At least Madison's Ancora Coffee Roasters can say they had it first. With my day job at the opposite end of State Street I don't frequent the Ancora on King Street very often these days, however, during a rare recent visit I noticed they had some sort of brewing machine called "The Clover." What is the the Clover? It's an $11,000 coffee brewing machine that brews one cup at a time much like a French press and the cup it spits out is, apparently, one of the best cups of coffee you'll ever taste. Personally, I've never tried a Clover cup, so I can't attest for the much discussed quality and I, honestly, didn't think twice about the Clover at Ancora until I opened my most recent issue of WIRED magazine. In it I came across a feature article about Starbuck's acquisition of The Coffee Equipment Company, the company that makes the Clover.

According to the WIRED article Starbucks will continue to repair and maintain Clovers at independent shops, but, not surprisingly, "it won't sell any more Clovers to independent cafés." The big question: Did the acquisition of The Coffee Equipment Company for the purpose of hoarding the Clover from independent coffee shoppes come before or after Starbucks decided to slash 12,000 jobs?

WIRED's video report on the Clover can be viewed below:

Back when I was growing up in Madison, Williamson Street was known as “The Hippie hole.” Dreadlocked vagrants draped themselves over porches in need of a good structural inspection and there really wasn’t much happening in the direction of hip commerce. As you may know, that has all changed and cool joints have been popping up over the years to create what might be the coolest street in Madison. I’ve been impressed with the thought, creativity, and work that has been weaved into almost every place along what was once a decrepit, neglected, and forgotten part of town. Now, whether the changes have added to the character or taken away is according to your opinion, but I think we would all agree there are some pretty sweet places to eat and drink up and down “Willy St.”

My heart was pounding like a machine gun, eyes wide I strained to focus, a bead of sweat/saliva hung from my lip, this was the great Starbucks coffee run.

As the author of Dane101.com’s coffee review I knew this had to be done. There are five Starbucks in Madison, Wis. and I already knew what I thought of the anti- anti- establishment corporate whore but thought I would give some respect the only way I know how; by beating the living trash out of myself.

I stumbled out of the bed on that Thursday morning and promptly warmed up a cup of coffee. There, I felt better. I had already promised Frankie, that I would go pound some weights with him, so first we suited up and ran to the Princeton club.

This week I hit two coffee shops back to back. The first is the new “Froth House” at 11 N. Allen Street near West High School and “indie Coffee” at 1225 Regent Street “indie” is not capitalized due to the anti-establishment “independents” whom believe capitalization is the work of an oppressive government. (I made that up…..or did I?!??)

Froth House is located in the late “Dancing Grounds” space right off the corner of Allen St and Regent Street. D.G. was definitely one of my classic favorites, where the beans were roasted on site and new concoctions were always coming to the surface. Now Ancora supplies the brew and the place has been opened up a bit relieving the slight cramped feel of the old D.G. Unfortunately I’d have to say that the change lost the “cozy” feel that I liked about D.G. There is some fresh paint on the walls, toning it down with darker colors but I like the bright colors better “one little binger, to brighten up your day….” The coffee is pretty much standard Ancora, which is fine, but it simply doesn’t stand up to the individuality of D.G’s personal blends. I had a muffin, same old standard but I didn’t try the sandwiches, which looked tasty but nothing spectacular. If I lived near by I feel like I would frequent “Froth House” but it gives me little incentive to travel out of my way.

Finally, I’ve found another fine cup of joe! Fair Trade Coffee at 418 State Street has got the goods. I ordered the “dark roast” and it has delivered! But, of course, I also got a muffin, which was tasty, but pickins were slim, four banana nut and some chocolate looking thing was left over, I opted for banana. It was good but my mother spoiled me long ago with the best muffins ever baked. I would like to add here, and I’m unsure whether I have mentioned this before, but I had the worst muffin in my entire life down at the Electric Earth Café on Randall Street. I’ve never tried cardboard but that had to be what it tasted like and I think the culprit is the fact that they freeze the muffins and them thaw them for consumption. Anyone who has eaten frozen pizza straight out of the box knows this is a poor plan. But, back to Fair Trade, among the muffins were also many other choices; bagels, croissants, sandwiches and treats were widely available and due to prior late night munchies known to be delicious.

First, I must apologize, I skipped last weeks CAM in a heated moment of political passion. There was much too much poli-spray to be done and I got caught up. Fortunately, I’m thinking no one noticed that my filth was gone, so with out marks I will continue on this week as if nothing ever happened. But, before I do I’d like to gloat. The Dems took both the House and the Senate this week, thank Buddha and hopefully they will all grow a pair and get dirty with subpoenas and indictments. The moment feels sweet but the real work won’t be done until 2008 when the Dems take over the presidency and maintain the House and Senate. Then we will have progress!

