Sharing stories and adventures about all things coffee, stories, and stoke
It was almost three years ago when I sold Loam Coffee. I started Loam in 2015 and ran it for five years. Feeling burned out and needing a change of pace, I broke the company into two pieces and sold each part. With great relief, I moved on and threw myself into other endeavors and startups. But I couldn’t shake Loam Coffee.
I’m always looking for different ways to brew coffee, whether at home, on the trail, or on a gravel road. When I go gravel riding, I usually bring along a different way to brew coffee. Why? I’m not only trying to dial in my favorite, but I like using other brew methods.
I suppose there’s no such thing as my “favorite” way to brew coffee as I love mixing things up. Maybe what I’m looking for is the most convenient? Simplist? Easiest?
My dream of buying, living out of, and serving coffee in a swank Sprinter van was upended the day I was offered to buy a 1995 Chevy Sportvan for $200. My $100k dream Sprinter van would have to wait. Thus the legend of Nacho the MTB Van was born.
Interestingly, the older I get, the more I opt for convenience. Guilty as charged. Back in the day, if I had to relocate, whether, across the country or town, I’d recruit an army of friends, and we’d pack a U-Haul truck and do it ourselves? Now? I wouldn’t move without hiring a moving company. I used to love camping … you know, leaky air mattresses, the hard cold ground, and all the work of setting up camp and then breaking it down. I’ve become weak. Soft.
As much as I love riding my mountain bike on trails, I have to admit I equally love exploring the backroads on my gravel bike. Every now and then, when I get bored riding the same local and regional trails, I’ll switch it up to ride the endless ribbons of gravel roads around Oregon and Washington. At the same time, I’ve been experimenting with different brew methods while gravel riding. That brings me to the Ortlieb collapsible coffee dripper.
Let’s be honest … bike shops smell great. Those new tires, clothes, and gear give off an intoxicating smell. There’s probably something in those smells that triggers our brains to make irrational bike decisions. “No, I want 170mm of travel, not 130mm.” “Of course, upgrading to a carbon crankset makes sense.” However, another smell might be even more soul-stirring … coffee.
