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The talk of the coffee scene in this coffee-obsessed town for the past couple of weeks has been all about Starbucks and their decision to buy Clover. Not just some more Clovers--the $11,000, networked, hyper-programmable machines that seem to have single-handedly raised the nation's interest in single-origin brewed coffee--but the entire company.
Coffee Equipment Co., the Seattle-based manufacturer of the Clover, was revealed on March 26 to have been purchased outright, as part of the Green Nymph's bid to re-establish itself as...well, a place that makes good coffee. Reacting to the growing numbers of serious caffeine consumers defecting to smaller roasters like Intelligentsia and Portland's own Stumptown, the purchase is part pragmatic, but largely symbolic: it's one thing to say you're serious about improving the quality of your product, but another to attach this intention to a physical object that says "good coffee" more than just about anything on the market at present. Stumptown's reaction was swift: they're getting rid of every one of their Clovers, effective immediately.
Why this is interesting to product designers is the way in which a well-designed object is quietly serving a powerful symbolic purpose, with hardly anyone acknowledging it. The Clover is, in fact, a beautifully designed piece of hardware, extremely modern in both appearance and function, and it's doubtful it would have developed the cult following that made it so desirable to Starbucks in the first place were it not. The saga of its rise, embrace, acquisition and ensuing outcry is a precise, accelerated example of how a well-designed product can become a vessel into which people pour their beliefs, expectations and senses of betrayal; the parallels with Apple run more than just skin deep.
NeoCon 2009
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Comments
IMO, its kind of a lame reaction. It proves that the "coffee snob" society does exist, and exists more for the feeling of "exclusivity" and less for the actual cup of coffee.
How dependable is their "expertise" when they swear off a machine they praised before, only because it is now associated with a different owner? What happened to the quality that it was said to produce? Its not as if they're being forced to use a different bean.
Sounds like fanboyism backfiring, thats all.
Since when is Stumptown Portland's top coffee roaster? is this reporting or a subjective comment
yes stumptown is a top coffee roaster. i'm tasting the most exclusive beans from all kinds of roasters worldwide, and the Stumptown roasts are probably the best you can get!
and anon, i think it's wrong to call these people "coffee snobs". they're, we're fanatic and the inventors of the Clover are also part of the same wave. and our overall aim is to drink and offer better coffee.
business wise i guess it's normal you don't want the same machines as Sbux is using.
I'm a bit of a coffee snob, and the better I become at making coffee, the less gadgetry I find necessary. My main equipment is a very small hand-cranked Turkish grinder, a one-liter glass milk bottle, and a stainless steel strainer. All this costs less than one week's beans.
It's been important that small shops disassociate themselves from Starbucks, but that may change. It is sad that Stumptown clients and business will suffer as a result. As a commercial business in a busy urban area, speed is essential. The french press is a slow and messy alternative.
What did they replace their Clovers with?
So the green bux have Clover. Relatively insignificant. I've brought my own hand-roasted beans to trade shows abounding with the Clover machine, coaxed the booth staff to brew some, and been disappointed. I've yet to have a super great cup from the Clover. I regularly beat it with my lowly Bodum and a hand-cranked (portable, you know....) 1930's Zassenhaus. What matters is what beans one commences with, and Stumptown DO have good ones, and the Green Mermaid do not. Day's end, Stumptown will continue to outdo the Bux. As to messy, if you think the Frenchpot is, you've not operated the Clover. Not much difference in the "mess factor". And, for eleven thousand dollars, one can purchase quite a few frogpots......AND the devices to heat the water. I thought the Clovers were way overpriced at eight thousand.... Personally, I think Starbucks have made a marketing statement is all. But, without superb beans to put INTO the Clover, so what? As to independents fobbing off the Clovers apace, likely a wise decision, as bits and service may well be quite limited and even more dear now they're no longer dealing with a small, closely held manufacturer but rather the reigning monarch of high volume high profit in the industry. It will also drive someone to design a replacement for the Clover. Then where will the Mermaid be? Out a lot of bux, still no good coffee, and we lot "out here" still ahead of the game, but more on OUR terms. As usual, the market will take care of itself. The Clover's being taken up by the green monster only serves to stir the pot again. To which I say "good on yer, mates".
While I agree with the point that Stumptown's move to discard their Clover machines is one motivated by a sense of elitism, I disagree that this is a bad move. Many of us in the specialty coffee industry feel the need to distance ourselves from comparison with Bux because we see them as corrupt corporates, and bad for coffee growers. Their coffee stinks. The fact that they have bought a clover won't fix this primary defect. Therefore, Stumptown loses the clover to demonstrate that their coffee stands on its own. While the clover does produce an excellent cup of coffee, there are other, more affordable devices on the market, costing thousands less that produce a superior product.
Try a cup brewed via a Chemex brewer. This highly affordable device will wow your tongue in a way that clover never did.