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Full Spectrum Cycling
Full Spectrum Cycling 297 – Coffee Roaster, Musician, Cyclist and Duck Guy – James Za
Mar 20, 2025
Full Spectrum Cycling 297 – Coffee Roaster, Musician, Cyclist and Duck Guy – James Za
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Transcript
0:06
This is loud. [rock music] Yeah. All right, everybody.
0:24
It's time for Full Spectrum Cycling. This is show 297. Getting there. We're get- we're closing in on that big 300. That big three number showing up. 297- That's 100... WLPX. You can figure this out?
0:37
Three shows away from here. Boom, boom. So it's in two weeks. Three. Three. 297. Eight. 298, 299- Nine... 300. So it's three shows away. Yeah. That'd be in April. Right. Okay.
0:50
I don't know how close to the end of mine would be though. That's about, that's about as Matthew I'm gonna get. You got all Matthew-ness You're going to get, you're all going get from me.
0:58
All right, uh, what's that, what's that Maalox moment? That's JK there with the fancy T-shirt on. I'm having a Maalox moment. That's, uh- That's coming up this weekend... that's Mr. Tony Burger over there.
1:08
One of the, one of the riders And our in studio guest, James, is here to talk about, uh, some stuff, biking and coffee and, and whatever else we can come up with. James, welcome to the studio. Thank you for having me.
1:20
Yeah. Uh, we got band stuff. We got all sorts of stuff we can talk to James about. Yeah. Or we can just let him talk. Yeah, we can do that too. Uh, I don't know. What... So what's, what's most important?
1:33
Ducks, coffee, bikes, band? [laughs] Uh, definitely coffee. Nice. [laughs] At this point. All right. Um, so tell us a little bit about what you're doing with coffee.
1:46
You're roasting this yours- in your own damn place, right? Yep. So run us through that process, and then you're just self-distributing it and maybe- It's a one-man show... maybe some local spots have it or whatnot.
1:57
But, uh- Uh... yeah, kind of fill us in. Yeah. So I roast coffee at my house on a one kilo electric roaster. Um, so everything's in a batch that's about a pound and a half at a time. Wow.
2:10
Um, roasting for farmer's markets and direct to consumer sales. Uh, it is available anywhere in the state of Wisconsin through my website for mail order. Um, but I don't particularly like that, um,
2:27
method because a lot of what I want to do is, uh, offer affordable, good organic coffee, and, uh, shipping is just astronomical. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. So- Like here, here... and not to mention-...
2:42
look, let me look at you and here is my coffee Yeah. Other than that. Well, not to mention, you- Or instead of the anonymous... you know, if you're a coffee elitist- Like you... that whole shipment process- What?...
2:51
you've degraded those beans. Degraded the beans, you say? I'm just saying. I mean, I... James is my savior for the record here. [laughs] Um, and I owe that to Steven, 'cause I- Oh, Boston...
3:05
I, yeah, I was, like, looking for some new coffee, 'cause I do like a good Anodyne. It's a good roasted coffee. Mm-hmm.
3:11
But I was looking for someone new, and it was Center Street Day, and Steven's like, "Well, you need to talk to James." And, well- Awesome... I talked to James. And, and you did. And yeah. So what's the...
3:24
So you've got a small, it's a relatively small roaster then. Yeah, it's like a pot-bellied pig. Okay. Uh- And are you doing one style of roast, or do you do- Mm... different roasting styles? No, I try and keep, um,
3:38
at least a light, medium, and dark on hand at all times. I do decaf as well. Um, I- This is coming from a non-real coffee drinker anymore, so I, I don't know the coffee questions to ask really [laughs] You're doing fine.
3:49
That's all right. You're doing fine. I'll talk, talk more about it. So I roast everything on the lighter side probably than most people. Um, I don't do anything super dark because I think that that is...
4:01
Well, for a number of reasons, but, um, the biggest one is that, uh, you can get them just about anywhere. You can get lots of dark roasts, and, um, I don't particularly like them. Uh- [laughs]...
4:16
so the, the, as dark as I go, I mean, I, I do offer a dark roast 'cause it's really popular and especially for espresso if people brew that way. Um- So is, uh, uh, equate it to maybe different kinds of, of beer.
4:29
Is, is, like is different bitternesses with an I- an IPA, for instance, is that what happens with light, medium, or dark roast? Or is it just more, more like burnt toast?
4:40
You know, what's the kinda- Yeah Caffeine quantity. There's a whole bunch of dimensions there. Mm-hmm. There's a lot of, yeah, there's a lot of different things based on where the beans are from and- Dimensions.
4:51
[laughs] Just threw that in there. Uh- 'Cause Dimension Seven is the company. Yeah. Yes. Okay. Yep. Copy that. And, um... Oh, but so it, basically you can roast any coffee light, medium, or dark.
5:06
Some coffees lend themselves to the lighter side, which is going to be more of citrus and fruit flavors. Um, and then the darker you go in the roast, um, it gets into more earthier, nuttier, chocolatier flavors.
5:20
Mmm, nuttier. [laughs] Uh, [laughs] and you know, if you go dark enough, they all become the same. [laughs] And then you're tasting more of the roast rather than the beans. The actual bean. Okay. Okay.
5:31
So do the beans or is the bean a common starting point from, or do you get different beans even? I get a... That's another thing that sets me apart, I guess, is so I roast everything seasonally.
5:42
I'm buying everything basically in single bags. Um, so I only have things in stock usually generally for about a month, um, depending on how popular they are. Um, and I, I just, I get whatever's available to me.
5:59
I look online at what I can get. Um, there's a couple distributors that I go through- Um, but I'm always looking for organic coffee, and then they'll tell you a little bit about how it's farmed.
6:11
Um, the cooperative structure, a lot of them are, you know, s- a dozen to several hundred farmers band together to- Huh... distribute the coffee worldwide. How does it ar- how does it arrive at your place?
6:24
Just raw beans? Uh- Is it, like, in bags or is it- Raw beans in 150 or 130 pound bags... it's not... Got it. Um- Cool. Your UPS guy must hate you. [laughs] Typically I go to the warehouse to pick it up. Okay.
6:36
[laughs] Or are they, are they- So you must hate you. Yeah. [laughs] It's, it's heavy. 135, that, that's a, that's a- That's a, that's a hefty- That's a second pair... a half a hunka.
6:44
What are your thoughts on the, uh, coffee and chicory? I- Kind of like La Fine du Monde. [laughs] Or not La Fine du Monde. Café du Monde. There we go.
6:52
[laughs] I- The end of the world or the café du monde Please tell me it sucks. I, I've actually never really tried it, um, but I am open to it. And I, I don't roast chicory- Right...
7:04
so, uh, but I, I think it is important to look for coffee alternatives- Yeah... especially with the way that, you know, they're saying climate change may affect coffee. There might not be coffee available in 10 years.
7:17
Right. Mm-hmm. Um, and but there are other things, like I've roasted garbanzo beans before. Mm-hmm. Hmm. These are all- And brewed them? Decaffeinated. Yep. And it tastes like instant coffee kind of. Really?
7:30
[laughs] Yeah. That's, that's funny 'cause- [laughs] Similar to, like, the chicory's supposed to have, like, a bitter- Okay.
7:34
So I've, I've got a, uh, I've got a 19-year-old daughter whose latest thing right now is roasting garbanzo beans with spices. To eat? Yeah. To eat. And I- Like a corn nut? I can't wait to tell her... kinda, kinda...
7:47
uh, it's not nearly as good as a corn nut, but it's still pretty good. You have to use the- Especially if you have the Isan spices on it... you have to use the turmeric and the za'atar... it's pretty good.
7:56
Yeah, you do, you have to throw some neat stuff in there. [laughs] Pretty good, though. She does- You could roast it without... The thing is you can't use any oil or any thing like that.
8:04
And when I was doing it, I was just doing it in an air popper. Okay. Which is actually how I started roasting coffee. [laughs] Oh. Oh. Oh, oh. 'Cause I didn't want to move in...
8:13
I didn't wanna put the garbanzo beans in the roaster I have 'cause I'm not quite sure how it would- Yeah, right [laughs] Oh, right... yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's see what happens. Legit.
8:22
But people that are, um, you know, s- super sensitive to caffeine or can't drink coffee for any number of reasons- Hmm... are always looking for something- Sure... to replace that. Now, personally I like caffeine a lot.
8:35
Right, right, right, right. Uh, [laughs] but I do, I wanna, you know, explore other options- Yeah... like the chicory and- It, well, the chicory to me works out [laughs]
8:46
it will mute if I ha- if I'm brewing a crappy coffee. You know, if I can just put a layer of that on the top, that'll just alter whatever, like the vanilla caramel nonsense, the whatever that...
9:02
You know, the oldie thing in the, in the office kitchen kinda thing- Okay... to brew with. And it's like, "Oh, no, no, but I can top it off with this and make it mm." And, and it does stretch it. Smoother.
9:14
It is kinda like filler, like- Absolutely... uh, like a slug burger or meatloaf kinda deal. Oh, I love doing that. I haven't made a slug burger in a while. You know, you- What the fuck's a slug burger?
9:22
It's like meatloaf. It's like stretching your- You don't know about... I, we talked about it... it's stretching your, your, your, yeah. It's not like a meatloaf though, right? Your beef dollar with fillers- It's a-...
9:29
you know, with like oats and- Yeah, you add-... crackers and bread crumbs and-... breadcrumbs and stuff to beef- Sounds like a dip... preferably 80% beef... sounds like meatloaf... to stretch it out... you know.
9:36
It is meatloaf- And, and... but as a thin patty and delicious. But that's the meat of- Even more so than meatloaf... equivalent of the coffee and chicory mix of- Right. I, I like where you're going there...
9:46
Café du Monde putting us all back to m- back into place. I like where that's going. Yeah. Totally. I see it. It was starting to- Yeah... lose shape. No, no, no... but now everything, all the pieces back.
9:57
S- speech without shape. [laughs] Much like beer without shape. Ah. Right. Next door to morphic. How very amorphic of you.
