Coffee Drink

Barbajada: Milanese Coffee & Chocolate Recipe

Name: Barbajada with Brewed Coffee and Cocoa
Total time: 7 min
Yield: 1 small serving
Ingredients: 60 g prepared hot brewed coffee; 60 g whole milk; 45 g water; 5 g unsweetened natural cocoa powder; 10 g granulated sugar

By Mara EllisonPublished September 27, 20266 min read

Barbajada is a Milanese drink of coffee, chocolate and milk, whisked together until frothy. This small home version builds the chocolate portion from unsweetened cocoa and uses brewed coffee, so you need a saucepan and whisk rather than an espresso machine. Its chocolate-colored froth comes from the mixed drink, without a separate cream cap.

A small ivory cup of chocolate-brown Barbajada with fine froth beside a whisk and cocoa — Generated editorial illustration of the whisked, untopped recipe; not recipe-test photography.

Drink Snapshot

Caffeine: About 35 mgBrewed coffee and cocoa referenceBoth ingredients contribute caffeine.
Calories: About 90 kcalWhole-milk recipe, no toppingIncludes 10 g added granulated sugar.

Serving, sugar and sources

Serving: One small drink; 60 g coffee + 60 g milk + 60 g cocoa-base ingredients
Made with: Brewed coffee, cocoa and whole milk; contains milk
Sugar: About 13.1 g total. Includes milk sugar and the added sugar.
Preparation: About 7 minutes with brewed coffee ready

USDA Standard Reference ingredient records, calculated for the weighed recipe; checked 27 September 2026. See the full calculation or label comparison.

Key Takeaways

1Combine 60 g prepared coffee, 60 g whole milk and a cocoa base made with 45 g water, 5 g cocoa and 10 g sugar.
2Make a smooth cocoa paste first, then add the liquids and whisk gently over heat. The whole drink is mixed, unlike a layered bicerin.
3One untopped serving has about 90 kcal, 13.1 g total sugar and 35 mg reference caffeine, including caffeine from cocoa.

On This Page9 Sections

Barbajada Recipe

Makes one small hot drink in about 7 minutes with the coffee already brewed. A 250 ml heatproof cup leaves room for the froth.

YesMilano describes a classic equal-part combination of coffee, drinking chocolate and milk or cream, warmed and whisked together. This recipe translates that idea into three equal-weight ingredient groups: 60 g coffee, 60 g milk and 60 g cocoa-base ingredients. The weighed formula is our home adaptation, not a fixed specification for every Milanese café.

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Ingredients

60 g prepared hot brewed coffee
60 g whole milk
45 g water
5 g unsweetened natural cocoa powder
10 g granulated sugar

Equipment and Preparation

Use a gram scale, small saucepan, whisk and heatproof cup. Brew coffee normally, then weigh 60 g of the collected liquid. The drip-coffee guide covers filter preparation; this amount is neither a dry coffee dose nor the water to put through the grounds.

Choose plain unsweetened cocoa, rather than a sweetened hot-chocolate mix. Its sugar is added separately here. Keep the saucepan small enough for the whisk to work through the shallow liquid without splashing.

Method

Put the cocoa and sugar in a small saucepan. Whisk in a little of the measured water to form a smooth paste, then gradually whisk in the remaining water.
Add the prepared coffee and milk. Heat gently while whisking until steaming and frothy; do not bring to a hard boil.
Remove from the heat and whisk briskly for about 30 seconds. Pour into a 250 ml heatproof cup and serve, allowing it to cool to a comfortable drinking temperature.

The aim is a smooth, drinkable mixture with small bubbles on top. You are frothing the combined drink, not making a separate layer of steamed milk or whipped cream. Heating and liquid left in the pan can change the final yield; the ingredient weights total 180 g before preparation.

Barbajada recipe groups: 60 g prepared coffee, 60 g whole milk, and a cocoa base of 45 g water, 5 g cocoa and 10 g sugar; mix, heat gently and whisk frothy — Generated guide to this weighed home adaptation. The cocoa-base amounts make one group; they are not added to a separate portion of drinking chocolate.

Barbajada vs. Mocha and Bicerin

All three combine coffee with chocolate. The useful distinction is how the ingredients are prepared and served, rather than a promise that one will always taste sweeter or stronger.

Three coffee-and-chocolate drinks, three preparations

Three coffee-and-chocolate drinks, three preparations
Drink	Coffee and chocolate approach	Milk or cream and serving
Barbajada	Coffee and drinking chocolate mixed together	Milk or cream joins the mixture, which is whisked frothy; this recipe uses milk
Mocha	Usually espresso with chocolate sauce, cocoa or chocolate	Milk is added; many café versions use steamed milk and optional toppings
Bicerin	Coffee and drinking chocolate served with distinct components	A separate cream cap; traditionally enjoyed without stirring the layers together

Barbajada does not require a layered glass. Conversely, simply stacking coffee, chocolate and cream is closer to the bicerin presentation than to the whisking method used here.

Is Whipped Cream Traditional or Optional?

