It wasn’t long ago that the sneaker community was filled with chants to bring back the Air Jordan 3 Mocha. Originally released in 2001, the Mocha was a bit of an underrated colorway that found itself on sales racks. After years of obscurity this sneaker built a following that made the Mochas a “grail” instead of an afterthought. A lot of the time brands seem to ignore consumers’ pleas when it comes to bringing back fan favorites, but this time Jordan Brand listened. Seventeen years later, sneakerheads got their wish granted.
On December 15, 2018 the Mocha 3s hit the shelves and the anticipation was as everyone expected – Hyped! But the hype did not translate to sales. These Jordans seemed to have suffered from the same fate as its 2001 predecessor, which was definitely not expected after years of anticipation. I assumed that the shoe had bad materials (which can honestly stop a hyped release in its tracks), but that wasn’t the case. The shoe primarily wrapped in a white tumbled leather and hits of “Mocha” brown on the toe, heel, and outsole was produced nicely in my opinion (much better than some other models from Jordan Brand sitting around). To this day, I have been able to walk into any sneaker store, here in Houston, and find Mochas with ease (along with the Chlorophyll 3, but that’s a convo for another day). Heck, I even took a drive out to one of the Nike Factory Stores and found these on the hash wall. Also, you can find an assortment of sizes on Nike.com for $161!
Did these just come out at a bad time with too many Christmas releases, Black History Month drops and All-Star Game packs? Who knows. All I know is that these are great for those who are patient when it comes to picking up new sneakers (“Patience Saves Pockets” – Foamer Simpson). Have any of you seen the Mocha sitting at your local sneaker shops? Let us know in the comments.
Aaron Nojima
Robbie Falchi
2 comments
Mochas are nice looking. The white on them are fresh. I think you hit the nail on the head asking if it was just a bad time to drop a pair – I agree. I got my hands on Adapt BB, Turbo Greens, 2 pairs of Infrareds, and the Travis Scotts so the Mochas had to sit in the backburner. I’ve seen them in several stores up here in Dallas as well so maybe when they drop to bill, I’ll snag them.
Check me out on Instagram tho: @snkrhead214
Thanks for the article. Stay hype!
These are still sitting at every WSS and outlet in the LA area. And you know what? Good. It’s a quality, great-looking shoe that someone who doesn’t have connections and/or lots of money to blow on StockX will appreciate being able to buy on discount. (I didn’t buy a pair, but only because I kinda went nuts on 3s recently and don’t really need any more.) Anyway, good reminder that a cool shoe is a cool shoe, no matter how fast it sells or how much it’s worth on resale.