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Posts with tag coffee

Starbucks Installing $11,000 'Clover' Coffee Machine in Select Shops


In an effort to ruin everything good about coffee, Starbucks has bought out what many consider to be the greatest evolution in coffee since espresso, The Clover. "What's a Clover?" you might ask. Well, it's an $11,000 coffee brewing machine that controls the precise time, temperature, and amount of beans that go into an individually brewed cup of Joe. This machine's unique ability to replicate the exact same conditions that produced that last perfect cup of coffee mean that coffee aficionados can finally unlock the true potential of a bean, bringing out its fruit-like flavors and other subtle characteristics.

This machine has elevated coffee drinking (and price, which usually starts around $3 a cup) to the level of a wine tasting, and, until recently, it was only available in independent coffee shops. Now, Starbucks has bought The Coffee Equipment Company, and begun installing The Clover in select stores while refusing to sell any more machines to independent shops. It has also shutdown CloverNet, which is an online service setup by the company that allowed fans to track their favorite brews and find shops with a Clover machine.

Sadly, not even an $11,000 machine can make bad coffee taste better, but clearly Starbucks is desperate. This summer, it is closing 5-percent of its stores (just over 600) and is making an effort to focus less on music and high calorie milkshakes and more on coffee. You can bet that the original fans of The Clover won't be lining up at Starbucks anytime soon. But Starbucks is betting that the same people that order a white chocolate mocha with half skim and half soy will soon be ordering 35 grams of ethiopian sidamo at 210 degrees for 45 seconds, and paying a dollar more for it. [Source: Wired]

Battle Over Coffee Brews on the Blogosphere



Just as a drug dealer shouldn't sample his own wares, maybe coffee shop owners should lay off the Java, otherwise the caffeine could start to take its toll as they start... blogging!

Yes, a Washington, D.C., coffee shop owner has taken his rant about a customer complaint to the blogosphere. In fairness, it was the customer who posted his complaint to the Internet first, but it is the response from Murky Coffee owner Nicholas Cho that has captured the attention of bloggers and the sites BoingBoing and MetaFilter.

Customer Jeff Simmermon wanted an iced espresso. Murky Coffee doesn't serve those because, according to Cho, ice causes a reaction in the espresso that produces an acidic taste. In fact, Cho feels so strongly about acidic espresso that it is his store's policy NOT to make the iced drinks. Simmermon bucked the rules by asking for a regular espresso and a cup of ice. The barista told him, "Hey man. What you're about to do ... that's really, really Not Okay."

You can guess what Simmermon did next.

What was perhaps unexpected was Simmermon's decision to blog about his consumer experience and even note that the next time he visited Murky Coffee he might take along some flammable materials and accelerant.

So we don't blame Cho for being a bit annoyed. In his online response to Simmermon, Cho warns the disgruntled patron not to return, and that he'd be risking a punch to his nether regions. Cho also details the policy: "No modifications to the Classic Cappuccino. No questions will be answered about the $5 Hot Chocolate (during the months we offer it). No espresso in a to-go cup. No espresso over ice. These are our policies."

Even the "about us" section of Murky Coffee is a bit challenging. Cho notes that if someone even wonders why they would want a cup of joe from a place called "Murky," well, they should just keep on walking.

May we suggest some calming herbal tea next time – for both of them? [Source: Reuters.]

Starbucks Adds Coffee Orders to Its Wireless Network

Starbcks Wifi Coffee Orders

Starbucks, the second home of thousands of displaced workers and students, just made it easier to order a coffee while whiling away the hours at one of its locations. If you're on the Wi-Fi network at a Starbucks, you can simply pull up a browser screen and order a fresh cup o' joe. Of course, you still have to pay for the thing, and we'd be surprised if the cranky staff actually brings the coffee to you, but we are at least one step closer to not having to move at all when working and cranking on the caffeine.

Considering last week's deal with Apple iTunes, it seems as though Starbucks has figured out how to make an extra buck or two out of those of us who think we're there just to use the air conditioning and Wi-Fi. We patiently await the ability to schedule coffee orders ahead of time using an online interface.


From ShinyShiny

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Coffee Control

Coffee Control

What's worse than having to drag your achy, sleep-deprived body out of bed on Monday morning to trudge to work? How about having to wear gauze wrapped around your tongue because you tried to inhale a blistering hot cup of coffee?

Luckily, Smart Lid Systems believes it has the solution to these modern dilemmas (with the exception of the "going to work" part, unfortunately). The company has developed a special lid that comes with a warning and sealing indicator, alerting you to whether or not the lid is properly sealed. The color of the lid also changes according to the temperature of the bevvie inside, so you know when it's just cool enough to start choking down your morning fix.

From UberGizmo

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