Our new “Best coffee” choice

March 15, 2010

By Steven Greer, MD

Almost all restaurants and coffee shops currently neglect coffee and treat it like a commodity on the menu. Major coffee chains, ironically, sell fancy lattes more than “regular” coffee and offer just one choice of old, stale, bitter brew. There is a big demand for a coffee house with a full-time barista that would offer a variety of beans, ground on the spot, and brewed on a cup-by-cup basis. Battery Park City now has such a haven: Kaffe 1668.

Just a 5-iron distance north of Ground Zero, across from Whole Foods, behind a low-key storefront, is Kaffe 1668. The most unique aspect of the place is that they brew each coffee on a Clover machine. Looking much like a combustion engine piston with the head removed, the freshly ground coffee is put onto the cylinder. As it depresses, the hot water is turned on and within a minute the brewing process is complete.

Interestingly, we were told that these Clover machines are no longer sold. Seeing the wave of the future, Starbucks bought the company and plans to launch their own line of custom coffee shops.

Approximately five different whole beans are available at Kaffe 1668, ranging by geography from Colombia to Africa. Espressos are also served, as well as an extensive tea list. For in-house customers, the cups are ceramic, not paper, which makes a difference. Surprisingly, the cost of one of these super-deluxe cups of coffee ($2.60 to $3.90) is less than the unpalatable lattes at national chains.

This concept of custom brewing coffee on an individual cup basis is already spreading. The New York Times recently featured numerous new custom coffee houses.