# Clover Vacuum-press Brewer

Source: https://dailyextraction.com/methods/clover/
Last updated: 2026-10-19

> The Clover is a commercial single-cup coffee brewer that works like an automated French press. Coffee steeps in a heated chamber; then a piston rises, pulling the coffee down through a fine stainless-steel mesh by vacuum. The barista sets water volume, temperature and brew time for each coffee. Invented by Zander Nosler, it was bought by Starbucks in 2008 and relaunched as the Clover Vertica in 2022.

## At a glance

- Category: Machines, Pods & Commercial (Vacuum)
- Difficulty: Beginner
- Origin: United States
- Also known as: Clover brewer, Clover Vertica, Clover coffee, vacuum-press brewer

## Steps

1. **Choose the settings**: The barista sets the water volume, temperature and brew time for the coffee being brewed.
2. **Add the coffee**: Freshly ground coffee for one cup goes into the brew chamber.
3. **Steep**: Hot water is added and the coffee steeps, fully immersed, like a French press.
4. **Vacuum press**: When the time is up, the piston rises, and the vacuum it creates underneath pulls the brewed coffee down through a fine stainless-steel mesh.
5. **Serve**: The coffee is poured into the cup, and the spent grounds are cleared away.

The **Clover** is a single-cup coffee brewer made for cafés. It combines two old ideas: **full immersion**, like a [French press](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/french-press/), and a **vacuum**, a little like a [siphon](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/siphon/). The coffee steeps in hot water in a heated brew chamber; then a **piston** rises and the vacuum beneath it **pulls** the coffee down through a **fine stainless-steel mesh**, leaving the grounds on top. What made it famous was **control**: the barista can set the water volume, temperature and brew time for each coffee. Here's how it works and its story.

## The short version

- **A commercial single-cup brewer.**
- **Immersion, then vacuum**: steep, then a rising piston pulls the coffee through a steel mesh.
- **Settings for each coffee**: volume, temperature and time.
- **Invented by Zander Nosler**, bought by Starbucks in 2008.
- **Relaunched as the Clover Vertica** in 2022.



## How does the Clover work?

1. **Settings.** The barista sets the **water volume**, **temperature** and **brew time** for the coffee.
2. **Steep.** Freshly ground coffee goes into the brew chamber, hot water is added and the barista stirs. The coffee steeps **fully immersed**, as in a French press. Houstonia reported that the chamber is heated from all sides to hold the brew within 1°F of the set temperature.
3. **Vacuum press.** The brew chamber is also a **piston**, sitting on a filter. When time's up, the piston rises "like an inverted French press", as Houstonia put it, creating a **vacuum** underneath that pulls the coffee down through the filter into the cup.
4. **Serve.** The spent grounds are left on top of the filter, to be wiped away, ready for the next cup.

The patent, US 8,794,127, now assigned to Starbucks, names Zander Nosler among its inventors and describes the machine as automating the steps of the French press. It describes the filter as layers of **stainless-steel mesh**, the top layer with holes of 30–150 microns, typically 70 microns. Because the brew is controlled precisely, each coffee can be brewed the way its roaster intends, and repeated cup after cup.

## A short history of the Clover

- **Before 2008:** **Zander Nosler** founds the **Coffee Equipment Company** in **Seattle** to perfect a single-cup brewer, drawing on research into a commercial machine he'd worked on at the design firm **IDEO**. The earliest patent filing behind the Clover dates from **2005**. Specialty cafés such as **Stumptown** buy Clovers; one Portland paper reported their price at around **$11,000**.
- **2008:** **Starbucks** announces it is buying the Coffee Equipment Company and its Clover technology, and the Clover stops being sold to independent cafés.
- **2013:** Starbucks announces plans to put Clovers in more than 1,000 US stores, but Daily Coffee News says the plan "never came to fruition".
- **2022:** Starbucks announces the **Clover Vertica**, which it says combines **vacuum-press technology** with precise control of **water temperature and brew time**. It needs no paper filters, grinds and brews a cup in about a minute, and offers up to six coffees.
- **By 2025:** Starbucks' 2022 plan was to have the Vertica in all its US company-operated stores.