10:04
So there is something I wanna mention before we get more into coffee and, and, and talk about the thing we did before the show that we did in the other room. Is it him refilling my coffee? Well, that'll happen. Okay.
10:12
Don't you worry about that. I should make sure. I do- I worry about that...
10:15
I do wanna tell everybody that tonight, because it's time sensitive, unless I actually put this up on Wednesday, in which case it'll be tomorrow- Okay... 'cause I wanna give people enough time.
10:25
But at several Milwaukee theaters, Marcus theaters in the area, North, I don't know- Oh, yeah... South Shore- Oh, really?... and whatever, uh, the one out in West Waukesha, Tosaville.
10:36
Uh, as well as many theaters around the country, there's a one-day showing of the remastered Rad- Oh, gosh... BMX movie from whatever. I think it's the- '86... like the 40-year anniversary now that it is. '86.
10:49
Is that it? Yeah. '85. Yeah. Okay. I gra- my graduation of grade school when I was good at BMX. High school. Right. Grade school- Grade school... in '86. You're that much younger than me? Yeah. Fuck, I'm old.
11:00
Yeah, you're, you're definitely old. Oh, shit. So, okay, so, so, okay, okay. Look at this shit. Okay, so wait. Okay, so here's what's going on with that.
11:06
So this is a remastered 4K whatever blabbity-blah version of the original movie being released- Mm-hmm... on the day that it was released, which is March 20th. Wow.
11:17
And then after the screening of Rad the movie is Rad the documentary- I was watching the-... which, which is s-... the trailer for that... yeah, there's a trailer for it on...
11:26
It will be in the show notes to check out the trailer for that. It's fun, like, and- Um, and next week we're gonna have Brad Dixon- B Rad...
11:33
and Corey Bauman on, who are going to the shows, and I probably will go to the shows too, uh, to talk about Rad next week and how rad that radness was. So I'm gonna figure right now we got Corey Bauman, we got B Rad.
11:49
We throw them all together for a show, it's gonna be half a James show. [laughs] Just saying it right now. Half a James. 'Cause he knows Corey, so I mean, come on. Yeah, okay.
11:58
We're setting him up, but now we're gonna just, you know... Yeah, let's go ahead and bring the Corey Bauman connection into the thing here, James. Uh, yes. Tell me because- You're in a couple of bands...
12:06
I am in a couple bands. We- One of them is Robits, which is with Corey. That's true. But wait- One of them is Saxomophone. Yes. Is that a Lisa Simpsons reference? It is. Fucking great.
12:17
[laughs] Since- I've been saying Saxomophone since before Lisa Simpson was born... since he said that to me. When you said that to me yesterday- Maybe Homer Simpson...
12:21
I'm like, "That's gotta be a Homer Simpson reference," and thank God. Yeah. Yeah, I've been saying that since- So I need to know when that show's coming... since I took Saxomophone back in the fifth grade way back then.
12:29
[laughs] Uptowner next Thursday. Saxomophone is- Uptowner next Thursday. Oh, that's cool. Yeah. Well, I did not know that. We better put that on the old- Saxomophone... put that on the old deal here. Wait, we're at...
12:39
Was, uh, were you- Saxomophone. I'm going back into my own hard drive. At the, uh, the Jerk Circle, and it was two- it's a two-piece, and it- That was a different band, but yes.
12:49
Different band where it, like, who, like, one wrote the other songs- It was a different band also... and the other wrote the other songs. Oh, we were there for that, right? Yep, yep, yep. Yeah, okay.
12:55
Anyway, that was- And, and Rowbits played that show. Yes. Also. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And somebody had to go home and get an amp because something was goofy with it, and- Right...
13:01
this is- And they were wheeling a something out. Yeah... and it, it was just in the middle of the park, and yeah, it was, it was, it was a good time. In the, in the corner.
13:08
Well, I was trying to figure out where it was gonna be. I'm going like, "Well, they're not gonna be nudged up against the pavilion. It doesn't seem-" Nudge, nudge, nudge.
13:16
Smoking weed, smoking weed, doing coke, drinking beer. Yeah, so, uh, so Rowbits- Drinking beer, drinking beer... I would, that's basically a punk rocky kind of band, is it not? Yeah. Is that what you would consider?
13:24
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
13:24
I remember, uh, we talked about this before the show, that, uh, last year when Fuel on Fifth was still open and the Mama Tried pre-party shows, you guys played at the Fuel Cafe, and it was the first time I'd seen a pretty legit mosh pit in a long time.
13:40
It was awesome. Yeah. [laughs] Mm-hmm. It was great. Yeah, I think- [laughs]... you know, there's room at, there's room at the Uptowner. Was enough to keep him in business.
13:46
Well, there's a lot more to it- It's got nothing to do with it... than just that. [laughs] That's what happens when you mosh at the Motorc- You know, if-... at the Motorcycle Art, uh, Applebee's.
13:55
[laughs] I'm, I'm digressing, but if, if they want eight grand to rent Company, what do they want to rent Fuel? A lot. A lot. Unless they own the building, and then, you know.
14:07
Unless they would've got in there right at the... Yeah. 'Cause that's gotta be a, that's a lot of square footage. Well, there's a lot of build-out there and all sorts of stuff.
