The Slow System is a flexible collection of tools for elevating your daily beverage rituals.
With one system you can brew pour-over, cold brew and press-style coffee, steep loose leaf tea and mix a cocktail at the end of the day.
The newest member of the Slow System is The Pitcher—a striking two-toned vessel that can brew and serve your favorite drinks, from the kitchen counter to the dining table.
🖐️ With The Pitcher you can:
Make a large batch of pour-over coffee that will stay hot for almost an hour (try that with a Chemex!)
Brew loose leaf tea in batches large enough for a small gathering
Stir up a batch of cold brew in the evening and pour yourself a glass in the morning
Mix up a pitcher of margaritas and the insulation will keep the the ice from melting and watering down your batch
📐 The Slow System Pitcher is:
1 liter in volume—a total of 32 oz or four 8 oz cups
Made from double-walled borosilicate glass. This means hot drinks stay hot and cold drinks stay cold—and the pitcher won't sweat.
Sealed with a cork lid for temperature control and maintaining freshness
Designed to work with our existing pour-over dripper and tea strainer (which you can add-on after you pledge)
Open to use with other popular coffee drippers like Hario and Kalita
The Slow System was originally launched on Kickstarter in July 2021 (supported by almost 375 backers) and started shipping in December 2021. Since then we have started wholesaling the Slow System to dozens of retailers, sold through multiple reorders, worked with Spirit Tea to create thousands of tea strainers modeled after this design, and even had Serious Eats rave about our mugs. We're excited to bring this new pitcher into the Slow System family!
In an age when convenience and speed are celebrated as virtues — seeking moments of slowness is essential to finding balance. Daily rituals around food and beverage are great opportunities to overcome distraction and focus on simply being present. The Slow System was designed for these intentional moments.
Pour over coffee gives you the most control over coffee brewing. Our dripper uses flat-bottomed paper filters—this means a more forgiving process and a more even extraction than what you get with cone-shaped drippers. Coffee aficionados can use Kalita Wave-style filters, however 6-8 cup Melitta basket filters work for a more easy-to-find and inexpensive option. Cork the pitcher when you're done brewing and your coffee will stay hot for up to an hour because of the double walled construction.
2. No-press Coffee
French press coffee is beloved for its simplicity and its "full bodied" flavor. However the French press plunger adds turbulence to your coffee when it presses the grinds—this extra movement means at best a cloudy cup and at worst bitter, overextracted coffee. Our "No-Press" makes full-bodied immersion coffee without the press—simply mix coffee with hot water, put on the strainer, wait 5-10 minutes and pour. This idea has been championed by coffee industry folks for some time, and we're believers.
3. Loose Leaf Tea
High quality loose leaf teas offer complex and interesting flavors. The Slow System strainer has been optimized as a loose leaf tea brewer—perfect for high quality teas that can be steeped multiple times—but is suitable for all kinds of teas, tisanes and infusions. Simply add loose leaf, steep, and then pour.
4. Casual Cocktails
Batch cocktails are ideal for entertaining. Mix up a pitcher of cocktails and the insulation will keep the the ice from melting and watering down your batch. Additionally the double walled construction will keep the pitcher from sweating on your table on a hot day.
5. Cold Brew Coffee
You know it, you probably love it—The Pitcher makes it easy. Simply combine coffee grinds and room temperature water, stir, and cork the pitcher in your fridge overnight. In the morning you can slide in the strainer and pour a glass of cold brew concentrate right from the icebox.
6. Ice-brew Coffee
Cold brew gets all the attention, but ice-brew has all the flavor. By brewing hot coffee over ice and using half of the water, this process is essentially brewing a coffee concentrate that is flash chilled. This means you capture the interesting flavor notes of hot coffee, but in a cold format—without having to wait overnight.
A pledge on Backerkit is a pre-order. Similar to Kickstarter, the images you see are production samples from our factory, and manufacturing will begin as soon as we hit our goal.
You can add-on additional Slow System components. After you select a reward to pledge, you will see a second screen to add on, including pitchers.
We will collect shipping information (and a modest shipping fee) when the product is ready. Local pick up with be available for free at our Chicago storefront studio.
We think slowness is important. We think everyday tasks should be celebrated. We think there’s joy in repetitive rituals. We think there’s pride to be found in doing something difficult. We think friction and imperfection keep life interesting. We think taking your time is worth it.
Manual is a project in creating products that encourage you to slow down and appreciate the moment.
We tend to focus on durable no-tech home goods that celebrate daily rituals. Food and beverage are a reoccurring theme of our work for almost a decade. And crowdfunding is in our DNA—we have launched almost all of our products this way!
Manual was founded by Craighton Berman—a designer who has work in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago and was the first designer to use Kickstarter to launch a product over 13 years ago. Based on his background of design mixed with DIY, Manual was founded to produce products in the spirit of slow food.
Previously, I have successfully run 15 Kickstarter projects, and advised on well over 50, so I know my way around making great things and getting them to people. However the reality is that when manufacturing any physical good there are sure to be unforeseen challenges—I will strive to be open and honest in communication around any issues I have to navigate.
Remember, crowdfunding is not the same as shopping. You are pledging support to an independent company that is starting down the path of producing a product. Part of your "reward" is getting an inside view at the process as well as my sincere appreciation for the support! I only produce products I feel deeply passionate about and I'm too stubborn to see things fail. You can put your trust in Manual that we will deliver the goods. ✌️
