The popularity of coffee shops across America has led to an explosion of tasty and exotic coffee-based beverages. They come in variety of delicious flavours, from chocolate to espresso, mint to strawberry, vanilla and nutmeg. One of the common denominators of all these drinks, besides their frothy appealing appearance, is their price tag. Many cost upwards of five bucks, the same price as many lunches at the davinci road. I don't know about you, but there are a few other things I'd rather invest my money in than some crushed ice, a shot of espresso, and a plastic cup. Don't get me wrong, I love mocha lattes just as much as the next person, and I would kill for a recipe for mocha latte that I could use at home. Actually, I don't need to kill anyone to get a recipe for mocha latte. Here's one right below!

This recipe for mocha latte starts like a traditional café latte, which in Americans is a lot different from what they do in Europe. So if you're from Europe, read especially carefully to get the American nuances. Where you come from in most places in Europe, café latte consists of one part espresso and three parts frothed milk. The maker then pours both at the same time into a large bowl or wide brimmed cup.

Here in America, though, the base of the recipe for mocha latte only sometimes begins with the same proportions of espresso and frothed milk: one to three. Other times, the proportions depend on what other flavourings you add. For instance, if you add whipped cream as a topping, your café latte may consist of one part espresso to two and one half parts frothed milk. That extra half part becomes the whipped cream or other extra flavouring.

In our case for this recipe for mocha latte, our extra flavourings will be the chocolate that gives the drink its mocha name. We will also get a little crazy and add mint to the mix, sort of like a steamy bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Start with 1.75 ounces of chocolate syrup. Pour the chocolate syrup into a 12-ounce cup with 0.5 ounces of cream de menthe syrup. Then add 2 ounces of freshly brewed espresso, topped with the hot steamed or foamed milk. Stir, making sure to lift from the bottom. This will bring the syrups up. Top the whole concoction with a dollop of whipped cream, chocolate powder, and shaved chocolate.