Chocolate Strawberry Coffee

This decadent chocolate covered strawberry coffee is the ultimate Valentine’s Day treat for coffee lovers! Sweet, indulgent, and surprisingly easy to make at home, this chocolate strawberry mocha delivers coffeehouse quality results without the coffeehouse prices. Ready in just 5 minutes with ingredients you can easily find at your grocery store.

I love coffee. My day cannot start without my morning cup of coffee, and I’ve been making homemade coffee drinks for over 15 years now. As someone who’s developed dozens of coffee recipes for this website, I know that sometimes you just want to mix things up and make something extra fun and special. I created this chocolate covered strawberry coffee because I wanted a Valentine’s themed drink that tastes like chocolate covered strawberries. Through testing different ratios and syrups, I’ve perfected the balance so it’s sweet but not too sweet, with strawberry flavor that complements rather than overpowers the coffee and chocolate.

What makes this recipe special is how it captures that classic chocolate covered strawberry taste in coffee form. Like our raspberry mocha recipe, this chocolate strawberry coffee is such a treat. It’s wonderful for Valentine’s Day or Galentine’s Day celebrations, but honestly, there’s no reason to wait for a special occasion. If you love fancy coffees and want to save money by making them at home, this chocolate covered strawberry coffee is for you.

What is a Mocha?

A mocha, also known as a cafe mocha or caffè mocha, is a coffee drink with an espresso base, milk and chocolate (which can be made with either chocolate cocoa powder, chocolate syrup, or melted chocolate). It’s basically a cappuccino that meets hot chocolate (so if you thought you were getting notes of hot cocoa when you tried a mocha, you weren’t wrong!).

The composition of a mocha can vary widely, but it is commonly set up like a variant of a latte, with ⅓ espresso and ⅔ steamed milk (plus chocolate).

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Coffee Ingredients

• Strong Brewed Coffee. While a standard typical mocha is made with freshly brewed espresso, a lot of people don’t brew espresso at home. So this recipe was developed with strongly brewed coffee. To brew strong coffee, simply increase the amount of coffee grounds used in your normal brewing method to make a more concentrated coffee. A good place to start is by adding one or two extra scoops of grounds. See the ‘recipe variations and substitutions’ section for how to make this using shots of espresso if preferred.
• Milk of choice. I personally enjoy using 2% or whole milk in this recipe. However, you can use whatever milk you prefer (dairy or non-dairy)! If preferred, try skim milk, almond milk, soy milk, or oat milk (my personal non-dairy favorite for coffees).
• Chocolate Sauce. You can use regular or dark chocolate sauce for this delicious mocha! We’ll use it in the mocha itself, and you can optionally drizzle more on top for that ‘wow’ factor too.
• Strawberry Syrup. You can use a homemade strawberry syrup or buy one (I personally like the Torani Strawberry Syrup for off-the-shelf). 
• Whipped Cream for topping. I mean, does adding whipped cream on top of a mocha ever hurt? 
• Optional: Fresh strawberries for garnish. Adding a beautiful raspberry to the rim of your mug is a cute way to help show what flavor this is (and yummy to enjoy along with the strawberry latte too).

See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

Chocolate Strawberry Coffee Recipe Variations

• Use espresso instead of strongly brewed coffee instead of espresso. If you have an espresso machine or Moka Pot at home, replace the strongly brewed coffee with 2 espresso shots (approximately ¼ cup).
• Make a decaf mocha. If you’d like to enjoy a cozy mug of this at night, or cannot have caffeine, use your favorite decaf espresso or decaf coffee in this recipe.
• Top with chocolate curls. This is another lovely addition on top of your chocolate covered strawberry coffee if you want to make things extra special.
• Top with crush freeze-dried strawberries. This is another lovely way to top your coffee for a little pop of color (and is a great option if it’s not strawberry season leaving a fresh strawberry garnish out of the question).

How to Make Chocolate Strawberry Coffee

STEP 1: Brew coffee using your preferred method.

STEP 2: Pour your milk in a liquid measuring cup and warm in the microwave for 30-45 seconds. Alternatively, you can do this right in the mug you’ll be using as well.

STEP 3: Add the chocolate sauce and strawberry syrup to the warmed milk.

STEP 4: Stir to combine.

STEP 5: Pour the milk into your mug, and fill the rest of your mug with hot, strongly brewed coffee (leaving enough room for whipped cream).

STEP 6: Top with whipped cream and additional chocolate syrup. Garnish with a strawberry if desired.

Possible Dietary Restrictions?

This chocolate covered strawberry coffee is vegetarian as written, and can easily be made vegan, gluten free, and dairy free!

• To make this into a vegan coffee recipe, you will need to select a plant-based milk. You will also want to be sure to use a vegan whipped topping.
• To make this into a dairy free coffee recipe you will need to select a dairy free or plant based milk and a dairy free whipped topping.
• To ensure this is a gluten free coffee, verify that products chosen are certified to be gluten free (you may have to Google your specific chocolate sauce if you don’t know). This is especially important if you’re serving this chocolate strawberry coffee to someone with a gluten intolerance.

Strawberry Flavored Coffee FAQs

What chocolate syrup and strawberry syrup should I use in this strawberry mocha recipe? I personally like to use Torani’s dark chocolate syrup as well as their Puremade Strawberry Syrup in this chocolate covered strawberry coffee recipe. Monin’s strawberry syrup and chocolate sauce would be another great option. You can also see what is available in your local grocery store.

Do strawberry and coffee go well together? Yes! Strawberry and coffee pair beautifully together. The bright, fruity sweetness of strawberry complements the rich, slightly bitter notes of coffee in the same way that chocolate does. When you combine all three (strawberry, chocolate, and coffee), you get a flavor profile that tastes just like biting into a chocolate covered strawberry while sipping your morning coffee. The key is using good quality strawberry syrup that has real strawberry flavor rather than artificial tasting syrup.

Can I batch make this recipe? Yes, you can easily scale this recipe up to make multiple servings at once! Simply multiply all the ingredients by the number of drinks you’re making. I recommend heating all the milk in a larger liquid measuring cup in the microwave (or on the stovetop), then mixing in all the strawberry and chocolate syrups before dividing between mugs. This is much easier than making each drink individually, especially if you’re serving a crowd for a Valentine’s brunch or Galentine’s gathering. Just brew a full pot of strong coffee and have whipped cream and garnishes ready so everyone can assemble their drinks at the same time.