Founded by a manufacturer engineer and former Starbucks executive, I guess it’s not surprising that the focus is on mechanical efficiency and reproducibility rather than the more “touchy-feely” aspects of a coffeeshop. But the design is surprisingly elegant and it seems like it’d be easy to stand at the ordering station, watching your beans rush throughout the tubes in the store and into your cup, and imagine you’re in some culinary sci-fi movie.

It definitely seems like a Javabot would be a godsend to a proprietor of a small shop who works and runs everything himself. Many years ago I did this, running a quaint little shop as the sole employee–taking drink orders, filling coffee bags and bins, cleaning up after guests, doing the dishes, etc. While I like the personal touch of small shops, I can’t deny that a Javabot would really have come in handy in those days. I doubt the Javabot technology would be affordable to someone like that, but if it was, it could vastly improve what it means to truly “run your own shop”.

(Thanks to Mark for sending me the link.)

Considering that Clover brewers sell at well over $8000 each, this is no small feat. The Clover made waves when it debuted a couple of years ago, claiming to have perfected the four variables of coffee-brewing: time, temperature, grind, and extraction ratio. It was the product of several years of research and development by Zander Nosler and was practically an overnight success–at the moment there are only 200-300 Clovers operating in retail stores around the world, but at that $8-10k a pop, that’s a serious chunk of change.

The Clover has many devoted fans, but I must admit that while I admire Coffee Equipment Company’s engineering savvy I never really bought into the device. Most of its programmable features are present in a Fetco Extractor at a quarter of the price, thought the Extractor doesn’t work on a per-cup basis. It’s meant to do per-cup servings consistently at high volumes, but if your volume’s that high, why not just brew a whole airpot? And if your volume’s low enough for a cup at a time, why not just use a French press and a temp-adjustable tabletop water boiler? I’ve had great coffee out of a Clover, but nothing better than what I’ve had, say, from a Bodum French press using a correctly-measured amount of grounds.

Now, though, the point may well be academic. Because Schultz is in effect literally taking the Clover off the market, since it will now only be used to brew Starbucks’ own coffee–which seems like just pointless theater, since the coffee is roasted so poorly that no $8,000 brewer is going to fix it. As Greg Sherwin over at TheShot coffee blog very aptly put it: “Who buys a $30,000 sound system to listen to AM talk radio?”

I found it interesting that adding a mere 5% Robusta to the espresso blends threatened the model, since the better Robustas can have radically divergent flavor profiles:

The espresso coffees selected for this study were blended mainly from different Arabica varieties with some Robusta (5% Robusta in average). Blending Arabica with Robusta varieties has shown to add complexity to the model and adds some uncertainty in the prediction of the sensory profiles, but the model still shows reliable results. Models obtained with pure Robusta and Arabica samples separately (data not shown here) show results which are more accurate. Nevertheless, predicting the sensory profile of a new coffee depends very much on the diversity of samples used for constructing the model. The broader the sensory and analytical space of the samples included in developing the model, the more robust the model.

Read more about this amazing machine in Analytical Chemistry, which recently published an article detailing the workings of the machine (and from which the quote above is taken). For my own part, my own palette and I don’t feel particularly threatened, and don’t anticpate a day where I walk in and see RoboCop manning my San Franciscan.

An article in the New York Times

Using halogen lamps for heat and enough glass bulbs to make any mad scientist proud, the “siphon bar” as its called uses a brewing principle similar to a stove-top espresso brewer or a Chemex:

A siphon pot has two stacked glass globes, and works a little like a macchinetta, that stove-top gadget wrongly called an espresso maker by generations of graduate students. As water vapor forces water into the upper globe the coffee grounds are stirred by hand with a bamboo paddle. (In Japan, siphon coffee masters carve their own paddles to fit the shape of their palms.)

The goal is to create a deep whirlpool in no more than four turns without touching the glass. Posture is important. So is timing: siphon coffee has a brewing cycle of 45 to 90 seconds.

James Freeman, owner of Blue Bottle and the importer of the siphon bar, claims that the resulting brew is delicate, “juicier”, and “almost moussey”. I’m intrigued and already considering a field trip…

See a slide show of the siphon bar in action on the New York Times’ site.

