10 Best Coffee Shops In Santa Fe New Mexico

From trendy La Mama to longtime favorite Ohori’s, here are the best coffee shops in Santa Fe, New Mexico. 

Santa Fe was once a tea town. But the city absorbed pace from tourists, learned to jolt and flicker eyes at the first sips of morning brew, and replaced feathers of steam rising from hot mugs of tea with feathered latte art, capped beneath to-go cups. 

You’ll still find tea on most menus, but coffee is dominant now. Santa Fe no longer sits still, so grab an espresso, sip it slow, and stay in motion. 

Here’s where to find the best coffee shops in Santa Fe, New Mexico. 

CrashMurderBusiness

Close your eyes. Imagine your elementary school teacher tapping a chalkboard (or whiteboard or smartboard), going over collective nouns in her kindest teacher voice. “A group of ducks is called a flock. A group of wolves is called a pack. A group of rhinos is called,” she pauses, waiting patiently. A crash. A group of crows? A murder. A group of ferrets? A business. 

CrashMurderBusiness‘ name is a collective of collective nouns; their drinks are too. Parliament Of Owls has pinpricks of cardamom and Streak Of Tigers foams at the mouths of mugs. 

Caffeine is delivered creatively, in spiced-up, milk-thickened concoctions best enjoyed in the early morning hours when rainbow stripes of light fall everywhere, on paper cups and a flickerless chandelier and a coffee table in a tiny living room that looks witchy and cozy (like the sisters from Charmed found their own Central Perk to call home). 

Sky Coffee

The Railyard’s tracks run so close to Sky Coffee that you can feel the final chugs of the Santa Fe Rail Runner rolling and rumbling to a stop at Santa Fe Depot. 

You’ll see streaks of red too. Sky Coffee is one of the best coffee shops in Santa Fe for its views. Forward-facing windows and a side patio overlook a modern wooden water tower and Violet Crown’s sleek Corten corner. A high ledge in the back faces metal rails and rusted ties, the black umbrellas of Nuckoll’s Brewing Co. closed into Christmas tree forms, and 6061 (a retrofuturistic spaceship welded above a Chevy pickup truck). 

My most recent order was a cappuccino (slightly flat and honey-sweet), but you’re just as likely to find other ritualized drinks on the menu: matcha, golden milk, kombucha (this is Santa Fe, after all). 

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The Mud Hut by Agapao Coffee

The Mud Hut by Agapao Coffee is a 7 AM wake-up call, a red wall blaring, quit-your-snoozing coffeehouse frothing drinks that understand the assignment: you need to be up, you need to get to work alert, and you want good coffee on the way. So, the drinks come hot in this tiny little shop, where the barista counter takes up most of the space and colorful bar stools are really just waiting room. Coffee sloshes against lids, ensuring your first sip moment happens right by the exit (or entrance – it’s the same door). You’ll taste a thick, smooth latte and every menu-promised flavor note.  

La Mama

Recently opened La Mama swaps out New Mexico’s earthy palette for Nordic neutrals. It’s light and bright and crisp, just like the sparkling wines on its menu. Google lists La Mama as a wine bar, but that little label doesn’t capture breadth: La Mama is also a market, a boutique, a dried flower bar, a cafe that ambitiously serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It’s also okay with just being a coffeehouse (on the Friday afternoon I visited, the upstairs loft was plateless but filled with students and freelancers fueling up on strong, vibrant lattes in big white mugs). 

35 Degrees North

35 Degrees North is another one of the best coffee shops in Santa Fe for a remote work day. The cafe is split across two indoor suites: an ordering space that smells like canvas bags and coffee beans (if you can’t decide on a drink, scan the chalkboard listing barista favorites) and a separate place to pull out your laptop and hop on a Zoom meeting (picture coworking chairs, lots of outlets, and a chic map-based office-lobby-esque design). Past cracked adobe and blue-rimmed windows is a balcony with loungier outdoor seats (perfect for reading a book) and a birds-eye view of downtown’s E Water Street.

Remix Audio Bar

ReMix Audio Bar is one of the vibiest coffee shops in Santa Fe. Coasters are records; barstool tops are too. An audio technician, headphones looped beneath the tips of his hair, pumps up the volume and mixes clubhouse-loud beats you can feel down to your bones. Drinks warm your body and settle you into the DJ-d, surround-sound atmosphere. 

ReMix is trendy and nerdy, with photoless frames and tabletop games. I played blitz chess and ordered a silky specialty latte (decadent, chocolatey, and berry-syrup-infused). 

Henry & The Fish

With La Colombe, a Philadelphia-headquartered macro-roastery, as its roaster of choice, Henry & The Fish’s coffee bar sells espresso, cappuccinos, and macchiatos (the standard Santa Fe coffee menu). Their Lavender + Matcha, an earthy green tea smooth and delightfully herbal from creamy oat milk and extra floral hints, is an easy favorite, but if it’s coffee you’re after, lean towards Henry & The Fish’s cold brews and iced lattes.

Counter Culture

Counter Culture is more of a cafe than a coffee shop. It serves homestyle breakfasts, the kinds where the scents of omelets, green chiles, and maple syrup linger more than smoky espressos. Don’t worry; their mochas are as thick as drinking chocolate, and their drip coffees are stout and strong. 

Iconik

Iconik’s Lena location is one of the most popular coffee shops in Santa Fe. There are two other locations, on Guadalupe Street and Cerrillos Road, with differing food menus (Iconik’s coffee menus are similar across its coffee house portfolio). You’ll see laptops out, customers tapping furiously behind screens, and disposable cups of iced coffee drained quickly. Drinks are on the weaker side. Think watery, sweet, cinnamon-spiced Horchata Lattes and subtle, milky chais. 

Ohori’s

Ohori’s has been one of our favorite coffee shops in Santa Fe for seven years now. Their vanilla lattes are sinfully silky, made with roasts as dark as the highway to hell (I always pair my order with a lil’ biscotti to cut Ohori’s bold, dominant flavors). 

In 1984, Susan Ohori’s shop was Ohori’s Coffee, Tea, and Chocolate. The business has changed hands since then, introduced small changes, and dropped Tea and Chocolate from its name. The roasting machine stayed the same (it’s vintage now), and today, Ohori’s is Ohori’s Coffee Roasters, the oldest continuously operating coffee roaster in New Mexico specializing in deeply dark roasts. 

What are your favorite coffee shops in Santa Fe? Let me know in the comments below! As always, I love hearing from you.