Mocha

Chocolate is one of life’s great pleasures. There's nothing more decadent than a mocha made with real chunks of chocolate—and no added sugar.

Here are two ways to make chocolate syrups for mochas:

If you are pulling shots of espresso at home, the best way is to pour the shot of espresso over a bed of chocolate. This makes a pure and rich mocha.

For a 8 oz cup, measure 12g of chocolate chunks.
For a 12 oz cup, measure 16g of chocolate.

Mocha Method 1

1. In a container (preferably metal) dose the desired amount of chocolate bits.
2. Pull a shot of espresso into the container with chocolate. The hot espresso will slowly melt the chocolate.
3. Let the espresso sit with the chocolate for about 20 seconds.
4. Stir with a small spoon until the chocolate is mostly dissolved with the espresso.
5. Pour chocolate mixture into a mug and finish with steamed milk, or pour over iced milk.

Notes

At the coffeeshop, we used Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet chocolate. It's good quality at a good price point.

For home use, you can use your favorite expensive chocolate bar. Chopped it into small pieces and use it in your mochas. Some chocolates that I like are Askinosie and Theo.

Mocha Method 2

This method involves making a batch ganache and use it whenever you need to.

In a container, add:

•85 g dark chocolate 60% cacao (chopped)
•60 g boiling water

Let the mixture stand for 1 minute, then whisk until incorporated.

*** The only drawback to this method is the mixture will harden a bit with time, so you'll have to put it in a bath of warm water, or hit it in the microwave if your container is microwave save.

There are others who suggest adding heavy cream and sugar to make a syrup. But for drinks, I like to keep the chocolate as "pure" as possible.