A perfectly frosty iced mocha on a hot summer’s day is one of life’s greatest pleasures. The first sip of the chocolatey, coffee goodness is enough to make your eyes roll back in your head from happiness!
We’re going to teach you today how to bring that moment of joy into your life every day with our no-fail homemade iced mocha recipe. You’ll be blown away by just how easy it is to make it at home (and how much cash you’ll save over hitting the coffee shop).
What is an iced mocha?
Coffee drinks can be confusing, but no need to have a barista translate for you on this one. A mocha is a latte (which is espresso or strongly brewed coffee and milk) with chocolate added. An iced mocha is a mocha served over ice!
Protip: Lattes vs. mochas
In its simplest form, a latte is just espresso with steamed milk added. A mocha is a type of latte where sweetened chocolate syrup is added to the espresso in addition to the milk—giving you a dose of chocolatey goodness along with your caffeine!
What do I need to make this iced mocha recipe?
You only need 3 simple ingredients to be on your way to the best iced mocha this side of Starbucks.
Milk.
Most coffee shops default to 2% cow’s milk for all of their mocha lattes, but quite literally any kind of milk will do the trick. Skim or 1% milk will give you a slightly less creamy experience. Whole milk or half-and-half will be rich and decadent. Our favorite—and what we recommend—is whole milk.
If you want a vegan mocha, experiment with different plant-based milks to figure out what works best for you. We tested this with lots of different non-dairy milks, and both full-fat coconut milk from the can and oat milk were our favorites. The coconut milk made this iced coffee taste like an Almond Joy!
Coffee/espresso .
For an authentic mocha latte, you’ll want to use espresso shots. If you have an espresso machine, great! A small espresso pot is also a great addition to any coffee lover’s kitchen if you aren’t ready to invest in a full machine.
No worries though, it doesn’t have to be espresso. Any strongly brewed cold coffee from a regular pot of coffee will work. Also, cold brew concentrate works very well! Make your own cold brew coffee or buy it from the store for quick and easy mochas.
To stand up to the flavor of the chocolate, you really want a dark roast coffee. Espresso roast coffees are a great choice—even if you don’t have an espresso maker kicking around. The dark, rich flavor still comes through when brewed.
Protip: Make it a decaf.
It’s easy to make this a decaf mocha—all you need to do is brew decaf coffee, cold brew, or espresso for the recipe.
Mocha syrup.
If you want to use store-bought chocolate syrup for your mocha, you absolutely can. But this mocha syrup recipe is so easy, you’ll never hit up your local coffee shop again! Here’s how you make it:
- Combine unsweetened cocoa powder or cacao powder, sugar, water, and salt in a small saucepan.
- Heat over low heat until the sugar dissolves and the syrup is glossy and smooth.
- Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Voilà, done!
The syrup stores well in the refrigerator for a month or even longer—but you’ll probably go through it faster than that since it’s so tasty!
Protip: Sweetener substitutions.
This syrup works well with both honey and maple syrup (although both will obviously give a hint of their natural flavor to the syrup). If swapping in honey or maple syrup, use 3/4 of a cup in place of the sugar listed in the recipe.
How do you make an iced mocha at home?
Making an iced mocha in your own kitchen is WAY easier and faster than hitting up the drive-through at your local coffee shop. It’s just three steps!
- Make your own DIY mocha syrup—or buy some premade chocolate syrup from the store.
- Combine the syrup with cooled coffee, espresso, or cold brew.
- Add in some milk, stir or shake, and enjoy over ice!
- BONUS EPIC STEP: Top with a pile of whipped cream and more chocolate sauce for a super treat.
What’s the best way to chill coffee without watering it down?
The very best way to chill your coffee is time and a fridge, but you can also hack it by thinking ahead and making coffee ice cubes from your last batch of brew. Just pour the coffee into an ice cube tray, and then pop in the freezer. Keep the cubes on hand for when you need to cool down freshly brewed coffee in a jiffy!
Wholefully Protip
You can also use the frozen coffee cubes to make an easy mocha frappuccino by adding them, along with milk and mocha syrup, into a blender and blending until smooth and frosty.
Easy Iced Mocha Recipe with DIY Mocha Syrup
You'll never hit the coffee shop again with this Easy Iced Mocha Recipe in your back pocket! It's a breeze to make at home.
Ingredients
Mocha Syrup
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder or cacao powder
- 1 cup granulated or cane sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup cold water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Iced Mocha
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup chilled strongly brewed coffee or espresso (cold brew concentrate works well)
- 1-2 tablespoons mocha syrup, to taste
- Whipped cream and more mocha syrup, for serving
Instructions
- To make the mocha syrup, combine the cocoa or cacao powder, sugar, salt, and water in a small saucepan over low heat. Heat, whisking frequently, until the sugar dissolves and the syrup is smooth and glossy. Remove from heat, whisk in the vanilla, and set aside to cool.
- To make a mocha, combine milk, coffee or espresso, and mocha syrup in a glass measuring cup or mason jar with a tight fitting lid. Whisk or shake the mixture until well incorporated and frothy.
- Pour mocha over ice into a glass. Top with whipped cream and extra chocolate syrup, if desired.
Notes
- This works well with plant-based milks, too. Our favorites are full-fat coconut milk from the can and oatmilk.
- If you’d like to swap out the sugar for honey or maple syrup, you can. Just be aware that the mocha syrup will take on the natural flavors of the sweetener you use. Replace the 1 cup of sugar with 3/4 cup of honey or maple syrup.
- The mocha syrup will stay good in the fridge for a month or even longer.
- Pour extra coffee or espresso into ice cube trays and freeze for an easy way to chill freshly brewed coffee.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 2 tablespoons mocha syrupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 190Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 7mgSodium: 64mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 1gSugar: 30gProtein: 3g
At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.
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