At Loam Coffee, we’ve always supported trail building in small ways behind the scenes. Most of the time, that involved sending coffee to work parties for trail builders to enjoy. Other times we’d send bags of coffee to be raffled off for fundraisers for trail projects. We also support a small non-profit trail building organization monthly. But now that Loam Coffee and Trail Builder Magazine are figuratively under the same roof, we’re leaning into this more.
Last month in Reno, Nevada, was the International Trails Summit. I had already planned to attend on behalf of the magazine as a media member. I was there to cover the event, take lots of photos, and write daily recaps. However, once I took back ownership of Loam Coffee, Greg Mazu of Singletrack Trails reached out to me and asked if I wanted to serve Loam Coffee at his booth. For me, that was a no-brainer, so I said yes.
That ended up being one of the best decisions I’ve made.
First, when Greg said his “booth,” I didn’t realize it was his whole solar system of companies he owns (e.g., Singletrack Trails, Tools for Trails, Backslope Tools, etc.). In other words, it wasn’t just a booth but a village. Throughout the conference, it ended up being a hub for people to come and hang out.
At the entrance of the “village” there I was there with my pourover setup. I packed a carry-on bag full of all the coffee equipment I’d need (plus coffee bags) to serve pourovers. I was set. I was there early the first morning to set up, grind, and make coffee. While the news may travel fast, the smell of freshly ground coffee travels faster and farther.
I wasn’t there to sell coffee but to make coffee for anyone and everyone who wanted some. Luckily, the hotel coffee was so bad that people were ecstatic to have specialty coffee available and free.
The fun part about making pourovers is that it is a highly relational process. It usually takes a few minutes to make a cup of coffee, even though I constantly had two going at the same time. So that means while I am making coffee, it provides a great time to talk. I had the opportunity over and over to share not only about my new magazine but also about Loam Coffee. I told the stories repeatedly about how I started Loam and Trail Builder Mag.
It ended up being a spectacular week of hanging out with trail builders from all over the world. I made new friends with people from Greenland, the Czech Republic, Quebec, and Australia, to name a few. All because of trail building. Some own companies, others work for government agencies, others lead non-profits, and everything in between. It was a special week.
I’m excited to continue exploring ways Loam Coffee can get more involved in trail building beyond what we’re doing now. While new trails to shred on are essential, there are so many collateral benefits that new trails can bring, especially for communities experiencing economic decline and working to turn things around through adventure tourism (and more). We’re in this together.
