Mokka, not Mocha.
May 18, 2008 · Print This Article
In my often over caffeinated efforts to bring you information of interest from around the world I sometimes stumble serendipitously across a piece of information that resounds so harmoniously with my mission, mindset and audience that it seems criminal not to share it. Such is the case with the Austrian specialty, Mokka.
Mokka is a bit like what you may expect if you think phonetically like I do. It’s a kind of coffee drink, the kind that your favorite and least favorite chain cafes have been (poorly) imitating since their founding. Mokka is what you imagined espresso would be before you tried it: strong, flavorful, complex and as powerful as rocket fuel. You’re not going to get this without making it yourself, traveling to Austria or marrying into an Austrian family. That last option might be worth it, actually. I wonder what happened to Rachele Baumann from high school…
Mokka’s flavor is distinct, its texture rich and it’s so good you just know it’s bad for you. It’s probably good that it’s not that easy to make or you’d have it every night after dinner. My tip is to make it to impress friends, or to fill the kitchen of a vacation rental in Austria with that extra bit of genuine aroma.
Here’s the best recipe I’ve found for Mokka. I’ve tested out a few (ok, more than a few, I’m about to vibrate the legs off this chair) and this one makes my favorite. For a twist I added some Raspberry Torani syrup to the end result.
* 2 Tb butter
* 3 Tb sugar
* 4 c warm water
* 3/4 to 1 c ground coffee
* 1 to 2 Tb cocoa
Melt butter in a heavy-bottomed, medium saucepan over medium high heat. Stir in sugar. Continue to stir sugar and butter until sugar begins to caramelize and stick to the bottom of the pot a bit. Be careful not to burn the sugar! Remove pan from heat. Slowly and carefully add warm water. The sugar mixture will spit and steam as the water is first poured in. Do not add cold water, as this will cause the caramel to harden and stick to the bottom of the pot.
Return pan to heat and add
# 3/4 c ground coffee– not instant — and the cocoa. Bring to a boil, and allow to boil for a minute. Add more coffee if desired. When ready, the Mokka should have a crema on top: a fine, lighter brown foam.
Strain mixture into a mocha, coffee or tea pot. Serve in cappucino espresso cups that have been warmed by rinsing in hot water. Particularly wonderful with a teaspoon of cream and half a teaspoon additional sugar.
Thanks to the Buchmann family for the recipe and to christmas-baking.com for publicizing it!
I usually end up getting around 4 or 5 hours of sleep a night,...
I cant wait to try it! I just hope I dont mess it up
Practice makes better!
Thank you for this post
The word “mocha” comes from Al-Mukha, a port in Yemen where dealers import and export coffee. Most mocha however does not come from Yemen itself but from places like Ethiopia. Since mocha is top quality coffee, the word (and various spellings of it) is overused, even abused by coffee dealers.
let me tell you one thing, as an austrian, mokka is NOT made with butter in it … yikes. i have no idea where that recipe comes from, but don’t think that’s mokka
because, true mokka is water, coffee and sugar (some even drink it without sugar)
you boil the water - when you see the first bubbles, add the sugar (which makes it cook faster) put in REALLY fine (like powder) ground coffee and stir so no coffee is swimming on the surface. cook it till it starts to foam, let it do that and take it off the flame before it overflows, wait till the foam sets - repeat 2-3 times
then you fill it into the cups and wait till the coffee sinks to the bottom of the cup
drink
What grind of coffee would you recommend for this? Is it more of a turkish grind or a cowboy coffee grind?
I was just in Austria, and a Mocca (not Mokka) is just a regular espresso… no butter, sugar or cocoa.
That sound similar to turkish coffee, I wonder is that is the origin of the Variant? - Ben Koshkin -
this has been really insightful, thank you
Wow. A bit more detailed than a regular mix, but am betting the results will be phenominal! Thank you for posting this…!
Happy to link to an awesome recipe
I usually end up getting around 4 or 5 hours of sleep a night, which takes its toll some mornings, and Mokka has now become my beverage of choice to ward off the sleepies.
If anyone lives in a place where you can get it, I like to make it with Community Chicory Coffee…I like the bitterness of the Chicory.
Clearly this is a caramel coffe of a sort. A rather authentic sort made with fresh real caramel not a bottled syrup. I can’t wait to try it.