Fresh Roasted Coffee Along the Trail

Where good people and specialty coffees meet face to muzzle

Matt Bishop, Founder of Café Mulé, serving up an early specialty coffee service in the Boise foothills. Photo by: Shane Davila 2016

Come late springtime in the foothills of Boise, Idaho, you may be lucky enough to stumble upon Richard the mule, his owner Matt, and the free trailside coffee service provided by Café Mulé. What began as an effort by Matt Bishop to support local trail work efforts, soon became somewhat of a social experiment, and ultimately has created an approachable sense of community and gratitude.

It’s a story in human kindness, keeping things fun and lighthearted, and remaining genuine, all the same. Free small batch coffee and nitro cold brew delivered trailside, thanks to a thoughtful and creative entrepreneur wanting to do good in his community. Matt simply wanted to bring a special experience to those who hike and bike on the trails in his hometown, and find a means to give back in the process.

Richard the mule packing the specialty coffee service to the day's locale.

One of my visits paid to Richard, always with an apple in hand as a thank you.

In 2016, one lucky pack mule listed for sale on Craigslist found a home. Matt named him Richard, and he was soon bound for stardom. With a campstove and all the goods to brew a stellar cup of coffee packed meticulously on Richard’s back, he and Matt would hit the trails and find the perfect spot to surprise and delight anyone and everyone who would happen upon them. They served up tastings of their small batch coffee and free samplings from the local Guru Donuts bakery—no charge and no questions asked. And by 2019, an estimated 200 people or more would enjoy their free coffee at any given trail service, courtesy of Café Mulé. On hiatus for obvious reasons in 2020—Richard is ready to hit the trails again in 2021.

Café Mulé for the trail-goers.

Nitro cold brew on tap.

Richard overseeing ops from afar.

The quest to find Richard and the welcoming coffee stop in the foothills by way of hints and trail notes posted on Café Mulé’s social media, encourages people to get outdoors, engage in the mystery, work a bit for their freshly roasted cup, and meet new friends along the way. With apples and carrots stuffed in their pockets, cyclists and hikers find joy in greeting Richard, feeding him his treats, and maybe dropping a dollar or two in the jar to help feed the slightly stubborn mule. Otherwise, it’s the simple gesture of a specialty cup of coffee that spreads gratitude left, right, and center.

Matt’s initial efforts to support local trails continues, with $0.25 of every bag purchased going to support trail maintenance organizations in Idaho, Colorado, and Wyoming—in those communities where their coffees are sold. Café Mulé’s three blends vary by roast level and pay honor to Richard including from lightest to darkest, Frosted Muzzle (Matt’s favorite and a bit sweeter), Long Fuzzy Ears (the crowd pleaser), and Midnight Mule (my personal favorite—it’s for the dark coffee lover or goes lovely with cheesecake).

Smooth body with a sweet finish.

Bold, sweet, and nutty—just like Richard!

Delivers an "extra roasty" kick!

Café Mulé sells their coffees by the bag, and offers a range of subscriptions for fast and easy delivery right to your doorstep—free in the greater Boise and Meridian, Idaho area and by FedEx or USPS anywhere in the USA. To learn more about Matt, Richard, and Café Mulé, or to be in-the-know when they’ll be hitting the trail, please follow along on Instagram @richardthemule

As VéloSkiCaffè continues to reach out to and have conversations with the pioneers, pacesetters, and just some really fun people laying it down and bringing pure awesomeness to our smile-inducing pursuits like cycling, skiing, and coffee; our goal is simple—live, learn, and share in collaboration with like-minded adventurers like you.

Did someone say freshly roasted specialty coffee delivered by bicycle?

Joshua Crane on his Thursday Coffee Ride route

Why, yes they did! Eight years ago, a simple good cup of coffee changed Joshua Crane’s perspective on how he wanted to make an impact in the world. His intended path to medical school had proved not to be his calling, yet along the way his pursuit of good coffee to fuel his studies provoked further curiosities around specialty coffees, coffee roasting, and the science behind it all.

Unsure of what exactly he was going to embark on career-wise, he did what many of us with a penchant for cycling would do. He turned to his bicycle for escape and insight. This ironically landed him a job in the cycling industry. His intent? Ride more. The downside? An office with really bad coffee. The upside? An office overflowing with fellow cyclists (namely, willing and discerning coffee taste testers).

