Homemade Mocha Coffee - a great way to finish off a lazy weekend breakfast !We don’t have any of the popular international franchised coffee shops here in Tanzania, and in fact, only in the past few years have a handful of ‘proper’ coffee shops sprung up here. Even so, their coffee choices are somewhat limited to the ‘standard’ filter coffee’s, cappuccinos, espresso’s and café latte’s (if you’re very lucky !) Which I suppose is better than nothing – but considering we are a coffee growing country and produce some of the world’s finest coffee beans, this is rather a shame really.
I am a self confessed tea addict, and I only enjoy coffee now and then – and then only the freshly brewed variety. Whenever we travel to a country where there are coffee shops in abundance, I do indulge in my favourite skinny café latte, Mocha coffee or Caramel coffee.
Flavoured coffees and coffee syrups are near impossible to buy in South Africa and Kenya. I have looked in the major centres of Johannesburg and Nairobi too – all to no avail. I order my flavoured coffee from Whittard of Chelsea (UK) and ask visiting family to bring it over with them for me, I then ration it out to make it last (it’s only served on special occasions !)
Over the years I’ve therefore tried to come up with my own alternatives, and although of course, nothing beats an ‘original’ this ‘recipe’ below is a pretty good alternative for Mocha coffee which you can make at home, with limited equipment. (All I use is a coffee plunger pot and a hand blender.)
Homemade Chocolate Coffee Syrup
¼ cup unsweetened Cocoa Powder
½ cup brown Sugar
Pinch of Salt
½ cup water
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
Place all the ingredients, except for the Vanilla Essence, into a small pot & bring them to the boil whilst stirring. Turn down the heat & allow to simmer for 3 – 5 minutes, then remove from the heat & add the Vanilla Essence, stirring to blend.
As this mixture cools it will thicken into a syrup like consistency and you can store it in a covered container (a small glass bottle or jar works well) in the fridge for a couple of weeks at least, as this syrup will make you quite a number of Mocha Coffee’s – as you only need a teaspoon or so of the syrup each time you make one. (Of course a much easier option is to just go out to the shops & buy yourself a bottle of chocolate syrup instead - if you can get it where you live !)
To Make/Assemble The Mocha Coffee (amounts below are per person)
¼ cup strong filter/brewed coffee (Espresso if you have)
1 tsp Chocolate Syrup (or, to taste)
¾ cup hot Milk (I use a hand blender to whip it up & make it nice & foamy)
Pour the coffee into a nice sized cup, add the coffee syrup to this and stir well to blend. Now pour the hot, foamy milk over this and give it all a quick stir to combine. Drizzle some more of the syrup over the surface of the coffee (or you can use chocolate sprinkles or shavings) and drink whilst still hot.
I am a self confessed tea addict, and I only enjoy coffee now and then – and then only the freshly brewed variety. Whenever we travel to a country where there are coffee shops in abundance, I do indulge in my favourite skinny café latte, Mocha coffee or Caramel coffee.
Flavoured coffees and coffee syrups are near impossible to buy in South Africa and Kenya. I have looked in the major centres of Johannesburg and Nairobi too – all to no avail. I order my flavoured coffee from Whittard of Chelsea (UK) and ask visiting family to bring it over with them for me, I then ration it out to make it last (it’s only served on special occasions !)
Over the years I’ve therefore tried to come up with my own alternatives, and although of course, nothing beats an ‘original’ this ‘recipe’ below is a pretty good alternative for Mocha coffee which you can make at home, with limited equipment. (All I use is a coffee plunger pot and a hand blender.)
Homemade Chocolate Coffee Syrup
¼ cup unsweetened Cocoa Powder
½ cup brown Sugar
Pinch of Salt
½ cup water
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
Place all the ingredients, except for the Vanilla Essence, into a small pot & bring them to the boil whilst stirring. Turn down the heat & allow to simmer for 3 – 5 minutes, then remove from the heat & add the Vanilla Essence, stirring to blend.
As this mixture cools it will thicken into a syrup like consistency and you can store it in a covered container (a small glass bottle or jar works well) in the fridge for a couple of weeks at least, as this syrup will make you quite a number of Mocha Coffee’s – as you only need a teaspoon or so of the syrup each time you make one. (Of course a much easier option is to just go out to the shops & buy yourself a bottle of chocolate syrup instead - if you can get it where you live !)
To Make/Assemble The Mocha Coffee (amounts below are per person)
¼ cup strong filter/brewed coffee (Espresso if you have)
1 tsp Chocolate Syrup (or, to taste)
¾ cup hot Milk (I use a hand blender to whip it up & make it nice & foamy)
Pour the coffee into a nice sized cup, add the coffee syrup to this and stir well to blend. Now pour the hot, foamy milk over this and give it all a quick stir to combine. Drizzle some more of the syrup over the surface of the coffee (or you can use chocolate sprinkles or shavings) and drink whilst still hot.
