If you’re hooked on mochas and you’re tired of paying someone’s salary at Starbucks, then you’ve come to the right place. With a few simple and inexpensive ingredients, you can make a mocha syrup just as good as (if not better) than anything you get at Starbucks or off the shelf — and certainly better than the Starbucks Mocha Powder they used to sell.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need:
| English | Metric | Ingredient |
| 3 cups | 0.75 L | Pure, filtered water |
| 2 cups | 0.5 L | Sugar |
| 1 cup | 0.25 L | Cocoa powder |
| 1/2 cup | 0.125 L | Dark cocoa powder |
| 2 oz | 60 ml | Vanilla syrup |
| 1 oz | 30 ml | Imitation vanilla extract |
Cooking Instructions
Before you start, you’ll want to make sure you have the basics: A sauce pan, wisk, rubber spatula, and a couple of squeeze bottles to hold the syrup when you’re finished.
Bring the water to a boil in the sauce pan. Mix the sugar and cocoa together in a separate bowl and work out any lumps. Once the water reaches a boil, turn the heat off and stir in the sugar/cocoa mixture slowly with a wisk. (You can let it simmer for a bit to thicken it if you want, but be very careful not to let it boil over — it will make a mess, and it always seems to start boiling over the moment you turn your attention elsewhere. It only takes a second; consider yourself warned!)
Stir constantly until any lumps are gone, being careful not to let the sugar or cocoa settle to the bottom of the pan. Using a triangle whisk will help incorporate any sugar or cocoa that gets stuck to the side or bottom of the pan.
After it’s mixed thoroughly, and as it’s cooling down, add the vanilla extract and syrup and stir again. Then pour the syrup into a large liquid measuring cup. You can get every last drop if you use a good rubber spatula.
Finally, after it’s cooled down a bit, carefully pour the syrup into the squeeze bottles and store in the refrigerator. Don’t store it at room temperature unless you want it to start fermenting in a couple of days. 😮
Mocha Recipes
To make the standard mochas, you’ll need some good coffee, and an espresso machine loaded with fresh, filtered water.
You’ll want to experiment with proportions, but for a 16 oz (475ml) mug, I like to use a double shot of espresso, 2/3 of a double shot of chocolate syrup, and the rest 2% milk. My wife likes a 12 oz (355 ml) mug, with the same amount of espresso and a single shot of the syrup.
Steam the milk first — it will stay hotter longer than the coffee. Add the chocolate and any additional syrups (like vanilla or cinnamon) to the mug, and then the espresso. Swirl it around or stir it until it’s well mixed. Finally top it off with the steamed milk and foam. To make iced mochas, follow the same steps, but add ice to the top of the glass before adding cold milk.
For quick chocolate milk, just pour a glass of milk and squeeze in some chocolate until the color is just right. If you’re using a squeeze bottle, you might not even need to stir it. The kids love it! It’s also great on ice cream, and it gives an extra kick to Swiss Miss hot cocoa packets.
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Technically this is not a Mocha Syrup, but a very good chocolate syrup. Many people, including Starbucks believe that “Mocha” is just a fancy name for chocolate, but this is not the case at all. They are two different flavors.
The difference between mocha and chocolate is coffee flavoring. For a syrup to be a mocha syrup, it need to be infused with chocolate flavoring and coffee flavoring, but not too much to over power the chocolate. Usually this would be about a 1 to 1 ratio but this depends on the quality of the chocolate and coffee flavoring used.
Thanks for the feedback and the clarification! I suppose I meant for it to be read as “syrup for mochas” as opposed to “mocha-flavored syrup” but your point is well taken. Mmm… your website looks interesting, too — maybe it’s time to visit Hawaii again 🙂
What kind of powders do you use? Our local store carries Ghirardelli Baking Cocoa Powder, and they have a “Sweet Ground Chocolate and Cocoa” and an “Unsweetened Cocoa”. I wasn’t sure if the Unsweetened Cocoa would fit the bill for the Dark Cocoa Powder or not.
http://shop.ghirardelli.com/product-exec/product_id/110/nm/Unsweetened_Cocoa_
http://shop.ghirardelli.com/product-exec/product_id/189/nm/Sweet_Ground_Chocolate_and_Cocoa
I usually use the Hershey’s powders, like these: http://amzn.com/B001EQ5AHW and http://amzn.com/B001EQ4SHK.
Ok, thanks for the tip on the chocolate powder. I just tried this and I have to say – it was a great replacement for sbux mocha syrup! The stuff they sell to the public in the little container is nothing but stink-on-a-shelf, Hershey’s special dark syrup (pre-made) is too sweet, and the original Hershey just doesn’t have any ‘umph’ in it, but your concoction worked out really well!
Cooks Illustrated did a taste test on Cocoa powders, and Hershey’s Natural Cocoa Unsweetened came out on top.
Ghiradeli Natural Unsweetened Cocoa was “Recommended with reservations,” given a “respectable” flavor. And Nestle got the same rating, being called “weak,” “mild,” “one-dimensional,” and “kid-friendly.” 🙂
Now all I need is an espresso machine. Sigh.
I have made this twice now and I think this is a great alternative to the Sbux syrup. It’s not exactly the same, but its a darn good substitute. I think it would also be good on ice cream or as a syrup for chocolate milk. I left out the vanilla syrup and just used Vanilla extract. Thanks for the recipe!!
Thanks for the comments, and I’m glad you liked it! It does work nicely on ice cream. It’s also an easy way to make chocolate milk for the kids — pour in some milk, squirt in some chocolate until the color is just right, and you’re done. 🙂
I went ahead and updated the article with a little more information, and I added back the photo that seemed to have disappeared. Enjoy!
No comment just want to know if I have to have the vanilla syrup to make the mocha syrup receipe you provide as I cannot find any in stores. Can I leave it out or is their a substitute?
Thank you
Yes, you can just leave it out. I use Torani brand syrup usually, and it adds a nice flavor, but it’s not essential. You could also try adding a little vanilla extract as a substitute, but again, you might like it just fine without. Here’s a link to the Torani brand syrup: http://www.amazon.com/Torani-Vanilla-Syrup-750mL/dp/B000AXWA0A
http://www.lollicupstore.com/s.nl?sc=2&category=&search=vanilla%20syrup
has all the Torani syrups for a fraction of what Amazon charges! : )
http://www.lollicupstore.com/Torani-Vanilla-Syrup-750ml-MSRP-4-45
I made this the other day and it is so good! I just wanted to let you know – good job! I love Starbuck’s mochas… but I love saving money too, thanks!
I know it will never be the same but…….How can I use the syrup and hot milk to flavor regular coffee?
This is the recipe that I have been searching for! I use a half of a vanilla bean instead of the vanilla syrup and flavor. It was perfect!
The local stores around me dont carry dark cocoa powder so would i be able to just leave it out or does it have to have the dark cocoa powder in it?
I like the flavor better if it has dark powder in it, but you could certainly try it without. I’m surprised your local stores don’t carry it, though — did you check the baking aisle?
This is glorious. Absolutely glorious. I had to adapt it a bit because my kiddos are sleeping, and I’m craving a chocolate coconut iced latte something fierce. Didn’t have dark cocoa powder or vanilla syrup, but no problem, even though I know those would be lovely in here. I also added a little coconut oil (2TBSP) just before the vanilla and it created a divine light coconut flavor in the syrup. Thanks!
This looks good! Thanks for posting this. Can’t wait to try. How long will it last in the fridge?
Thanks for the recipe. I was wondering how long will it last in the fridge before it should be tossed and not good to use anymore?