When Life Becomes A Grind, Team USA’s Para Nordic Skiers Make Coffee

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by Chrös McDougall

Spend months at a time on the road, and you’re going to come up with some travel essentials.


For members of the U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing national team, it just so happens that everyone seems to have settled on the same thing.


“I would say — and this is probably a theme for our team in general — I always bring my own coffee setup,” said Kendall Gretsch.


Gretsch, a seven-time Paralympic medalist in Nordic skiing and triathlon, tends to be low maintenance when it comes to her java habits. Give her an AeroPress, a grinder and some light- to medium-roast beans, and she’s happy.


“Other than that,” she said, “ nothing too crazy.”


Oksana Masters and Aaron Pike, on the other hand, might be described as a little more fanatical.


The Paralympic supercouple — also known as “Pikesana” — famously met several years ago over a shared interest in coffee o’clock. Both were in Park City, Utah, for a national team camp when Masters noticed Pike was having his bean supply shipped in.


“I didn’t even know his last name at this point,” Masters recalled. “And then he’s ordering and having coffee shipped there. I’m like, ‘Oh, this guy knows. He’s got standards.’”


They began dating soon after, and now the two-sport stars are both working toward their eighth consecutive Paralympic Games this March in Milano Cortina.


Coffee, Masters said, is their love language.


While traveling the world — as sit skiers in the winter, and as a cyclist (Masters) and wheelchair racer (Pike) in the warmer months — their mutual love of Joe brings them together and offers a distraction from their other daily grind.


“We have evolved,” said Masters, a 19-time Paralympic medalist and Team USA most decorated Winter Paralympian with 14 medals. “Our coffee together has evolved. And so, it’s fun to go on road trips with him when he will fully support making the stop for coffee.”


These days, Gretsch, Masters, Pike and fellow Paralympian Jake Adicoff are all well known for traveling with “full rigs,” as Adicoff describes them. Others on the team imbibe as well, though perhaps not with quite the same dedication.


“I feel like our team has a quite a concentration of fanatics,” said Adicoff, a four-time Paralympic medalist now aiming for his fourth Winter Games.


The AeroPress has become a tool of choice for the U.S. teammates. Compact and portable, the device steeps grounds in hot water before plunging the brewed coffee threw a filter for a fast, smooth and highly customizable cup of bean juice.


The brewing method is similar that of a French press, which is another common instrument for Team USA’s coffee connoisseurs. The latter specializes in making fuller body drinks, especially with dark roasts, though it can take a little longer and requires some extra cleanup.


Either method works for Pike, though he’s never afraid to mix things up or add some complexity to his brewing techniques.


“I’ll bring coffee, a grinder, a kettle that can be different temperatures,” he said, noting with a laugh that of course he’s not so zealous that he travels with a scale. “And then there’s this new one that came out, it’s kind of like a reverse French press that I was traveling with last year. Instead of pressing down, it pulls the grounds up through the water, and it’s almost as clean as an AeroPress, but it still has some of the qualities of a French press.”


No one can beat the haul that Adicoff brought to a nine-day training camp in Park City last fall, though.


“I brought 100 pounds worth of coffee equipment,” he said. “I brought my espresso machine and grinder. That one was more for the fun and the single Instagram reel that I made about it. I will never do it again, because it was such a pain, but it was a good time.”

Of course, no matter the brewing method a top-notch cup of coffee starts with the beans.


Masters and Pike subscribe to the “bottomless” coffee program from Onyx Coffee Lab.


“You set the coffee bag on top of this scale, and every time the coffee gets down to a certain point, it’ll reorder,” Pike said. “… So if there’s some of those weeks where we’re drinking more coffee than normal, the coffee is always coming.”


Adicoff and Gretch have their favorites as well, though all agree that part of the fun of being a Javaphile is trying out local favorites while on the road.


It’s not lost on them that the host country for this year’s Paralympic Winter Games happens to be world renowned for its espresso drinks. Masters, for one, is well prepared from past Italy trips.


“I learned you don’t drink cappuccinos after 11 a.m.,” she said. “So when you guys go, don’t be judged by them, because I was judged heavily.”


One place she’ll never be judged when seeking out her next cup, however, is around her teammates.


“I love that our team loves coffee,” Masters said, “because if I don’t have a hot pot, someone’s got a coffee setup. So our Nordic team’s fully caffeinated.”


Chrös McDougall has covered the Olympic and Paralympic Movement for TeamUSA.com since 2009 on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc. He is based in Minneapolis-St. Paul.