You could spend $5 at Starbucks for a Peppermint Latte, or make this over-the-top cup from Tylers Coffee, a Tucson-based specialist in USDA organic, acid-free coffee.

It’s one of Tylers* most popular seasonal recipes.
 
WHAT IS MOCHA?

The culinary term mocha refers to a mixture of coffee and chocolate flavors. But the original mocha did not have have anything to do with chocolate.

It was a term that referred to the fine coffee (what we now call arabica) that was traded in the once-vibrant port of Al Mokha on the Red Sea coast of Yemen.

Al Mokha was the major marketplace for coffee from the 15th century until the early 18th century, selling beans that were grown in the central mountains of Yemen.

By the early 19th century, Yemen been supplanted by Ethiopia as the principal trader of coffee. (The coffee plant originated in the highlands of Ethiopia.)

Ingredients Per Cup

 
*In terms of why Tyler leaves the apostrophe out of is name: You’ll have to ask them!

Preparation

1. POUR the coffee into an eight-ounce glass or mug. Add the chocolate shavings and stir until dissolved.

2. STIR in the candy cane powder. Finish with whipped cream, a mini candy cane and/or chopped peppermints and holiday sprinkles.
 
*If you don’t want to grind candy canes you can use a drop of peppermint oil.
 
Here are recipes for other peppermint-mocha beverages.