14:15
But anyway, so, uh, and then the, are the other bands also punk rock oriented, or are they more, what, what sort of tunage comes out of the other- Uh, yeah, everything's basically punk or punk adjacent. Saxomophone is,
14:28
mm, the weirder one. It's all, it's improv and noise- [laughs]... I guess, with spoken word. But I would still consider it- But holes-... a punk band... but Hole Servors adjacent? [laughs] Yeah, not nearly as good.
14:40
Uh- [laughs] Like Henry Rollins spoken word? In the spirit, but like improv. Yeah, in the spirit of. And what do you play? Uh, the saxophone. Uh- So you are Saxomophone.
14:49
Well, so the idea was started with my friend Michael Landis and myself, who he lives in New York now. He was also a, a member of the Cart Cat Couriers, and that's how I met him. Um, and he...
15:05
So I call him, and he reads poetry and spoken word. Mm. And then I play the saxophone over that. That's how it started. Still? Yeah, that's how Saxomophone started. Oh, that sounds great. And then- Mm-hmm...
15:17
this show coming up, though, we've added two new members. So Zelda, who I'm in another band, Delicious Monsters, with, is going to be playing percussion.
15:25
And then our friend Neil Orsky, who does all kinds of awesome art, is going to be playing synthesizer or something. And the idea, so I've never played it- A piano or something. [laughs] Yeah.
15:37
The, so I had never played the saxophone before- That's awesome... uh, until the very first show, which we played, uh, this summer on Reservoir Park outside, another outside show. Right on. Outside is cool.
15:49
And I learned how to play saxophone during the set. [laughs] I hadn't played at all. So are you, are you like a natural musical talent, or do you have- No.
15:56
[laughs] Do you have formal training, or do you just wing it and- No... whatever kind of comes out comes out? I think that someone gave you a saxophone. Just wing it. Yeah.
16:02
Uh, does that mean using my older brother's saxophone from high school? Yeah. It's like four and three, and there's- I wish I still had my saxophone. I don't got no saxophone no more.
16:09
You can, you can, it, it, it- Got a lot of violins kicking around, though... you can make it as clever as you want to. You can make it as clever as you want to with a lot of bells and whistles, but,
16:15
you know, what is it, eight holes? Boo-boo-boo-boo-boo-boo-boo. Yeah. I mean, ideally we'll start playing enough shows that I can learn how to play it. Enough. Sure. Oh, yeah. Oh, it's fun.
16:24
I t- I mean, I took it for a handful of years. So if I picked it back up, it would take me a little, you know, falling into the ditch. But, you know, I'd get my wheels on it. You people. Hmm?
16:35
You people, you just weren't cool enough to play a clarinet like me. It's the same thing. [laughs] Pretty close. It's a, it's a straight saxophone. Especially if you're playing a B-flat baritone sax or- Yeah.
16:44
How Ferris Bueller of you... baritone clarinet sounds- Never had one lesson... just like a sax. [imitates saxophone] It's absolutely fantastic. Yeah, never one lesson. [laughs] Never one lesson.
16:53
[laughs] But it wasn't as cool looking as the saxophone, though. All right. So we covered somewhat coffee. [laughs] We'll get back to coffee. We covered somewhat bands. Uh, did we talk about the thing in the other room?
17:04
Did we get to that? Did I ta- I was, I know I started and then got sidetracked again. Could that be a bike? It's a bike. Uh, so- Hey, it's a cargo bike...
17:11
listeners and watchers of this here podcast/video show thingy we do will know that Everyday Cycles is an Omnium cargo dealer, and Brandon from Omnium comes up regularly, uh, m- not only for delivering bikes to the shop, but also to shoot the shit and pal around and whatever.
17:28
Whatever. Um, last time he was in town, got a new, got a new, uh, small Omnium copper bike for the shop. For sale, folks. Check it out, everydaycycles.com.
17:39
Uh, also I have an electric one, uh, one of the galaxy black E-Minimaxes, which is so rad. Belt, belt drive- Fun, fun, fun... blah, blah, blah, automatic shifting, super chic.
17:50
He also dropped off a medium cargo, which is the longer of- That's the full cargo, right?... the full cargo. Uh, and said, "You know, I heard, you know, James was gonna be on your show."
18:00
Somehow, I don't know if he heard it from us or he listened to our show or whatever, but somehow he was like, "Well, I'm gonna bring this up for a demo bike anyway, but I want you to bring James in there and tell him that after the MMI," which is coming up April 18, 19, uh, sometime shortly thereafter, that he wants to lend it to James to do-...
18:19
coffee delivery on and get some stories behind using it as a delivery vehicle for a small business like, like James has. And, uh, so we went in there and checked it out. What did, what did you think?
18:31
What is [laughs] He said, "We need to build an owl." Amazing. [laughs] Yeah. Pretty cool. Uh- So you've, you've ridden Omniums before. Yeah. What's your general impression of the platform? Um, I don't know.
18:45
I really like 'em. Uh [laughs] Like, have you've, you've, you've done other cargo bikes like Bullets and, uh- I've ridden Bullets before. Yeah. I just, my number one thing- It's totally better than a Bullet...