Hello, I am back from my pilgrimage to Kailua-Kona, Hawaii to seek out the most desired “Kona Coffee.” My search sent me down onto the coastal plains, over black lava fields and high up into the jungle. Dotting the landscape are several plantations that include cheesy gift shops, tours, and free samples. Unfortunately all the free samples I had seemed to be sitting much too long, making them taste burnt and watered down. The tours were informative but lacked any startling revelations. Still, their bean, available at all Hawaii caffeine dealers was dark, rich and excellent.

The main hub of black sludge in Kona was the famous “Lava Java” on Ali’i Drive overlooking the ocean surf. Food was excellent here all including the Hawaiian flare of fresh fruit and high prices. The muffins were HUGE and delish including my favorite the mango-oat bran for a reasonable $2.75.

Ladies and Gentleman, I am writing to you live from the east side. Out the window to my right is E. Washington Avenue, for many people their first impression of Madison. As I was growing up in Madison E Wash had always been a blight on our fair city but now a new road welcomes visitors with a planted median and hip business’ have begun to pop up, down the road the new complex housing the High Noon Saloon and The Brink Lounge dominates the E Wash night life, but here at EVP Coffee East 1250 E Washington Av, they dominate the morning life.

I feel especially vulnerable reviewing a shop as I sit within it, maybe they won’t like me and throw my carcass into the fuss on the six lane street outside but upon greeting I know this could never be true. Not only is the barista especially “jacked” this morning, or it seems, but he also takes the time to explain to me the choices I have for my “small cup, for here.”

Hello, this is week five of Coffee Across Madison, an inside look at coffee in the Capital City. Our journey this week brings us to Café Muse at 8410 Old Sauk Rd. just west of the beltline. Formally an Ancora coffee house Muse boasts nice clean cut west side location with decent coffee, some bakery, good sandwiches, wi fi, a fire place and plenty of seating.

To be nit picky, which I am, I’d like to point out that our “for here” cups were simply water glasses filled with coffee. This is a problem because, well, you see, coffee is hot and cups with out handles poses the problem of transporting your brew without burning your hand. As a rule of the universe coffee MUST be served in a cup with a handle!!

Welcome to Round Four of the Madison Coffee World Cup A.K.A Coffee Across Madison. Last week we took a look at Espresso Royale at the bottom of State Street, this week we’ve moved back to the near west side to sample Ancora at 1859 Monroe St. (click "Coffee Across Madison above to see where else we have been)

Ancora is locally owned and operated and proudly roasts their own beans. Being local is always a plus in my book, it helps the money stay in our area and perhaps will bring it to your doorstep down the line. The shop on Monroe has ample seating with the standard two person wood tables as well as a fireplace surrounded by nice comfy couches. As an interesting touch, along the walls was nice local artwork featuring excellent photographs of Wisconsin landscapes.

Hello and welcome to the third installment of Coffee Across Madison a project aiming to reveal which coffee shops are the finest in Madison. Thus far we have sampled tasty darks at EVP coffee on Mineral Point Rd and fluffy muffins at Victor Allen’s on Monroe St. Lets hack our way to the very heart of Mad Town along the main artery on the “street with no cars” but plenty of buses, State Street. Espresso Royale at 650 State Street (there is a second location at 208 State Street) has been a favorite of mine for a long time standing. Perhaps not because of the coffee or even the bakery but because in the summer months patrons may sit outside in the sunshine and absorb the air or maybe even the pretty glances from young co-eds. But, if this were a dating column I would be out of business and so lets crack into deep darks of “Espresso” as among friends I call it, and reveal what it has to offer to us addicts.

Last week we started this strange trip into the hyper wacky world of Madison Coffee with EVP on the west side. If this I your first time reading, this is a continuing feature on Dane 101 that aims to ultimately put down a review for every single coffee stop in Madison in order to create the official Madison Caffeine Dealer Dossier, subtitled A Man with No Plan but Plenty of Energy.

Looking at EVP it was decided that it was just about perfect for us addicts but clearly lacked sufficient bakery. So next I decided to track down some muffins. My search brought me down the road to Victor Allen’s Coffee at 2623 Monroe St. At my first arrival, which was in the late evening, I was greeted with scores of tasty morsels to choose from. But, at this time of night all left over bakery had been wrapped in twos in order to sell as “day old.” I located a bran muffin married to a cinnamon muffin (At least it tasted cinnamon) for $1.75. The pairing seemed a bit odd; I mean who, in their right frame of thought would be a bran man as well as a cinnamon champion? This being day old I decided not to split hairs and consume the bran and save the cinnamon for later.

Madison Coffee. Why? Because It’s Important!!!

Look, really, I’m a fan. I usually consume a cup everyday. Sometimes I take a day off to “cleanse myself.” They are usually horrible days filled with regret, poor decision-making, bad luck, and dread. Today, as I punch these words, I’m back in the cup, swimming in a black sea of legal high, I’m on coffee.

The quality of my caffeine dealers is important to me, they must call me back, they must be on time, and most importantly they must have a large supply of bakery - mostly muffins, bran muffins - the only way to start the day. I MUST have that movement!!