Say the word Mocha and the average response is "Grande, extra shot, whip". There are even good variations of Mocha people like such as Pumpkin Spice Mocha or Peppermint Mocha. These are all sweet drinks that make the coffee have the calories to fuel your next surge of manic energy. Even I drink them, but the cost of a Starbucks mocha is rather high, particularly since I have a Moka Pot so can make extra strong coffee in a surprisingly slow method at 9 minutes per cup. It's not espresso, since that requires 9 barr, and the Moka Pot generates 1.5 barr, according to the Wikipedia article. Still, its a good strong cup of coffee. So strong that while you can certainly man up and drink it straight, you can easily taste how it would be improved with cream and sugar, or the various ingredients for a mocha, replacing the usual hot milk and espresso with cream and strong coffee. Its close enough if you aren't a complete coffee purist snob. Unfortunately, everyone who has worked at a Starbucks generally is.
It turns out that full fat, full calorie, seasonal eggnog is a great ingredient in a home-made mocha. And the seasonings are what you find in pumpkin pie, so it has most of the same flavors. I usually give the eggnog a good shake to make sure the seasonings and fats are all liquid and well mixed before pouring an inch into my coffee cup. When I add the coffee stir vigorously because the eggs will curdle in the heat, even if they're partially thinkening like a custard as it is. This improves the flavor, since the heat opens the spices so you can taste them, and the custard suspends them in the coffee. Starbucks works from syrups, which are fine, but I'm using real eggnog. In this form the flavor is not sickly sweet, the texture is not gruel, and the result is not nasty. This is the best use of eggnog, short of ice cream, I can find.
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