Hey! I’m Jonte.

Some of you may or may not know me yet, but I joined SL.OW at the start of this year as Director, alongside Sam (who, by now, needs no introduction). By day I’m a full-time Real Estate Agent at Bayleys in Cambridge, and I spent the last 7 years in New Zealand’s elite rowing programs at Lake Karāpiro. Yep—I’m still doing both alongside this new venture, so let’s just say the plate is well and truly stacked… much like Sam’s.

Daks and I met naturally through my partner, Jessie, and over the last 2 years we’ve become tight. As we crossed paths more often, it didn’t take long to realise we shared more than just the athlete’s mindset. We bonded over our love for culture, fashion, minimalist-but-effective design, a good yarn (with pretty much anyone), and—most importantly—coffee.

And that’s where it all started.

Ideas began flying. Big ones. It was obvious we both had a shared vision to grow SL.OW into one of New Zealand’s most exciting coffee brands.

Where Coffee Started for Me

I’ve always loved coffee. Like many, it began with long blacks from the old St Kents boarding house machine (though I’ll be honest, I was still smashing more hot choccies than anything back then). Eventually I shifted into milk-based drinks—flat whites, capps, you know the drill.

As I developed as an athlete, coffee went from a performance tool… to a passion… to a full-blown obsession.

Enter: THE BREVILLE BARISTA EXPRESS!

The undisputed gateway drug into espresso. Great price. Great results. I was hooked. I started hunting down NZ’s best roasters, blends, origins—running everything through that machine. That’s when I stumbled across filter beans. Not knowing what that meant, I ran them through the Breville.

It was… horrific.

Enter: THE RABBIT HOLE.

A few deep dives later, I found myself the proud owner of a Hario Skerton grinder, a V60, and a box of filter papers. How hard could it be?

• Brew 1: No flow.

• Brew 2: Way too fast.

• Brew 3: Just right. Light, fruity, delicate.

A whole new world had opened up—and I was in.

Then came Coffee TikTok. WDT tools. tamping techniques. Setup tours. Pressure profiling. You name it, I was deep in it. I’d just moved into a new place, started the new job, got my first real estate sale, and Daks hit me with some wisdom:

“John (his dad) told me that when you get your first sale/commission or big paycheck, blow it all on something memorable as this is a moment you’ll remember for the rest of your life.”

And oh boy… I listened.

Enter: THE LA MARZOCCO LINEA MICRA.

The mac-daddy of home espresso machines. Dual boiler. Steam wand from the gods. Rotary pump. All the bells and whistles. And yeah—it still makes me smile every time I walk into the kitchen. It’s genuinely one of my most prized possessions (Jessie, you’re still #1 don’t worry).

Long story short: I am now fully and unapologetically fixated on brown beans.

What I’m Doing at SL.OW

When I joined, Sam had already spent years teaching himself how to roast—refining, and building SL.OW into a brand that’s now consistently recognised by specialty coffee aficionados across Aotearoa. I stepped in right as we hit a bit of breathing room—and with that, a chance to push. The ideas began flying fast, and for the first time, there was space to chase them.

I’d started a clothing brand back in high school called Creeks that went pretty good and sold out, so I had some pretty engrained Photoshop and Illustrator skills. Sam had taught himself too. So we weren’t entering blind

First up: we shut down the old website and rebuilt the experience from scratch. If you saw the old one… and see it now… you’ll know it was worth the wait.

We also launched international shipping, which was met with an overwhelmingly positive response. I’ve got fond memories of Sam and I glued to the screen, watching those first overseas orders roll in like kids at Christmas.

From there, it’s been go-go-go:

• Custom bag and label designs that visually reflect tasting notes.

• New coffees and tasting cards with playful naming and beautiful gradients.

• Some secret new products we’ve been obsessing over (watch this space).

• Sampling, sourcing, and building relationships with overseas suppliers.

• Deep-diving into the world of Meta creative ads—and already seeing the return.

• An up and coming extensive line of up innovative processing methods, exclusive releases and our own physical space one day..

We’re learning daily, and we’re moving fast. Just don’t check our WhatsApp thread—it’s CHAOS in there.

MERCH (Our Other Love)

Now let’s talk merch.

This one’s close to the heart. Back in the day (ashamedly), I was a full-blown hypebeast—lived and breathed for Palace, Supreme, the drops, the chaos! Fashion, exclusivity and storytelling through clothing—it was all part of the draw.

These days, Sam and I are firmly in our Porter James Sports era. Shoutout to Josh Heares, who not only flipped my taste upside down with the introduction of clothing ratio but also schooled us in start-up life, and the finer points of considered design. The GOAT, no question.

So yeah—merch isn’t an afterthought for us. It’s part of our DNA.

Right now, we’re deep in the sample trenches, and we’re especially excited about our first hat collection that we’re really proud of (teases coming soon). But this is just the beginning.

Our long-term vision includes:

T-shirts, jackets, running and cycling kit, totes… the whole shabang.

But here’s the key thing:

We didn’t want to just slap a coffee logo on a T-shirt and call it a day. Nah. We wanted to design clothing you’d reach for as often as your favourite brands. Pieces you can actually wear in your fits—out for coffee, on a run, at work, wherever. That meant rethinking what “coffee merch” even is.

In fact, we’re intentionally leaning away from the “coffee” aesthetic altogether.

We want SL.OW to stand alone as a brand—one that happens to roast killer coffee, but also makes pieces that fit seamlessly into your lifestyle. That meant thinking beyond “coffee” and embracing a wider identity.

That’s why you’ll start to see new typography, logos, and design language showing up across our platforms. It starts with our new monogram logo, which we’re hyped to finally share with you.

This new chapter for SL.OW has us both fired up. The creative energy flowing through the merch side is something we’re actively weaving through the rest of the brand—from packaging to storytelling, photography to product development. It’s all part of the same vision.

Anyway enough of my blabbing—if you made it this far, thank you.

You’ve probably finished your coffee already, so I’ll wrap it up.

Right now I’m in month 3 of 4 in Japan, rowing for a corporate team called Toyota Boshoku (which might be its own Substack post, we’ll see). It’s been cool to write this out and properly say hello. Appreciate you being here—and if you’re new, welcome.

Until next time,

Jonte