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FOAM NEWS STEAMING UP AROUND THE COFFEE WORLD KONE CREATOR REACHES KICKSTARTER GOAL (AND THEN SOME) Like most people reading this rag, Keith Gehrke started out as a barista. He worked bar at some cafés in Northern California, where he's from, and branched out into roasting. Keith loves coffee, but he also loves to invent. He eventually found himself in the Pacific Northwest—not a surprising choice for a coffee professional. And while working on a small coffee business, he found himself in a predicament: one morning, he wanted a Chemex, but he had no filters. Reusable filters in a sort of cone-ish shape existed, but not one that would fit the Chemex well; not one that would yield the delicious kind of cup Keith loved the Chemex for. So Keith set about creating a filter specifically for the Chemex, and from sketches to prototypes, the Kone coffee filter was born. Soon after, Keith—whose company, Able Brewing, ablebrewing.com, is based in Portland, Ore.—introduced the Disk Coffee Filter for AeroPress. And even though the Kone was an instant hit with coffee professionals around the world, he set about perfecting it not once, not twice, but three times. Not the kind of guy to sit idle, however (and Keith is one of those people who still feels idle even with a newborn son, a wife and a small business to run), Keith started dreaming about a new kind of coffee brewer, one that would, like the Chemex, utilize the Kone to the best of its capacity. He also wanted a brewer that would look pretty. And as with his other inventions, Keith wanted it made in the United States. He came up with the idea for the Kone Brewing System. "After designing the Kone, ideas just kept flowing," he says. "I literally have a notebook full of sketches and concepts. I guess it could be compared to writing an album—once you get the first song down, you build on that by adding more and more until you have an entire album. The Kone Brewing System (KBS) is just another song on the path to the full-length album that is to come." But to develop and produce the KBS, Keith knew he would need some serious capital. So he checked out Kickstarter, a crowd funding website for creative projects. "Kickstarter facilitates gathering monetary resources from the general public, a model which circumvents many traditional avenues of investment, " says Emily Gould of Technology Review. As detailed on Kickstarter.com, projects must meet a predetermined set of guidelines: "charity, cause, 'fund-my-life' projects and open-ended fundraising are not permitted. " Primary Kickstarter projects are indie films, video games, food- related ventures, music, and comics. Here's how it works: you sign up on Kickstarter and determine your goal, and your time limit; Keith's goal was to raise $5000 to get the KBS off the ground. Different pledge amounts would result in various "rewards": for example, a pledge of $125–$149 would earn a KBS with Kone Filter. A Portland, Ore.-based Keith Gehrke, owner of Able Brewing and inventor of the Kone filter, launched a Kickstarter campaign to get his new ceramic brewer project off the ground. He reached his goal of $5000—and raised another $150K besides. pledge of $200 or more would get the investor a limited-edition Red KBS, Kone Filter, and two Red Able mugs. Keith launched his Kickstarter campaign simultaneously with Able Brewing's new website, on May 25. "It took just a few hours to reach $5000 and we were well on our way over $20,000 in a couple of days," Keith remembers. "I was shocked. " You never know how a Kickstarter project will go. Sometimes half the money gets raised. Sometimes just $50 from family members. For Keith, though, you could say it worked well: with an initial goal of $5000, Keith raised $155,162. I recently had the chance to talk with Keith about how the project was born, his experience with Kickstarter, and his plans for the KBS. Sarah Allen: Let's start with the KBS. What's the story? Keith Gehrke: The KBS is a way to showcase the coffee that comes from brewing with the Kone. At first the Kone was understood as a reusable filter for the Chemex, but now it can be experienced as a complete unique brew method that delivers a distinct coffee experience. (The KBS) is a three-piece set consisting of a filter support, kettle and lid. It acts as a holder for the filter just like the Chemex but differs when you take the filter support off and use the kettle as a server. This allows for easier serving and 14 barista magazine PHOTO BY JELANI MEMORY