I was at the Upper Queen Anne Starbucks in Seattle yesterday and noticed a new seperate group of machines with special branding around them. I asked what one of the machines that I had never seen before was and I was told it was a “Clover,” a coffee press. That it makes a french press cup of coffee in about 40 seconds rather than 4 minutes.

The person I was there with and myself tried two different flavors (Arabian Mocha Sanani and Aged Sumatra) and were very impressed. They measure out the beans, grind the beans, put it into the machine, which has some cool features while it’s pressing the coffee, and then served up delicious roasted coffee. It was pretty close to a french press, and I could definitely see myself ordering it again.

The whole process definitely took a few minutes though, so I think this is something that Howard is a bigger fan of than Jim Donald would have been. It’s getting back to delicious fresh coffee, but the inefficiency of the whole store would be hurt if these were ordered during a rush. It also cost more than $3 for a grande, which seems steep for roasted coffee, but they have to make up for the time it takes and the new machine somehow.

They’re testing them in the Upper Queen Anne Starbucks as well as the one downtown at 6th and Union in Seattle. Have you had a Clover? What were your thoughts? Would you buy it consistently at the price?

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