See that huge vat of drip coffee on the back counter of your local coffee shop? It gets little attention and the same goes for the coffee that’s been sitting in it for the past 20, 30 or 60 minutes, (or all day…OMG). This doesn’t seem abnormal. This is the expectation set by the coffee industry. Espresso is the good stuff, drip is the cheap stuff.
I’m not in the coffee industry, I cannot name fancy espresso machines, I drink Starbucks like I use Windows PC’s (they’re just everywhere), I am not a coffee connoisseur, hell I’m a complete coffee whore. If I roll into Discount Tire to buy new tires for my car and there is free coffee with white sugar and cream, I will drink a cup of that mystery. My palette is like a child artist; my skill is crude and untrained in every way, but I’m ready to paint the world. I still know when something tastes “good” and something tastes “bad”.
I stumbled into the coffee world after meeting my girlfriend who works for the company that makes something called the “Clover”. (By the way, the coffee world is filled with people who are a little insane about coffee, no offense to any of you, just sayin’). A Clover is a coffee brewing machine that brews drip coffee….by the cup. Similar to how espresso is made to order by the cup, drip coffee can be made to order in the same way with a Clover. Okay, so what? A Clover is a five-figure priced commercial brewing machine engineered to manifest notes of coffee flavors out of the growth region, the surrounding agriculture, the roast, the beans themselves of course, the coffee that was grown in the same soil before the stuff being brewed, the coffee sitting next to it on the shelf, the wood flavors of the shelf itself that the coffee was sitting on, the air around the coffee, the cologne the roaster was wearing at the time of the roast, and the magnetic pull of the moon phase is all played out in the taste (okay maybe not all of these things). It does this by using an electronic reverse french-press apparatus that infuses the grounds with water at your specified temperature, brew time, and a little bit of magik (spelled with a K because it’s a little arcane) and after 30 to 90 seconds you have an EPIC cup of DRIP coffee.
One sip and you’ll realize you just tasted something smooth… that “coffee bite” is gone and the acid flavor is wiped away. Cream and sugar which had been such a mandatory staple become an afterthought as you continue to melt your face into the cup of clover coffee. What once was morning utility is now morning luxury. NOM!
Where are they?!?! 250 were sold from this tiny Coffee Equipment Company up until March of 2008. What was just a small ripple in the water off of Coney Island near the big city of the coffee industry is now actually a huge green monster staged to wreck the entire Manhattan of drip coffee. Starbucks acquired Coffee Equipment Company in 2008 and is probably ramping up to dominate drip Clover style. You can’t get one now, it’s more likely going to get you soon via a local Starbucks.
Sommeliers unite! Your palette and vocabulary elitism is now required for cuppings. Coffee is now elevated to your standards at $7 – $20 / cup.
Vacuum coffee pot > all imo.
But really, equally important to method are these key points:
using fresh filtered water
going to a trusted local roaster/microroaster
knowing what kind of beans/roast taste good to you (african? south american? darker? lighter?)
having a decent burr grinder/appropriate grind size (coarse for french press vs fine for espresso)
dosing/ratio of coffee to water
If you're really into exploring flavor, I'd suggest a french press, even in the cafe (I know you can order a pot of any specific roast at Starbucks, for example).
From http://www.zokacoffee.com:
“Press Pot coffee is coffee brewed without paper filters. What results is a largely unfiltered cup of coffee: a cup whose syrupy coating, depth of body, and heavy feel on the tongue is second only to shots of espresso. You will notice the coffee in the cup will be opaque, murkier. Sediment will settle at the bottom of your cup. It is coffee at its simplest, finest, and purest.”
