Last week I ventured into the Starbucks on Newbury Street in Boston with my old coffee buddies (i know...we've taken it east coast) and we happen to see a pretty little machine on display: the clover. Now, I've only seen the clover in magazines and on coffee blogs. Never have I seen this thing in the flesh until that day. Holy moly...this thing is pretty cool.
The story behind the clover is that a seattle company designed and built the machine to let the user control all aspects of the brewing, from steep time (variable to the second) to temperature. The machine uses a combination of a reverse french press and a vacuum pot to steep and extract the coffee.
This machine had an initial run of 100 units, and at $11,000 each, it's easy to see how these machines can be a rare find. The first year the clover was available, the machine was sold out and sales tripled (according to the economist). Then, a few years ago, Starbucks bought out the company and announced that it was going to be available exclusively at starbucks. Now, 5 years after it's invention, I'm staring at one of these bad boys and my eyes are glistening.
For $2.80 you can get a tall cup of brewed-to-order single origin coffee (well not really direct sourced but that's a different story). After a short grind period, the machine was ready to jump into action. The overall process occurs inside the machine, so I won't bore you with the details. Needless to say, since it's a reverse french press, the puck of grounds appears at the top of the machine after the extraction is complete, and clean up is as simple as scraping the puck off the top.
My first sip gave notice to why this machine was so special. People who go to Starbucks for brewed (drip) coffee are usually greeted with coffee that may have been sitting in the pot for over 30 min (unless it's in a store that has brisk business). This machine brews the cup to order, and the difference can be noticable. The aroma of freshly ground beans is sweeter and the taste is a far cry from the burnt sensation of regular drip. This was something special.
Well there ya have it. If you ever go into a coffee shop like Starbucks or Blue Bottle (they got theirs before the mermaid in green bought out Clover) and you see one sitting on the counter, give it a shot. You won't be dissapointed.
