The blog for espresso professionals. Our commitment is to everything espresso along with the environment, sustainability and social consciousness.
Ok, so I finally got the online store working…all we have for sale (for now) is the Limited Edition Slayer T’s ;-)
You can pay via Visa, MC or PayPal…which is far more convenient than mailing a check…and whats better than ordering Slayer merchandise while sitting at home in your ginch?
Cheers
Jason
Posted under Marketing/Branding
I read Gizmodo every day and just saw this pop up on my RSS… needless to say I was more than a little shocked.
Check out the story of Slayer in New York at RBC here at Gizmodo: A Little $18,000 Espresso Machine Called Slayer
Posted under Culture, Marketing/Branding, Pictures
Slayer shirts arrived in a nick of time for 2010. If you want one, just let me know.
Be sure to include your complete address and $3 for postage.
The shirts are $20 each. Sizes are M,L, XL and run small.
If you’re in Seattle you can also pick yours up at Studio 238.
Our address is:
Slayer
5628 Airport Way S
Studio 238
Seattle WA 98199
Cheers,
Eric
Posted under Culture, Marketing/Branding
Recently some commentators have lumped Slayer into a category with La Marzocco and Synesso. I don’t really mind this, because the comparison reflects the fact that Slayer defines a new category of equipment: ultra-traditionals. These other machines play in the premium range, but Slayer is perhaps the first purpose-built machine for the Third Wave. It is by design the ultimate traditional barista machine.
Posted under Equipment, Marketing/Branding, Pressure Profiling, Professional Techniques, Shows & JamsPrior to SCAA, I had anticipated that we would be somewhat busy with everyone wanting to actually see & play with this machine that they’ve read about. However there is no way that I could have dreamt that things would be as insane as they were. We arrived at 10:00 each moring to set up and would immedieatly have people coming by and when the show floor opend at noon things went mental until well after 6:00.
To say that I was overwhelmed with the number of people who took me up on the offer to bring their coffee is an understatement. I had such a great time pulling shots with all you guys – and tasted some of the best espressos in my life! I can’t imagine that there will be another espresso ‘perfect storm’ with the SCAA & the WBC & the launching of a cool new barista espresso machine all happening at the same time. This resulted in our 10×20 foot booth being packed with easily 50 people. Several people said that they had to come back 3 or 4 times just to get close enough to the machine to take pictures & pull shots…and this was the first time (since 1993) that I have not walked the SCAA floor, I just didn’t have time.
Thank you everyone, who came to hang out at our booth!! If you didn’t make it to SCAA, check out the video that Chris took with his little camera. It was shot opening day between 12:00 and 2:30.
Cheers
Jason
Posted under Equipment, Marketing/Branding, Shows & Jams, Video
Coming to terms–finding the right words!
Espresso machine manufacturers like to lay claim to a tradition of hand-made espresso machine manufacturing. Maybe you’ve noticed this too.
I’m posting this picture of Dan Urwiler posing behind the proto-Slayer: Slayer’s prototype. The fit and finish of this pre-production machine is far less refined than the production version. The proto-Slayer was almost 100% handmade, and went through numerous iterations before reaching the version shown here. Like most prototypes, proto-Slayer reflects many tweaks and changes made along the way.
Posted under Culture, Equipment, Experiments & Tests, Marketing/Branding, Pictures, Shows & Jams
Dear Reader,
When you share your thoughts on this blog, we sit up and take notice. We love hearing your musings, answering your questions, and listening to your wise words of advice.
In fact when I think about it, there is really only one thing that makes us happier. This is your Art. . .
Posted under About Us, Culture, Marketing/Branding, Reader Art, Video
Ever notice how projects that you’ve been working on for a long time can seem to reach their conclusion in a burst? All the elements that go into realizing that vision of the perfect espresso machine come together at last, and you are there . . .
Posted under Coffee Retailing, Culture, Equipment, Marketing/Branding, Pictures, Shows & Jams
Okay, I’m going to say it. . . “Slayer combines Art and Technology to create a beautiful, highly functional design.”
The reason I hesitate to state this bluntly is because it seems like this is an over-used marketing catch phrase–a hackneyed bromide, a gimmick. It seems that every company out there lays claim to bringing these two characteristics together in a single enigmatic product. However, most don’t.
If nothing else, the Slayer espresso machine truly is the result of a conscious effort to reassert the importance of the espresso machine as the iconic centerpiece, the focal point and object, of the Third Wave cafe, while at the same time introducing new brewing capabilities, particularly around the concept of leveraging brew pressure deltas, to get more out of the coffee.
Jason, Dan and I really did start out with the intention of creating a Slayer espresso machine that married Art and Technology to achieve a level of look and functionality that is simply not available in the market at this point. The design brief for Slayer called for a product, custom tailored for the boutique coffee category in form and function. To do this we had to push it.
Posted under Culture, Equipment, Marketing/Branding, Pictures, Pressure Profiling