Guides

Types of coffee drinks and how to make them

Pick a drink to see what goes into it, how strong it tastes and how to make it at home. No two cafés pour quite the same size, so read the amounts as typical rather than official. Coffee and water are in grams because you’ll be weighing them, and 1 g of water is 1 ml anyway.

Espresso with milk

Mocha

Basically a hot chocolate with coffee in it, and the chocolate usually wins.

  • Milk foam ≈ 30 ml
  • Steamed milk ≈ 180 ml
  • Espresso ≈ 40 ml
  • Chocolate ≈ 20 ml
  • About 270 ml
Cross-section, drawn to scale, with typical amounts.

A latte with chocolate in it. Some cafés use sauce, some use cocoa and sugar, and a few melt real chocolate, so how sweet it is depends a lot on where you get it.

Ratio1:5, espresso to milk, plus chocolate
RecipeDouble shot + chocolate + 200 ml milk
MilkSteamed, thin foam (about 75% of the drink)
Serve in240–350 ml mug
Time25–30 s shot
How strong it tastesLow

How to make it

  1. Put 15 to 25 g of chocolate sauce, or cocoa and sugar, in the cup.
  2. Pull a double shot onto it and stir until smooth.
  3. Steam 200 ml of milk to 55 to 65 °C and pour it in.

Tip: Mix cocoa powder into the hot shot first. Added straight to milk, it clumps.

Common mistake: Most chocolate sauces are already sweet, so taste before you add any sugar.

Variations

  • White mocha: white chocolate instead of dark
  • Iced: chocolate, shot, cold milk and ice
  • Topped: whipped cream or grated chocolate

At a café

Listed as a mocha or café mocha. Some chains add whipped cream unless you ask them not to.

Mocha vs. latte: A latte has no chocolate, so it’s less sweet and the coffee comes through more. See the latte

You’ll need: Espresso machine, grinder, scale and milk jug.