Of course, I'm like the last person to report on Starbucks acquiring Clover, but… Well, wow. This, in addition to the retraining thing, in addition to slashing prices makes for a very interesting season for the ’bucks guys, indeed. Not to mention the rest of us!
I have a bunch of thoughts about this, as I'm sure we all do.
(1) What will Starbucks' coffee taste like brewed on a Clover? Will they have specific coffees set aside for the machine?
(2) How does this positively enormous company plan to train thousands of employees to work such an incredibly sensitive and complicated machine? The logistics alone are mind-boggling, unless some major reconfiguring of the technology is in order. Fascinating!
(3) What does this mean for specialty coffeeshops that already own these units? Will this have any long-term impact on parts/servicing/warranties, since the product will no longer be available outside of the Starbucks brand?
(4) I'm curious about the decision by Clover's founders to sell the company to anybody (Starbucks or otherwise) and would be really interested to hear what they have to say about it. Big ups to them, though, both for having developed the technology and for what I'm sure was a lucrative move for them. What an exciting development this must be! But more info! More info! Please! We're desperate.
Oh, wait, Clover folks respond on their website! What an age of miracles we live in!
Coffee. We believe in it.
You've known all along that we share your passion for brewed coffee. Since day one, our website has broadcast those five short words.
We are proud to announce that the Starbucks Coffee Company has entered into an agreement to acquire The Coffee Equipment Company. This merger will take our passion for coffee, hardware and innovation to the biggest possible stage. The Clover revolution couldn't have happened without all of our friends—the roasters, the baristas, the cafés, and the growers. The revolution lives on.
So interesting. I don't doubt these guys thought long and hard about this decision, but I'm anxious to hear/read more about the details as they roll in. Tonx has some interesting things to say about it; I recommend we start there.
Any further thoughts, links, knowledge you'd like to share? Tell it to the Press Pot.
