Review: Untapped Coffee Infused Vermont Maple Syrup

If Keith Bontrager, attributed to the cycling quote, “Cheap, light, strong. Pick two,” wanted to speak my language prior to the Tour of the Catskills, he would say something like, “Coffee, maple syrup, bourbon. Pick two.” Given this entire situation is concocted in my mind, I would pick the coffee and maple syrup, but ask for the bourbon afterwards. Realistically speaking, Vermont-based Untapped makes consuming both coffee and maple syrup for endurance events possible with their Coffee energy gel.

Truth be told, I acquired Untapped’s Coffee Infused Vermont Maple Syrup gel by mistake. I thought I had ordered the Cocoa flavor, but in my haste, I added Coffee to my cart. No matter. The Coffee gel had not been tried, and, with the Tour of the Catskills being a rigorous day out, I knew the 27 mg of caffeine - a quarter of the caffeine in a cup of coffee - would come in handy. 

Untapped’s line of gels are simple, and the Coffee flavor is no different. The ingredients are organic pure Vermont maple syrup and coffee. That’s it. Combined, the two ingredients manage to provide amino acids, electrolytes, and minerals, as well as the manageable amount of caffeine to bridge the gap between efforts or get back into the lead group. The packaging makes consumption easy to use. Nick the top of the tube and squeeze. 

Our Tour of the Catskills outing was successful due to advanced nutrition planning. The mid-day heat takes its toll and with a monster climb at the end, it’s easy to discover calorie deficiency at the worst time. With a regimented hydration system using Untapped Mapleaid Hydration, the final piece was to fire off a Coffee gel for a much-needed boost prior to the final climb. The ease of consuming the gel, the natural ingredients preventing stomach issues, and the bump in energy from the caffeine leads to the conclusion that Untapped Coffee Infused Vermont Maple Syrup is perfect for training or racing when a little nitro is needed.

The gel is perfect as a stand-alone solution to a quick workout or as the final gel in the jersey pocket for the last hour of endurance. Take it from someone who really needed a boost to get up a major climb to judge whether the event was a success. Combining coffee and maple syrup appeals to a lot of cyclists looking for all natural ingredients in a simple packaging. Since the climb to the Tour of the Catskills was a success, we should find our imaginary Keith Bontrager for that theoretical bourbon.