sweetness.

Troubleshooting

Chocolate sits at the bottom of the glass

The syrup was not blended with the espresso first. Stir syrup and hot coffee together, then add milk.

It tastes chalky

The cocoa was not cooked long enough. Simmer the syrup the full 2 to 3 minutes so the starch in the cocoa hydrates.

The drink is too watery

Ice melted into warm espresso. Combine espresso with cold milk before adding ice, or use coffee ice cubes.

Storage

Refrigerate the cocoa syrup in a sealed jar for up to 2 weeks; discard it if it smells off, turns cloudy or grows mold. Serve the mocha immediately and do not leave it out longer than 2 hours.