18:54
Well, it's just like- Yeah, I like having, uh, everything feels a little bit more stable and can, uh, you know? I mean- Hands down... having it, uh,
19:04
if you're have a lot of weight, maybe it's a little bit trickier 'cause it's higher from what I'm remembering. A little bit. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
19:11
But they ride so m- for, for normal loads that people carry when they're not trying to prove how much they can carry on their cargo bike. [laughs] Which is kinda silly in itself, but- Entertaining...
19:20
they ride a lot more like a normal bicycle rides. Yes, totally. Speak- And, yeah... speaking of that, where's John been? Can, can you- Do you- Can you actually wheelie even a Bullet? I don't know.
19:28
Yeah, there's a video of, uh, Dan, uh, Danny Mac- McAskill has a- Well, maybe-... do a wheelie... maybe- No, another- He could... guy does a v- a wheelie on- Oh, what's his face? Tim Knoll?...
19:38
an Omnium, or on a, uh- [laughs]... Bullet, and he actually talks- The other one... at the end of the making of the video Yeah, there's tons of people on- And-...
19:44
YouTube doing Omniums, 'cause I think it must be- There's Danny McAskill... a lot easier. Well, that's the last shared wheel base... our lo- our local Danny McAskill and D- Tim Knoll...
19:50
uh, we haven't seen Tim- Is there anyone? But I have not seen Tim pull a wheelie on one of those... and he hasn't- Yet... he hasn't made a video- [laughs]... that I've seen on YouTube in, like, eight years.
19:58
Ah, it's been, like, a few years, but yeah... well, he's wasn't Red Bull sponsored anymore or anything- You know... so he doesn't really care.
20:03
He just rides his bike when it's time to ride a bike, is- He's fun to watch ride a bike, though. Yeah. Oh, yeah, for sure. God damn, is he good. He's, he's avoiding the, uh, Will Ferrell kinda complex.
20:11
[laughs] He's in oversaturation. No, no, then, see, we're talking about him now, he'll come back out and- Oh, there you go. Nice- Spring is spri- Thanks for bringing that back up... spring is springing up. Spring up.
20:21
Now, what was, what was the fourth leg of our table? Uh, bikes, band, coffee... I know I had something else, but- [laughs]... I don't remember. You can also, you can also have a table with just three legs, so.
20:33
Oh, the pouring [laughs] Tripod. There you go. I'm out of coffee. So, uh, what's, so what's the- I'm literally out of coffee... that is beans. That is a vessel to put beans in. What- He's gonna put- Yes...
20:43
beans in this vessel. Let's smell, let's smell the beans. Put the beans in the vessel. While he does that, I'm going to- Don't spill... Venmo him because I forgot to [laughs] Oh, okay.
20:50
So yeah, so this is how it kinda works. You would typically ride over to Tony's house or drive over there and- Oh, that's fucking awesome...
20:56
he'd leave his thing out on the porch or something, and you'd- Only peasants have to go to the store-... come by... to buy their coffee... and fill it up. Yep. Only peasants.
21:03
Now, how many, how many people are on your, uh, your weekly kind of coffee... 'Cause I predict Tony does a week's worth in that thing- Yeah... every week. That's roughly two. Sometimes- Two weeks, okay...
21:12
Tony will pick it up from the, at the farmer's market. Sometimes it'll be delivery. Um, I would say, I mean, it, it's, it's different every, every week. Tony's fucking great. I don't, I don't have a...
21:25
I've, I've, as hard as I've tried to- Can't put the-... push people to- [laughs]... either a Monday or Friday delivery, I like to accommodate people if they hit me up whenever. Yeah.
21:35
Now, do your, are- I'll deliver, especially in the neighborhood, it's, it's- It's a scattered caff-... not-... it's very scattered, caffeinated pulse...
21:39
yeah [laughs] If you wanna go stone me, dude- Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding... by all means. No, no, no, no. Yeah. He's not gonna pour it for you right now, Tony. No. The other thing is- Yeah, right after wait.
21:46
[laughs] So you're, are you Riverwest local? Yep. Okay. Riverwest local.
21:50
I'll deliver for free anywhere within, I say five miles of the Riverwest Co-op, and that just gives people an idea of something they can Google, um- Sure... or more... so out to Tosa and maybe- Yeah.
22:00
Tosa's, like, kind of on the edge. Yeah. And I'll work with people, too. It- You go all the way to Tosa? Yeah. Uh [laughs] and then during the market season, too, I'm, I'm, you know, at West Allis three days a week also.
22:14
Um- So West Allis Farmer's Market, Riverwest Farmer's Market. Do you do Shore- Yep, I was doing Brown Deer... Brown Deer. Shorewood? Um, I have not done Shorewood. Probably an- They won't let me in...
22:23
probably an okay thing- [laughs]... 'cause they're kinda snooty over there. Bunch of douches. Snotty? We're snooty. Snot, snotty. Snotty. Um, so make with the pouring.
22:33
Let's smell this because I [laughs] Oh, it smells so good already. What, did you have to wait till you get paid to pour? No [laughs] He barely lives in the am. [laughs] He barely lives in the... I smell good already.