Recipes and café presentations vary. Lavazza's published Milan café menu describes a Barbajada with espresso, water-based chocolate, milk and whipped cream. It documents one cream-topped version; it does not make that topping essential to every recipe. Add cream if you want that presentation, and count it separately from the untopped serving estimate below.

Get a Smooth Cocoa Base and Useful Froth

Start with a paste. Whisking a small amount of water into the dry cocoa and sugar makes it easier to break up lumps before the mixture becomes thin. Pouring every liquid onto dry cocoa at once gives you more liquid to work through when pockets remain.

Fix the part of the Barbajada that needs attention

Fix the part of the Barbajada that needs attention
What you notice	What to change
Dry cocoa lumps	Work the paste smooth before adding the remaining water, coffee and milk
Coarse bubbles or splashing	Lower the heat, use a small pan and keep the whisk moving through the liquid
A milk skin or scorched smell	Avoid prolonged heating; use gentle heat and keep whisking rather than boiling the drink
Too sweet for your preference	Try 5 g sugar next time; keep the coffee, milk and cocoa amounts fixed
Coffee gets lost behind chocolate	Check the brewed coffee first; use a brew you enjoy before increasing the coffee portion

The 5 g sugar option has approximately 70 kcal and 8.1 g total sugar, calculated from the same ingredient records. Caffeine stays the same because the coffee and cocoa portions are unchanged. It is a smaller ingredient total, not an instruction to replace the missing sugar with more cocoa.

Caffeine, Calories and Sugar

The untopped recipe has approximately 90 kcal, 13.1 g total sugar and 35 mg caffeine. It contains milk, including lactose. These are ingredient-based estimates for this recipe, not a standard café serving.

Serving calculation and source assumptions

USDA Standard Reference values per 100 g are: brewed coffee, NDB 14209, 1 kcal, 0 g sugar and 40 mg caffeine; whole milk, NDB 01077, 61 kcal and 5.05 g sugar; unsweetened cocoa, NDB 19165, 228 kcal, 1.75 g sugar and 230 mg caffeine; granulated sugar, NDB 19335, 387 kcal and 99.8 g sugar. Links to each record appear in the sources panel.

Scaling those values to the weighed ingredients gives 0.6 + 36.6 + 11.4 + 38.7 = 87.3 kcal, rounded to 90 kcal. Sugar is 0 + 3.03 + 0.0875 + 9.98 = 13.0975 g, displayed as 13.1 g. Water contributes no energy or sugar.

Caffeine is 24 mg from coffee + 11.5 mg from cocoa = 35.5 mg, rounded to about 35 mg. Brew strength and cocoa composition vary. The 5 g sugar option is 67.95 kcal and 8.1075 g sugar before rounding. No cream topping is included.

Does Decaf Make Barbajada Caffeine-Free?

No. Cocoa contributes caffeine too. In this calculation, the 5 g cocoa portion supplies about 11.5 mg before counting any coffee. Decaf reduces the coffee contribution but does not remove the cocoa contribution or establish a zero-caffeine drink.

Coffee Choices and a Cold Version

Brewed coffee is the defined base here because it works without an espresso machine. A small portion of moka coffee is a possible alternative; prepare it normally using the moka-pot guide, then weigh the collected coffee. Its concentration and caffeine will differ from the reference above.

Espresso also appears in café versions, including the Lavazza example. It changes the coffee portion's concentration and caffeine. Use an espresso recipe you already have dialed in; do not extend a shot simply to reproduce the brewed-coffee weight.

Cold Barbajada: YesMilano also describes the drink as enjoyable cold. For a home variation, make the smooth mixture, transfer it to a suitable container, cool and refrigerate it, then whisk again before serving chilled. That keeps the measured ingredients together; adding ice makes a more diluted variation.

A plant drink can replace the milk in a home adaptation. Pick one you like with coffee and check its label; sweetness, frothing and nutrition will change. Check the cocoa and all other ingredients too if avoiding milk.

Why Is It Called Barbajada?

The name is associated with Domenico Barbaja, the theatrical impresario linked to Milan's café history. The Comune di Milano lists Barbajada among its De.Co. products, with municipal recognition in 2008. That recognition date is distinct from the drink's older history.

You may also see barbagliata: De Mauro's dictionary records it as an Italian form derived from Milanese barbajada, describing the coffee, chocolate and cream drink.

Common Questions

Can I use drinking chocolate instead of cocoa?

Yes, but use it as the prepared chocolate portion rather than adding it on top of all the cocoa-base ingredients. Drinking chocolates vary in sugar, milk content and thickness; the recipe estimates on this page apply to its measured unsweetened-cocoa version.

Does Barbajada need an espresso machine?

No. This recipe uses prepared brewed coffee and a whisk. Espresso is an alternative found in café versions, with different concentration and caffeine.

Is Barbajada just hot chocolate?

It contains coffee as well as chocolate and milk. Leaving out the coffee makes a different drink and changes the caffeine estimate.

Should I stir it or keep the layers?

Mix and whisk it. The home recipe produces a uniformly chocolate-colored drink with froth, rather than separate coffee, chocolate and cream layers.