From Today's Albuquerque Business Journal:
This Santa Fe company is brewing up a 3-D printed coffee maker
Mar 13, 2017, 2:40pm MDT
Coffee culture can be complex and ever-evolving. One Santa Fe-based company has created a product to bring convenience to coffee connoisseurs.
PERK is a small, 3D-printed coffee maker that brews pour over coffee, also known as the result of "third wave" coffee brewing.
Jakub Svec, creator of PERK, is preparing to launch a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds and open pre-orders for his new coffee maker.
Enlarge
Jakub Svec, creator of PERK, is preparing to launch a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds… more
PERK is less than two feet tall, making it much smaller than the pour over coffee machines usually found at cafes. The product was made to deliver a simplified version of a meticulous brewing method to coffee shops and homes nationwide, as explained by creator Jakub Svec.
"The PERK is the first machine to accurately replicate that method that can be purchased by the average coffee lover," Svec said. "I want to make third wave coffee the new normal for everybody."
This coffee maker, however, is different from a Keurig, he explained.
"PERK is the first coffee machine that can perfectly control all the variables of brewing coffee. This used to not be a problem five to 10 years ago, but coffee has been going through a small revolution and coffee machines have not kept up," he said. "The only machines that are good enough for modern coffee ... cost over $10,000. An example of one of these machines can be found in the Starbucks on Central in Nob Hill."
He added that other machines brew too cold, thus not drawing out the coffee bean's best qualities.
The Santa Fe-grown coffee maker has not been mass produced or taken to market yet. The PERK team will launch a crowdfunding Kickstarter campaign Wednesday, looking to raise $100,000. The machine is planned to be available to the public by next February. Donors can pre-order a PERK for between $149 to $199 dollars. They'll retail at $299.
The product has no investors or partners, but it won $10,000 through Santa Fe's bizMIX startup competition in August. PERK and sustainable product company Nature Camp Goods + Apparel each took home $10,000 as a grand prize.
Svec has toured the state and West Coast, giving shops a preview of the machine. He said the product is already seeing demand.
"There are several premium retailers that are lined up and ready to put in orders, but at this stage there is nothing for them to order and therefore cannot announce anything yet," he said. "Additionally, I have had investment offers made for PERK, but since I am capable of self-funding this project, I have not taken any investment."
