Moto Coffee REV-olution

5 moto locations and one drink you need to check out

Funny how a simple bean can bring the world together. But it does, as Howard Schultz will attest.

If you thought coffee was as old as mankind itself, or even the Egyptian pyramids, you’d be wrong. Coffee actually didn’t kick into first gear until the 15^th century, about the time Columbus was putting the band together for his first sail to the edge of the earth. We’re not actually confident Columbus got a whiff of the stuff, since its origins were occurring in places like Africa and Arabia, and you’d have to be nuts to try and go there.

Since coffee is loved by the masses, it can be used as a magnet to bring together sub-cultures of the human race. There are Christian coffee houses, artsy espresso bars, and an endless number of other theme-focused outlets. For everyone else there are chain stores that have little to no personality. As we dig into the human brain we realize, when it comes to coffee, we love personality.

Brainstorm! Create a coffee shop with some motorcycle personality, draw in the enthusiasts and, bingo, you’ve got a sub-culture. This has got to be more interesting than visiting a McCoffee store.

And interesting it is. If there’s one thing motorcyclists in general enjoy, it’s meeting up with other riders and checking out one another’s bikes.

You see what’s going on here – right? Coffee is the lure, but the experience that goes with it is worth the trip. Heck – we can sit at home and make our own coffee, but we can’t look at other peoples’ bikes for god sakes.

So as long as the coffee ranges from good to damn fine, let’s make a trip to five moto-themed locations scattered around the Pacific Northwest and see what there is to see. And if the weather is lousy, we’ve included our own coffee creation for you to enjoy while the bike camps out in the garage.

See See Motor Coffee Company, Portland, OR

This may well be the Pacific Northwest’s original moto-themed coffee bar, which opened in June of 2010. I know – you were thinking they must have been around even longer – right? Like maybe since the great pyramids… One look at the website, or one step into the shop, it’s very apparent that while coffee comes with a high profit margin, you need to consider purchasing something else around you (anyone remember when Starbucks used to sell CDs?). Here you’ll find hats and shirts – lots of shirts, motorcycle parts, helmets, jackets, safety gear, and more. One thing is for sure, during high coffee hours you’ll find plenty of other bikes to gawk at.

The Wick, Seattle, WA

Seattle, Coffee, Motorcycles – DUH! But this was well thought out. The owners of The Wick opened their coffee shop next door to the Motoshed, an incubator for small motorcycle businesses, tech and do-it-yourself tech slots. Coffee – yep. Hats, shirts, cozies, buttons, patches? You bet!  Stop in on a sunny Saturday morning where you’re sure to find a hundred or so motorcyclists cross-pollenating amongst one another’s bikes (if you have a photographic mind, stop right now). If you live out of town, when you visit Seattle - are you going to the green mermaid or The Wick? They're set to open an auxiliary location inside the Seattle Triumph dealership soon.

Notice we’re moving in succession by date of opening – or at least we think we are?

Jammer Café and Urban Garage, Vancouver, BC

Well, hey folks, if Oregon and Washington can do it, we wouldn’t want you to go into fits and not have a coffee place in BC. After all, our neighbors to the north have quite a vibrant culture as well, between vintage clubs, racing and a really nice moto museum east of downtown. But what better way to start the day than with a stroll along the nearby roadways gawking at all the other cool bikes. What, you say your bike is stock and was built after 2010? Please – park around the corner – no only kidding – as long as you invest in a cap, shirt or cozy, everybody is welcome. Hold on a second here. Forget the apparel, these guys have a full-service breakfast and lunch menu, too. And those weekly mains? Sign us up!

Spoken Moto, Bend, OR

If you’re talking about the center of the universe in PNW moto speak, Bend is the place. You can ride Central and Eastern Oregon for weeks before running out of miles. And if you’ve still got vacation time, you can ride Western Oregon. But aside from Portland, as a moto coffee culture member, the only safe harbor you’ll have is in Bend, Oregon, at Spoken Moto. Housed in the old Pine Shed, as you might imagine, those high coffee profit margins don’t cut it (wake up McCoffee), so there’s plenty of apparel and an occasional rebuild available for sale.

Two Stroke Coffee Co, Portland, OR

We started in Stumptown, so why not end in the Rose City. In fact, Portland has over a dozen official nicknames like Bridgetown, PDX, Beervana, and so on. See, you already know five. Two Stroke is your option for day two of hanging in Rip City (now you know 6). Tucked away in the St. Johns neighborhood, you’ll need to take a bridge to get there from the for northwest of town. And what a beautiful bridge – and there’s coffee – and there are bikes – and there are others to chat up and bench race with… And there are travel mugs, and sweat shirts and stickers… I need a hoodie; can I get a hoodie?

God – this moto coffee thing is heaven!

But if you can’t get to heaven on the road, we’ve got the recipe for a damn fine cup of moto coffee at home. Here goes.

The SR! Moto Flat White

Ingredients

• 1 cup of your favorite drip black coffee
• 2 TBS organic whipping cream (switch to Baileys Irish cream if you’re adventurous and not riding)
• 2 drops Organic Wild Orange essential oil extract (we use Zongle)
• 1 Ml Green Tea extract (visit the Vitamin Shoppe)
• 1 shake of your favorite spice – cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, allspice or cloves (we use a 25% split combination of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and cardamom)

Directions

1. Make the black coffee.
2. Pour 12 oz coffee into the tall steel or plastic tumbler. Add the cream, oil, green tea extract and spice.
3. Place a hand blender into the tumbler and mix 30 seconds until a micro foam forms.
4. Remove the blender, cap the tumbler, and enjoy.

Chances are, you won’t attempt making this at your primitive campsite.

SR!/May 2019