A different sort of article. Yes ! the Clover is making headlines but it is important to note that it is a brewing machine and does not make espresso type drinks like caffe lattes, espresso, cappuccino, etc. It can be promoted for bringing different types of taste in coffee like chocolate, tobacco, earthy, etc. Also, ironically, as Mr Ayres mentioned about Silver Hill (never been there as I live in Vienna, Austria) - I do have a coffee blog and I have done "cafe crawling" in Cape Town (Mr Minnaar might be interested) and London (Reiss might be interested). If you have time, check www.fromcoffeewithlove.com and the blog too.

Lameen Abdul-Malik, Vienna, Austria

Lameen Abdul-Malik, Vienna, Austria

I have to give you credit for this line "Coffee is for Salma Hayek in black underwear, on a Paris balcony". I could not have said it better even if I tried. Always enjoy your writing. Here are my two cents: I LOVE coffee and agree that a good cup should be something worth your while. I do have to let those of you in the first world that in Sount Africa there is no Starbucks at all. We have a few chains but the best part is that we have independent coffee shops that serve real coffee of the Salma Hayek calibre. So I feel sorry for you with your Starbucks ... I will stick to my local hangout and bounce home afterward.

Pieter Minnaar, Cape Town, South Africa

Yesterday Starbucks in Hong Kong hoped to get more people addicted to their offerings, by providing a free coffee and cinammon danish to everyone.
The cinammon danish was a tasteless, paper-thin slice about the size of a cigarette paper. The regular coffee they gave was so vile that it was undrinkable: a milky, tea-like, lukewarm liquid in a paper and plastic goblet.
Rather than drumming up more customers, this promotion must have put many (including me) off from ever again going there.
It seems that Starbucks is the place of choice for people who don't like the taste of coffee!

Paul Surtees, Hong Kong,

coffee is the new wine & Londinium Espresso are leading the charge educating the masses in London.

Reiss Gunson, London, England

Chemex is an inexpensive, but quality coffee brewing system. A Chemex maker consists of a glass pot, shaped like an hourglass, that features a wooden wraparound handle that ties 'round the middle. It uses filters that are a bit thicker than the sort used for standard coffee makers, and allows for a better, slightly longer maceration period. The Chemex is under $40. I'd recomend the handblown version. Google the name and you'll find a site. It was the invention of a chemist looking to find a better option for making a quality cup of coffee and is the only way I will ever make coffee again.

BTW, it's a much better value than the Brown Betty teapot I purchased in England that was made so poorly that the glazing never set properly and crackled while I washed it upon arriving home.

Marie, Braintree, MA, US

Who has time for coffee?

No wonder the American economy is down the pan.

Thomas Maxwell, Reigate,

You did not say what the bill came to for the wondrous concoction, next time I go down to L.A. can I handle it or should I stick with my Starbucks drip at $1.55 (75 pence)

John W Meadows, Los Altos Hills, California

A Starbucks Caffe latte= "Caffeinated "Froth.

Owain Lewes, Namhae, South Korea