The large Starbucks coffee carafes you see behind the counter are dumped every 30 mins to (ideally) ensure a fresh brew. In my experience, the type of customer who orders drip coffee (which could be easily prepared at home) is the one who wants the drink with the least inconvenience. I don't see the vast majority of them waiting around as long as the latte drinkers. I question Starbucks's ability to push this machine for in cafe use, given their recent recession in sales and because it seems like a niche within a niche. Now that they stock donuts, smoothies and sandwiches, Starbucks has in my mind, shifted into the realm of fast food; becoming a jack of all trades vs a master of one. Coffee is a secondary focus to creating their synthetic “third place.” I see them branding their name on this (ultimately unnecessary) machine and putting it out next to the $400 consumer espresso machines. It'll push their artisan imagine without the time or effort of putting the artisan back in their own coffee.
Also: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluebottlecoffeeco...
for if ever you're in SF.
Great stuff Gabi. So a few things: The Clover is a reverse french press *vacuum*, something I forgot to mention. It really does make an impressive cup of coffee.
Interestingly Zoka actually owns several Clovers and markets them in their cafe's. By the way, Zoka is probably my favorite place to get coffee in all of Seattle. I think their coffee is amazing, they have clovers, and I'm biased on another few levels (I have friends who are roasters for them and Danielle used to work in their cafe. :D )
I'm not the best person to speak to what Starbucks is doing, but I agree that Starbucks has spent a lot of time an energy away from coffee forgetting that their beans were still roasting in the oven… Niche markets are often the best markets because that's where the least competition exists. The Clover aimed itself squarely into a niche market that proved to be successful before they were purchased by Starbucks. Can Starbucks market to the same niche? I don't know. :| What I do know is that with the ingredients and the right Barista, Clover coffee is delicious.
Great stuff Gabi. So a few things: The Clover is a reverse french press *vacuum*, something I forgot to mention. It really does make an impressive cup of coffee.
Interestingly Zoka actually owns several Clovers and markets them in their cafe's. By the way, Zoka is probably my favorite place to get coffee in all of Seattle. I think their coffee is amazing, they have clovers, and I'm biased on another few levels (I have friends who are roasters for them and Danielle used to work in their cafe. :D )
I'm not the best person to speak to what Starbucks is doing, but I agree that Starbucks has spent a lot of time an energy away from coffee forgetting that their beans were still roasting in the oven… Niche markets are often the best markets because that's where the least competition exists. The Clover aimed itself squarely into a niche market that proved to be successful before they were purchased by Starbucks. Can Starbucks market to the same niche? I don't know. :| What I do know is that with the right ingredients and the right brewing technique, Clover coffee is delicious.
Ha! I only paid $3.50 for my cup here in Laramie, Wyoming. Oh, and I totally dropped your girl's name, Chevas, and the coffee people at the shop knew her and were falling over themselves to serve me the best cup of coffee ever. Pazzow!
Sadly, I didn't get it. It tasted good, don't get me wrong, but my coffee palette must be less refined than yours…which is strange, because my olfactory sense is very sensitive. Maybe it had something to do with the Coke I had immediately preceding. I shall try again.
i believe this is what is referred to in the marketing industry as a “plant”.
Umm, yeah, you need to not have a Coca-Cola right before you drink coffee. Before approaching any “good” coffee, be it espresso, drip, whatever, approach it like wine. :)
Okay, this is LOLtastic. If this were a “plant” then I'm missing my paycheck. Did I not mention my girlfriend works for Clover? The article is shameless about my bias. YES, I am bias, but I suppose all 25 of my readers are now indoctrinated.
Okay this is LOLtastic. If this article was a “plant” then I'm missing a paycheck. The article is shameless about my bias (my girlfriend works for Clover), but I suppose all 25 of my readers are now indoctrinated. I wondered if I'd stir some coffee with my post. :D
I've actually tried coffee brewed in a Clover at Ritual and I did like it. I think I just got set off b/c of my issues with SBUX, that and I think I was a bit grumpy at the time to begin with. ^^; I get that a Clover is like a magical coffee lab and it feels ill suited for the mass market coffee “king.”
I found an article with better commentary on it @ Wired : http://www.wired.com/gadgets/miscellaneous/maga...