22:41
I'm like, "God." I have a funnel, too. It's a total chick move. So obviously, obviously these are beans. These are roasted beans. These are not ground into actual- They are fresh like a box of Krispy Kreme...
22:48
brewable coffee yet. Um, my wife has a, a, a bean grinding gizmo that makes the most horrible sound, and it's really small, probably not a lot bigger than this cup. Oh, ground coffee. Ooh, ooh, I'm getting the swaps.
23:01
What, what is the preferred method to grind beans, and does it take a $500 unit to do that? Or is there something pretty reasonable out there that does it for a good price? I mean, you can...
23:11
Grinders are a crazy thing where you can- I think you overfilled that... spend- I'm, I'm okay with it... $20, uh- You can go 20 to-... to several thousand [laughs] I don't know. Right.
23:22
But I always tell people it's better to start anywhere. Get a, get a blade grinder. Just- Re- re-... having the, the- Oh, I got the Whirley... the oxidation that happens when you grind it- Yeah...
23:32
is, like, the, the quickest thing that, that degrades flavor. That's so good. Yeah, this one, the one- Yeah, just a little shitty blade in the back here that goes zing, zing... the one Wendy has just makes this- Yeah...
23:39
this, like, jet- Until you break it... it sounds like a jet engine. Yeah [laughs] I do not care for it- So-... especially when I'm still sleeping on a Sunday morning... um, I'll go back, like,
23:46
20 years- You don't want it that fine, woman... when I was talking to a friend of mine who was hardcore into coffee, and he went on a little bit of a tirade, thank you, Michael, I still love you- Hi... about
24:00
grinding my coffee the night before. He's like, "Dude, you gotta do it right before." And he's not wrong.
24:07
Like, the coffee over that just six-hour grind to brew is so different [laughs] when you like coffee than it is, like, two minutes to brew. Yeah. And I've got a, we got-
24:24
I have a love-hate relationship with my new coffee maker So he had, uh, apps to grind with you about the coffee? Well, he had a grinder to grind me Grinder to grind with you.
24:30
But yes, I do agree that- So you can't use like a, you can't use a, a pestle or whatever they call it- Mortar and pestle...
24:37
a mortar and, and- Well, you could do that, but it's gonna take a really long time to make you a pot of coffee. [laughs] There's gonna be a lot of beans pinging around the room- Yeah...
24:44
and kinda bouncing off the lights and stuff. Oh, yeah. Hmm. I tried to make a toaster's, um- Here's a half cup. Oh yeah. What's that?... toasted, toasted rice powder. Same thing. Trying to grind toasted rice.
24:55
Oh man, you gotta be in the right frame of mind to let that go. Me high. [bell ringing] Oh, he said the magic word. Ah. High? We're on, we're on top of the hill already. I mean, top-of-the-hill high.
25:06
James doesn't know what top of the hill is? Top of the hill is when we ride our bikes to the top of the hill, we usually stop for a beer if it's a really big hill, so. So we're here for a bit.
25:13
Typically during the show we'll take a little quick beer break. Okay. [laughs] Uh, I don't know, today is Dad Beer Day apparently. We did, we did start out with a fluffer of fluffy- Yeah...
25:22
from over at, uh, Amorphic to be fair. But- I had one of their new juicy IPA... we're, uh, we're either Hamzing or Papsting depending on which- Yeah... one you pull out of that bag of magic beer there, so.
25:33
[laughs] Uh, if, if you're so inclined. I mean, if you, you're, uh... [laughs] The- the Amorphic's about like you are to coffee beans- What's that? Button... Amorphic is to beer, I say. What?
25:43
What's this button for, though? You got like a button. It is a confusing vessel. It looks like it's supposed to be a, uh- Scorpion?... mi- mimic, mimic a, a, a brown bag lunch- Oh, got it... kind of thing.
25:54
But, like, if it were really mimicking it, if you try rolling it, it doesn't, like the, the Velcros don't line up. Or do they? What's that thing for? Does it light up? Is it, is it- Is that right?
26:07
It, it evacuates all the air from the bag. It's got like a lighthouse on it, right? Yeah. I don't know. Does it do anything? No. Uh- But when you roll it up tight-... well, they're much, there's no n-
26:17
real estate, you know? That's... N- no. Nothing. Yeah. It's just a logo. And now your coat's stuck on it. Okay, here's another cycling thing we could talk about real quick.
26:27
I brought that cycling to, uh, the, um, ba- Cycling?... ba-bum, ba-bum. To the, uh, St Paddy's parade. Oh, right on. That's how all of my beers went. Charity ride.
26:36
Well, Dave was buying me beer for delivering his, his Wahoo unit that he wanted, so- That was so funny. I was just like, "No, I-"... I didn't have to go into your bag of tricks there...
26:43
I, no, I wanted a light in my damn life. Dave Fucking Lund? DFL. Oh. He bought a Wahoo thing from Dave Shanoski that I picked up when I was up there. Right on.
26:51
Anywho, here's something that I did not know, and I would like to just mention it now. According to people, people, those people for bikes people- Oh... uh, more people, uh, than ever rode bikes in 2024.
