How the Clover is changing the way we think about coffee

The $11,000 Clover coffee machine, which is in a handful of Starbucks stores, gets a test-run from Slate writer Paul Adams. "The immediate consequence of the Clover and its precision isn't necessarily better coffee, but more attention to coffee," he writes. "By creating this rigorous laboratorylike brewing environment, it encourages cafes to explore the nuances of different beans, where and how they're grown and dried and sorted and roasted." (Read the Slate.com story)

Comments

[Bushrod]

There's a Clover at Grape and Bean in Old Town Alexandria, VA. Check it out, DC people! 118 S Royal Street!

[Boring Market]

Slate.com has a point, The Clover is bringing back the art and craft of coffee selection, roasting, brewing and presentation. These days the rules have changed and instead of others copying the Starbucks Experience for success, it has seems that Starbucks has to copy others in order to recapture customers.

[StarbucksRants.com]

I LOVE the Clover. Had a few different types of beans at the upper Queen Anne Starbucks in Seattle. It's a little expensive, but the coffee is great, and yes, I guess the attention to the process makes it even better.

[The Jackal]

In other news:

"an odd correlation has arisen in recent months between stores rolling out test-versions of the Clover machine and after-hours burglaries. Experts are attempting to understand the link - initial research has centered on the publicity being given to specific isolated stores over having $11,000 coffee machines. We'll be sure to update ..."

[j]

"sullen soy-foamers"?

Will the hate ever stop?

[Melody]

I've asked this before but I'll try again. Does anyone know if there are more than 2 Seattle Starbucks with the Clover. I only know of 6th & Union and the one on Queen Anne Ave.

Any others?

OT: Starbucks rants: I just gotta say I like the photo of the top of the Starbucks HQ on your website. A beautiful blue sky seattle day and a lovely photo of the top part of that building (showing off the siren).

[jen]

the problem with starbucks using the clover is their roast style. by roasting coffee as dark as they do, they roast out most of the characteristics of the bean's origin. in a cup of starbucks, you taste the characteristics of the roast, rather than that of the bean.

a clover can't bring out flavors that the roaster has roasted out.

go somewhere that roasts light-medium and try their coffees on a clover, you'll be amazed!

[Mark Harris]

Agree with Jen, the heavier, over-done dark roasts at Starbucks tend to obliterate the more subtle nuances and flavor characteristics of the bean's origin that the Clover can bring out.

I thought I saw a comment that Starbucks stores testing the Clover would also be featuring some more appropriate coffees and roast levels with the brewing innovation?

Covered a little background on the Clover here.

We're driving up the California coast this weekend and plan on stopping by a few coffee houses along the way that are brewing with the Clover. While we're headed up to wine country, the coffee houses are actually going to be the highlight for me! Looking forward to my first Clover brew!

I think the Starbucks Roast brings out the inherent flavor of the bean and it's processing method. Try a French Press of Kenya, or Sumatra. You can taste the citrusy quality of the beans in Kenya, or Sumatra's herbal, spicy flavor. Starbucks roasts it's coffee dark because that's how you have to roast it to bring these flavors out. If you want some mild piece of crap coffee, i'm sure you can find some Lightnote in the dumpster...

[StarbucksRants.com]

I asked the baristas at the Upper Queen Anne store and they said there were only two stores in Seattle testing it out, the two that you mentioned above.

OT: Melody, Glad you like the photo, I took it just a few weeks ago. Thanks.

After reading about the clover here I checked to see where the closest one is and there happened to be one in my city (not in a starbucks though). I went to try it and it was amazing. It only took about a minute (seemed like less watching the machine do its thing) but the quality of the coffee was terrific. The beans they used were a Sumatra like organic blend and the clover really brought out the floral/herbal qualities in the bean.

I work in a starbucks and I really think we should implement more of these machines. It would do what Howie is trying to do with all his new starbucks ideas, put the focus back on a great cup of coffee. It would also get customers interested in the process of making coffee because this machine does a great job in bringing out the unique flavors in the various starbucks coffee beans. It could help increase bean sales and would expand the coffee culture on our stores.

[cactusmush]

To anon at Mar 5, 2008 12:23:41 PM

You are wrong Anon, if not positively reactionary, in your post visa vi light roasts & Clover machines. I would venture to guess that you have not actually tried Clover at an indie roaster (or at all even). If/when you do, talk to the owner/barista/roaster at that shop and ask him to contrast the degree of lift a light roast gets over a dark roast in a clover versus the same coffee as a drip.

Don't get me wrong - I prefer a dark roast drip over a light roast because I hate the "tang" (my word) of a light roast. It is for this reason that I cannot stand donut coffee because of the cheaper lighter roast, and thus my 10 years of loyalty to SB coffee from about '95 -'05.

Having compared one light roast vs. one dark roast in the Clover (Smiling Goat - Halifax NS) and having chatted with the Barista/owner for about an hour - I can attest that there is much more nuance or complexity to the lighter roast vs. the dark roast. BTW - this is called 3rd wave - look it up if you care to. Both coffees (light and dark) were amazing and very much worth the 2.50 a cup.

