This iced white chocolate mocha is a revelation! It’s the perfect pairing of white chocolate, bitter espresso and creamy milk.

Here’s a coffee drink you absolutely must try making at home: the Iced White Chocolate Mocha! This homemade version is loads better than Starbucks, in our opinion. Something about the sweet earthy white chocolate combined with bitter espresso and creamy milk is a revelation. Take one sip and you’ll raise your eyebrows in appreciation (we did!). It’s even better than the classic iced mocha with chocolate…but we’ll let you be the judge. Here’s how to make this easy drink at home, using a covered jar and your favorite espresso method!

What’s in an iced white chocolate mocha?

The iced white chocolate mocha is a Starbucks coffee drink made with espresso, milk and white chocolate, served over ice. It’s a variation on the hot mocha or mocha latte, made with espresso, steamed milk and chocolate.

A Starbucks white chocolate mocha uses a white chocolate sauce to sweeten. But when you’re making it homemade, try real white chocolate mixed in with the espresso! It results in a beautifully rich, nuanced flavor that’s much better than Starbucks. You can top an iced white mocha with whipped cream or cold foam (we prefer cold foam). Here are the ingredients you’ll need to whip up an iced white mocha at home:

• Espresso
• Milk (use oat milk for vegan or dairy-free; it’s the best non-dairy milk for frothing)
• Simple syrup
• White chocolate chips
• Cold foam or whipped cream

Espresso methods

The only part of making an iced white chocolate mocha that requires some technique? Making the espresso. The best option for flavor is an espresso machine, but they are expensive and not accessible to everyone. Luckily, there are lots of alternative methods for making espresso without a machine! Here are our top

1. Espresso machine: The flavor of the espresso with a countertop espresso machine is top quality! Go to How to Make Espresso for instructions.
2. Manual espresso maker: The next best option? A small manual espresso maker: it’s cheaper and portable.
3. French press: French press espresso has great flavor using this cheap and accessible coffee maker.
4. Moka Pot (Bialetti): Moka Pot coffee is like a mix between drip coffee and espresso, and works well here.

How to make an iced white chocolate mocha

All you need to make an iced white chocolate mocha at home, outside the espresso? A covered jar! You’ll shake up the hot espresso with white chocolate and the heat melts the chocolate. Here’s an outline of what to do (or jump to the recipe below):

• Shake the hot espresso and white chocolate chips in a covered jar. This melts the chocolate into the coffee. Add milk and pour it into the ice-filled glass.
• Make the cold foam or whipped cream. We prefer cold foam; see below!

How to make cold foam

Traditionally a Starbucks iced white chocolate mocha is topped with whipped cream, but you can also request it with cold foam. Cold foam is lighter and frothier, only lightly sweet and low in calories. We prefer it to whipped cream, which is rich and heavy. But you can use whatever you like! Here are a few notes on making cold foam at home:

• Cold foam is frothed nonfat milk used for topping cold coffee drinks like iced coffee, cold brew, and more. This Starbucks invention simulates the frothy topping of the steamed milk in a latte, but at a cold temperature so it doesn’t melt when hitting the drink.
• What do you need to make cold foam? Skim milk and a milk frother. You can also use a French press, but the milk frother works best. At $12, it’s absolutely worth the purchase in our book.
• How to do it? Go to How to Make Cold Foam.

And that’s it! We hope you love this iced white chocolate mocha as much as we do: it’s a favorite iced coffee drink over here. Let us know what you think in the comments below!

More iced coffee drinks

Love a great iced coffee drink? They’re great in any season, though they’re particularly refreshing in the summer. Here are some favorite iced coffee drinks we love: