Every story has a beginning. Our personal stories are no different in that they all had a beginning whether we grew up in the backwoods of obscurity or with an abundance of opportunities and privilege. Our stories define us and much of it was set in motion from our beginnings. Roots are important. They are part of our story.
Loam Coffee's story is rooted in mountain biking. Ironically though, those roots are not from the douglas fir or other trees in the Pacific Northwest. Instead, these roots consist of the shallow root system of the mighty saguaro cactus in southern Arizona. After several years as a mountain biking guide taking thousands of people out into the desert wilderness came this idea of venturing out to start my own guiding company. Interestingly though, these were the days of LOTS of lycra, lightweight XC bikes, 30-60 mile races (like the 24HOP), and even singlespeeds (gasp!).
On a fateful trip up to the mystical red rocks of Sedona I walked into the Sedona Bike & Bean and knew from that moment that whatever I decided to do with mountain biking it had to incorporate coffee. From those sun-drenched days in Arizona this idea and plan began brewing and fermenting over the years. But then something happened ... Portland.
With my lightweight singlespeed bike I transitioned to Portland, Oregon and quickly immersed myself into the quirky and fun world and culture of the Rose City. With coffee roasters in abundance there was no shortage of new coffee and roasts to try out. A few years after the transition the mountain biking guiding company idea was still haunting me ... if I'm ever going to do this I need to get started now.
After a lackluster crowdfunding attempt I was befuddled. What next? Then it dawned on me ... I'll simply start with coffee first. Thus Loam Coffee was born last April (2015). To our shock and surprise we quickly began to pick up speed and momentum through social media as we connected with more and more mountain bikers. Then an article in Enduro Mountainbike Magazine appeared and then another in Freehub Magazine. People were finding out about us. We now sponsor a handful of riders and teams. This has truly been the beginnings of a grand adventure. Thank you to all who have begun this with us.
Roots. While we are firmly entrenched and rooted here in the coffee and mountain biking world of the Pacific Northwest we are not forgetful of the soil conditions in the desert where these seeds began germinating.
