A Café Borgia is a mocha with the kick of orange — a 16th-century Italian invention that almost no café in the Bay Area still makes. Royal Ground Coffee on Solano Avenue has had it on the menu since the day we opened in 2002.
Espresso, chocolate, steamed milk, and a hit of orange syrup — the regulars order it by name, and once you've had one, you understand why. It tastes like the warmth of a winter afternoon and the brightness of a summer morning at the same time.
The Borgia, by the numbers
- Small — $4.75
- Medium — $5.25
- Large — $5.75
- Available iced (Iced Mocha + orange — ask for it).
Other things named after Italian families on the menu
The Café Borgia is in good company on the espresso bar — Mexican Mocha, White Chocolate Mocha, Brave (a depth-charged cappuccino), and Cortado. The full board is at the counter; the regulars go straight to the Borgia.