There’s nothing quite like starting your day on the trail, gravel road, or highway in your van with a fresh, hot cup of coffee. But for those who prioritize packing light, balancing quality and convenience can feel like a steep uphill climb. Fear not! With the right gear and a few clever choices, you can enjoy a stellar brew without breaking your back, overloading your pack, or filling your van with unnecessary clutter. Here’s how to create the ultimate minimalist coffee setup for ultralight travel.
For the first several years of Loam Coffee’s existence, we never had a van or anything like that. Whenever we did events, we’d move stuff around in my SUV, set up tents, etc. But that all changed once Nacho the MTB Van came into my life … What that also means is every time I head out of town on a road trip with Nacho, I grab a couple of different coffee brew method devices to test out. I have a cabinet full of various brew methods at home. Recently, I made such a trip and brought along with me the Cuppamoka by Wacaco.
A few weeks ago, I ventured out to my first mountain bike race of the season. Full confession, though, I didn’t go out to race. Instead, I was there to take photos of the event and race. It was an XC race, the first of the season, and I packed along by 140mm travel trail bike. But the only riding I did was to venture deeper into the racecourse to get better photos.
So much of my life revolves around coffee. Even without thinking about it, I orient my daily routine around it. The first thing that I do every morning is to brew a cup of coffee using an Aeropress or make a pourover. Later on, I’ll make a manual brew cortado at home with my Rok. But then there’s traveling, road trips, and coffee. That’s a whole different category.
Looking back I realize how much of the best experiences we had were from the unexpected detours. Finding a waterfall in the high desert or scrambling up a cliff in search of Anasazi ruins were not on my agenda. But my trip would be incomplete without those experiences
When it comes to mountain biking most of us are mere mortals. Our skills are so-so and probably A LOT better in our minds than in real life. We also feel the internal tension because we’re not all criss-crossing the globe on Instagram-worthy mountain bike expeditions (especially now). Or if we do they’re not as often as we’d like … or admit. So what do we do in the meantime?
Micro-adventures.
