Scientific Mocha Experiment #1

[kerravonsen]

I've been faffing around for a long time trying to make the "perfect" (to my taste) mocha (whether iced or otherwise). But not actually being scientific about it, like, not measuring anything, not recording any results. That ends today!

What am I aiming for? I want to see if I can come close to the taste of Dare Iced Coffee Mocha, which has been my favourite reliable iced mocha for quite a while. (That isn't to say it's the only taste I like. There's really not much that can beat pouring fresh pourover-filter coffee over a glass full of chocolate ice cream.)

And it so happens I have half a bottle of Dare available for taste-comparison. I predict that today's effort will not come anywhere near it. However, actually having some Dare to compare it with will at least give me a direction to go in.

So. Recipe.

First, the coffee.

1. 25 grams of ground (medium roast) coffee
2. 500ml boiling water, measured into pyrex jug.
3. Put coffee into another pyrex jug, pour in about a cup of the water. Stir. Sit for 30 seconds.
4. Pour the coffee-water mix into the filter.
5. Let drain. Carefully and slowly pour in the rest of the water. Wait until all the water is drained.

Next, make the mocha.

1. 1/3 cup of powdered milk into a container.
2. Pour in about 1/2 cup of the coffee. Stir vigorously.
3. Pour in more coffee until there is 250ml of liquid. (That's the instructions for making up the powdered milk, except they use water, not coffee)
4. Add 1 tsp cocoa. Stir.
5. Add 3 tsp sweetener. Stir.
6. Put in freezer to cool down. (20 minutes)

The taste test.

In comparison, the Dare is sweeter, and has a less-strong coffee taste. Hmmm.

Revised recipe:

1. Add 125ml of cold milk.
2. Add another 2 level teaspoons of sweetener.

Comparison: definitely closer. But not there yet. Possibly needs more cocoa. But adding more cocoa powder at this juncture would be counterproductive, because cocoa does not mix well into cold liquid. So I'll use Jarrah cocoa mix instead.

Revised revised recipe:

1. Add 2 level teaspoons of Jarra cocoa mix. Stir vigorously.

Comparison: yes, this is closer. The Dare is still sweeter, though. I hadn't realised just how sweet Dare is. No wonder some people dislike it for being too sweet.

This taste experiment is now over. I'm going to pour both mixes together and have some iced mocha. Mmmm.