mocha

      Mocha is one of the more intriguing of the espresso based coffees. Despite the name, it owes nothing to the mocha coffees grown in Ethiopia, with their rich and distinctive flavour, but is in fact chocolate flavoured. This makes it an intriguing prospect, especially as most coffee fans tend to have a thing about chocolate as well!

      The coffee industry seems to have kept mocha something of a mystery to us all - everybody knows a cappuccino is a strong shot of espresso coffee topped with steamed or frother milk, but to get from a cappuccino into a mocha is a little more complicated.

      Cafe ABsite decided to experiment with this little known phenomenon in 1999, and almost damaged our espresso brewing equipment with cocoa powder. The help of coffee company Whittard's was enlisted and they sent someone to a local cafe in Birmingham, who reported back the magic ingredient was in fact drinking chocolate, after which a second round of experiments revealed it wasn't. Seattle Coffee Co. were far more helpful, revealing finally that the secret formula was nothing more than chocolate sauce for ice cream.

      Just make the espresso as usual, then stir in a teaspoonful of chocolate sauce (Belgian chocolate sauce works well) before adding the frothed milk, and it's as simple as that!