More on Clover from the Post-Gazette

Love what sometimes controversial P-G food writer China Millman's been doing to elevate coffee discussion as it relates to the on-the-rise food/culinary scene in the region.

We're a bit less enamored that a fairly expansive phone interview with China about Clover was reduced to a two sentence quote, that taken out of context might seem like sour grapes. Six months ago it might have been, but we came around full circle on Clover late last fall when we starting giving serious consideration to what an Aldo Coffee 2.0 might look like.

Our quotes' context was about was all the buzz that a new Clover could generate when it's introduced in a new market, as well as its association with "better" coffehouses (until the Starbucks purchase).  We opined that new Clover buyers (if Starbucks were to allow future sales, they're not) wouldn't receive the level of third-party-generated buzz that previous buyers did.  But having the comment appear out of that context is OK.  Anytime we have a chance to share views with Ms. Millman for an article on coffee it's worth it.

Luke & Alexis at 21st Street deserve the accolades for taking the leap on investing in the region's first Clover.  But they deserve even more credit for using the machine for its intended purpose and not as a single cup one-size-fits-all Mr. Coffee as seems to be an issue at some of the 300 or so shops that have one.  We still go down on occasion just to see what some of the Intelligentsia single-origin arrivals taste like on a Clover so we can compare to what we've been doing with press pots (and our experiments with other hand-brew methods).

We did learn last week that there is one other Clover in the region, up in Indiana at Commonplace. They apparently received theirs after the Starbucks announcement (not sure when they ordered it though).  That they're also a roaster sort of makes sense though.  If we were a full-time roaster, the decision to buy one would have been a no-brainer.

It is true, we were re-considering getting a Clover, but the Starbucks purchase put a damper on our enthusiasm.  Maybe we'll come full circle again six months from now.

Comments

[Russ]

The Commonplace is putting their Clover to good use. I stopped by the other day and TJ, the owner/roaster, was working hard with his staff to utilize its full potential.

We actually had been thinking along the same lines as you, now that we roast--the Clover would be ideal. We are hoping that 6 months down the line there is either a comparable new machine out of the market or some used 1s would be popping up for sale. But manual methods are certainly helping us understand our coffees better!

[tj]

thanks for mentioning this. we really weren't sure what to do about the clover - we ordered before the starbucks announcement. we were then waiting for the installation on a Monday - the wednesday before the installation I got the call - what do you do in those situations? my initial reaction was to send the machine back - my wife was convinced to keep it. she knew immediately that we wouldnt be able to get it in the future with starbucks controlling it. we are so happy we kept it. I am having more fun than ever tasting coffees !!! it is such a great tool! we are featuring cups of excellence - as well as some of our more conventional coffees- INCREDIBLE!