Jersey... Made from Coffee?!

[cycleGeoff]

OCTANE SHORT SLEEVE CYCLING JERSEY

I bought a cycle jersey last month intrigued by the claim of the brand that it was made from coffee. I wasn't sure that that would be a good piece of kit at first, you know how sometimes these "Good for the environment" products can just fall apart. But this was suprisingly good for the price!

Its nice and high wicking, looks great and has UV protection. I have had it for about a month, and have probably now cycled about 150 miles in them on mainly off road routes where I have fallen and scraped myself a few times, but the jersey holds together nicely. And apparently its also good for the environment because its not made from the usual fabrics or something like that. The extra pockets on the back are nice too!

Here's a link to where I found it:

COFFEE JERSEY

Has anyone else tried these? I give them a 9/10, that mark off is for there being only two colours.

 

[cycleGeoff]

Anyone know if there are any other "coffee" clothes out there? bump.

 

[BrumJim]

No, think that this is a Patented Tenn Outdoors material.

Anyway, my review:
I got the green one. Most of the tops I use for cycling are either ninja black, or tarmac camouflage grey. They come in bamboo, merino, and wicking petro-chem.

So, £20 on special from Tenn Outdoors, so price was good.
Colour is nice and visible. Another

Gave it a couple of weeks of riding, both commuting (all out for 20 minutes) and longer rides.

Comfort - not the warm, cosseting hug of the bamboo (but nothing comes close to that), nor the softness of the merino, but better than the synthetic, and very wearable.

Wicking - arguably the most important part of any cycle gear fabric. Noticeably fine. Obviously in warm, humid weather you will always sweat, but doesn't get sodden, and dries out quickly. Never sticking to my back.

Smell - very good here. After a couple of weeks without washing, there was still no smell at all. Not even one of coffee grinds. Petro-chem stinks after a couple of days, and even merino starts to complain after a couple of weeks. Top marks here.

Eco - don't know how the processing stands up, but if taking land out of food use to make fuel or clothes is immoral, then what is better than using food waste? Don't know if the coffee was originally fair trade, or if you can get the top in Old Brown Java grinds in particular. Don't even know if robusta or arabica beans give the best cloth. Maybe we'll find out more.

Design - I'm not a cycling top expert, but it has the elasticated waist, three good back pockets and some reflective bits, so does everything that you want a cycling top to do - the designers knew what they were doing.

So - recommended? You bet. Works on all levels. Just waiting for them to expand their range to include cycle tops made from other food waste - banana peel? Orange pith? Cherry pips? Grape seeds? We can but wait.

 

[Holdsworth]

Good review both of you. I have just ordered one of their "coffee jerseys" to try for myself as I was told about their excellent wicking and odour control. I went for the off-road jersey in the brown, I wanted something more casual for short trips to the town without the need for my "proper" jersey.

I'll add to this thread once I have received it and tried it out for a few days/weeks on the road doing my commute.

 

[phil_hg_uk]

Is the sizing of the jerseys the same as the shorts i.e. buy a size up ?

 

[cycleGeoff]

I dunno about the sizing... but that was a pretty good review up there! I haven't noticed any smells either.

Though I wash mine about once a week anyway.

 

[Lien Sdrawde]

Took my new one for a sweaty ride yesterday - not particularly a warm day where I was but felt warm wearing it.

Wicking was good except where I had my raincoat stuffed in the middle rear pocket against my back, but i guess that would happen with all jerseys.

Was looking for a zip pocket at the back to secure my phone in, but could only find a very small zip pocket 'front left' - not at all sure what thats there for.

Overall, a good feel to it and will be possibly buying another.

 

[Norm]

By coincidence, I had three of these delivered on Thursday and had my first ride in one today.

Firstly, they don't smell of coffee, which is a shame as I love coffee.

The material feels soft, but not as soft as bamboo, the feel is not dissimilar to a decent man-made fibre. It has very good wicking properties, fairly warm. too, although it's not exactly cold out today, but it is a very comfortable temperature. I tried the Sprint jersey, although I bought an Octane too, and the Sprint does have a larger zipped pocket, easily large enough for my HTC Desire or Blackberry and some loose change, but not big enough for both phones. The shirt has good grippers at the bottom, sizing seems pretty accurate, the price of £18 each is pretty low... highly recommended.

I just wish there was more of a coffee aroma.

 

[Holdsworth]

I had mine delivered the other day, Wednesday I think it was which makes the delivery pretty quick as well as I ordered Monday afternoon.

I bought the off-road style one as I said above for a more casual and less "sporty" look for going to town and back. It certainly looks a lot less conspicuous than a full on cycle jersey which is perfect. The lack of pockets lets it down a bit but I guess going around town I'll have some sensible leg wear (not lycra) which have pockets already. The fabric is lovely and smooth and has resisted the usual odour I produce when cycling, I will keep off washing it for a few days to see how it copes, if it's good it might tempt me towards some of Tenn's other coffee jerseys.
It felt warmer to wear than my Lidl jersey, could be an advantage on cooler mornings like we've been having these past couple of weeks.

The fit is rather loose for a medium, this is probably what I should've expected for an off-road jersey. It does mean that it flaps about a bit but it didn't prove too much of an issue in practice.

I like the little glass wipe section above the lower hem on the right hand side, it cleaned some stubborn finger marks off my glasses rather well.

I am quite pleased so far with my purchase.