GamJams Reviews: Coffee

There's something about coffee that lends itself well to cycling. Millions of people drink coffee every day, but for some reason, cycling and coffee seem to be a package deal. You know, like bowling and pork rinds.

When I first started cycling a little more than four years ago, coffee wasn't my thing. I actually learned to like coffee because all of the group rides started at a coffee shop. Being all twitchy and jumpy probably didn't help my budding pacelining skills, but I sure felt fast.

This week's GamJams Reviews is all about coffee. Drink up!

• Things are kept simple at KMAX TRAX. The man really just wants some coffee, that's all. "Generally I stick to my cheap 8 O'Clock variety. I've got a blade grinder and a coffee press and that pretty much does the trick."
• It's the opposite of simplicity at the Uff Da! Chronicles. Moka pot? No idea, but you'll find out soon enough. "I'll cat and house sit for two weeks, with two days' notice, without a car, in a neighborhood with limited public transportation, just for espresso."
• After that salute to coffee in all its forms, Rude Siggy smacks us all back down to earth. Hard. "You addicted, weak-minded weenies." And that's merely the first sentence.
• You want the polar opposite of Siggy's manifesto? The Unholy Rouleur delivers, just like always. "All true cyclists drink espresso."
• A true coffee expert is someone who's made it for a living. The details are on Life Cycle. "What started as a desire to work at a coffee shop became a desire to learn about coffee."
• Algomaha is fueled by coffee. Between a two-year-old, full-time work at the bike shop, part-time work as a writer and attempting to be a bike racer, extra chemical propulsion is a necessity. "I tend to brew my coffee a bit stiff ... ."

Upcoming reviews: Cool-weather socks (Sept. 17), Knee/arm/leg warmers (Sept. 24).

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About GamJams Reviews:
All cyclists are experts, at least when it comes to our equipment choices. We know why we chose what we chose, and what we think of the product after we've been using it. GamJams Reviews channels that collective expertise - category by category - into a tidy package of articles designed to help all of us make better equipment decisions. Buying what pros get paid to use is one way to go. But the candid testimonial of fellow racers who paid out of their own pocket - that's an endorsement that really counts.

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In addition to being GamJams Tech Editor, Bryan Redemske is a professional writer and Cat 3 racer. He drinks a lot of coffee.

Comments

[Jim Wilson]

The best coffee I ever, ever had was in/from Ethiopia. I received several two pound bags as gifts for some healthcare work. When I brewed it up in DC, here, it was astonishing, wondrous. I am heading back in February for a re-up (among more important matters). -- Jim

[Mike May]

Yeah, the best stuff never makes it to our shores. I'm hoping there's a Tour of the Blue Mountain in Jamaica in 2010.

[Scott]

Unfortunately, the website does not seem to display the whole bean coffee varieties available, but Sidamo, just a few blocks from Union Station, has wonderful house-roasted Ethiopian coffee. And, on Sunday afternoons, they do an Ethiopian Coffee ceremony in the shop
http://www.sidamocoffeeandtea.com/index.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/restaurants/sidamo-coffee-and-tea,1133158.html