The first time I tried a McDonald’s McCafe iced mocha I was seriously disappointed. It was quite bitter and not sweet at all. That would have been the end of the road for me, but every time I visited the drive thru window I saw folks ordering this drink so I decided to give it another try. The second drink was much better than the first. It was slightly sweet and had the deep coffee flavor that I love and it wasn’t bitter at all. I was hooked and soon began to order this drink several times a week. But after seeing the calorie count of a medium-sized iced mocha (310 calories), I limited myself to just one drink a week.
Not only are these drinks high in calories but at $3.00 for a 16-oz. serving they’re fairly expensive, too. So I decided to try and duplicate one at home. After three attempts, I came up with this recipe that tastes very close to the original. And while it’s still high in calories (320 calories per serving), at just over $1.00 per serving, it’s much cheaper to make one at home.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this delicious iced treat:
Ingredients
1 package Starbucks Via Iced Coffee Ready Brew (100 calories)
8 oz. water
3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream (150 calories)
1 tablespoon chocolate syrup (50 calories)
4 tablespoons canned whipped cream (30 calories)
1 cup crushed ice
Combine the instant iced coffee, water, and whipping cream. Coat the bottom of your glass with chocolate syrup. Fill the glass with crushed ice. Add the coffee mixture. Top with whipped cream. Drizzle with chocolate syrup. Enjoy!
Afternoon Artist 
I’m sure yours is much better.
It is better plus I can control the amount of sweetness by adding more or reducing the amount of chocolate syrup. I still have to limit myself to one serving a week due to the calories 😦
UHG! Absolutely divine! Thank you kindly for this. Is it better to coat the bottom of the glass or just mix the chocolate syrup in with the mixture? What would increasing/decreasing the whipping cream do?
Thanks so much again. 😉
Hi, Matt. Glad you enjoyed your drink. I always coat the bottom of the glass with chocolate since that is what McDonald’s does, but it would work fine to add it in with the mixture. Increasing the whipping cream would add additional calories and, of course, additional deliciousness, in my opinion. Who doesn’t love whipping cream ;)? If you’re concerned with calories you could substitute half-and-half or whole milk.
Have you tried my copycat Starbucks caramel apple spice recipe? It’s a really great fall drink. If you like apple pie, you’d love that recipe as well. Thanks for visiting my blog and for your feedback.
This looks amazing!
Thanks for sharing this recipe.
The way mcdonalds makes theirs is with
Whole (OR) Nonfat milk, espresso, their mocha “sauce” and ice.
Then I always get an extra shot of espresso.
I usually order a LG Iced Mocha once a day.
Yes. I’m very guilty of this 😛
But on my defense I only eat one snack and one meal a day.
But this is for sure my guilty pleasure.
I have an espresso machine at home.
I always do 3oz of espresso on top of the ice and mix it in with 1-2tbsp of chocolate syrup. Once it’s mixed completely then top of the rest of the cup with 1% milk (instead of whole milk). Top with whip cream and extra chocolate syrup.
I LOVE when the syrup falls to the bottom of the cup and comes up the straw. YUM!
But I’ll definitely have to try out this recipe!
Sounds delicious with heavy cream! I can’t wait to try! 😋
Your recipe sounds fabulous, too. I’ll have to try it. I used Starbucks Via coffee packs because they offered a quick, convenient way to get my MacDonald’s iced mocha fix at home. It took me several tries to get the recipe right. But in the interest of research–and for the love of this treat LOL–I would buy MacDonald’s iced mochas and then do a side by side taste comparison until I found the right ingredients and amounts. Give my recipe a try and let me know what you think.
Will the choc. Syrup give you the mocha flavor? Or should should mocha syrup be used?
Funny you should ask at this very moment. I’m sitting in my recliner enjoying my version of a McDonald’s iced mocha right now. The chocolate syrup tastes very close to the McCafe version. But mocha syrup would work, too. Enjoy!
What do you use now? I cannot find the via instant iced Starbucks.
Sorry it’s been years since this was posted lol
I still get occasional comments on this post. 🙂
Hi Devyn. I still have some Via iced coffee left. Looks like I need to pace myself. 😦 I researched this topic online. It looks like Starbucks is having a supply chain issue; so this may not be a discontinued product. Maxwell House sells instant iced coffee packets. I haven’t tried them, but that may be an option for you.