Mocha Coffee: Learn About the Source and Try Our Recipes for Making Great Mochas

Depending on how we look at it, mocha coffee may be the tall drink made of coffee, cocoa and milk, often served with cream or, on the other hand mocha coffee may refer to the source.

Grown along steep terraced hillsides at an altitude of anywhere from 3,000 to 7,000 feet, the harvested fruit is a small, hard coffee bean. No doubt about it, for one reason or another, it is know the world over. Some connoisseurs consider the Yemeni beans the best that money can buy. Yemen is the source of true Mocha coffee.

No doubt about it, authentic Mocha coffee is a pleasure to drink. Due to the harsh hot dry climate, the coffee beans are as unique as its distinct taste. From the varieties available Mocha Sanani and Mocha Mattari are considered the finest. The name itself originates from the Yemeni port town on the Red Sea.

So, whilst many people may not be totally familiar with the origins of Mocha coffee, I think most people have heard about or tried and fallen in love with the drink.

Make your own Mocha coffee and enjoy the unique flavor and aroma

Make your own Mocha coffee and enjoy the unique flavor and aroma

Mocha coffee is really easy to make and we are pleased to offer a couple of recipes to get you on your way. Basically all you need to do is add cocoa, sugar and milk to hot coffee, perhaps experiment with some other tastes and drink. Others prefer to actually mix the cocoa, sugar, milk and coffee in a saucepan and heat until it starts to simmer.

At this point, try adding a little vanilla extract. Pout into cups or glasses and top with whipped cream and cinnamon. The taste will surprise you, you will find the flavor wonderfully rich and very aromatic. In order to make things a little easier, these are the list of ingredients for two servings.

2 cups of coffee

1/3 cup of cocoa

2 cups of milk

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1/2 cup of whipping cream

dash of cinnamon

2 cups of coffee

1/3 cup of cocoa

2 cups of milk

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1/2 cup of whipping cream

dash of cinnamon

1/3 cup of cocoa

2 cups of milk

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1/2 cup of whipping cream

dash of cinnamon

2 cups of milk

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1/2 cup of whipping cream

dash of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1/2 cup of whipping cream

dash of cinnamon

1/2 cup of whipping cream

dash of cinnamon

dash of cinnamon

Prepare the ingredients as mentioned above and the results will be a fantastic Mocha coffee that will put any coffee house's version to shame.

About Coffee

Even today there is controversy surrounding coffee as to whether it is good for the health or not and a new study seems to be published each week either defending or condemning this drink. At first coffee beans were sold by pharmacists and then by coffee houses which became popular for revolution and enlightened thinking. As coffee traveled from Constantinople to Venice and then to Vienna and other European capitals it was banned repeatedly. Here coffee was widely consumed by the populous but condemned by the Islamic leaders because of its supposed intoxicating effects. The coffee plant was first cultivated commercially in the Arab world in the fifteenth century.

Robusta beans have twice the caffeine of Arabica beans but less flavor. The Arabica beans are named for the Arabs who first grew them and are the better of the two. Commercial coffee beans belong to two main groups, Arabica and robusta. When picked coffee beans are green and do not acquire the familiar brown color and intoxicating aroma until they are roasted.

On the other hand most coffee beans sold in coffee specialty shops are Arabica. Supermarket coffee blends are usually made up of mostly Robusta beans with a few Arabica to add some flavor.

Today the word Mocha has come to mean a flavor combination of coffee and chocolate, but actually has nothing to do with Mocha beans which are rare and expensive. Named after the Yemeni Port from which the coffee was once shipped to the rest of the world. The prized of these are the true Mochas. Africa, the birthplace of coffee still grow coffee with wild flowers that coffee lovers prize. But there is a small amount grown in the Hawaiian Islands and some in Yemen on the Red Sea. Africa, Indonesia and Central and South America are the three main regions where coffee is grown.

This coffee is almost impossible to find in America as the Japanese buy almost all the tiny annual production and if it can be found it is extremely expensive. Coffee produced in Central America (particularly Guatemala and Costa Rica) are of real interest to coffee connoisseurs because many of the beans from these regions offer the balance and smoothness that made Jamaica's Blue Mountain coffee legendary. Many good coffees also come from the island of Papua New Guinea. Indonesian coffees are popular for their body and earthy flavor. Another favorite, Africa Coffee is from Kenya, a country that produces many superlative beans.

One third of the coffee drunk worldwide is grown in Brazil but almost none of it is of any interest to coffee connoisseurs.

Colombia has put money and research into its coffee industry but unfortunately its beans are rarely exceptional.

If you prefer a flavored coffee a better idea is to brew good coffee from unflavored beans and dose it modestly with one or more of the flavoring essences that can be purchased at many gourmet shops. If these flavored beans are ground at home they will impart their flavors, possibly forever, on to your grinder and brewing apparatus. The flavored coffees that are becoming increasingly popular are usually based on bland, mediocre beans that are stirred with chemical flavoring essences after roasting.