An update of sorts out of Chicago, home of designer Craighton Berman, whose distinctive Manual Coffee Maker (MCM) was featured on Sprudge.com last summer. It’s a beautiful piece of home brew tech, designed to be “left out on a counter for fast access, less set up, and aesthetic consideration,” according to the designer.
In the months since our feature the MCM has gone on to garner mentions from a cavalcade of top online publications, including FastCo, Gizmodo, Epicurious, and Dwell, to name just a few. Capitalizing on exposure is important for any entrepreneur, which is why the MCM is now in full Kickstarter mode, actively seeking close to $100,000 in capital to produce a first and second run of production. Kickstarter in this instance functions as a kind of pre-order system; buy in advance by crowdfunding production, and you’ll receive your very own MCM (plus all manner of goodies) once production is complete.
Chicago residents can get some hands-on play time with the MCM this coming weekend, at a two day pop-up coffee bar hosted by Berman at Rational Park Gallery (2557 W North Avenue, Chicago, accessible via the Damen or Western CTA Blue Line stops). Hours run all day on Friday, April 4th from 8am-5pm, and from 11am until 3pm on Saturday, April 5th. Saturday’s hours are presented in partnership with noted Chicago beer publication Good Beer Hunting, who’ll be helping pour a new coffee beer collaboration between Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea and Solemn Oath Brewery. It’s a coffee milk stout made with Intelligentsia’s Ljulu Zipati Zambia, which sounds #deloshes, frankly.
Learn more about this coffee pop-up bar here via Manual, and check out a flyer for the event below. RSVP is politely requested for the Saturday, April 5th event. Click here for MCM’s Kickstarter listing–first round pre-order begins at just $70 and includes the brewer, a bag of coffee from Chicago indie roaster Gaslight Coffee, filters, and a sure-to-be-tasteful small press “User Manual” zine.
All images courtesy of Craightan Berman / Manual.