The Second “M”: Mill

Unlike shopping for an espresso machine, which can require quite a bit of research and forethought, it’s fortunately not difficult at all to shop for a proper mill or coffee grinder. There are a few key attributes to look for, but those questions are often answered right on the box. Here’s what you want in a good grinder:

1. Look for steel conical burrs. The “burr” is the piece of the mill that actually grinds the coffee beans. Sometimes this is done in cheaper mills via blades and not burrs which can be fine for infrequent grinding for automatic drip machines, but to get a proper espresso grind, blade mills are too inconsistent. Also, make sure the burrs are metal and not plastic, as plastic burrs warp and break easily with even light use.
2. Check the range of grind adjustments. The more settings, the better. Commercial espresso grinders can adjust the grind by 5 microns up or down. You don’t need a mill quite that granular, but grind has a very important effect on your espresso and you should get a mill that will allow you room to experiment to find the best grind for your particular machine. Three or four settings won’t cut it.
3. A reliable reputation is worth a lot. Even the best grinders can eventually break down, so look for a brand with a history of mechanical reliability and positive customer service. Bodum, Saeco, and Capresso are all good names to start with.

Got Any Recommendations?

To get you started, here are a few models to consider.

Bodum Antigua Electric Burr Grinder–This unit gets all the basics right at a reasonable price ($80-90), but has some minor durability issues, particularly in the nylon gear teeth. Customer service from Bodum is always good, but be prepared to baby this machine a little bit.

Capresso 560 Infinity Burr Grinder–Almost the complete opposite of the Antigua in the sense of being mechanically reliable, but with some minor flaws in form factor. Overall a solid unit at the same price point as the Antigua, with equally strong customer service, but a few people have found that some nonmechanical parts don’t always fit perfectly and may crack easily.

Baratza Maestro Plus Conical Burr Coffee Grinder–The stolid workhorse of the prosumer market, it’s hard to go wrong with the Baratza Maestro. It’s reliable on every level and won’t heat up your beans with repeated use. Expect to pay about $140-150.

The press release conveyed an almost comical degree of intensity about the design:

[...]experts from BMW Group DesignworksUSA were intensively involved in the entire product development process. It was imperative that the new design language reflected both quality and functionality of the newly developed espresso machine as well as the fundamental values of the Starbucks brand. In this crucial stage it was necessary to translate the specific brand values into the appropriate product character with regard to product architecture, gesture, color, material, surface, operation and proportions.

BMW DesigngroupUSA reportedly spent two years developing a unit that looks more or less like any decent midrange espresso machine and comes with zero extra features. It doesn’t look like a bad machine, but I’m not sure what exactly it is I’m supposed to be excited about or why it took three companies two years to produce. It doesn’t even carry the BMW roundel, though considering how loose some car companies are with their brand name, that may not necessarily be a bad thing.

The table was built by Jeffrey “Toast” McGrew and Jillian Northrup of Because We Can, a design-build firm operating out of a nondescript converted barn in Oakland. I toured their facility back in August and the place looked like a few geniuses had exploded in it: nearly every piece of furniture in their apartment above the workshop was built by their CNC-driven tools, and all were functional, weird, and wonderful. What’s a “design-build” firm, you may be asking? Well, in short, you make up something, anything, and they figure out a way to build it.

I saw the table in action myself, as Toast and Jillian have one in their living room, and it works as advertised; even in direct sunlight the table responds easily to anything set on it, and you can even create rippling effects with a little dexterity. For the record, the table in the video is transparent so you can see its inner workings for demo purposes, but the finished product looks much cooler:

It’s neat, it looks great, and if you’ve got $2100 burning a hole in your pocket you can get one for yourself.

Jennifer George sews “coffee corsets” for your cup that takes the place of the conventional Java Jacket, letting you hold your coffee without the need to double cup. In that sense it’s actually a sustainable solution, which is what drew my attention to this quirky craft–Java Jackets help reduce paper waste caused by double-cupping but they too get thrown away, while a coffee corset can be reused. And because it ties like a corset (using a shoelace), you can adjust its size to fit any cup.

It’s a conversation piece, that’s for sure. And although Jennifer makes a line of–I’m not sure how this gets decided–“Unisex” coffee corsets, I admit you’re probably not going to see me waiting for the bus holding one. Still, it’s an original idea and a neat spin on the concept of sustainability.