Clover Coffee

I had a story in the paper yesterday about the Clover coffeemaker at Rohs St. Cafe. Best coffeemaker in the world, unless that's all hype, Starbucks bought it to squelch competition, or maybe to improve coffee all over the world. There's been a lot of discussion about it by anyone who cares about good coffee.

I thought the coffee was wonderful: not just rich and strong, but full of nuance and flavors if you pay attention as you smell and drink it. It's an absolutely natural addition to any wine-lover's interests. Fine coffee is a lot like fine wine: an agricultural product that is affected by land, climate, and farming techniques. One difference is that the making of wine is in a winemaker's hands before it goes into the bottle, where it is then relatively stable in quality; with coffee the brewing is far more variable. That's why the Clover's such a big deal.

At Rohs Street, it's all about getting people to appreciate good coffee so they have reason to pay fair trade prices for it so small farmers in developing countries can be in charge of their own destiny.

so: Has anyone else tried it? Any coffee snobs with thoughts? I highly urge a trip to Rohs St.