Pasion del Cielo

I’m not sure why every coffee-shop in Mexico City has the word “Cielo” (sky or heaven in English) in their name. There might be a public ordinance requiring it. Supposedly it has something to do with the fact that the coffee, which is grown in high altitudes, is close to the entrance to the heavens.

I presume, based on the name, that this chain of Starbuck-like coffee shops is based our of Mexico, although there are also a bevy of these coffee shops in Miami as well.

Most cafés in Mexico City serve coffee brewed from beans coming from Mexico, and in rare instances, blends from Mexico, Colombia, Central America and Africa. Some are roasted locally, others roasted in Italy.

The Pasión de Cielo niche is that unlike these other cafés they offer coffee made from any of a variety of beans coming from about everywhere in the world where coffee is grown. Twelve different blends, to be exact.

On my recent visit to Pasión del Cielo I had a cup of coffee made with the Kona blend from Hawaii. You’ll pay an upcharge for a custom blend coffee. Coffee is only served in the Starbucks style. Paper cups. A small cup of coffee is typically US$12 (38 pesos). The Kona blend cup of coffee cost me US$3 (a 50% upcharge). But if your passionate about the origin of your beans, this might be worth the extra buck.

The ambiance of the place is a little funky. The bright orange sofas were a bit dirty, stained from more than a fair share of coffee spills. Orange velvet was is not the likely the best choice of fabric for this venue. Due to the paper cup format they’re serving up more coffee to go than for the loungers, like me. I also noticed that they dining area wasn’t kept as fastidiously clean as many of the other cafés in Mexico City. Even after the sizeable mid-morning rush has subsided, there wasn’t much attention to cleaning up the lounge areas. The collage of cover bands doing 50's rock n roll was a bit boring too.

That said, the WIFI worked and there were plenty of electric outlets for charging that laptop or phone you might be carrying with you.

The decision of which café you choose might likely be based more on location, than other factors. Despite the slightly disheveled state of the café’s lounge, the paper cup of coffee was pretty good.

They do serve the typical array of baked goods and sandwiches if you want something to accompany your cup of coffee. Bottom line, if you’re looking to sit and spend some time over a cup of coffee one of the many small cafés like nearby Chiquitito might be a better choice. For coffee to go, Pasión del Cielo is not a bad choice.