It kind of happened the stinking hot day I wanted an iced coffee but probably had too much time on my hands while waiting for the freshly brewed pot of espresso to cool - a series of 'what if?' moments.

Like, what if there was some Mexican chocolate...what if there was some Kahlúa?


Well, there was.

Mexican chocolate is quite a different animal to European chocolate, earthy and funky, spiced with cinnamon and contains coarse undissolved sugar crystals. It's really made for drinking and cooking and needs to be properly melted to dissolve the sugar, but makes for a superior drink.

Kahlúa, also hailing from Mexico, needs no introduction, other than as a coffee liqueur and indispensable ingredient of a Brown Cow.



Put them together and the result is a pretty impressive long cool rich drink with a frothy top, just like its namesake, mochachino. The shot of Kahlúa turns it into an adult drink, but there wouldn't be a problem with leaving it out and serving to grateful thirsty teenagers.

You do need to plan ahead though, as the coffee and Mexican chocolate need time to chill.

Iced Mexican Mochachino
(serves 4)

1 cup brewed strong coffee
1 tablet Mexican chocolate or 100g of whichever chocolate you prefer.
sugar to taste, if not using Mexican chocolate
3 cups cold milk
4 small scoops icecream
100ml Kahlúa - optional

Make Ahead

1 cup brewed coffee and melt the chocolate in 1 cup of hot milk until completely dissolved. Cool, then chill in the fridge.

In a blender, place the chilled coffee and dissolved chocolate, the rest of the milk, icecream and Kahlúa if using. Blend for a minute or so until nice and frothy. Serve in tall glasses.