Stops We Love: Java Joint Drive Thru

(2016) Living out in the country I’ve yet to come up with a reliable math equation that highlights quality versus pricing. In the city items can be expensive because they’ve earned the reputation of being quality. In the countryside items can be expensive because the nearest competitor may be an inconvenient number of miles away. It may not be the best cup of coffee around, but good luck on your ride to pedal another fifteen miles to the next location. Even that place isn’t guaranteed to be decent. Ah the perils of living amongst the farmland of Bucks County. That, and the fertilizer smell that wafts through the air regularly.

Trexlertown in neighboring Lehigh County is a great cycling location. There’s the cobbled crater of the velodrome, the famous Sunday Derby ride, Tom Kellogg’s Spectrum Cycles facility, and a rather large conglomerate of Mennonite cyclists who are freakishly fast on bikes, both men and women. At any point of any day it’s no difficult task to see a pedal pusher somewhere in the area.

What Trexlertown doesn’t have is a variety of coffee shops. There’s the ever- invasive Dunkin’ Donuts. It feels like a new one of them shows up every twenty minutes. There’s also the local gas station/ convenience store with the religious following. The oddly- named Wawa coffee is decent in a pinch. The name itself is hard to explain to out-of-towners. So is the ridiculous fanfare that follows the Wawa business. There’s also the Evil S Empire somewhere in the area, but really, who cares?

But it doesn’t stop there.

Nestled quietly in a little hut off of Hamilton Boulevard is Java Joint Drive Thru Coffee. Allow me to convince you that this little two-window drive-through location is pretty much some of the greatest coffee out there.

The proprietor of Java Joint, the ever-pleasant Betty, can sling an impressive cup of coffee. She doesn’t skimp on the beans. The coffee is full of flavor and intensity. Her employees and she work quickly yet congenially to get the order completed. For those who want something a little different, Betty constantly adds flavorful additions to the menu.

What’s even better is that she serves cyclists at the drive-through window. Need a boost for the criterium race at Rodale Fitness Park? Ride up to her window and go for gold with Java Joint’s Red Eye. Gearing up for a century starting in Lehigh County? Java Joint has numerous muffins from Emmaus Bakery. Want to set a new world record for uninterrupted hours without sleep? Java Joint is your place.

The Crimson Cup medium roast is the bean of choice at Java Joint. It'll give you Chuck Yeager power for your next bike ride.

The last scenario is perhaps my most remarkable persuasion. I have several close confidants who love coffee. Mind you, these are not armchair barristers. These are espresso-machine owning coffee fanatics who insist on quality. Hopefully I’ve convinced you these people know what they’re doing and talking about. Why is this important? Because- and these people are independent of each other- all of them have stated that this coffee is jet fuel. My first subject is a coworker who actually asked me if it was normal to still be trembling some eight hours after downing the last cup. Another close friend stated he loves coffee, but Java Joint’s offerings in the form of a red eye prevented him from going to sleep that night despite allotting an acceptable “burn off” time. This stuff is on another level. Strangely enough, when I consume a large dark roast, I have suddenly crossed off everything on my to-do list for the day in under one hour.

Betty will have you know her beans come from Crimson Cup, an Ohio roaster who won Roast Magazine’s Roaster of the Year Award for 2016. She doesn’t mess around by stocking filler coffee and relying on convenience. Her Trexlertown location is convenient and extremely flavorful.

So despite the dreary weather today, I was happy to roll up to the sliding window. Betty wasn’t there, but one of her zealous employees helped get my ride started. The smell of coffee hovered over the transaction. Naturally I loaded myself up with Java Joint’s dark roast and proceeded to try to tear the handlebars off. Maybe I was gritting my teeth to collect Belgian status in the mid-50s temperature and rain. Or maybe the caffeine kick was so intense I lacked the ability to control my body and my mouth reflected it. 

Java Joint is open Monday through Saturday. Check the website for hours. Crimson Cup beans are available for purchase.