"Coffee with an Altitude" — a coffee truck at 9,000 feet in the food-truck courtyard behind First National Bank, next door to Fernando's. Real espresso, two-flavor signature lattes, kolaches and sausage biscuits in the morning, fruit smoothies and Italian sodas for the afternoon.
The coffee truck that makes the courtyard a morning stop, not just a lunch one — espresso first, then a burrito from the window next door.
The cup, in the courtyard. More photos as we get them.
"The Cloudcroft latte, hot, medium. Pistachio and white chocolate sounds like a dessert and drinks like a coffee. It's the drink the place is named for, in effect, and the one people drive back for."
Cloudcroft latte (pistachio + white chocolate)
"A cortado and a sausage kolache. Both fit in one hand, both survive the drive to Alamogordo, and the kolache is a real breakfast, not a pastry pretending to be one."
Cortado + beef sausage kolache
"Coffee here, burritos next door, everybody at one picnic table. The smoothie is the kid's order — real fruit, no sugar added — and the courtyard games keep them busy."
Latte for you · smoothie for them · burritos from Fernando's
Open 7 AM to 2 PM Tuesday through Sunday, with a longer Saturday to 4 PM. Closed Mondays. This is a morning operation — plan it as the first stop of the day, not the afternoon one.
Hours are from the shop's own site, checked October 2026. A coffee truck at 8,676 feet can close early on a bad-weather day; the courtyard is visible from Highway 82, so a drive-by settles it.
Behind First National Bank, just off Highway 82, in the same food-truck courtyard as Fernando's — the lowest stop on the James Canyon Highway dining strip. Mad Jack's, Brother-N-Law, Dusty Boots and Big Daddy's are the next stops up the hill.
96 James Canyon Hwy
Cloudcroft, NM 88317
Behind First National Bank, just off Highway 82 — the coffee truck in the Fernando's courtyard.
Turn in at First National Bank and the courtyard is behind it: picnic tables with umbrellas, cornhole boards, Fernando's window on one side and the Cloud 9000 truck beside it.
If you reach Mad Jack's at 105, you've gone one driveway too far up the hill.
What this truck does well, and when another coffee stop in the village is the better call.
Seating is the shared courtyard — picnic tables under umbrellas, no indoor room. At 8,676 feet a morning in October can start near freezing even when the afternoon is warm, so a hot latte on a cold bench is the realistic picture from fall through spring.
Everything is built to go. Grab it and drink it on the road or back at the cabin.
Posted hours are 7 AM to 2 PM Tuesday through Sunday, except Saturday, which runs to 4 PM. Closed Mondays. The 7 AM open puts it level with Fernando's and ahead of most Burro Avenue kitchens.
Hannah's notes mention grab-and-go calzones; they aren't on the printed menu we checked, so ask at the window rather than counting on them.
Hot drinks are 12, 20 or 24 oz; iced and blended drinks are 12, 20 or 32 oz. Signature two-flavor lattes run $5.50, $7 and $8.50; single-flavor lattes $5, $6.50 and $8. Oat, almond and coconut milk add $1, $2 or $3 by size. Half-and-half and heavy cream are available.
Add-ons: sweet cream cold foam $1, whipped cream $0.75, extra shot $0.75, drizzle $0.75, cinnamon $0.50, extra flavor $1.
Cloud 9000 is the natural first stop on a day that starts with a drive — down US-82 to White Sands (35 miles) or Alamogordo, or east to the trailheads. Coffee here, burrito from Fernando's, and you're moving by 7:30.
On a slow village morning it pairs with a walk down to Burro Avenue afterward; on a family day, it's the stop where the kids get a smoothie and a round of cornhole.
"The village had good coffee before Cloud 9000 — Black Bear and Dave's both pour well — but it didn't have a real espresso stop on the highway side, and it didn't have anything open at 7 with a kolache in the case. That's the gap this truck fills. The pistachio latte is a gimmick that happens to be excellent, and the fact that Fernando's is twenty feet away turns a coffee run into a breakfast. Closed Mondays, done by two on weekdays. Plan around that and it earns the stop."
An espresso at 7 AM pairs naturally with a drive to White Sands, a trailhead start, or a burrito from the window next door. Build the rest of the trip from the dining and lodging guides.
The window next door, two stops up the corridor — or jump back to the full dining guide.