This easy Iced Mocha recipe is so simple to make, you’ll only need about five minutes to throw it together.
Hey, friend. As you might know, I have a ton of coffee recipes on the site, and I’ve gotten a bunch of questions about turning some of them into iced versions of themselves.
Doing that is a tiny bit more complicated than just pouring them over ice, so I went through my coffee archives and created iced versions of the most-requested drinks, because summer is coming fast, and cold coffee makes it just a little more bearable.
Today we’re covering one of my faves, a homemade Iced Mocha.
A Super Easy Iced Mocha Recipe
Like homemade mochas, iced mochas are incredibly simple to make at home. You just need milk, cocoa powder, sugar, cold coffee, and a little optional whipping cream for added richness.
If you have cold coffee on hand (more on that later if you don’t), it will take you about five minutes to throw everything together, pour over ice, and satisfy those caffeine and chocolate cravings. <3
Ingredient Notes
- Milk: By default, Starbucks uses 2% milk in their coffee drinks, but you can use any milk you’d like including non-dairy milks. The higher fat your milk, the richer and creamier your drink will be.
- Homemade chocolate syrup: Instead of using store-bought chocolate syrup or hot chocolate mix as many homemade recipes do, you’ll make a quick syrup of cocoa powder, sugar, and water to flavor the mocha base.
- Heavy cream: Cream is optional, but a little splash adds a really delicious richness to the coffee. For leftover heavy cream, check out my post What to Do With Leftover Whipping Cream for storage tips and recipe ideas for the leftovers.
How to Make an Iced Mocha at Home
1. First, you’ll whisk together sugar, cocoa powder, and a little milk on the stove over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and you get a smooth chocolate syrup.
2. Then you just mix a bit more milk and cold coffee into the syrup, stir, and pour over ice.
3. Top with whipped cream if desired, and if you’d like to garnish your mocha with fudge sauce as I did in the photos, this is the fudge sauce recipe I used.
How to Quickly Chill Coffee
As mentioned above, you’ll want to use cold coffee in this recipe because pouring a warm mocha over ice is just going to water it down too much. If you can plan ahead, pop some leftover coffee in the refrigerator the night before, and you’ll be good to go come morning.
But if you need an iced mocha now and don’t have any cold coffee in the fridge, here’s what you can do:
- Brew a pot of coffee at double strength and pour over a cup of ice (about 1 heaping cup of ice per 1 cup of coffee). The ice will melt, chilling the coffee while bringing it down to normal strength. Freeze any leftover coffee into ice cubes that you can use next time without worrying about watering down your coffee.
- OR pour hot coffee into a large cup and place it in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes until it has cooled to at least room temperature. Don’t forget about it though! 😉
I Want a Mocha Frappuccino
And finally, if mocha frappes are more your thing, not a problem. Instead of pouring your mocha over ice, blend it with 1 1/2 cups of ice. I also recommend upping the sugar a bit. Since you are blending in ice, it’s going to be much less sweet than the over-ice version.
And pro tip: for extra goodness, swirl fudge sauce around the glass before pouring in the frappuccino. It’s beautiful AND delicious.
FAQ
Can I make this in the microwave instead of on the stovetop?
Absolutely. You can make the chocolate syrup in the microwave instead of on the stove by combining 2 tablespoons of the milk, the sugar, and the cocoa powder in a microwave safe cup. Microwave until steaming, about 30 seconds, and stir until completely smooth. Then follow the rest of the recipe as written.
Can I double this recipe?
Yes! The recipe scales up with no preparation changes needed. To change the recipe yield, hover over the serving size in the recipe card below or click if you’re on mobile, and slide the slider.
How much caffeine is in a homemade iced mocha?
It will vary from recipe to recipe, but in this homemade version, there is 1 cup of coffee which averages about 96 grams of caffeine.
More Iced Coffee Recipes
More Starbucks-inspired Recipes
Iced Mocha Recipe
Ingredients
- ¼ cup milk any percentage, divided
- 1 to 2 tablespoons (12 to 25g) granulated sugar *
- 1 tablespoon (5g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup cold coffee *
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream optional
- Whipped cream optional for topping
- Chocolate syrup optional for topping
Instructions
- In a small pot, combine 2 tablespoons of the milk, sugar, and cocoa powder. Heat over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture begins to simmer and is well-combined and smooth.
- Remove from heat and whisk in cold coffee, remaining 2 tablespoons of the milk, and optional heavy cream.
- Pour over a 16-ounce cup (or mason jar) of ice, top with whipped cream and chocolate syrup if desired, and enjoy.
Notes
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