Review: Untapped Coffee Waffle

(2017) Three minutes after the sun had risen according to the almanac, I rolled down the creakybottombracket.com office driveway at 5:44 am. I had doubted my ability to get up early for today’s ride. Many signs pointed to the necessity of rolling at sun-up: mid-day heat advisory, air quality alert, errands in the afternoon. If I had slapped the snooze button, a ride was not going to happen.

I discovered one of the downsides to an early departure is in the culinary category. I would be eating essentially moments before walking out the door. What should I do about brewing a pot of coffee? It would still be hot by my goal departure while leaving some for the Missus. If she didn’t wake up soon enough, the coffee pot would automatically shut off. A pot wasted was not in the cards. Luckily I had a secret weapon.

Truth be told I was planning on having an Untapped Coffee Waffle the day before. The coffee consumption has crept into slightly concerning territory. Yesterday I had my customary eight cups of coffee – pretty standard really – but complemented it with a handful of chocolate covered espresso beans. Perhaps I would be able to roll out at 5 am the next morning if I had the coffee waffle. I simply would not have gone to sleep. I figured to save it for the early morning ride.

Hail the sunshine twenty minutes after sunrise with an Untapped Coffee Waffle. Large amounts of the road around Lake Nockamixon feature a wide shoulder such as this. The shoulder quality has been steadily declining over the years, so be prepared for deviations in the ride line.

With my continued effort to chip away at the Rapha Rising challenge and my early departure, I opted to leave the house without having any coffee. This was perhaps a good move considering the predicted heat and humidity. I relied solely on my coffee waffle to get me through the ride aside from two water bottles on the bike and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for breakfast.

Once I reached the halfway point of the ride I peeled open the wrapper and snapped a photo of the waffle in front of the rising sun. I then experienced wholesome goodness in a stroopwaffle.

The best way to describe the coffee waffle combined with maple syrup is an edible cappuccino. I still get the hint of vanilla in the waffle just like the maple syrup packets. It was a welcome experience to have such a tasty supplement to the ride. If it had gone poorly, the ride certainly would have come apart. Instead I gained momentum in my circumnavigation along the boundary roads of Lake Nockamixon and entertained ideas of staying out longer. One little waffle did all that.

I returned home drenched in sweat from the humidity; the temperature at 8am was already in the mid- 80’s. I had gotten up early, got miles in, and had an enjoyable on-the-go waffle to make the whole ride come together. Next time I’ll have a coffee waffle with Untapped Maple syrup after having the usual morning coffee. At that point I would probably explode. Or I would tear the handlebars off after the morning jolt. Either way you experience an Untapped Coffee Waffle is correct. The only problem is you will wish for more.