A Classic Shake Brings Back Memories
Before we get into the Arby’s Jamocha Shake Recipe, I want to share with you a personal story I have, which led me to this recipe.
Most kids have memories of playing in a playground at McDonald’s, getting their favorite happy meals, or going to Chick-fil-A and being able to trade your toy in for ice cream. Not me.
My parents LOVED Arby’s. I have vivid memories of sitting inside of an Arby’s with 90’s decor pouting because I didn’t get any special ‘Happy Meal’ with a toy. From my recollection Arby’s didn’t have any kids meals at the time. I guess they figured: Eat big or go home! 😂
So I’d sit there with my Beef ‘N Cheddar sandwich and curly fries. My Mom would have me drinking a soda and she wouldn’t let me get a milkshake, saying the soda was better for you (jokes on her haha). So I would sit across the table and stare at her Jamocha shake, hoping she’ll let me grab a sip, even though it’s coffee. Let me divert quickly on this.
Does Coffee Stunt Your Growth as a Child?
I was a child in the 80’s and 90’s, pre-Internet. This was a period where information was consumed from the newspaper, magazines, and television. It seemed like a lot at the time, but in hindsight, you were limited to whatever information someone wanted to feed you.
The big rumor was ‘Coffee can stop a child from growing’. When we think of this now, it’s laughable; considering that coffee is by far the lesser of all other evils of caffeine: Soda, energy drinks, chocolate. But back then they really pushed the agenda of having familes drink milk. Lots of milk. And as a teenager growing up, I had the concept of ‘Milk does a body good’ and the ‘Got Milk’ ads, so they were driving milk down our throats. DRINK MILK OR DIE! I used to drink gallons of milk every week. My mother would get mad because I drank more milk then water, juice, and soda combined. I trusted science and what information I was given.
Back to the Retro Kid Staring at the Jamocha Shake
I’m staring at the shake, afraid to ask because I’ll get rejected. I sit patiently and hope my Mom eats her food first, and then goes for the shake. That way, I’m almost guaranteed she won’t finish the shake and she’ll let me take a slurp.
Today she’s doing the back and forth method: She’s eating the French Dip, munching on curly fries, taking a sip of the shake and then going through the rotation over and over again. Noooo. At this point, I’m not even touching my food. I’m just staring at eating, just like how dog’s sit next to you at the table just praying a crumb of people food falls their way. I came up with a plan.
Aside from the ‘drink milk’ implanted in my brain another traumatizing saying that’s probably still used to this day is the guilt trip method of eating: Eat all of your food, there’s starving people in _______ (name a country). My brain kicked in high gear and new that if I finished my meal, I could jump in this rotation of hers and grab some of that Jamocha milkshake.
I started eating like a mad man, you would think I haven’t eaten all week, but I finished without even enjoying the taste of my food. My Mom looked at me like I had six heads but cracked a smile because she was happy I didn’t leave any leftovers. And just at that moment, I could sense she was getting full. And I can see she is thinking about something, and she looks at me and smiles.
“Well, I’d hate to see this food go to waste. Here you go.” She slides her remaining French Dip and fries to me, meanwhile takes a sip of the shake. Are you kidding me? She’s too full to eat the sandwich but will slurp down a hefty 1,000 calorie coffee milkshake? I look at her know what I have to do.
I inhale her sandwich faster than I ate my own. I skipped the Au Jus and just piled the beef and bread into my mouth. My Mom couldn’t believe her eyes and was in disbelief that this ‘twig of a child’ could eat that much. It was time to finally muster up the courage to ask the unspeakable.
“Can I please have a sip of your shake?” I ask quietly.
She looks at me with a smile.
“Of course. It’s almost done but you can have the rest. You should have asked me earlier, I would have given you some.”
If there’s anything you can learn from this story, learn that you shouldn’t be afraid of asking, even if you think there will be a rejection. Otherwise you could be missing out on something spectacular.
Let’s Talk About the Arby’s Jamocha Shake Recipe
The Arby’s Jamocha Shake recipe is pretty straight forward and doesn’t require a lot of ingredients or equipment. You really have several main ingredients for the Arby’s Jamocha Shake recipe to really stand out.
- Coffee: Aim for a good quality medium roast or breakfast blend. Dark roast doesn’t mean there is more caffeine, it just burns the beans, which will give you a more bitter flavor.
- Ice Cream: You can’t go wrong with a quality Hagan Daz or a sweet cream vanilla ice cream. Go big or go home, is what I always like to say.
- Whipped Cream: The whipped cream can be any type or flavor of your choosing. Since this is used as the topping, the quality doesn’t concern as much.
- Chocolate Sauce: This is where you can either get really fancy and melt your own milk chocolate, or you can use a brand like Ghiradelli which will help elevate the flavors when you mix it.
Arby’s Jamocha Shake Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Blender High power is best
- 2 Milkshake Glass Tall size, freeze for best results
- 1 Measuring Cup For liquid measurements
- 1 Spoon For stirring and topping
Ingredients
- 3 cups vanilla ice cream
- 0.5 cup strong brewed coffee cooled completely
- 0.25 cup whole milk
- 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup
- whipped cream for topping (optional)
Instructions
Preparation
- Make sure you have 3 cups of vanilla ice cream, ½ cup of strong brewed coffee or espresso (cooled completely), ¼ cup of whole milk, and 2 tablespoons of chocolate syrup.
- Brew the coffee to be strong; you can achieve this by using more grounds than usual or by using less water. Allow it to cool completely, ideally in the refrigerator, so it's cold before adding it to the blender.0.5 cup strong brewed coffee
- Place the tall milkshake glasses in the freezer to chill.
Cooking / Creating
- In the blender, add the cold coffee, milk, and chocolate syrup.0.25 cup whole milk, 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup
- Add the vanilla ice cream to the mixture in the blender.3 cups vanilla ice cream
- Pulse the ingredients together using short bursts to blend without causing the shake to become too thin from the heat of the blender.
Serving / Presentation
- Take the chilled milkshake glasses out of the freezer.
- Pour the blended Jamocha shake evenly into the two glasses.
- Optionally, if you'd like, add whipped cream on top and a drizzle of chocolate syrup for an extra touch of indulgence.whipped cream
- Serve immediately to enjoy the shake at its freshest and creamiest.