New Products, Guides and Industry News

We’ve put together some fantastic deals for Black Friday and Cyber Monday! To get the deals, note the coupon code in each box below and type it into the “coupon” field at checkout. The amounts listed will be deducted from your order. For our Double Gift Certificates promotion, click the box below for details on how to redeem. As always, these promotions are valid on purchases made 11/23-11/26 and cannot be applied to prior purchases. Considering an espresso machine? Give us a call and we’ll spend the time to put together the perfect setup for your needs and budget. Our prices are competitive and the knowledge is free! Give Chris a call at 800.520.2890 or chris@clivecoffee.com.

Italian espresso machine maker Izzo, and American machine importer Chris’ Coffee have been partners for years in designing and producing finely tuned espresso makers for the American market.  They have just made public what the new version of the famous Izzo Alex Duetto II will look like.  Let’s take a look at some of the particulars.

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The Izzo Duetto II has been a very popular machine with its e61 grouphead and precise PID control. Duetto III has just been announced and will be shipping soon!

We will have a full review soon, but for now here are a list of the updates on the Duetto 3.0:

• Beautiful New Body Styling (stainless steel curved panels replace the 1 piece outer body shell
• Smaller, Recessed Heater lights
• Large redesigned drip tray, holds 32 oz. of water.  It has a catch tray on back, easy to slide in, and no longer has the notch in the back
• Ergonomic portafilters with an angle
• Cup warmer tray, with better ventilation
• Cups Rails are now included
• Reinforced front to reduce flexing
• Discharge goes straight down instead of forward, silicone tube no longer visible
• Easy access Expansion Valve

Stay tuned for more.

Attention all aspiring and inquisitive home baristas!  Clive Coffee is very happy to announce an expanded barista class schedule!  From now until the end of the year, Clive will be offering the Home Barista 101 class nearly every Saturday morning here in our Portland showroom.  It’s a great way to polish skills you may already have, or, if you are new to espresso at home, I can’t think of a better way to quickly get started.  Yours truly (Chris Ryan), or our new barista teacher, coffee star Jen Macias (Cartel Coffee Lab in Tempe, AZ and Barista here in Portland) will run you through the basics of espresso extraction, milk steaming, and machine maintenance. Each class participant will pull a ton of shots and steam pitcher after pitcher of milk with a teacher right there next to you showing you the way step-by-step.  Class size is limited to 4 folks maximum to ensure that we have enough time with everyone.  Classes start at 9am, and generally run to 11-11:30am.  You know all those questions you have while watching a barista at work, but don’t feel you can ask?  This is your chance!  Come on in, learn a little something, have a ball, and drink a copious amount of coffee. Cheers!

Check out class dates and sign up here: http://www.clivecoffee.com/product/barista_class.html

Questions?  Please feel free to contact Chris Ryan at chris@clivecoffee.com

A frequent question I am asked is what to look for when choosing between a heat exchange machine and a double boiler. Cost and size have always been the primary limiting factors, until recently that is…

In late August Quick Mill and Chris’ Coffee rolled out the brand new Quick Mill QM67 double boiler. It is a small and versatile Italian built machine that is PID controlled for precise espresso extraction, and a separate steam boiler for dedicated frothing ability. In addition, its price point is just low enough to compete with the heat exchanger family of machines.

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The KONE Coffee Filter has arrived at the Clive office! The finer hole pattern on this reusable filter makes it easier to control extraction and limit fines, allowing for a full and nuanced cup. Paired with the Bonavita Variable Temperature Kettle, the possibility for intricate expressions of your coffee are easily within reach.

I was excited when I heard that Quickmill was coming out with a new take on the E61 double boiler design. The QM67 looked to be strong contender in the prosumer espresso lineup, especially since it was being placed as a bridge between the Andreja and Alex Duetto II. It features a professional E61 group with a clean, minimalist design. It will be a welcome choice for those that don’t have the counter real estate for the Duetto, and it’s $500 cheaper.

However, the reduced footprint and configuration exposes several issues with temperature stability and power management. Despite these drawbacks, is the QM67 a better value than the similarly priced Andreja or the more expensive Duetto? Well, that depends on what you are wanting to get from your machine.

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Left Coast Roast, by Hanna Neuschwander, is a caffeine-fueled guide to 55 key companies in Washington, Oregon, and Northern California — from small artisan roasters like Heart, Coava, and Kuma and history-making icons like Peet’s and Starbucks, to rapidly expanding shops like Portland’s Stumptown and San Francisco’s Blue Bottle. Profiles describe each company’s background, roasting history, and style, and explain how to visit and order beans for home brewing. Not to toot our own horn too much, but there’s a great little writeup about Clive in this book as well.

Timber Press is hosting a launch event at Spirit of 77 in Portland on Monday, August 27. Come on down and enjoy specialty cocktails, coffee-inspired beer, hors d’oeuvres, and many other delights as we kick-off the exciting release of the book and celebrate the craft of West Coast coffee!

This wonderful micro-lot comes from the efforts of 20 small farmers in and around the mountain village of Santa Maria de Jesus. It features vibrant notes of cinnamon, dark cherry, and orange blossom.

The Guatemala Santa Maria De Jesus is sourced directly by Coffee Shrub and is only available through Coffee Roasters’ United.

The Santa Maria particularly shines on a Chemex. Watch our brewing guide for tips on how to achieve a full and sweet brew.

In recent years, the idea of espresso and the “god shot” have reached almost mythological proportions. Like the great Titan Atlas, the perfect shot balances upon so many ephemeral pillars, and baristas the world over are racing to discover the perfect technique. For many, espresso represents coffee in its quintessential form. It is an indeed an art that, when performed skillfully, produces a drink that is at once bold, elegant, sweet, and as complex as its long history – a history that spans across the decades.

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