What Is the Mocha Origin and Why Are Coffee Shops Dropping It?

Mocha coffee, named for the Yemeni port of Mokha, was once a standard menu item beside latte and cappuccino in Italian coffee shops. Many specialty cafes now leave it off the menu, replacing it with drinks such as dirty latte and oat milk latte. The chocolate that made mocha popular also softened its coffee bitterness and added flavor layers, but that sweetness has fallen out of step with current tastes.

The origin of mocha coffee explains its enduring appeal, yet the drink is not disappearing. A salted version, made by adding a small pinch of salt to a standard mocha recipe, has become a frequent new menu item. The salt makes the sweetness more prominent and the aroma clearer, and the mix of salty and sweet fits modern preferences. This guide covers the hot and iced salted mocha methods.

Mocha coffee was once a classic menu item alongside latte and cappuccino in Italian coffee shops, and a favorite of many coffee lovers. However, nowadays many specialty coffee shops no longer feature mocha as a main offering, and some have even removed it from their menus, replaced by products more favored by today's consumers, such as dirty and oat milk latte. Is mocha really going to disappear from coffee shops? Actually, that's not the case—while traditional mocha is no longer popular, its variant "salted mocha" has risen sharply and become a hot product in the coffee scene in recent years. This article will share the complete method for making salted mocha, from material preparation and coffee bean selection to both hot and iced versions, and explain why it is more popular than traditional mocha.

"Boss, I'd like a mocha."

"Sorry, we don't have mocha in our shop~"

Once, mocha, like latte and cappuccino, was a regular on the fixed menu of Italian coffee and a must-order choice for many people entering a shop. But today, more and more specialty coffee shops no longer treat mocha as a main featured coffee, and some have even directly removed it from the menu. In its place are products more popular with current consumers, such as dirty and oat milk latte. The figure of mocha seems to be gradually fading from coffee shops.

The presence of chocolate both weakens the bitterness of the coffee itself and makes the flavor layers of the entire cup richer. Because of this, when mocha coffee first appeared, it won the favor of a large number of consumers. Although traditional mocha is no longer popular today, the "derivative version" of mocha has successfully broken through and become a hot new favorite in the coffee scene! Yes, that's right—it's "salted mocha."

The method for making salted mocha is actually not much different from traditional mocha coffee; it just adds a small pinch of salt to the coffee, and the mocha coffee takes on a completely different appearance.

Not only does the sweetness become more prominent, but the aroma is also clearer than before. Compared with traditional mocha, salted mocha with its interwoven salty and sweet seems to better match modern consumers' taste preferences, so in recent years we can frequently see many coffee shops launching "salted mocha" as a new product. So today Front Street will talk with everyone about how to make the widely popular salted mocha coffee!

Materials needed for preparation...

First, Front Street will introduce the materials that will be needed later. They are all things that can be bought very easily, namely: espresso/moka pot coffee, fresh milk/purified milk, chocolate/chocolate sauce or unsweetened chocolate powder, condensed milk, cream, and a little salt.

Although the taste of chocolate will mask most of the coffee flavor, Front Street believes that the choice of coffee beans is still very crucial. Because when the flavor provided by the coffee beans matches milk chocolate more closely, the mouthfeel and taste of the mocha coffee will be more outstanding. Therefore, Front Street suggests that if everyone wants to make a very delicious cup of salted mocha, it is best to choose coffee beans that pair well with chocolate flavor, such as medium-dark roast and dark roast coffee beans.

Because this type of coffee bean has rich nutty and chocolate flavors, it pairs very well with the taste of milk chocolate and will not feel abrupt. Taking Front Street's bean list as an example, there are many coffee beans in Front Street's bean list that fit the above description, such as single-origin ones including Front Street Indonesia·Golden Mandheling and Front Street Brazil·Queen's Estate; in the blend series there are Front Street Specialty Blend, Front Street Classic Blend, the espresso beans recommended by many baristas—Front Street Black Cocoa Blend, Front Street Commercial Blend, and so on.

So the coffee beans selected by Front Street for this sharing are Front Street Classic Blend. It is blended from coffee beans from three producing regions: Brazil, Mandheling, and Vietnam. It has rich chocolate, nutty, and creamy flavors, and fits the chocolate taste of mocha coffee very well! Once the materials are ready, we can begin making the coffee!

Making super rich salted mocha

First, we need to make the base of the salted mocha coffee. Making the base is very simple; you only need to mix the espresso with chocolate products and other materials, and stir evenly. The ratio used here at Front Street is: double espresso (20g powder, 30 seconds, 40ml), unsweetened chocolate powder 8g, condensed milk 8g, chocolate sauce 5g, edible salt 0.5g. (If there is no espresso, you can also use strong coffee extracted from a moka pot instead, but making moka pot coffee requires attention to concentration. Pour them all into the same container and stir with a bamboo whisk until there are no obvious granules.

Because what Front Street is sharing here first is hot salted mocha, after stirring the chocolate coffee base we need to start steaming the milk. The steaming of the milk is the same as for regular latte milk: thin milk foam, temperature around 65°C. (Note: If the base uses strong moka pot coffee instead of espresso, then the milk can be replaced with purified milk, which can improve the coffee's mouthfeel to a certain extent.)

After steaming is complete, we can begin mixing the two! There are two methods to choose from. The first is latte art, namely the method Front Street shared last October, so we will not elaborate too much here.

The other is like cappuccino, using milk foam to create an appearance similar to a donut. The method is very simple: first, we scoop 2~3 spoonfuls of milk foam and spread it in the middle of the coffee. (Note: Try to make the area of the milk foam larger.)

After spreading is complete, we pour all the remaining milk foam concentrated in the center until the cup is full (200ml).

Finally, we only need to sprinkle some chocolate powder/chocolate shavings to enhance the aroma of this cup of salted mocha, and a rich and delicious cup of salted mocha is complete! (It is best to sprinkle the chocolate powder concentrated in the middle, otherwise the situation shown below will occur, where because it is covered by powder, the coffee "donut" was made in vain.)

Compared with last year's version, Front Street believes that this year's version has a rich aroma while not tasting too heavy when drunk, and is friendlier to friends who do not like sweetness and richness.

The iced version is much simpler! Last year Front Street shared an iced shaken version, so this year we will share a regular version. The method for the coffee base is still the same, except the chocolate sauce can be slightly increased by 5g on the original basis, and the salt by 0.5g. After the chocolate coffee base is made, set it aside for later use! Then take out an iced cup and use chocolate sauce to coat the inside of the cup. (It is best to freeze the chocolate sauce in advance before coating to reduce its fluidity and prevent the situation below...)

Then add 120g of ice cubes and 180ml of iced milk to the cup.

Then pour in the chocolate coffee base prepared earlier.

Finally, top with milk foam or whipped cream, then sprinkle with chocolate powder/shavings, and you can even add some chocolate chunks and cookie decorations. A cup of iced salted mocha is complete.

Compared with the hot version, the iced salted mocha tastes equally rich, but in comparison its mouthfeel is smoother and more refreshing. But note that before tasting, we had better use a straw to stir it so that the chocolate coffee can fully blend with the milk, making the coffee even more delicious.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.