Coffee Drink

Caffè Pedrocchi: Padua’s Mint-Cream Coffee Recipe

Name: Caffè Pedrocchi Home Adaptation
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 1 serving
Cuisine: Italian-inspired
Ingredients: 36 g warm prepared espresso; 30 g cold unsweetened 35% whipping cream; 5 ml Fabbri Sciroppo Menta, regular sweetened syrup; 1 g unsweetened natural cocoa powder

By Mara EllisonPublished September 27, 20266 min read

Caffè Pedrocchi is espresso topped with mint cream and unsweetened cocoa, associated with the historic café of the same name in Padua, Italy. Sip it without stirring to keep the contrast between warm coffee and cool cream. This measured home adaptation uses mint syrup for sweetness and aroma.

Ivory cup of espresso topped with pale mint cream and a fine cocoa dusting on a café table — Generated illustration of the home adaptation. Mint cream stays softly thickened; cup size and fill level are illustrative.

Drink Snapshot

Caffeine: About 80 mg (reference)Prepared espresso plus unsweetened cocoaCoffee choice and extraction change the actual amount.
Calories: About 125 kcalOne home recipe with the named cream and syrupIncludes the cocoa finish; this is not the café’s nutrition information.

Serving, sugar and sources

Serving: 36 g espresso + 30 g cream + 5 ml mint syrup + 1 g cocoa
Made with: Espresso, mint-flavored cream and cocoa
Sugar: About 5.2 g total. Includes syrup sugar and naturally occurring sugar in cream.
Preparation: About 5 minutes; espresso ready

Arla and Fabbri product labels plus USDA espresso and cocoa records, checked 27 September 2026. See the full calculation or label comparison.

Key Takeaways

1Use 36 g prepared espresso, 30 g cold 35% cream, 5 ml mint syrup and 1 g unsweetened cocoa for one home serving.
2Whisk the cream lightly, fold in the syrup, then float it over the espresso. Finish with cocoa and leave it unstirred.
3The named-ingredient recipe has about 125 kcal, 5.2 g total sugar and 80 mg reference caffeine, including cocoa.

On This Page8 Sections

What Makes It a Pedrocchi Coffee?

Mint belongs in the cream, with espresso underneath and cocoa on top. The official Caffè Pedrocchi description specifies 100% Arabica espresso, fresh cream emulsified with mint syrup, and bitter cocoa. It also tells guests not to stir. The café’s name refers both to the historic establishment and to its signature drink.

The quantities below are our home adaptation, not a disclosed formula from the café. A Nims home recipe for caffè padovano likewise combines espresso with mint-flavored cream, but does not specify a syrup dose. Here, weighing the cream and measuring the syrup makes the portion repeatable.

Caffè Pedrocchi Home Recipe

Makes one serving in about 5 minutes with espresso ready. A 150 ml cup gives space for the lightly aerated cream; its capacity is not the finished drink volume.

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Ingredients

36 g warm prepared espresso
30 g cold unsweetened 35% whipping cream
5 ml Fabbri Sciroppo Menta, regular sweetened syrup
1 g unsweetened natural cocoa powder

Use a scale that can resolve the small cocoa portion and a marked measure for the syrup. The nutrition example uses Arla Piskefløde 35%, SKU 64625, and regular Fabbri Menta, not Menta Zero or an almond-and-mint syrup.

Method

Lightly whisk the cold cream in a small chilled bowl until thickened but still pourable.
Fold in the mint syrup gently until evenly combined.
Put the warm espresso in a 150 ml heatproof cup. Slowly spoon or pour all the mint cream over it.
Sift the cocoa evenly over the cream. Serve promptly and sip without stirring.

Prepare the coffee first using your usual espresso method, then weigh 36 g of collected espresso. This is the liquid coffee ingredient, not 36 g of dry grounds or a claim that every café shot has that yield.

If 30 g cream is too little for your whisk, prepare 60 g cream with 10 ml syrup, then use half the finished mixture by weight. That makes two cream portions; keep the espresso and cocoa at the single-serving amounts above.

Caffè Pedrocchi home recipe with 36 g espresso, 30 g cream, 5 ml mint syrup and 1 g cocoa, followed by whisking, layering and serving steps — Generated guide to the measured home adaptation. Ingredient vessels and fill levels are illustrative; weigh gram amounts and measure syrup in ml.

Mint Cream: Texture and Sweetness

Aim for a soft topping that flows slowly from a spoon. Stiff whipped cream makes a different texture, while completely liquid cream is harder to keep above the espresso. Fold the syrup in gently after lightly whisking the cold cream.

