Caffè mocha

A caffè mocha ( MOK-ə or MOH-kə), also called a mocaccino or simply mocha, is a chocolate-flavoured variant of caffè latte, commonly served warm or hot in a glass rather than a mug. The name is derived from the city of Mokha in Yemen, which was one of the centres of early coffee trade.

Origin

The name "mocha" is derived from the Yemeni port of Mokha, which was a port well-known for its coffee trade from the 15th to 17th century, and where small quantities of fine coffee grown in the hills nearby was exported. When coffee drinking culture spread to Europe, Europeans referred to coffee imports from Arabia as Mochas, even though coffee from Yemen itself was uncommon and frequently mixed with beans from Abyssinia, and later coffee from Malabar or the West Indies were also marketed as Mocha coffee.

The coffee drink today called "mocha", however, is made by adding chocolate, and some believe that this is the result of confusion caused by the chocolate flavor that may sometimes be found in Yemeni coffee. Chocolate has been combined with coffee after chocolate drink was introduced to Italy in the 17th century; in Turin, chocolate was mixed with coffee and cream to produce bavareisa, which evolved in the 18th century into bicerin served in small clear glass where its components may be observed as three separate layers. However, prior to the 1900s, Mocha referred to Yemeni coffee; its meaning began to change around the turn of the 20th century, and recipes for food such as cakes that combined chocolate and coffee that referenced mocha began to appear. In 1920, a recipe for a "Chilled Mocha" was published with milk, coffee and cocoa as ingredients.

Characteristics

Like caffè latte, caffè mocha is based on espresso and hot milk but with added chocolate flavouring and sweetener, typically in the form of cocoa powder and sugar. Many varieties use chocolate syrup instead, and some may contain dark or milk chocolate.