27:03
I would not have- In the US... thought... Oh, that could be. I don't, yeah. They're not, I don't think they're totally worldwide on that- No... on that statistic.
27:11
But, uh, certainly not more people bought bikes in 2024 than ever in the history of bikes. But, uh, it says here, uh, biennial report, 112 million Americans,
27:23
35% of those ages three and older rode the bike at least once in 2024. Once? Highest participation rate since the study began in 2014. I'm not sure the once riding really should, like- That shouldn't even count...
27:36
can't you cap it at, like, maybe 10 or something? Then I, I would've barely made the list last year. [laughs] I mean, 'cause like gr- grandpa, "Hey kid, go out and ride your bike." Well, that counts.
27:44
That's not the- Or, or grandpa, go ride your bike. Yeah. You old fart, get on that thing. Get on that, you know- You're 89 years old-... mountain trike... I don't care. Stop running.
27:53
Stop tripping over shit and breaking your shit. Get on a bike and ride. Actually, today on Craigslist, two 1000 watt Bafang Cats, uh, three-wheel- What are they want for those things? Three grand a piece.
28:06
That seems like half price, basically. Yeah. Those things are spendy. I mean, they're, they're really spendy. Full suspension, less than 50 miles on each of them. Like- Turn, turn that around. We can't- Who-...
28:16
we can't see the logo... who thinks, [laughs] "You know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna go out and drop $7,000 on bikes," and then rides them 50 miles and be like, "Yeah, these suck."
28:24
Well, they're, uh, they are recumbent trikes, so- Oh, I know... it kind of is a given that they're gonna suck I'm the only one here that doesn't have a beard and mustache, so I can't even qualify to ride one.
28:32
You had one before. I did last, two weeks ago. All right. I see some peach fuzz on your, you know- Yeah. You didn't shave this morning... flavor savor. Get a little flavor savor going here.
28:40
Oh, you're off, you're off work this week almost. You're, you got nobody in s- Fuck you talking about? I work every day this week. You're off basically. There's nobody there. You can fuck off, right? No.
28:49
[laughs] Well, everybody else can. No. That only means the students aren't there. You're the only- Everyone else is there... you're the only one there that doesn't fuck off during spring break. That, that is true.
28:57
[laughs] That is true. Unfortunately. I'm trying. I'm trying. It's called Catholic guilt. I'm trying so much to- My Catholic guilt is hard on me... to work or to not work? To not work. Yeah. Oh.
29:06
And I have- Get on that plan. [laughs] I have this new boss who's in the room next to me, and, "Oh, let's just talk and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah." No. No. [laughs] I do not come here to socialize.
29:20
[laughs] Yeah, we could- [laughs] We could- [laughs] Like forever... we could talk about some of this other bike crap next week with- Yes. Good Lord...
29:27
what have we not covered with vis-a-vis coffee that we should probably cover before we wrap this sucker up, James? Uh, well, there is a River West farmer's market this Sunday at Amorphic Brewery. Oh, okay. So.
29:39
I need bread. Bread is good. Oh. My friend Tom, Midnight Bakehouse. Well, last time I bought coffee from- Which makes amazing sourdough...
29:45
I believe we bought coffee from you, but you weren't there because somebody, one of the bread people was helping you. Tom was there. Tom had it probably. Yeah. So you were doing something else with the bread.
29:53
Or Elizabeth maybe. So I have to, I have to address- It was a lady, so it must've been Elizabeth... so Tom got the garlic from your garden for that rosemary garlic, didn't he? Yes. [laughs] Holy shit, that bread.
30:04
Holy shit. Bread's awesome, yeah. That bread is, I mean- He's got the garlic bread... it, it, no. Well, yeah. It's a garlic rosemary. Now- Mm... my day-to-day bread, hands down, is his white,
30:15
is so good, but when you want something just over the top, that garlic rosemary, it, i- in the toaster- Mm. Mm... as it's toasting you're like Oh God, what's, what's happening in my kitchen right now?
30:28
It's that brilliant. Well the- And, and Tom is hardcore about his bread, which is why I love him so much. It's like... Yeah.
30:36
So the, the last time I bought bread at the farmer's market, I ended up eating half the loaf before I even got home. Oh, yeah. [laughs] So I was like, "Oh."
30:44
And then I was tearing it off there, so then I had to clean that up when I got home. Yeah, you gotta eat that part. You gotta eat that part. Gotta eat that part too.
30:49
[laughs] By the time I was done, there was like half a loaf left. The best, the best grilled cheese. Oh my God, it's so good. It's good with peanut butter on it. Sure. Very good with peanut butter on it.
30:57
That's my morning ritual is toast with peanut butter to kinda get that protein going in the morning. I do like that, I do like that routine to get going too, and Daniel likes that too.
31:06
By the way, Daniel hit a milestone this weekend. 100 pounds? 100 pounds. 100 pounds. Oh, I thought you were gonna say- Five, five-... just hit one.
31:12
[laughs] It's kinda like- Five years old and- It's kinda like Hunter Thompson, but it's 100 pounds... I don't know what... I'm, I'm in so much trouble.
