Starbucks getting Clover coffee machines? $2.50 cuppa joe?
11:27 am February 16th, 2008 by Sal Cangeloso
Bloomberg is reporting that Starbucks is going to be putting $11,000 coffee machines in some select shops and testing out premium coffee. A normal cup of coffee at Starbucks is about $1.55 (they say McDonald’s is about $1.39) but the premium will cost $2.50.
There are a few companies with Clover machines here in NYC (including a brand new Gimme Coffee near my neighborhood) and they charge about $2.25, give or take a bit (I’ve paid both $1.95 and $2.35 at Gimme and I forget what Cafe Grumpy costs).
These machines can make amazing coffee IF you know how to use them. Starbucks’ people will certainly make sure the machines are preset for proper brewing, but it took the people at Grumpy some time to figure things out, and Gimme Coffee is still having issues after their first week or two. Anyway, this would be an interesting move for Starbucks, and I would probably get it when I go to Starbucks (not often), but it’s probably not what they need to turn things around. How about adding some more seating and cleaning those bathrooms?
