La Vida Mocha

La Vida Mocha, Albuquerque, NM– I was assigned on jury duty this week, and since our fridge was a little low on most breakfast items, I decided to try out some places around the downtown/​courthouse area (not an area I am ever in). So, I decided to check this place out one morning after walking by it 2 – 3 days in a row to get to the courthouse. I was running a tiny bit late, but I did have about 20 minutes to spare to get a quick bite to eat before heading into jury duty.
Two women were about 5 feet from the door, both on cell phones, completely engrossed. This was about 8 am too, so it wasn’t like it was later in the day when they might start zoning out toward the end of the shift. Neither greeted me, they barely looked up from their cell phones at all actually.
I looked at the menu and ordered a simple yogurt parfait. I waited almost 15 minutes while they scrambled to put yogurt and fruit in a cup. They weren’t prepared at all. The berries were apparently outside somewhere in storage, and since it’s freezing cold in January, berries were frozen solid. I had frozen solid berries in yogurt for breakfast. Yum.
All the items they had to bring in from the «back» were from Sam’s club. They had premade breads and bakery stuff all over the counters from there too. I sort of expect a tiny bit more from a bakery/​café then having Sam’s club doing the heavy lifting. They sold croissants, but they were not freshly made, they were freshly purchased from a warehouse instead. I know it doesn’t entirely matter because I probably will never be back downtown around here, but this place could use some serious improvement.

Great cappuccino! Stopped in after court, this place is clean and staff is friendly! If I lived downtown I would be here often.

Typically, I feel as if I’ve met the owner of a coffee shop the minute I walk in the door on my first visit. Don’t we all have a vision of what our café would look like if we had the tenacity, guts and line of credit to actualize it one day? I do. The interior walls of cafés are the outward expressions of those that make the dream a reality, and the coffee itself reveals a lot about how they personally enjoy their cup.
But you don’t need to even enter this spot to get a feel for the vibe, just dig the name of the place. Cute. Worth a smile. The employees reflect the same qualities: bubbly, engaging, perky, familial. This is a true Route 66 coffee house, with New Mexican motifs and artwork all over the place and a gift shop on one side boasting jewelry and crafts worth checking out. The caffeinated delights are sweet-​centric; forget the subtleties of hand crafted five dollar espresso shots that are currently all the rage, La Vida Mocha is pouring chocolate and caramel layered calorie bombs. Very, very tasty.
So this is a very positive three star review. It’s great to have another café downtown, especially here, right around the corner from the courthouse. The space doesn’t particularly appeal to me, and I’m getting a bit fussy about my bean preference, but overall I’d come back anytime.