Mocha Updated: I got a freestanding milk frother since this post first published, and I love it! Here’s the frother I now use…
http://tinyurl.com/cghouq4
I seem to get a lot of questions about how to sweeten coffee on a real food diet…so I’ve finally decided to address it in an official recipe. For starters PLEASE throw away your Splenda or other imitation sweeteners. I am begging you! 
Even though our family rarely does sugar anymore I would much rather have regular white table sugar (that has been around for thousands of years) over something that was (relatively recently) invented in a lab just to imitate sugar. Enough said about that.
As you’ve probably gathered from the title this is not a recipe for just plain ol’ coffee because that is just not how I roll. I am a mocha girl and always have been. My victim of choice used to be a white chocolate mocha to be exact, and I don’t even want to think about what the ingredients might be in one of those. But just in case I could convince one more person to stop ordering them I just got off the phone with Starbucks…
Starbucks white chocolate syrup: sugar, condensed skim milk, sweetened condensed skim milk, coconut oil, cocoa butter, natural flavors, salt, potassium sorbate, monoglycerides
Okay, well at least I can (almost) pronounce everything…I guess that is a positive, but what is the point in consuming a large dose of all that stuff when it could be so much simpler (and cheaper) if you make it at home!? Now if I am not at home my new drink to order is a latté (which is just plain espresso and milk) with a little honey added to sweeten it. And as you can see from the recipe if you want to make these mochas at home it is necessary to have an espresso maker. I have the simplest espresso machine imaginable, and it has worked wonderfully for almost a decade.
Now if you are one of those that likes to get creative please know that the cocoa/maple syrup combination in this recipe can be used as a “chocolate sauce” for just about anything. You can drizzle it on some ice cream, or I even use it to make both cold and hot chocolate milk for my girls. I bet it would be good mixed into regular coffee too. So enjoy!
½ teaspoon unsweetened cocoa (this recipe will work with regular cocoa, but I think it is SOOO much better with the pictured “special dark” variety…which most stores carry)- 1 teaspoon 100% pure maple syrup (honey would work as an alternative)
- 1 shot of espresso
- ¾ cup of milk
- Heat ¾ cup milk in a glass measuring cup in the microwave (for about 2 minutes) or by using a milk frother.
- While the milk is heating up, stir together the cocoa and maple syrup until the mixture looks “wet.”
- Pour the hot espresso and milk into the chocolate mixture…and voila! You have a “mocha.”
[...] health and that of my family's. We snack on apples now, not Goldfish. When I drink coffee I have a mock mocha, no cream and sugar. My 2-year-old has been known to spit out fruit snacks (although he'll also [...]
I just wanna say thank you for this amazing, yet simple recipe! It has saved me once I gave up my Starbucks habit. I also got a handheld milk frother and it works brillantly. Thank you again for all the work you’ve put into this website. It has dramatically changed our lifestyle.
This is delicious! I’m having it right now!
I made this this morning. Didn’t think it’d turn out well b/c we like a LOT of cream and sugar in our coffee. I used 1.5t of cocoa powder and a tablespoon of maple syrup just in regular coffee. Topped it off with some organic whole milk. So surprised it actually tastes very good! Thanks! Good alternative to flavored creamer!
[...] coffee creamer once and for all in my house! I blame 100daysofrealfood for this awesome recipe Maple Mocha. Who knew, maple syrup and cocoa powder turns into super yummy chocolate syrup. I have used [...]
Hey everyone! I am in Canada and shop at Superstore most of the time and have not been able to find Hershey’s “special dark”cocoa, let alone any Hershey’s cocoa. ANyone know where to find it? Thanks
[...] limited to water, milk, all natural juices, naturally sweetened coffee & tea, and, to help the adults keep their sanity, wine and [...]
Hi,
I cannot easily find the answer on your site. What do you recomend to use to sweeten a regular cup of coffee? Also maple syrup or honey?
Thanks!
Wendy
Hi Wendy. Yes, honey and maple syrup are our recommended sweeteners during the pledge. A good sweetener outside of the pledge is coconut palm sugar: http://foodbabe.com/tag/coconut-palm-sugar/. Hope that helps. ~Amy
[...] routine…First, I’ll play a little music and make my chocolate-y cream-y all natural latte. It is sooo good and so simple and not bad for you. It sounds weird to put maple syrup in coffee, [...]
[...] limited to water, milk, all natural juices, naturally sweetened coffee & tea, and, to help the adults keep their sanity, wine and [...]
[...] routine…First, I’ll play a little music and make my chocolate-y cream-y all natural latte. It is sooo good and so simple and not bad for you. It sounds weird to put maple syrup in coffee, [...]
Thanks for the tip about using maple syrup, prior I was using Ghirardelli sweetened cocoa I am now switching to regular cocoa and maple syrup! I have been making my own mocha’s for over a year now and I use an Aeropress coffee and espresso maker, it’s the closest thing to get a shot of espresso without buying an espresso machine. Thanks for the great website.
Delicious! I just whipped this up and put some in milk for my two boys. The best chocolate milk we have ever had! Thanks for such a super easy and healthy alternative to Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup. My boys are glad to be allowed chocolate milk again.