Pretty neat article in the NY Times today regarding a Japanese coffee siphon bar recently installed at Blue Bottle in San Francisco. The article talks about the growing appreciation of brewed coffee as a nuanced and delicate beverage. The word caffeine also fails to make an appearance in the article- meaning that coffee is something that can be consumed for the simple joy of it. The article also covers the Clover, and has some nice quotes from coffee luminaries such as George Howell and Doug Zell (of Intelligentsia).
Could this be the age of brewed coffee? “We’re right there at the threshold,” said George Howell of Terroir Coffee, a retailer of roasted and green beans. “Coffee has never been a noble beverage because the means to perfectly produce it haven’t existed,” said Mr. Howell, who is also a founder of the Cup of Excellence, an annual competition that seeks to identify the best beans in each coffee-producing nation.
But, he said, with recent advances in coffee-making technology, “now you can get perfect extraction.”
“You get more of the delicate and floral flavors, the subtle sweetness, the notes of perfume and citrus,” said Duane Sorensen, the owner of Stumptown. “The delicate, pretty, sexy flavors show in a Clover.”
“A Clover gives you greater control over the variables,” Mr. Zell said. “It’s a clean, crisp cup, and it tends to play better to coffees that are higher toned, brighter. Like the coffees of East Africa, or the more intricate coffees of the Americas.”
It is those brighter notes that excite serious coffee drinkers as they take an interest in single-origin, micro-lot and direct-trade beans — those from specific regions, even particular growers, that are prized for their distinctive characteristics.