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The first Clover to ever grace Western Australian soil is sitting pretty on Richard Muhl’s workbench. Although it’s only paying a flying visit, I thought this was a great opportunity to take a closer look at this infamous machine.

We first started hearing whispers about the Clover in the lead-up to the 2006 SCAA conferences. Clover launched a captivating advertising campaign, with a simple ad featuring a white clover on a black background and small, seemingly insignificant text, luring you in with statements like “taste the real thing. Booth ### SCAA conference.” It worked, I’ll give them that! They definitely had us wanting more of something we knew nothing about; quite a marketing achievement. It was only after Ben and Nolan returned from the 2006 SCAA conference in Long Beach that we actually clued in to its awesomeness and highly criticised hefty price tag!

The Clover on the workbench belongs to Nolan, one of Australia’s best baristas (with the trophy to prove it). Nolan recently handed over the reins of one of Melbourne’s best cafés, Liar Liar, and has an exciting new café project in the works.

Nolan caught Clover fever at the SCAA, and when he returned from California, he brought one of the first machines into Australia. The machine has certainly been put through its paces at Liar Liar and it’s made the trip to WA to get a bit of love from our talented tech guys. Nolan wanted to make sure his unique bit of coffee equipment was in tip top shape in time for the opening of his new Collingwood café, Proud Mary’s.

If you don’t know already, the Clover had a couple years of glory, growth, hype and excitement and was then bought out by Starbucks in 2008. Starbucks has since taken it off the market and it’s become increasingly difficult to get your hands on, making it a rare commodity.

What is the Clover? Essentially, it’s a very pricey single cup brewer. Very pricey — $11,000 USD+! It works on the same principles as an espresso machine — made to order, every time. The only real difference is that instead of brewing an espresso, you’re actually brewing a black coffee brew. No doubt the inspiration came from America’s black coffee culture, with drip brewers stewing in the background, producing nothing more than a cheap and functional cup of coffee. The Clover takes a step up, with variables such as temperature, dwell time (contact time with the water) and water volume all adjustable at the touch of a button. The same variables that we consider with all coffee making processes, only this time, the process is repeatable, easy to use, and fast paced enough for a commercial venue.

We plugged in Nolan’s Clover, set up our deli grinder and took it for a test drive. For some reason, I feel like comparing it to an iPod — minimal buttons and no need for a manual; it’s obviously been well thought out. While it’s extremely user friendly and the adjustments are easy to make, finding the right recipe for different coffees becomes a combination of trial and error and Extract Mojo-ing. The roast profile for a Clover is lighter and the machine itself is likened to an upside down plunger / syphon.

The trickiest part is dialling in the variables, which include temperature, time, volume, dose and grind size. After this, the process is quite simple. If you’ve got someone working hard behind the scenes creating ‘coffee recipes’, the reproducing part of it is a no brainer. The barista needs only weigh out the dose, grind, activate the Clover and pour in the coffee; the rest is taken care of. The filter attached to the piston moves up and down to create a vacuum, separating the grinds, opening valves and pouring out the goodness.

I feel a little bit attached already, but easy come easy go… I know it will have a good home at Proud Mary’s and see plenty of action — which is exactly what it’s meant to do.