Irish Cream Mocha (Non-Alcoholic, Made at Home)

An Irish cream mocha combines our Mocha with the sweetened, condensed-milk-based flavor behind our Irish Cream Latte — and just like that latte, there’s no alcohol anywhere in this recipe, only a non-alcoholic Irish cream flavoring extract. It doesn’t need a new jar of anything: 1 tbsp each of the two syrups you’d already be making for those two drinks.

Make Both Bases First (Just Once)

This recipe assumes you already have a jar each of Mocha Sauce and Irish Cream Syrup in the fridge — a 15-minute batch and a 10-minute batch, making about 12 and 10 drinks’ worth respectively, both keeping about 2 weeks. If you’re building your first jar of either, make that one first, then come back here.

Building the Drink

1. Pull a double shot of espresso (about 2oz) directly into your cup, or brew a strong coffee/moka pot equivalent.
2. Stir in 1 tbsp of the mocha sauce and 1 tbsp of the Irish cream syrup while the espresso is still hot — the same 2 tbsp of total flavoring as any single-flavor latte here, split between the two.
3. Steam or froth 8oz of milk to about 150°F (see How to Make a Latte at Home for the full technique) and pour it over the espresso mixture.
4. Top with whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa powder if you want the full café look.

Café grande Irish cream mocha (specialty-menu pricing, tax included)$6.35

Home Irish cream mocha (espresso, milk, both bases)~$1.08

Savings per drink$5.27

Both bases together cost about $5.40 total to make (~$1.30 for the Mocha Sauce batch, ~$4.10 for the Irish Cream Syrup batch — the Irish cream flavoring extract is the pricier line item, same as it is in the plain Irish Cream Latte). Each batch covers roughly 10-12 drinks on its own, and since this recipe only uses 1 tbsp of each per drink, one pair of batches stretches to around 10 Irish cream mochas before you run low on the smaller Irish Cream Syrup batch.

Assumptions: grande-size drink, national-average specialty-menu pricing for a two-flavor combo drink, dairy milk, $16/lb specialty beans or equivalent grocery beans, non-alcoholic Irish cream flavoring extract at typical specialty-baking pricing. No seasonal ceiling on this one — at 5 Irish cream mochas a week over the site’s standard 48-week year, that’s roughly $1,265/year back in your pocket versus the café version.

Swaps & Notes

• No espresso machine? A moka pot or strong AeroPress shot works fine.
• This is non-alcoholic. Same as the Irish Cream Latte it’s built from — the flavoring extract used here has no liqueur in it.
• Want it more chocolate-forward or more Irish-cream-forward? Shift the ratio, same as any of these combo drinks — 1.5 tbsp of whichever base you want to lead, 0.5 tbsp of the other. The math above assumes an even split.
• Only have one of the two bases made? Make the plain Mocha or plain Irish Cream Latte instead rather than doubling up on whichever jar you have — this drink is built for both.
• Iced version: use the Hot/Iced toggle above the ingredients to switch — less milk (about 4oz cold over ice instead of 8oz steamed), same method as every other iced drink on the site.

Recipe Card Summary

Irish Cream Mocha

• 2oz espresso + 8oz steamed milk + 1 tbsp Mocha Sauce + 1 tbsp Irish Cream Syrup (both made ahead)
• Prep time: 5 minutes (after both bases are made) · Total: 5 minutes
• Cost: ~$1.08/drink vs. $6.35 café equivalent

FAQ

Is there alcohol in this drink?

No. Both this drink and the Irish Cream Latte it’s built from use a non-alcoholic Irish cream flavoring/baking extract — the same kind sold for baking and flavored coffee creamers, not a liqueur.

Do I need to make a whole new syrup for this?

No — it’s built from 1 tbsp each of the Mocha Sauce and Irish Cream Syrup you’d already make for our plain Mocha and Irish Cream Latte recipes.

Can I make this without an espresso machine?

Yes — a moka pot, AeroPress, or even strong drip coffee works. See How to Make a Latte at Home for the no-machine method.