Not just a machine, but the company. News release here.
Starbucks had recently put Clovers in stores in Boston and Seattle. And Howard Schultz said, rightly I think, that “the Clover machine unequivocally delivers the best cup of brewed coffee I have ever tasted.”
Starbucks also announced a number of other moves today to revitalize the company including moving back to grinding coffee in the stores (something of course that would be needed to truly get the most out of the Clover.)
More on this as we get it.
does this mean they’re exclusive to Starbucks - or can other people have them too?
Hi Emily, it’s not clear from the information released so far if the Clover will still be available for independent retailers. There is a notice on the Coffee Equipment Company website that parts and service are available for existing customers. Of course, if Starbucks plans to put Clovers into all of their stores, it seems like that would require all of the machines produced by CEC for a long time.
Well good for the CEC guys. Hope they didn’t take stock for it.
I actually think it’s pretty terrible. Best New Product, now sold out for the ‘bucks… can we not even keep our own innovations?? (well obviously it was theirs…) Wasn’t all the hype about this machine partially because it offered another way for indie’s to be something more than the 5 SB’s around the corner?
Bah.
Good for Clover, and potentially good for small guys who want Clovers. People are already acting like the machines are now bad, and unable to produce a good cup or something. Friggin’ dumb. Starbucks has sold Bodum stuff forever and people are still in love with it. If you use a good coffee, and quality-minded folks are still involved, then there should be no problem. Just more money behind it, and poossibly wider distribution.
I think this is great. I really believe that the guys at CEC are clever enough not to make the clover an exclusive machine for SB. It is just too good for that. Hopefully this new deal will make the Clover even better than it is…
We love the clover…!
I love the clover but we don’t have one in our cafe yet. They are way over priced for what it is. I mean seriously 11 grand? If they had priced them reasonably around $6,000 they would have sold a lot more a lot faster and would have been making so much money they never would have considered giving up control of their company. I hope some Chinese firm reverse engineers one and sells them for $2000.
I think the company make good buisniess here. SB will offcourse not sell the mashine outside SB. Bad for speciality coffee. I think that this has been the strategi, to hype and sell.