Tranquil Buzz Coffee Shop – Silver City, New Mexico

Where have all the hippies gone?  Long time passing.  Where have all the hippies gone?  Long time ago.  Where have all the hippies gone?  Would you believe they’ve all gone to Tranquil Buzz, a coffee shop with perhaps the best coffee shop vibe in the country.  Boasting of the “best coffee in the cosmos,” Tranquil Buzz lives the motto “Love lives here.”  We practically lived there, too.  Well, at least for the first two hours of our day during the three days we spent in Silver City.  Fortunately the AirBnB at which we stayed was directly across the street from what has become a community meeting place with regular events such as poetry readings, open mic music and written word, local and regional professional musician performances, drum circles, meditation, and more.

Approach Tranquil Buzz through the Arizona Street gated entrance and you might be reminded of Swiss Family Robinson’s treehouse with boardwalks that meander under towering deciduous trees and past a small pond in which koi swim merrily.  Along the boardwalk are several nooks and crannies  in which coffee drinkers enjoy al fresco coffee drinking.  It reminded me of the club houses my brothers and I built with our friends Estevan (former commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation) and Gabriel Lopez (former Vice President for Research at the University of New Mexico).  (Forgive my name-dropping but I love those guys.) We built our club houses from branches, twigs, stray boards and whatever else we might run across.

One commonality among all the seating areas at Tranquil Buzz is conviviality.  We didn’t see many tables for one at Tranquil Buzz.   Lines may move a little slowly.  That’s because as guests queue up, they invariably run into people they know.  It truly is a little lovefest here.   Tranquil Buzz’s website describes it thusly: “Our horizon goes beyond a coffee house into growing a model of community kinship where the generosity of unified spirit and good business unite. The conscious building blocks of The Buzz weave dreaming vision, a grounded practical business mind, and the power of intention and attention in seeding dreams of possibility.”  As for my comment about this coffee shop being a hangout for “former hippies,”  just look around.  Most of the guests are around our age (late 30s) and lived through the summer of love.

You’ll also gawk in awe and  amazement when you step into the coffee shop.  Tree branches suspended overhead are part of the ambiance here, too.  So are antiques enough to fill a small antique store.  My Kim wanted every one of the kitchen utensils.  Fortunately they weren’t for sale.  My interest was in the collection of stringed instruments–guitars of several shapes and sizes, mandelins, banjos and more.  Photographs depicting the history of Silver City were displayed very cleverly on French doors, each glass panel showing off one or more photographs.  It may be advisable to get in line first to place your order then peruse all the interesting items arrayed for your viewing pleasure.  But, first…before you get to the counter where you’ll place your order, you’ll espy some of the most tempting pastries imaginable.  They just may trigger involuntary salivation and may make your order somewhat incoherent.

The rustic ambiance belies homey and “come as you are” comfiness of this coffee haven.  On the windiest and coldest day of our stay, one of the patrons (photographed below) was covered in fur from head to toe.  It brought to mind the Will Geer character in the movie Jeremiah Johnson.  Visitors among us were unprepared for the unseasonal April weather.  Luckly the coffee was more than up for the task of warming us up.  Our hearts were further warmed by the friendliness of other guests, many of whom were drawn to us by The Dude.  Seriously, Silver City may be the friendliest city in New Mexico.

While ambiance may warm your heart and friendly guests may make you feel welcome, the primary reason to visit a coffee shop is for coffee.  Scrawled on a slate board at the counter is a menu of beverages even Rip VanWinkle would want to awaken to.  Coffee comes from Picacho Coffee Roasters in Las Cruces.  Black and herbal teas are made in Silver City.  All the usual suspects–hot and iced coffee, hot and iced teas and Italian sodas–are available.  You can have them with regular milk or your choice from among several non-dairy options.  The food menu is a star!  If you need a quickie before heading off to work, creative quiche options (including vegetarian) are available to go or eat in.  Also on the menu are freshly-made local pastries, cookies, empanadas and pies in regular and gluten-free varieties.

My very favorite coffee in the universe is the red chile (which owner Michael Gonzales mispells “chili)  mocha  at Cafe Bella in Rio Rancho.  I had so many of them over a two-year period that they raised my blood sugar level to a concerning degree.  Most of the time I order black coffee or when available Café au Lait.  As you’ve probably surmised, Café au Lait hails from France and translates to “coffee with milk.” Café au Lait dates back to the early to mid-17th century.

One of my favorite aspects of this coffee is that it’s traditionally served in an ovrsized mug (perfect for dunking pastries). Café au Lait is made using brewed coffee and steamed milk, in a typical ratio of one part coffee to one part steamed milk with no froth or foam on top.  The coffee base is usually made with a French press or a drip and the milk must always be steamed.  Tranquil Buzz’s Café au Lait is magnificent–so good that instead of ordering something different every day, my heart was captured by one coffee.

Pumpkin spice candles. Pumpkin spice cookies. Pumpkin spice lip balm. Pumpkin spice sleep powder. Pumpkin spice poo-pourri.   Pumpkin spice motor oil.  You can’t get away from pumpkin spice which has a surprisingly large community of online haters (much like others hate cumin).  In 2023, Stagwell Marketing Cloud surveyed 1,000 Americans from across representative demographics to figure out if pumpkin spice is a true consumer preference or an overhyped marketing gimmick.  One-third of the respondents said pumpkin spice is overrated, six-percent indicated it’s underrated and the rest didn’t have an opinion.

My Kim lands squrely on the camp of people who believe pumpkin spice coffee is underrated.  She believes pumpkin pie season should begin on January 1st and end 365 days later.  If you wonder how she manages to stay so sweet, it could be because she typically adds eight to twelve packets of Splenda per cup of coffee.  That’s too sweet for me so I can’t really tell you whether or not Tranquil Buzz’s rendition is as good as the Café au Lait.  She’ll argue that it’s better.

Since you now know my Kim can’t get enough pumpkin spice, it won’t surprise you to read that for three consecutive visits she had Tranquil Buzz’s unique pumpkin pie cheesecake.  That I can certify as absolutely delicious: not too sweet, spiced to perfection and best of all, available in April, five months after Thanksgiving.  Though I can take or leave pumpkin spice, it’s a different story with pumpkin pie.  My mom baked the most wonderful pumpkin pies in New Mexico.  My brothers and I would “steal” one (or five) pies and hide the empty pie tins under our sisters’ beds.

For three consecutive days I was not only faithful to the Café au Lait, but to an addictive apple cinnamon pastry.  Ordinarily I would try something new every visit, but this pastry was so good I would consider marrying it.  It’s very much like a cinnamon roll with the inclusion of nuts and apple chunks.   If you love cinnamon rolls or cinnamon-spiced apples, this is a not-to-be-missed pastry.

Silver City is about 4.5 hours away if you take the I-25 route.  Until you exit I-25 and catch NM-152 through the magnificent Gila National Forest, it’s a pretty boring drive.  Instead, I recommend making your way from Quemado then proceed southward along US-180E which takes you through some of New Mexico’s most spectacular scenery (including the beautiful town of Reserve).  Either way just get there!  The Tranquil Buzz Coffee House alone is worth the trip.

Tranquil Buzz Coffee House
300 North Arizona Street
Silver City, New Mexico
(575) 956-6476
Website | Facebook Page
LATEST VISIT:  7 April 2024
1ST VISIT: 5 April 2024
RATING: 24
COST: $ – $$
BEST BET: Cafe Au Lait, Apple Cinnamon Pastry, Pumpkin Pie,
REVIEW #1387