Suite 1
118 South Royal St
Old Town Alexandria
Northern Virginia U.S.A.
G’day Team Caffeine, Eric here the ex-pat, doing his tour of duty out in the States!!
This time we’re out to North Virginia as the hunt continues for the ultimate U.S. Espresso, or in this case the CLOVER!
Grape and Bean is a gourmet destination for Northern Virginians looking for a good drop of “vin”, exquisite chocolates, and one of the finest selection of beans around. The store is tucked into the side streets of the cobblestoned and historic Old Town, a superb place fora stroll any time of year. May I also say that the staff here are absolutely some of the friendliest people I have met in this part of the world and will really take time to talk about the selection of coffee beans on offer.
This time we’re out to North Virginia as the hunt continues for the ultimate U.S. Espresso, or in this case the CLOVER!
Grape and Bean is a gourmet destination for Northern Virginians looking for a good drop of “vin”, exquisite chocolates, and one of the finest selection of beans around. The store is tucked into the side streets of the cobblestoned and historic Old Town, a superb place fora stroll any time of year. May I also say that the staff here are absolutely some of the friendliest people I have met in this part of the world and will really take time to talk about the selection of coffee beans on offer.
I certainly didn’t enter the place with the intention of anything other than a delicious espresso, however was quickly told they didn’t serve anything other than a “Clover Press”. Apparently these machines satisfy the gourmet coffee cravings of Americans all over and according to the assistant behind the counter “Is kind of like a fancyFrench press that sucks the water out”. Therefore my recommendation is that if you want a good espresso from Bean and Grape – buy the beans and take them home.
I thought “Why not give it a go?” and chose a Mexican roast from Zaragoza for my individual serve. The texture of coffee from a clover machine is far less viscous in nature, some would say watery even,than a typical espresso, more similar to filtered coffee. A palate that prefers espresso is often going to have a hard time with this style of coffee, no matter how great or expensive the machine purportedly is (this one was $11,000 US bucks worth) it seems to simply produce a slightly better version of the same thing.
My suspicions were confirmed on the first sip – the flavor was light, a little sweet but really thin and I called it a day after a couple of mouthfuls. So while I have to admit, that this clover style coffee is one of the better tasting watery coffees I have imbibed (after ahealthy dose of sugar) it is still not going to light up my radar when I go hunting for the tasty bean.
Sorry guys no beans here but a hell of an experience and a great day out, filled with good chocolates, great wine, really friendly staff and of course the CLOVER; Grape and Bean is a definite place worth visiting.
Sorry guys no beans here but a hell of an experience and a great day out, filled with good chocolates, great wine, really friendly staff and of course the CLOVER; Grape and Bean is a definite place worth visiting.
Thanks mate for the best and the worst that the U.S. has to offer, and remember guys for all the HOTSHOT cafes that Melbourne has to offer check out:
Till next time, keep on caffeining on……. The Caffiend!!
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Coffee: Assorted beans and blends
Yeah, clover coffee is basically equivalent to filter coffee. I don’t think that that’s a bad thing at all. For an Australian, filter coffee is basically non-existent. The only experience that people are likely to have had with it is the stuff from McDonalds. Against that background, yes, sure, filter coffee is crap. In the USA, as you are learning, filter coffee is much, much more common and espresso is the recent arrival on the scene. At its best, I quite enjoy brewed coffee (I use that as a catch-all term for filter/siphon/clover).
Filter coffee is just plain different from espresso, though it has similarities. Comparing the two is like comparing white wine to red or comparing a long black with tea. People will have preferences for one or the other and will develop their appreciation for the nuances of either with exposure to it.
I would argue that there’s as much difference, if not more difference, between different clover coffees as there are between different espresso coffees. Espresso smushes everything down into a more potent package. Sometimes this will magnify qualities of the coffee – like body – and sometimes this will mask them – like your more delicate floral flavours. I think that the ability to discern differences between different coffees brewed as filter coffee is partly responsible for the demand that supports American roasters in buying and selling some of the best quality coffee in the world. We could do a lot worse than have the same happen in Australia!
Even though Starbucks has now acquired the company that manufactures Clovers and is not selling them outside the company, it looks like the Clover might have sparked some enthusiasm for similar brewing methods in Australia. In particular, pour-over filter brewers look pretty attractive. The cost isn’t exorbitant and the brewing procedure is practical in a busy cafe. Toby has been pushing pour-over in Cafe Culture magazine and I am looking forward to his session at the Golden Bean. If and when we start seeing more brewed coffee popping up, let me know if you need a MCR brewed coffee reviewer ;P
Cheers,
Luca
Luca you ROKK my world!!!
Firstly I LOVE your profile pic, try doing that with a clover, hahaha
and yes!! YES!! YES!!!! I would love a review on the place of your choice clover or not fromthe great Luca C…bring it on dude!
email it to me:
steve.agi@melbournecoffeereview.com
What an honour!!!