Adjusting mint cream for the home Pedrocchi recipe

Adjusting mint cream for the home Pedrocchi recipe
What you notice	A useful adjustment
Mint overwhelms the coffee	Try 2.5 ml syrup next time; different bottles have different flavor strength
The topping forms a stiff mound	Whisk less and stop while the cream remains pourable
Cream immediately disappears into the coffee	Thicken it a little more and add it slowly over a spoon
The first sip is powdery	Spread the cocoa thinly and evenly rather than leaving a mound
The topping looks pale rather than green	Check the syrup; color depends on its formulation, not just mint intensity

Use beverage syrup, not an equal spoonful of peppermint extract or mint liqueur. Extract has a different concentration; liqueur introduces alcohol. The named Fabbri syrup contains sugar and mint flavoring. It supplies the sweetness in this recipe, so there is no separate sugar addition.

The cream contains milk. A plant-based whipping product is a possible variation, but its whipping behavior and nutrition need its own label. Do not assume a dairy-free milk will make the same topping.

Pedrocchi, Peppermint Mocha and Other Cream Coffees

Pedrocchi concentrates the mint in the topping. A peppermint mocha generally mixes mint and chocolate flavor into an espresso-and-milk drink. Adding cocoa to the top of this small cream coffee does not make it the same recipe.

Pedrocchi and neighboring espresso drinks

Pedrocchi and neighboring espresso drinks
Drink	Defining preparation
This Pedrocchi home version	Espresso beneath mint cream, finished with cocoa
Espresso con panna	Espresso with whipped cream; mint is not required
Bicerin	Coffee, drinking chocolate and cream, associated with Turin
Caffè marocchino	Small espresso drink with cocoa and milk foam

Is There a Cold Version?

Yes. The café separately lists Caffè Pedrocchi estivo, using cold espresso, mint cream and cocoa. That does not mean the usual warm-coffee version needs ice.

For a simple home variation, cool the measured espresso before adding the same mint cream and cocoa. This changes the temperature without adding ice cream, milk or another syrup portion. It is a home variation, not a claim to reproduce the café’s summer presentation.

Calories, Sugar and Caffeine

One measured serving has about 125 kcal, 5.2 g total sugar and 80 mg reference caffeine. These estimates describe the ingredients above, including cocoa; they are not official nutrition values for a serving at Caffè Pedrocchi.

Serving calculation and ingredient sources

Arla’s named cream provides 338 kcal and 3.4 g sugar per 100 g. Our 30 g portion contributes 101.4 kcal and 1.02 g sugar. Fabbri’s regular Menta syrup lists 338 kcal and 84 g sugar per 100 ml of syrup: 5 ml adds 16.9 kcal and 4.2 g sugar. Use the syrup column, not the label’s diluted-beverage values.

USDA’s prepared espresso record, NDB 14210, gives 9 kcal per 100 g; 36 g adds 3.24 kcal. Unsweetened cocoa, NDB 19165, provides 228 kcal and 1.75 g sugar per 100 g, adding 2.28 kcal and 0.0175 g sugar for 1 g. The total is 123.82 kcal and 5.2375 g sugar, rounded to about 125 kcal and 5.2 g.

The caffeine reference is 36 g espresso × 212 mg/100 g = 76.32 mg, plus 1 g cocoa × 230 mg/100 g = 2.3 mg. Together that is 78.62 mg, rounded to about 80 mg. This is a public-record estimate, not a measurement of the finished recipe.

Changing sweetness and changing richness are different adjustments. Halving the syrup to 2.5 ml removes about 8 kcal and 2.1 g sugar; the cream still contributes about 101 kcal. The lower-syrup serving therefore estimates about 115 kcal and 3.1 g sugar. To reduce the cream portion, weigh the smaller amount and recalculate from its label rather than assuming a less sweet drink is much lower in calories.

Decaf espresso lowers the coffee’s caffeine contribution, but does not remove the cocoa’s caffeine. Different coffee, cream, cocoa or syrup can change all the estimates.

Common Questions

Should I stir Caffè Pedrocchi?

The café recommends leaving it unstirred. Sip through the mint cream so you experience it together with the espresso underneath.

Does it contain alcohol?

This home recipe uses mint syrup, not mint liqueur, and has no alcoholic ingredient. Check the ingredients if ordering a variation or changing the syrup.

Can I make it without an espresso machine?

Strong moka coffee can make an adapted mint-cream coffee. Its concentration and caffeine will differ from the espresso reference used here.

Is the cream supposed to be green?

Its color depends on the mint syrup. A pale or uncolored syrup does not necessarily have less mint flavor; use its taste and label rather than color alone.

Is the topping ice cream?

No. This recipe uses cold whipping cream lightly thickened with a whisk. Mint ice cream would make a different dessert-style serving.

For the alternative in the questions above, follow the moka-pot brewing guide, then use a small measured portion of prepared coffee. It is an alternative to the espresso ingredient, not an espresso extraction method.