We’re past Labor Day now, which means the dog days of summer are (mostly) in the rearview, wearing white is supposedly a faux pas, and it’s time for another round-up of all the cool coffee crowdfunding politely asking for you to lend a helping dollar or two. (With much respect to the successful recent funding campaign by Coffee Wizardz!) For today’s collated coffee-ables, we’ve found three different campaigns that range from wacky to wild and woolongs. But whatever your flavor of crowdfunding, we’ve got something that’ll make you say, “I didn’t know I needed that, but I definitely do.”
HAMAC Hand Grinder Attachment
Hand grinders are great; they are more portable than their powered counterpart, generally loads cheaper, and nowadays come with little step-down in overall quality. But they are, as the name suggests, hand powdered. The new HAMAC, though, is looking to provide the best of both worlds. “Compatible with any hand grinder,” the HAMAC acts as a power source, turning manual grinder into an automatic one. Churning at a steady 30rpm, the attachment touts the consistency of an electric grinder but without heating the grinds, which can have an adverse affect on the end product.
With an MSRP of $43, the HAMAC is currently available at a deep discount on IndieGoGo, where backers can get their overworked hands on one for only $19, 55% off the original asking price. All units are expected to ship out December 2019.
Trestle
We see a lot of AeroPress accessories come our way, but very few actually offer a new way of using one of the world’s most versatile coffee brewers. But the new Trestle by Caffewerks takes portable coffee convenience to 11 by turning the AeroPress into a coffee pod brewing system. Using a patent pending design, the Trestle is compatible with the entire range of K-Cup products, including coffees, teas, hot cocoa, and ciders. All you have to do is pop the Trestle attachment onto the AeroPress, add the K-Cup of your choice, plunge, and enjoy! Making coffee while “roughing it” doesn’t get much easier than that.
Currently on Kickstarter, the Trestle has raised $1,600 of its $20,000 goal, with 16 days remaining. If funded, would-be backers can get a Trestle of their own for $25 (or get two for $30!). Expected delivery date is March 2020.
Three Gems Tea
Ok, so this one isn’t coffee, but we here at Sprudge have a deep love of tea and of beautiful ceramics, and this campaign is both! Three Gems Tea is a modern reimagining of the traditional gong fu tea service from China’s Chaozhou region. The tea set is made by the Li family, ceramicists in Jingdezhen and includes a gaiwan, three cups, pitcher, bamboo tongs, tea pet, and a serving tray (which doubles as a storage device for the tea set). Three Gems also offers a variety of direct trade single origin dan cong, “Chaozhou’s favorite kind of oolong,” produced by the Huang family on the Phoenix Mountain in the Guangdong Province.
Three Gems has already met its funding goal on Kickstarter, but there are still a ton of great rewards still available, including the full tea set plus a canister, zine, and a dark leaf dan cong oolong for $103. From there, prices go all the up to $388, which includes the Three Gems gong fu tea set, an additional artist series tea set, nine oolong teas, a tea canister, and the zine. Expected delivery date is November 2019.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
Disclosure: The co-founders of Trestle are related to the co-founders of Sprudge by marriage.
