New Products, Guides and Industry News

I just got back from Pigeon Toe Ceramics, the local Portland hive of ceramic artisans (Lisa and Lola, represent) that we’ve commissioned for the first Clive Coffee mug. These mugs are a subtle juxtaposition of modern and rustic, clean yet memorable, Amsterdam meets Portland, 1920′s brought to 2010. We put a lot of thought into the curve of the handle, the weight of the edge, and the texture of the glaze. We’ll have coffee mugs and macchiato cups. Here’s a sneak peak. Should be ready for shipment next week.

And in other news, here’s the salvage walnut wood we’ve found for our upcoming showroom in SE Portland. More info to come, obviously. Until then, Happy Friday!

We’re getting ready to pick a winner for our FAQ contest, but there’s still time to enter. Just submit a question and you’ll get a chance to win a 33 oz Stainless Steel French Press made by Frieling and a 12 oz bag of our coffee beans. The contest ends on April 30th, so enter now!

I just returned from the annual coffee convention sponsored by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA). There was a lot to see, including the US Barista Championship and some amazing new commercial espresso machines from Slayer and La Marzocco. The 2009 World Barista Champion, Gwilym Davis, made me a perfect machiatto with Square Mile Coffee. It was amazing. Here are some highlights that relate to the home brewing enthusiast:

I met Gerard-Clement Smit, the inventor of the Technivorm. He’s elegant and funny, and obviously pleased to see his creation receive so much praise here in the US. He invited me to take a tour of the Technivorm factory, which I hope to do soon. A little later, I talked to another roaster from Portland who told me that he bought a Technivorm brewer from Europe in 1983. It’s still going strong. Further proof that these things are built to last. Smit’s design has barely changed from the original 1964 design, with the exception of thermal carafes introduced a few years ago. Why mess with something that is proven to last? With how much specialty coffee has changed in the last few years (even the last two to three years), it’s remarkable that this machine is still one of only two coffee makers that brews according to standards set out by the SCAA.

Double Technivorm should be here this fall! This unit, the Technivorm Moccamaster CDT-20, is basically two Technivorm CDT units put together.The European unit runs on 220, so both can brew simultaneously. The US unit will run on 110, so the units brew back to back. This coffee maker will be ideal for small offices looking for high quality coffee without a bulky commercial machine. More info to follow.

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When we first heard about the Mypressi Twist , we were honestly a bit skeptical. How could you possibly make good espresso with a handheld device? After it was named best product of 2009 by the Specialty Coffee Association of America, we decided to give it a shot (no pun intended), and we were definitely impressed.

The Mypressi Twist uses a N20 canister to pressurize the portafilter to the recommended 9 bars of pressure. It doesn’t require a pump or electricity, just hot water, freshly ground espresso, and the canisters. To use it, just load the portafilter basket, screw the chamber together, and pour hot water into the top chamber. Put one of the included N20 canisters in the handle and pull the trigger.

If you’re the sort of person who likes to camp out but doesn’t want to live without your morning shot, the Mypressi is the perfect device for you! Check out Mypressi’s demonstration video on YouTube.

Have you ever had a cup of coffee that tasted weak and sour? How about overly strong and sharp? Those unappealing flavors are a result of either under-extracting or over-extracting coffee grounds during the brewing process.

When you brew coffee, you are extracting the soluble solids from the coffee grounds. According to the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s Gold Cup Standards, to get a good cup of coffee you should extract about 20% of the soluble solids.

There are a number of different variables that can cause your coffee to under or over-extract. The most common variable is an improper grind setting. When you grind coffee beans, you’re exposing surface area from which to extract soluble solids. If your grind is too coarse, there isn’t enough surface area exposed, so your coffee will come out weak. If your grind is too fine, too much area is exposed, so your coffee will come out sharp and bitter.

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Hello from Portland,

The near complete devastation in Haiti from the earthquake has prompted me to write this letter to you. As you may already know, we sometimes find really fantastic coffees and then choose a cause to support that is working to improve conditions in that coffee producing region. We look for vital, imminent causes, such as clean water, education and shelter for abandoned children, or environmental restoration. We prefer programs that are building sustainable communities and economies rather than just short-term handouts. We raise the price for the coffee a little bit beyond what we’d normally charge, then donate 100% of the proceeds back to the cause. We don’t make a cent on the venture. It’s our way of joining forces with our customers to donate to these very important efforts.

