Clover.

The Clover at the Stumptown Annex
Originally uploaded by Stephen @ The Stump.

Clover, for those who don’t know what it is, Clover has a new technology to brew a cup of coffee. This coffee brewing machine is adjustable for the brewing temperature, time, and size of the cup to best suit each coffee or varietal’s characteristics. A cup can be brewed in less than a minute versus a typical 4 minute steep time for the French Press, of which is a very simple way to achieve an extremely rich and robust cup of coffee.

I got a free cup of Guatemala El Cuervo from an urn with my weekly coffee purchase last week, and it was noticeable heavier (no, I don’t mean as in weight, but in body or mouth feel) than the El Cuervo by Clover sometimes before that. I wasn’t too sure why.

On the other day, I ordered a cup of Ethiopia Yergacheffe brewed by the Clover, and to my surprise, it was not the same as I remember it from a year or two ago. In both cases, the body of the coffee brewed by Clover was thinner than those with more traditional brewing methods. The best way I can describe it is broth versus stew (well, not that extreme, but I hope that you get the idea). Of course there is nothing wrong with whichever the brewing method.

See Clover in action, click here.

Oh yes, World Barista Championship is happening in Berne, Switzerland this weekend. You can read Mark’s road reports at coffeegeek.com, and his pictures at Flickr. James Hoffmann (jimseven) is also there, but as a competitor. Click here to read his blog.

BTW, I read this on MSNBC.com, Coffee or the Web? Half would give up the java. Of course, who drinks the office coffee anyway? : )