Latte vs Mocha

Coffee is one of the latest craze in beverages nowadays. Across a broad multi-age group of supporters, coffee has gained the attention of the masses. Two of the most likable treats are the latte and mocha coffee variations. Because of their seemingly identical nature, these two coffee preparations are hard to distinguish from each other especially for those who are not fond of coffee that much.

Actually, both the latte and mocha are mere sub variations of café espresso. Both make use of at least 30-33% espresso while the rest are made of steamed milk. The major difference in mocha and latte is the addition of a key ingredient for café mocha. Yes, you guessed it right; this ingredient is none other than the chocolate. It’s no wonder why mocha, as a term, means chocolate coffee or coffee and chocolate.

By simply adding chocolate to the espresso or latte mix, the resulting variant already becomes café mocha. The chocolate in this sense can also vary. Some prepare café mocha using powdered cocoa while others mainly use chocolate syrups. More so, the chocolate used can either be a pure dark chocolate or a pure white chocolate. The result would be a dark café mocha mix and a white mocha variation respectively. They just differ due to the kind of chocolate used.

On the contrary, a true café latte does not add chocolate to its mixture. Although it is not hidden to the knowledge of many that some countries practice blending chocolate flavorings into the latte, still this is just for the coffee to taste sweeter than the ordinary variant.

Mochas also have a key feature of having a milky froth atop the coffee itself but the usual preparation dictates that café mochas use whip creams. In addition, there are also cases that marshmallows are added along with cinnamon just for the sake of visual presentation. Lattes also have a milky foam on top for just a quarter of an inch thick.

So the next time you buy coffee, you most likely know the difference between latte and mocha. And they happen to be:

1. Mocha is basically a latte mixed with a certain kind of chocolate whereas the latte does not usually make use of an additional chocolate ingredient.

2. If café mocha is coffee and chocolate, café latte is coffee and milk.

3. Mochas usually use whipped creams to top the preparation while lattes have a thin milky foam on top.