Starbucks Chocolate Mocha Sachets: Nearer Hot Chocolate Than Coffee

Coffee accounts for 6.8% of the published ingredient list, and cocoa for 10.9%, which settles the question most people have about this carton. It is a chocolate drink with coffee running through it, built for a kettle and a mug rather than a machine.

What twenty-two grams of powder holds

Each sachet weighs twenty-two grams, far more than a spoonful of plain instant, and most of that weight is milk powder, sugar and cocoa rather than coffee. The label opens with skimmed milk powder at 38.6%, then sugar, fat-reduced cocoa powder at 10.9% and coffee at 6.8%, most of it instant with a little roast and ground coffee added. Glucose syrup, coconut oil, lactose from milk, salt, acidity regulators and natural flavouring make up the rest.

In the mug that order holds. Sweetness registers first, milk-chocolate character a moment later, and the roast arrives last as a bitter edge that stops the drink tasting like hot chocolate alone. The balance is deliberate and suits the idea of the drink, but it means anyone wanting a strong coffee with a hint of chocolate should make an espresso and add cocoa instead.

Two levers: water and heat

Water quantity changes this drink more than anything else. Use 180 to 200ml and no more; the same sachet stretched across a large mug stops being a mocha and becomes a thin chocolate-flavoured drink with the coffee lost somewhere inside. If your usual mug is big, fill it only partway rather than topping it up.

Boil the kettle and wait about thirty seconds, which puts the water near 90 degrees Celsius. Water still bubbling hard can scorch the milk powder and leave a film across the top, and the mix dissolves happily at the gentler heat. For a richer cup, make roughly one part in three hot milk instead of water: it goes most of the way towards the texture that steamed milk gives the counter version.

An evening mug, not a morning one

Starbucks started out roasting coffee in Seattle, and its at-home sachets package the drinks people order by name. The mocha travels better than most, because chocolate carries through a powder where the foamed texture of a latte cannot. Even so, this is cocoa-led and thick, which makes it right for a cold evening and less right first thing, when most of us want coffee to lead.

With skimmed milk powder and lactose on the label, it cannot suit a dairy-free household. Five sachets to a carton suits an occasional treat rather than a daily staple. Anyone with a Dolce Gusto machine can find a mocha in pod form in the Starbucks White Mocha, but this carton asks for nothing more than a kettle. For food, oats, ginger or a caramelised biscuit all sit comfortably beside chocolate.

The packs we stock

• Starbucks Chocolate Mocha, 5 Pack 110g (barcode 8445291703131)

What the label says

The published ingredient list for Starbucks Chocolate Mocha, 5 Pack 110g says it contains milk. Check the current 5 pack before buying; Starbucks can update the mocha recipe and its milk warning.

Ingredients, as published: Skimmed Milk Powder (38.6%), Sugar, Fat-Reduced Cocoa Powder (10.9%), Coffee (6.8%) (Instant Coffee (6.7%), Roast and Ground Coffee), Glucose Syrup, Coconut Oil, Lactose (Milk), Salt, Acidity Regulators (Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid), Natural Flavouring.

Ingredient and nutrition information for this product, as published on the manufacturer's label. Your 5 pack of mocha sachets has the final say.

What to eat with it

• McVitie's Original Hobnobs Biscuits - The Oaty One, 255g: A plain oaty biscuit that lets the chocolate in the mug take the lead.
• Border Dark Chocolate Ginger Organic Biscuits, 150g: Dark chocolate and ginger give warmth and bite on a cold evening.
• Lotus Biscoff Caramelised Biscuits, 250g: A caramelised biscuit sits naturally beside a sweet chocolate mug.

Elsewhere in the Starbucks range

• Starbucks Americano House Blend By Nescafe Dolce Gusto, Coffee (12 Servings), 12 Pods
• Starbucks Blonde Espresso Roast by NESPRESSO Coffee, Blonde Roast, Box of 10, 53g
• Starbucks Breakfast Blend by Nespresso Medium Roast Coffee, 10 Capsules 56g
• Starbucks by Nescafé Dolce Gusto 12 x Madagascar Vanilla Macchiato Coffee (6 Servings)
• Starbucks by Nescafé Dolce Gusto 12 x White Mocha Coffee (6 Servings)
• Starbucks by Nespresso Blonde Espresso Roast Coffee, 10 Pods

The full range is on the Starbucks brand page.

FAQ

Is Starbucks Chocolate Mocha more coffee or more chocolate? More chocolate. Cocoa makes up a larger share of the ingredient list than coffee, and the roast comes through as an edge rather than the lead.

How much water should I use per sachet? Between 180 and 200ml. More than that dilutes the chocolate and hides the coffee almost completely.

Can I make the mocha sachet creamier? Yes. Replace about a third of the water with hot milk for a texture closer to the coffee-shop drink.

Is Starbucks Chocolate Mocha suitable for a dairy-free diet? No. The published ingredients include skimmed milk powder and lactose.

How big is each Chocolate Mocha sachet? Twenty-two grams. There are five to a carton, 110g of mix in all, and each makes one mug.

Curator's note: A small mug matters more than anything with this one. On a cold evening, make a third of the liquid hot milk if there is some in the fridge. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.

In short: Starbucks Chocolate Mocha Sachets: Nearer Hot Chocolate Than Coffee

More from the tea wiki

• Starbucks Tea: Café Range and the Teavana Story
• Tea vs Coffee: Taste, Caffeine and Switching
• Caffeine in Tea
• Tea vs Coffee
• Tea for Coffee Drinkers: Where to Start
• Chai vs Coffee

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