Finding Your Perfect Coffee Match Based on Your Motorcycle

WEBVTT

00:00:00.171 --> 00:00:06.501
You love coffee and you love bikes. But which coffee is the ideal one for the bike you usually ride?

00:00:26.297 --> 00:00:44.015
Welcome to the Throttle and Roast podcast. I'm your host, Niels Meersschaert. There's a large amount of variation, both with bikes and coffee, but how can you figure out which coffee aligns with your bike? Well, years ago, every bike was a standard and there are many style differences amongst them.

00:00:44.345 --> 00:01:03.753
It wasn't quite as disparate as we find now. Today, bikes can range from high strung sports bikes to adventure bikes, cruisers and even scooters. And you can find a bike that fits your style or even your mood for the day's ride in your garage if you have a few different bikes.

00:00:59.496 --> 00:01:11.492
Now, drip coffee might be the most common, but if you look at the menu in any coffee shop, the options are seemingly endless.

00:01:08.013 --> 00:01:19.352
Lots of espresso drink variations are on the menu. Plus you've got drip coffee, cold brew, and perhaps even some other options. So which coffee is the right one for you?

00:01:22.712 --> 00:01:51.503
So we're going to talk a little bit about some coffee and motorcycle pairings. If you've ever had a fine wine and a meal, usually you're sommelier, will, actually, figure out which wine is going to go best with what you're eating for your meal. And in some ways, this is an attempt to describe the same idea for your motorcycle. So it's a little tongue in cheek, It's really just how I tend to think of them. And what I actually find is a really nice pairing amongst the various coffees.

00:01:51.590 --> 00:01:54.061
So, let's say you're riding a standard motorcycle.

00:01:54.450 --> 00:02:05.700
Now, standard motorcycles are a very broad range. There's a lot of different bikes that will fit into that range. So things sort of like the Triumph Bonneville would be a typical standard bike.

00:02:06.361 --> 00:02:09.631
Even things like the old Honda Hornet would be a great example.

00:02:10.320 --> 00:02:43.549
There's a large range of them, and these meaning will include some more sporty naked bikes like the Triumph, Trident, for example. And in this case, really, your, your sort of bike is a dependable middle of the road bike that's happy with most everything. It's simple. It has no added frills and a good, dependable cup of drip coffee you can have anywhere is probably your choice. And maybe it's a pour over. Maybe sometimes in the aeropress. But regular coffee is right for you.

00:02:46.932 --> 00:03:16.046
Now, if you're out on your sport bike and you've got well over a hundred horsepower sitting there in an engine right between your legs raring to go at any second, your bike probably isn't happy if it's doing less than 80 miles an hour, even on a backroad and the world just moves at a much faster pace for you and you need the maximum amount of caffeine possible. So a Red-Eye made with black coffee and an extra shot of espresso fits the bill perfectly.

00:03:19.272 --> 00:03:51.647
Now, what happens if you're on a cruiser? Now, this could be a typical American cruiser, any of the Harley or Indian varieties, it could be one of the many Asian makes that are available. or it could even be something like the new BMW R18 from the European manufacturers, any sort of a cruiser, typically because they are based on a true American style, they're often big in size, weight and engine capacity and they're often larger than life.

00:03:47.277 --> 00:04:14.953
But despite having nearly two litres of displacement on your bike, it's often still less than a hundred horsepower. So carving canyons at high speed isn't your priority. You're often a red blooded American and you like the feeling of a big drink. But a high strung doppio would be too much. So the Americano with a bit of espresso and mostly water balances perfectly for you.

00:04:18.240 --> 00:04:46.726
You like to ride on dirt and you have to connect on some roads and maybe you do commuting with your bike. Maybe you do a little bit of weekend trail riding. So you're on a dual sport. And that bifurcation of how you think of riding really fits into the way that you drink coffee and you might be bombing down an off road trail or commuting to work on your dual sport and you want a coffee to match. So a cortado that's half espresso and half milk is your drink of choice.

00:04:50.026 --> 00:05:25.112
If a touring bike is what you choose, whether it's one of the full dress tourers from Harley or Indian or even something like a BMW RT Arty, or any of the larger adventure touring bikes that are really focused on touring. You're on your bike for the long haul, but mostly on highways with minimal turns. You like to run nice and smooth. Now you need some caffeine from your coffee to help keep you awake, but the bitterness from a regular coffee won't suffice as you ride 500 to 1000 miles each day on your bike.

00:05:20.660 --> 00:05:28.831
A cold brew with that smooth flavor is the perfect complement to long days in the saddle.

00:05:32.052 --> 00:05:35.112
It's the most popular segment of motorcycling today.

00:05:35.593 --> 00:05:46.848
Amd adventure bikes owe a lot of their reasoning to the original BMW GS from the 1980s. Like a touring bike, you're mostly on the road and you're often putting in big miles each day.

00:05:46.834 --> 00:06:03.028
but you might carve a canyon at a spirited pace or hit a dirt road as you find that epic camping spot. Your bike is a bit of a Swiss army knife and can do a bit of everything you want to drink with a bit of everything.

00:05:59.158 --> 00:06:06.117
So a mocha with espresso, chocolate and steamed milk is your drink of choice.

00:06:09.677 --> 00:06:42.567
If you love the cafe racer style and this bike, which is almost like a standard bike, but with a little bit more edge to it, it's a little bit more of a clip on. And it was famous for riding between coffee shops as quickly as you could. You ride in short bursts to get to that next cafe, though maybe along the way you did the ton and hit that 100 mile an hour mark. But in between you like the leisure of sitting at the cafe and enjoying the view of the other bikes around you while sipping on your espresso.

00:06:46.103 --> 00:07:13.540
While some motorcyclists make fun of you and your tiny engine, they're often the ones that are in a car on their way to work. You you take a different path. You're always on two wheels, and your scooter is how you do it. None of the standard coffee drinks is right for you. You need to be just a bit different. So it's espresso with ice cream for you as you wave ciao to everyone as you ride past the car traffic with your affogato.

00:07:17.218 --> 00:07:41.038
So let's wrap up. Bikes have become even more specialized over time, and in fact, coffee drinks have become more specialized over time in much the same way. And I shared some pairings I thought that make sense of both coffees and bikes. But I'd love to hear what you think. What do you think of the pairings? Would you suggest something different? Text the podcast through the link in the show notes with your thoughts.