Coffee and cycling go together like, well, coffee and cycling. The mid-ride café stop is a time-honoured tradition for good reason. If you follow any professional cyclists on social media, there’s a good chance you’ve seen them post a photo of cappuccinos and baked goods on a table, or else a shot of a bunch of fellow pros sitting in their respective team kits grinning at the camera.
Café stops aren’t just for pros, either. Coffee shops offer easy, accessible places to refuel for anyone on a bike, whether on a long day out or as a spot to meet up with friends or a handy departure point for a group ride.
Professional cycling and coffee have a formal history together. Notable examples include espresso machine maker Faema’s sponsorship of a pro team in the 1950s and ’60s, for which Eddy Merckx famously rode. More recently, Italian coffee company Segafredo was the co-sponsor for the squad currently known as Lidl-Trek for several seasons.
The effects of caffeine on endurance athletes are well-documented at this point. It provides a boost that allows for longer and harder efforts on the bike. Along with sugar, it’s one of the most helpful legal substances one can consume.
Mid-ride espresso stops are not an option for everyone on a bike, however. Bikepackers, touring cyclists or those who live in rural areas may not have access to a café for their coffee needs.
Making one’s own coffee is the solution to this conundrum, and doing so has become popular enough that it has inspired communities of people to regularly meet up for “coffee outside” together. Fortunately, a variety of easy-to-use, lightweight coffee brewing methods are now available to meet the needs of those who are interested in making coffee on the go.
What is coffee outside?
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The idea was first popularised on social media via a hashtag by Rob Perks of Ocean Air Cycles in California. It has since become an enduring cultural phenomenon that provides the opportunity for friends and fellow cyclists to socialise, refuel and relax by drinking coffee outdoors instead of in a coffee shop.
To participate, all you need to do is either bring or brew your own coffee while out on a bike ride (or other outdoor pursuit). If you’re interested in doing this with other people, you can check out the map created by Russ Roca on The Path Less Pedaled website, which includes coffee outside meetups all over the world.
Making one’s own coffee is often less expensive than going to a coffee shop, and brings a camping feel and pace to the whole experience. It’s an easy way to feel more connected to the outdoors, even for people who work in an office every day. It’s a sort of micro-adventure that fits easily into everyday life.
Where I live in Seattle, there are two regular coffee outside groups that I am acquainted with. Most participants join on their way to work, and stop in to hang out, network and share hot drinks and baked goods.
I spoke with Peter Hanchak, who organises one of Seattle’s coffee outside meetups, about how it fits into the community at large. He’s been organising the weekly meetups since 2017, and likes to think of it as “a way to meet new friends and old friends and to enjoy the beautiful corners of our city. [Keeping] it as a meetup vs. a ride [allows] folks to come and go as they please and not have to be on a specific schedule or ride at a particular pace. We have the ability to find new locations and explore parks and locations as they change and evolve around the city.”
For Hanchak, “the connection of making coffee with a stove outside connects nicely to the simplicity and self-sufficiency of a bicycle as a mode of transportation. Biking somewhere under your own power and then making a cup of coffee with equipment you’ve carried with you feels so simple and elegant.”
For cyclists who are travelling or new to an area, attending a coffee outside meetup is a good way to meet fellow cyclists and to expand your social network.
What is the best way to make coffee outside?
(Image credit: Tyler Boucher)
Some people take coffee outside very seriously and have developed elaborate brewing rituals. Others, not so much. People are free to participate in any way they wish.
The simplest way to make coffee outside is to put standard coffee grounds in hot water—true cowboy coffee. On the other end of the spectrum are lightweight Aeropress, espresso or pour-over setups. When coffee outside first became popular, many of these specialised coffee products did not exist. Since then, many new coffee brewing tools especially designed for outdoor use have become readily available.
I am not an everyday coffee drinker, but when I make it at home, I typically grind the beans with a handheld burr grinder and use a pour-over setup with a gooseneck kettle. This is a reliable method that makes good coffee without actually needing to know what I’m doing.
For making coffee outside or on a bike trip, I utilise a simpler setup that works with instant coffee. I bring filtered water in a metal bottle, and heat it in situ. My preferred system includes a lightweight backpacking stove, fuel canister, mug, spoon and lighter. These items nestle together easily for packability and weigh very little.
I have found two particular products that I like for making coffee on the go. The first is rather unusual: it’s a coffee extract that comes in a tube, made by NoNormal coffee from Switzerland.
(Image credit: Tyler Boucher)
It’s very simple to make: all it requires is stirring the coffee paste into water, hot or cold. The tube is made of aluminium and contains 100 grams of concentrated extract, good for up to 30 cups of coffee. You can also add it to other food items if you so choose. NoNormal recommends a ratio of 1 tsp of coffee paste to 100-150 ml of water, depending on how strong you like your coffee. Co-founder Alexander Häberlin’s personal favourite? “Anything peanut butter + the coffee. Snickers with some paste on top is a BOMB.”
I have found I prefer to make it on the stronger side and like it best hot, but it’s great how versatile it is, especially as it makes zero garbage (you can recycle the tube when you run out).
The other method I have found that makes consistently great coffee is the freeze-dried coffee from Pretty Great Instant, based in Sacramento, CA. It is available in either resealable larger bags (claimed for 30 cups worth), or single-use 2-ounce packets. According to Pretty Great Instant, each serving is the equivalent to two espresso shots. To make it, you simply stir a scoop, or the contents of the packet, into hot water. It’s extremely easy to use, even with less-than-ideal outdoor brewing conditions. No measuring is required, and the single-serving packets are extremely light and packable, similar to individually packaged tea bags.
(Image credit: Tyler Boucher)
Regardless of the technique used, for the best results, I recommend using filtered water if possible. It’s also useful to figure out a reliable way to measure the volume of water you’re using, in some form or fashion.
For people who are not interested in the rigamarole (and associated accoutrements) of brewing coffee outdoors, it’s also perfectly acceptable to brew coffee (or any other hot beverage) at home and bring it along in a thermos or other vessel.
Conclusion
(Image credit: Tyler Boucher)
Over the last decade, we have seen gravel cycling and bikepacking take off in popularity, two disciplines that, by definition, take people away from the comforts of home and easy-to-access cafés. People seem drawn to this kind of riding because it allows us to access new and different locales, and because it provides variety from the traffic and clamour of paved roads. Carrying your own food and coffee allows you to go farther and explore more, as well as tap into a vibrant community of people who like to do the same.
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