The best two parts of Josh’s day? Riding to work, and sharing his freshly roasted styles and coffee blends he’d refine in the evenings and on weekends.

It didn’t take long for this routine to spark Josh’s next venture. In 2013, he sold his car, poured those dollars into a commercial roaster, and has since then focused on building his company on a foundation of doing fewer things well, with purpose and impact at the heart of every decision.

To take this further, Josh leaned into the nostalgia and stories from his grandfather’s career—he was purely and quite wonderfully, a milkman. The families and people in his grandfather’s community back in Wisconsin knew where their milk was coming from. They knew who was delivering the fresh, delicious, cold milk to their front doorstep. There were connections through stories shared and smiles exchanged over an unassuming bottle of milk.

Brewing a good-tasting, not crappy, fresh roasted cup of coffee, delivered with genuine care to fellow coworkers, had similarly planted the seed for The Coffee Ride. And while yes, it tasted damn good, it was the symbiotic relationship between doing something that made someone feel good, in exchange for something as humble as a smile, that solidified Josh’s commitment to how and where he would go with his business.

Today, The Coffee Ride offers eight speciality coffees at any given time. I will be the first to admit I’m more of a coffee enthusiast—not yet a coffee savant. But I am eager to learn, and as I spoke with Josh I started to visualize the roadmap that could help me get there and how many flavors there would be along the way. My coffee tasting travels could take me vicariously from Sumatra to Central and South America, Brazil, Columbia, Guatemala and Honduras, to Africa and ultimately to Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee and where the beloved beans near and dear to the specialty coffee roasters are grown.

Tobacco and clove, and nuts and chocolate, and raisins and fruits. Arabica beans grown in the high altitude microclimates and Robusta beans more available at the lower elevations. Why some coffee tastes like dirt, how dark roasting has the potential to obliterate the unique flavors of the beans’ origin. How espresso is its own world and technically a preparation method to draw the perfect shot. And how time is of the essence between roasting and consumption, which made me ponder, how many cups of coffee have I had that are truly fresh roasted? But at the end of the day, what’s great is that there is a coffee for everybody, so many options to explore, and you can plan your own coffee journey through customizable subscriptions fresh-roasted for you and delivered directly to your front door.

Fresh roasted coffee beans

Perfecting the craft

The Coffee Ride roasts on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and delivers locally around Boulder by bicycle (or ships nationwide) on Thursdays. Fun fact: specialty coffee roasters are required to include a roast date and an expiration date on their packaging; but here’s where the fine nuances come in. Josh explained that after roasting, the beans should rest for a minimum 24 hours before being brewable or drinkable. For the first 15 days after roasting, the beans are “gaining momentum,” and then they reach their peak between 15 and 45 or up to 60 days. After that, the sought-after acidity found in specialty coffees drops and you may just be heading down the road to gas station coffee. And super dope baked goods deserve a coffee that will complement their indulgence, right?

In delivering coffee locally by bicycle, The Coffee Ride has racked up more than 16,000 miles on Thursdays alone since Josh launched the business. His story of entrepreneurship is such an honest one. The risks, the mistakes, the little wins followed by the failures, mishaps and striving for continuous improvement. The 22,000 mis-printed bags sitting in the roastery, forcing Josh to pivot, get creative, and stay true to their sustainability standards they’ve spelled out for all they do. He wasn’t about to toss those bags aside. “Imagine the impact of more people doing a few things to make a difference,” Josh shared when we spoke.

The Coffee Ride focuses on those few things and wants to inspire more people to do the same. Their relationship with 63rd Street Farm is one perfect example. It brings everything full circle in a way that benefits everyone. The chaff, a byproduct or the exoskeletons of the coffee beans left during the roasting process, are provided to the Farm as a composting material. Chaff adds nutrients to compost as well as bulk, improving the soil texture. The Coffee Ride is committed to ensuring every possible packaging and delivery material is compostable or recycled responsibly.

So in my quest to continue to learn more about coffee, to hear from the independent coffee roasters and visit the little local coffee shops near and far, I’ll never forget this. “There is a tragic-romantic relationship with coffee,” Josh explained. “Coffee is like a journey—as soon as you find something you love, it’s gone.” The great news? I can always be on a quest for another great cup of coffee, there is always a story behind it to share, and in the meantime I’ll order up another bag of the Black Lightning Blend.

For more on Josh’s story and to place your own roast to order, visit thecoffeeride.com