I would love to see SB deploy Clovers to other stores. I would enjoy both light and dark roasts in Clovers because of the awesome freshness of the coffee. But 90% of the clover fanatics out there are in it for the complexity of the light roasts.

any clovers in Ohio

[Mark Harris]

anon@3:43

"any clovers in Ohio?"

looks like ...

Staufs Coffee Roasters
1277 Grandview Ave.
Columbus, OH 43212

Roh Street Cafe
245 W. McMilan Street
Cincinatti, OH 45219

May be others ....

Here's a Google interactive map of customers at the Clover web site. Doesn't work well with IE 6, but IE 7 or Firefox work fine.

[Allie]

I hate that Starbucks is calling it a 'fresh press' instead of its name: the Clover. Probably has something to do with the fact that Clover is a brand name, though.

[Bubka Penus]

Stay on the cutting edge starbucks. Get it in all the stores!!!!!!!!!!

[Jonathan]

Mark,

You've no doubt seen us on the Clover's site, but be sure to come by Joe Momma's Coffee in Avila Beach! We're a three mile detour off the 101/1, and using the Clover to brew SOs from Intelligentsia and Ritual. Hope to see you this weekend!

[kitty]

I can't wait to get our Clover!

[Mark Harris]

Jonathan@9:18

Yep, Joe Momma's is on our list of stops. We're coming by on Friday. What time are you open?

Mark

[Jonathan]

Mark,
6 am to 6 pm tomorrow (7 pm starting Saturday). If you're coming through later, I could always stick around.

[Mark Harris]

Jonathan,

Should be in before noon. Look forward to meeting you and enjoying some great coffee!

Mark

(sorry folks for the sidebar conversation here)

[BarisTundra]

Anon:

Actually, anyone who's got any experience with specialty coffee will tell you that the darker you go, the less complex & flavourful a coffee is.

Yeah, Starbucks Kenya and Sidamo are citrusy and not bad, but it doesn't have the complexity and zing of a lighter roasted east African.

Starbucks does roast their beans dark, and it's probably to hide the fact that they have to let quality slip just a little, on account of the fact that there just simply doesn't exist 1 million pounds of the best ethiopia has to offer that Starbucks would have to buy.

And you know what? That's OK! Starbucks was never designed to deliver the finest coffee that the world has to offer, they were designed to offer some better-than-average coffee in a great setting reminiscent of European coffee houses. And on that count, they succeed admirably. Starbucks partners are some of the most pleasant public-facing employees that I've ever come across. The stores are 90% of the time in impeccable shape.

Starbucks does what they do better than anyone else in the world. But delivering artisan roasted micro-lot coffee is just simply not what they do.

[kikidavis]

I've asked this before but I'll try again. Does anyone know if there are more than 2 Seattle Starbucks with the Clover. I only know of 6th & Union and the one on Queen Anne Ave.

Any others?

Re; I've heard that the Wedgewood Seattle sbux has one : )

[StarbucksRants.com]

@Kikidavis- I asked the upper Queen Anne people and they said that there were only two (the other being 6th and Union). That was a few weeks ago, so maybe they're rolling it out to more places. Wedgewood seems like a weird choice to have it if you ask me, but that's just personal opinion.

[Melody]

Wedgewood (2958) does not have a Clover. :( A barista here is telling me they took it out. So I'm having a french press of guatemalan antigua.

[praxisguy]

Clover Coffee is good. If you love pressed coffee, you'll love coffee brewed in a Clover. It's filtered a bit more finely - but the result in the cup is otherwise almost the same.

Starbucks does sell the best coffee in the world. The Black Apron Exclusives are Starbucks versions of the Cup of Excellence coffees that folks might see in some coffee houses.

One good way to think about Starbucks' coffees is that they are the hearty red wines of coffee. Everyone knows that Red wine isn't the only wine on the market. The same is true of roasting coffee. There are other roasts. Some light roasted coffee is wonderfully crisp and fruity like a nice Chardonnay. Some is grassy and you ask yourself is this coffee, the same as you might balk at a glass of boxed wine.

[Beantown]

I tried the Clover machine at a Starbucks in Cambridge, MA in Harvard Square about two weeks ago with a coworker. Both of us are Coffee Masters and I respect his opinion. We left happy and highly caffeinated. They had a board menu with four-five roasts, but I may be missing one: Kona, Ethiopia Shirkina -something, Arabian Mocha Sanani, Aged Sumatra, and Decaf Sumatra. This was the smoothest and best tasting small cup of coffee I could hope for.

This is an experience that I found satisfying, however I am disturbed by one thought. I go back to the Starbucks Dilemma: would the average buzz addict wait two-three minutes in the morning for a better cup OR wait for the person in front of them to receive one? I want, need and pray that the answer is yes, but....

I do hope the clover becomes part of the core of Starbucks - staffed by Coffee Masters and used to dispense information along with great coffee.

[katiya]

I would be interested to try a cup of coffee on a Clover but I can't stand Bux coffee-it tastes way too overroasted for me. Now an SBC coffee I could get behind. Its more medium and suited to my palate...

the clover is also in the bottom columbia tower store... it's awesome!