Okay, my friends, I am SUPER hyped up on on caffeine right now because I just drank like 6 real pumpkin mocha lattes to make sure I got the recipe just right. I may not be able to cook elaborate meals, but I don’t mess around when coffee is involved, especially considering today happens to be International Coffee Day.

Remaining Forget those lattes made with "pumpkin flavor." This one uses real ingredients for the perfect pumpkin mocha latte. It's cheap and easy to make, too! Check it out!

This recipe is actually inspired by the two largest (and competing) coffee chains in the US. I go to my local Dunkin Donuts like every other day. The girl who works the night shift is fantastic. She makes everything just right. I asked for an iced mocha pumpkin coffee and it was delicious. Then, my cousin’s girlfriend, who works for Starbucks (which I also love, there’s plenty of coffee love in me to go around), told me that this year, the chain is using real pumpkin puree in their pumpkin spice lattes.

So, I had this post for the Mocha Hop, and I thought, hmmmm, mocha pumpkin was yummy, real pumpkin puree sounds good, how about a hot real pumpkin mocha latte recipe? So here you go!

Real Pumpkin Mocha Latte Recipe

Full disclosure- I replaced my crappy photos with better ones that I bought, because they are actually better representations of what the finished product looks like. Sorry, I stink as a food photographer. 🙂

Remaining Forget those lattes made with "pumpkin flavor." This one uses real ingredients for the perfect pumpkin mocha latte. It's cheap and easy to make, too! Check it out!

Ingredients 

This makes enough for just over two 6oz fancy cups. I drank both by myself after photographing.

  • 6 oz milk (I used 2%, you can use whatever you choose)
  • 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree (not the pumpkin pie one)
  • 1/3 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 tablespoon of your favorite sweetener
  • 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
  • 6 oz espresso (you can get away with strong brewed coffee, but I’d splurge and get the espresso)

Directions:

You’re making two things at once here, so I’m going to assume you know how to brew espresso and skip the directions for that part. Also, you can brew it in so many ways. I actually used a Bialetti Moka Express that my brother brought back from Italy for me! How’s that for authentic mocha! Use an espresso maker or whatever else you want. Just start making it about halfway through your milk prep process. Now, on to that.

There are two ways to do this. Method one is faster, but messier. I did both methods, but only did this one first. The last step will tell you why!

  • Fill a Pyrex-style glass measuring cup with 6 oz milk.
  • Add the pumpkin puree and give it a good stir
  • Add in the other ingredients and stir. Everything- especially the cocoa powder- will sort of float
  • Microwave for 40 seconds, just to get it hot enough to stir everything in better
  • Continue nuking it for about 1 minute
  • Clean up mess in microwave because everything boils over (this may be avoided if you use a larger glass in the first place)

The probably smarter way:

  • Pour 6 oz milk into a small sauce pan and heat on low
  • Add the other ingredients, stirring each one in
  • Continue until all your ingredients are blended and your milk is nice and hot.

Remaining Forget those lattes made with "pumpkin flavor." This one uses real ingredients for the perfect pumpkin mocha latte. It's cheap and easy to make, too! Check it out!

 

Merge the two happily together by first filling the glass halfway with the milk mixture, then the rest of the way with the coffee. You can completely adjust this depending on your tastes. I like a half/half ratio because I LOVE my coffee. When I make something like this for my mom, it’s 4 oz milk to 2 oz coffee.

The result is a delicious real pumpkin mocha latte that isn’t overpoweringly sweet. It has just the right amount of pumpkin and mocha. Plus, pumpkin is a vegetable! That means it’s good for me, right?

For more delicious mocha recipes visit a few of my favorite bloggers.

What are YOU drinking for International Coffee Day? Tell me in the comments!