We’ve found a way to support Haitians as they work to build an economy that can survive without perpetual handouts. Here’s the story.

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Just integrated – Amazon.com Checkout! You can use your existing Amazon.com account to manage payment and shipping addresses on CliveCoffee.com. We also support Amazon PayPhrase which allows you to checkout by entering your unique, two-word phrase and 4 digit pin. This means you can finish your order checkout in like 15 seconds. You can manage multiple ship-to addresses and credit cards with your Amazon.com account, then use them whenever you buy from us.

Who says the little guy and the giant can’t play nice together?

We at Clive Coffee are always on the lookout for new equipment that delivers style and performance. We’ve just added the Ascaso Dream Espresso Machine to our lineup, since it fits those criteria perfectly.

These powerful little Spanish-made machines feature a sleek design and quality components. We always recommend using freshly roasted, freshly ground coffee for a good shot of espresso, but if you’re into pods the Dream can handle those too.

With a heavy brass boiler, brass grouphead, and chrome-plated brass portafilters, the Dream offers excellent temperature stability. It’s easy to use, too: just flip the toggle switches to engage the pump or turn on the steam wand. Dual thermometers for the grouphead and steam wand ensure that you’ve got the right temperature to make perfect drinks.

If you’re looking for sleek, retro styling and performance in your home espresso machine, the Ascaso Dream can’t be beat.

We just received a shipment of the new Hario V60 Glass Coffee Dripper. In Japanese, Hario means “the King of Glass,” and Hario has earned that reputation by manufacturing high-quality glassware since 1921.

The V60 Coffee Dripper features spiral ridges on the interior to give the coffee grounds more space to “bloom.” Since the glass is transparent, it’s easy to see what is going on during the brewing process. A large hole at the bottom allows you to control the speed of extraction better than coffee drippers with small holes.

If you’ve got a pour-over bar, the plastic base on the V60 is easily popped off so you can nest the bottom of the cone in the stand. If you don’t have a pour-over bar, the V60 rests stably on a mug so you can just brew a nice, quick cup for yourself.

Irish Coffee is a St. Patrick’s Day tradition that marries the warmth of good coffee with the Celtic spirit of Irish whiskey.

We’re normally purists around here. No cream or sugar. Just great, carefully roasted coffee that allows the innate characteristics to shine through. However, sometimes it’s okay to mix a little booze in with your coffee, as long as you can still taste the coffee. We have a few folks around here with Irish in their blood, so we went on a quest to find the best coffee for this honored drink. We coupled our current collection of twelve caffeinated coffees with two beloved Irish whiskeys, Jameson and Bushmills, and tried all twenty-four combinations in four preliminary rounds

Over the past weeks, we assembled a tasting panel with impressive credentials—a bartender, several professional coffee tasters, and multiple members of an Irish family–to help us judge the twenty-four combinations, methodically rating and narrowing down the selections. We finally found the perfect combination to recommend to you, for your Irish Coffee drinking pleasure, just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. It was hard work, but someone had to do it.

Our winning combination?

Brazil Organic Mogiana and Jameson. This combo won us over with its chocolaty and nutty attributes, creating such a pleasing cohesive smoothness that is both comforting and festive.  It’s a St. Patrick’s Day celebration in a cup.

But for those who say Jameson is too good to mix in a drink, you will be happy to know our close runner-up coupling is Papua New Guinea Kigabah and Bushmills; a well-rounded combination with hints of peaty earthiness. Nice fruit flavors develop as it cools.

The Perfect Irish Coffee Recipe:

1 shot Jameson Irish Whiskey
1 ¹/₂ teaspoons sugar
5 oz Brazil Organic Mogiana coffee
Heavy cream, whipped

Pour a shot of Jameson into a warm glass or mug (preferably one with shamrocks and a gold rim).

Add the 1 ½ t of sugar to dissolve in the whiskey.

Pour in hot coffee, leaving room.

Top with cool whipped cream.

Do not mix; just enjoy sipping the hot coffee through the cool cream. Let the flavors blend in your mouth and enjoy with an Irish toast from us to you!

Our friends are the best friends, loyal willing and able.
Now let’s get to drinking! All glasses off the table!

Sláinte!