While mocha is sometimes best known as a coffee blend today, the origins of this hot liquid are a little more involved. Often understood to be the world’s oldest cultivated coffee, mocha is a very strong and slightly bitter brew of select coffee beans. The name for the beverage comes from the port in Yemen, where the coffee is thought to have first been exported.

The production and shipping of mocha began in the 17th century, and soon spread to many different areas of the world. By the middle of the 19th century, mocha was also distributed from several other major ports, including the port of Aden along the Arabian Peninsula. Today, mocha coffee beans are cultivated in a number of countries, and distributed from a variety of locations.

Growing the coffee beans to produce mocha usually involves careful cultivation on small farms. The farms are typically located in ideal climates found in mountainous terrain. Often, terraces are carved into the sides of the mountain in order to provide the ideal controlled environment for the beans.

In many parts of the world, mocha has come to be understood as a coffee with a unique flavor that sets it aside from other coffee beans. Many special coffee beverages will use mocha as part of the basic recipe, as well as include the title in the name for the customized beverage. For example, a basic mocha latte will include the combination of the coffee brewed from the mocha beans, a small amount of chocolate syrup or powder, and a light topping of steamed milk.

Using the basic recipe of coffee and chocolate, a number of different types of mocha beverages have appeared in recent years. Swiss mocha beverages will make use of rich Swiss chocolate in the recipe, while Suisse mocha is often used to refer to a mocha drink that is made with a powered form of chocolate. Mocha drinks today are often served as both hot and cold beverages that are prepackaged and available in most supermarkets.