Coffee and Bicycles... yum

Mike over at GamJams.net has been working extremely hard in building this local cycling media hub over the past year or two. It is really beginning to show, both in the network’s visibility and (over a million page views so far, which doesn’t include people like me are using rss feeds to get there gams) and some solid partnerships being built throughout the community. One thing that has been falling into line lately is the idea of GamJams Network sponsorship. So far there are 5 sponsors backing the organization including such common companies such as Rudy Project and Accelerade along with some very high quality lesser known companies such as Velo Vie Bicycles and 53 x 11 Coffee. Velo Vie makes some fantastic carbon frames at some even better price points. 53 x 11 on the other hand, well they sell coffee of course. With a bicycling theme and a cycling advocacy approach. Two things I personally love.


Naturally I had to try the coffee so I ordered two bags of it back around Christmas time and I’ve been enjoying it since (well I enjoyed it for a while though sadly it is all gone now). I actually kept one bag, the Big Ring brew and gave the second, the Early Break to Brian as a Christmas present. Brian has a more particular attitude towards things like coffee so I figured he could be the real test of the product and I told him he has to write me a review of the coffee.


The Big Ring on the other hand was excellent. One thing I do notice is high acidity in coffee. When it gives me heart burn while drinking it, it’s a bit too much for me. Generally that only happens with the crap at work. This stuff was perfect; a really nice balance of flavor and acidity. Great way to warm up after a cold ride or get ready to head out on one. One strange thing I noticed that I’ve never seen before was that it frothed up a couple of inches in my coffee press when I added the water. Not a bad thing, I’ve just never seen it before.

So, if you really like good coffee and are willing to pay for it, I highly recommend 53x11 both for the excellent coffee and the excellent company behind it. Unfortunately finding my general go to brand of 8 O’Clock coffee on sale at the Safeway for $3.50 the other weekend I won’t be making the full time switch to 53x11 anytime soon, though for a treat, I’ll always keep them in mind.