Coffee in Motion

Salem, OR

*Reposted from the original coffee blog: Expedition Cafelier*

Growing up, more days then not were spent fireside. From a young age, my mother taught me how to hike, camp, start a fire and most importantly, be at peace in nature. I remember the campfires that were surrounded by buckskins and tales of coyote and his troubles. There were campfires that made "too much white man smoke" and fires that kept their burning embers to be stroked in the morning light. In all the good fires, there were also mishaps. Times where the wood was a bit too wet, the teepee formation a bit off causing it to collapse and my favorite; the time my mother tried starting a flint & steel fire and a gust of wind carried the sparks... starting my sister on fire. (Don't worry, we smothered them quickly and she was never truly traumatized). 

The campfire memories didn't cease as I grew older, rather they grew and were cause of some of my best and most challenging conversations. Through all these nights, the smell of the smoke peeling off the burning logs became engrained within me. It was a smell that brought joy; a smell I could easily trick my mind into believing was there. With Wood Roasted Coffee, there was no need to trick my mind into thinking it was at a campfire. 

I want you to take a moment and close your eyes. Imagine you're sitting outside, wrapped in a blanket to block out the cold, a fire burning brightly in front of you. Pick up all the good parts of the campfire, swirl it around with a little smoke and dump it in a cup. That's what you will get in a cup of jo from Coffee in Motion. The entire time, I wandered around the queer little bus, I couldn't help but feel like I should be muttering "I hate white bunnies, I hate white bunnies". In fact, the essence of smoke was so strong within the coffee that I was unable to withstand more then a few swallows. This certainly isn't to say you shouldn't try this bus of a coffee shop as they had other coffees and, to be fair, Wood Smoked Coffee is more of a mid day coffee then a 5am coffee. 

The shop itself, is literally a bright red double decker bus. The buildings just past it's parking lot were a tad intimidating but they're worth overlooking to fully experience everything Coffee in Motion has to offer. You order through a side window that's been left open and your drink (or pastry) is made right inside the bus isles. If you take the time to walk around it, you'll notice the drivers seat stands open, waiting for someone to once again grip its wheel and drive this shop to new horizons.