31:18
So if people want this Dimension Seven Coffee and they're in the five-mile radius of the River West Co-op, what... where would they find you? On the Facebooks, the Instagrams- Uh-... the websites?
31:29
Website, dimensionsevencoffee- Okay... dot com. Also Instagram is probably the best thing. Most people that order send me a message through Instagram, um- And that's also dimensionsevencoffee? Yep, yep.
31:41
You gonna do a show called Coffee Talk? [laughs] No. You should do a coffee show. I'm okay doing a coffee show. Sit around, sit around, sip a coffee. No, it's Coffee Beard, though. Sip- sipping coffee and talking stupid.
31:51
It's a lot like this show, only with coffee. Oh, with coffee? Just coffee. Very similar. Stop, discuss. And it has to be done first thing in the morning, 'cause then we can switch to the beer show after. Oh, no.
32:00
And I just do this and I'm, I'm doing my hair- Yeah, you could do that... like Glenda Richmond. Yeah. Jesus. You could do that. Oh, God. Why don't you do that? I already did...
32:09
Yeah, 'cause it's Mike Myers, and I, I, my voice is like right in the place- You are, yeah. It is... with Mike Myers. It is. So it's simple to ape him. Simpleton to ape him.
32:18
So whatever he ends up doing, da, da, da, da, da, much like Saxamaphone, where it's like- Saxamaphone... when he does the So I Married an Axe Murderer. Please re- Harriet, Harriet- Please remind me about that show...
32:29
hard-hearted carver- Please remind me about that show... of haggis. I want to understand that show. She was a thief, boom, boom. You gotta believe, mm, mm. She stole my heart and my cats. That's... I wanna...
32:39
Guess I should give a shout-out then. So that show is a band called Simpsons from Illinois and Key of Evil from here also. Nice. For your Uptowner show? Yeah, Uptowner. It's an early show- Next, next Thursday?
32:50
Next Thursday at 7:00. Are you guys headlining? Uh, no, we're playing first. Right on. Perfect, because then- Even better, then I can go home... and that's a Thursday.
32:57
But no, it's sometimes when you say, "I am the headliner" and I decide I wanna go first, because I wanna watch the other bands. [laughs] I've, I, [laughs] I've run into- Fun, fun-... fun, fun variations- So-...
33:08
on approaches on different bands who are like, "Uh." What is it, like a, like a 30, 40-minute set? No, 20 minutes. 20 minutes. Tops. [laughs] A la Ramones. Perfect. Yeah. Right on. Well, thank you, James.
33:19
You're always welcome on the show. I mean, certainly- Thank you for having me. Yeah. This was exciting. It was fun. I didn't know what to expect and- Well, once we- Yeah, yeah. [laughs]...
33:26
once we- What if I, like, helped tell you it was gonna be totally freeform, we're gonna have fun? [laughs] Yeah, probably a bunch of stupid stuff. And then when he said... I'm like, "Aren't you in a bunch of bands?"
33:33
He's like, "Well, I'm in Robits." I'm like, "Oh, Jesus Christ." Yeah. We, we've, you know, we're gonna have fun. There's connective tissue here.
33:40
[laughs] We'll, we'll, we'll do another show later in the summer when you've had some, some Omnium time, and maybe- Yeah... do a little- Yeah, absolutely...
33:46
walk around of the, uh, of the rig and see if you figured out a way to make it work for you or whatever. Yeah. Right on. Might need a trailer. I don't really know.
33:56
[laughs] Uh, that's certainly something that would not be hard to do on that bike, so. No, not at all. Trailer- Or a- Nice hitch and- Throw a rack on there. Could throw some bags on there. Rear rack on it.
34:05
You know, you could easily throw a- Throw a box on the front. You can throw a lot of shit on there without- Balcony... Hey, how much does one of those bins weigh when it's full? [laughs] Uh, five-ish pounds.
34:14
So you got like eight of those, that's 40 pounds. 10 of those, it's- That's a piece of cake. Yeah, that would be perfect for this. I'll send Daniel along with you. Yeah, that's like a good weight for it.
34:21
Yeah, it's like- I'll, I'll... Daniel can sit on the front of the bike so you get that extra 100 pounds to kind of maybe loosen the rear end. Oh, for the tear, like- Yeah... measuring the tear weight kind of thing?
34:30
[laughs] Yeah. And the constant screaming. That's always good. That's me sounding as scientific as you're ever gonna freaking hear. Oh. Tear weight. Oh, yes, yes, yes. Yeah. You pulled that right out of your- Oh, dude...
34:40
bunghole. Oh, yeah, and that's it for the year. Out of your teepee bunghole. That is it for the year. From my bunghole. [laughs] I'm back, I'm back to, I'm back to... All right. We did it. [laughs] All right, everybody.
34:48
Thank, thanks, thanks again, James, uh, T- Tony, and, you know- Thank you... you guys are here every week, whatever... yeah, meh, meh, meh, meh, meh, meh, meh, meh. All right. Thank you. Uh, come again.
34:55
[laughs] See you for the indigestion next week.
34:59
[outtro music]
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