## What does Clover coffee taste like?

Because it filters through **fine stainless-steel mesh** rather than paper, more of the coffee's oils reach the cup than with a paper filter, as with other metal filters. The real point, though, is **consistency**: the same coffee, brewed to the same settings, every time.

## Clover vs other brewers

| | Clover | [French press](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/french-press/) | [Siphon](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/siphon/) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| How it brews | Immersion, then a piston-made vacuum | Immersion, then press | Vapour pressure, then vacuum |
| Filter | Stainless-steel mesh | Metal mesh | Cloth, paper or glass |
| Control | Programmed per coffee | By hand | By hand |
| Where | Cafés | Home | Home and cafés |

*General guidance only. The Clover is a commercial machine, used by trained staff following the maker's instructions.*

## Clover vs other methods

- **[Siphon](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/siphon/):** the vacuum pot that inspired many café brewers.
- **[French press](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/french-press/):** full immersion with a metal filter.
- **[Alpha Dominche Steampunk](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/steampunk/):** another programmable café brewer.
- **[Automatic drip](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/automatic-drip/):** filter coffee by machine.

Explore every machine method in the [machine chapter](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/machine/).

## Words used in this guide

- [Immersion vs percolation](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/immersion-vs-percolation/): Immersion brewing steeps all the coffee in all the water at once, as a French press does.
- [Steeping](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/steeping/): Steeping is leaving ground coffee to sit in water so its flavour dissolves out, as in a French press or cold brew.
- [Metal filter](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/metal-filter/): A metal filter is a fine stainless-steel mesh that holds back coffee grounds, as used in a French press plunger and some reusable pour-over filters.

## FAQs

### How does a Clover brewer work?

It steeps the coffee in hot water, fully immersed like a French press, in a chamber that is also a piston. When the time is up, the piston rises, creating a vacuum underneath that pulls the coffee down through a fine stainless-steel mesh, leaving the grounds on top to be wiped away. The water volume, temperature and brew time can be set for each cup.

### Who invented the Clover?

Zander Nosler, who founded the Coffee Equipment Company in Seattle to develop it, drawing on research into a commercial machine he'd done while at the design firm IDEO.

### Does Starbucks own Clover?

Yes. Starbucks announced it was buying the Coffee Equipment Company and its Clover technology in 2008, and launched the Clover Vertica in 2022. The Clover patents are now assigned to Starbucks.

### What is the Clover Vertica?

Starbucks' newer Clover brewer, announced in 2022. Starbucks says it combines vacuum-press technology with precise control of temperature and brew time, and told Food Republic it grinds and brews a single cup in about a minute, with up to six coffees to choose from. In 2022 Starbucks planned to have it in all its US company-operated stores by 2025.

### Can I buy a Clover for home?

It's a commercial machine, made for cafés. Early Clovers were reported to cost around $11,000.

## Sources

- [Starbucks plans US nationwide launch of Clover Vertica brewer](https://dailycoffeenews.com/2022/03/16/starbucks-plans-us-nationwide-launch-of-clover-vertica-brewer/)
- [The fancy Starbucks coffee machine that connoisseurs should know about](https://www.foodrepublic.com/1861268/starbucks-clover-vertica-machine/)
- [Starbucks to introduce Clover Vertica single-cup brewers](https://www.vendingtimes.com/news/starbucks-to-introduce-clover-vertica-single-cup-brewers/)
- [US8794127B2: Machine for brewing a beverage such as coffee and related method](https://patents.google.com/patent/US8794127B2/en)
- [Clover coffee: the holy grail of caffeine](https://www.houstoniamag.com/eat-and-drink/2013/12/clover-coffee-the-holy-grail-of-caffeine-december-2013)
- [What’s the Clover Vertica coffee machine at Starbucks?](https://www.clearlycoffee.com/whats-the-clover-vertica-coffee-machine/)
- [Clover innovates the coffee maker](https://konigi.com/blog/clover-innovates-coffee-maker)
- [Holy platinum percolators! Stumptown’s $11,000 coffee makers](https://wweek.com/portland/blog-13211-holy-platinum-percolators-stumptowns-11000-coffee-makers.html)