Bikes and coffee. Coffee and bikes. There is quite the history of the two in cycling. Merckx rode for a coffee company and in just about any photo editorial piece on racing, you’ll see espresso cups laying around. But from Faema E61’s and road cycling to BMX? How’d that happen? Well, in Austin, Texas there’s a restaurant called Frank. Their motto is “hot dogs, cold beer” and I always wondered why they neglected to point out their excellent coffee bar. Matty B is the barista who manages the bar and he’s an avid BMXr (and used to FGFS – thanks Dan). He’s also adament about serving Intelligentsia-brand coffee. This brings in coffee and cyclist fanatics from all over the world who crave those beans.

Check out more photos below!

Matty B’s love of Intelligentsia goes deep. They’re out of Chicago, they only deal with Direct Trade farms and their coffee is amazing.

His preferred brewing method is a pour-over style with a Hario V60 and a paper filter. This process allows you to really taste the bean and proves that there’s no magic needed to brew a mean cup!

Each cup leaves customers (and the owners) happy.

So how did BMX get involved in this post? Well, a few years ago, the guys at Intelli picked up a pro BMX rider, Kevin Porter. At the time, he was the first BMXr to be sponsored by a coffee company. Now, others have picked up on this smart idea but Kevin and Intelli knew they were onto something. Here’s Kevin’s bike and you can follow his escapades on Twitter @tierraKP.

Matty’s also a full-blown espresso nut, specializing in craft-poured latte’s and cappuccinos.

Sure, this is nothing special but every time I watch someone do this, I’m impressed.

Not bad huh?

There’s a certain finesse required to be a barista and Matty B’s is one of Austin’s finest. If you’re ever in town, swing through Frank and get a cup. Matty’s quite the character so chat him up!

Frank
4th and Colorado
Austin, TX 78701

Here’s a few more photos in a slideshow:

These are also at my Flickr.