“What’s a Clover machine?”
A few decades ago, I was a dead-serious coffee aficionado, and I used to spend a lot of time debating the benefits and disadvantages of various roasting and brewing techniques, and the machinery that was involved. At the time, the brewing equipment was somewhat rudimentary compared to the modern machines available today, especially the professional-grade ones typically seen in coffeehouses.
The Clover takes the concept of the “one masterfully brewed custom cup o’ coffee” to the next level, by offering professional brewing techniques encapsulated in a convenient device that communicates with CloverNet, a Web-based control and reporting system that provides centralized control for managers.
Oh, and to get one of these machines into your hands, you’ll be paying about USD $11,000… assuming you’ll be able to get one… (Keep reading to find out why…)
Starbucks Steps In
Yesterday, CNN reported that Starbucks rolled out Clover brewing machines at some of its Seattle stores. This is intriguing to me: I would certainly like to sample some Clover-brewed coffee, by selecting several different coffee beans and bean blends that I like and having a Clover percolate out several cups for me. 
But this past April, Starbucks [SBUX] acquired the Coffee Equipment Company, the maker of the Clover equipment and stated that they will no longer sell Clovers to others. Naturally, if you’re an independent coffee store owner, this may pose an obstacle to your differentiation clauses in your business plan.
The Coffee Equipment Company posted their response to the Starbucks acquisition on their original home page. While existing customers are supposed to be able to continue to receive service and parts for their Clovers, no new business will be accepted.
Sense and Sensibility of Exclusivity (For Now)
But, from a business perspective, the CloverNet proposition requires a large interested company the size of Starbucks to be able to flesh out its kinks and mature the technology to acceptable levels. It may be even possible (and desirable) to start selling Clover-like devices sometime in the future with the next generation of CloverNet. With improved economy of scale, the pricing for the future Clovers should dramatically be reduced, and CloverNet may even be ubiquitous enough to work well under cloud computing terms so end users would be able to track their own preferences and brewed cup availabilities across multiple geographic locations. I’d certainly enjoy having my personal Clover communicate with Clovers along my travel routes so I can have a variety of different brewed beverages through time and space. 
N.B.
Here are some pages to help you learn more about the Clover and its manufacturer:
