Peppermint Mocha

I set out to create a Starbucks Peppermint Mocha, just in time for the holidays. Now this seems easy enough, coffee, chocolate, milk, and peppermint. Well, it may seem that way, but for us who have tested coffees, chocolates, and milks, it can be quite the challenge to find the right flavors for this profile. There are many ways to get there with this profile.

This is how I approached it. First the coffee. WF Cripsy Coffee SC really hits the mark for a medium roast coffee with hints of cream and texture. It does however, need a bit of a boost for a richer, darker coffee hence the addition of FA Up. Not too much though, it can take over a recipe and give the mix a burnt coffee off note.

The chocolate. This was probably the hardest part. There are a lot of chocolates to choose from, but picking the right one that doesn't give you an artificial taste or plastic note is very difficult. I chose HS Australian Chocolate. At 1% this chocolate has a nice creamy chocolate syrup-like flavor and texture that pairs well with coffee.

The Milk. My first 6 versions I used TFA Bavarian Cream, and while I love this flavoring, it seemed to push out the coffee and chocolates and made the mix a bit flat and not very layered. I went back to my stash and found a rarely used flavoring that I had, Real Flavors Condensed Milk SC. I haven't used many Real Flavors but after testing it I knew this would be just the sweet, creamy, milk I needed. It seems to sit somewhere in the middle of the vape while not interfering with the coffee or the chocolates.

The Peppermint. My first few versions I used Flavor West's Chocolate Mint. This flavor seemed to have too much mustiness to the chocolate and the peppermint wasn't quite right. So when I introduced HS Australian Chocolate to my mix, CAP Peppermint was the obvious choice. I tried it at 1%, .25%, .5%, and then settled on .5%. This percent gives a peppermint taste on the front and a bit on the end of the vape while the coffee, chocolate, and milk stays in the middle. I added a bit of CAP Super Sweet to brighten things up as well.

Can be a shake and vape but is best after a 3 day steep. Visit Freedom To Mix on Discord https://discord.gg/SmSc8Ef Visit Freedom To Mix on FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/groups/415341418920740/

Please comment, mix, and or rate,....it makes us all better mixers. Enjoy :)