Horchatería Vida

Horchatería Vida is here to stay, and it didn’t become that way by chance. If you’re going, it’s because it has been recommended to you as one of the best places to enjoy an authentic Valencian horchata, in the middle of the calm gardens of Alboraya. And when we say “in the middle,” we mean it, because there’s nothing else around. Only gardens, peace, vegetables, sun and shade, healthy life, and the harmony that comes with escaping the city, at least for a day.

Vida was born in 2013, but it’s far from true to think that this horchata cafe doesn’t have any history. The truth is that one of its most important values is the house that gave it life: an antique farmhouse that dates back to the year 1180 and is currently the home of the grandparents of Vicente and Vicenta, the present owners of this beloved family business.

It’s no surprise that this couple continues fighting to give a long life to the legacy of their ancestors, who were already cultivating their own chufas, or tiger nuts, like Vicente. Every week, he brings his 60 sacks of chufas directly to the hands of whoever’s preparing the horchata. Rich and handmade — there’s nothing better than that.

Horchatería Vida is enthusiastic for many reasons: their perfect and well-balanced flavor, the sponginess of their 100% homemade fartons (a sweet Valencian pastry) and their now-famous baked goods: the pumpkin and carrot cakes, among others, that their own Vicenta prepares every day.

But they’re also enthusiastic because they’re located in the middle of the garden and can have a spacious terrace and a park where kids can play as they did years ago: in the wide-open air, surrounded by nature, among animals that Vicente has spent years taking care of — chickens, peacocks, rabbits, ducks… An attraction that makes all the kids’ jaws drop!

Plus, at Horchatería Vida, you don’t just drink horchata; you can also bring recently harvested vegetables from the nearby garden to the house. They sell these vegetables at a very good price — almost as good as their impressive looks.

Do you need any more reasons to go to Horchatería Vida? Well, here’s one: It’s a perfect place to bike. Even to get there, there’s an extensive greenway trail known as “La Vía Verde de la Xurra,” since it makes for a beautiful bike trip that ends in the best way: making a stop at Vida.

We didn’t arrive at Horchatería Vida by chance either. And now that we know about it, we can’t even imagine leaving, whether we’re there with or without a bicycle, as a family with or without kids, as a couple or just with friends.

However you experience it, Horchatería Vida has all the ingredients to enjoy a different sort of adventure, full of nature and far from what’s urban.