Make Better Espresso at Home With Clive Coffee

It’s important to understand that when we define home barista, it’s only a signifier that indicates that this person is making espresso at home. To call the espresso that home baristas make at home as home espresso is a misnomer because that would imply a fundamental differentiation between making espresso at home and espresso made by professional baristas in a cafè, which would not be accurate; the molecular structure of espresso doesn’t alter just because you’re in a different setting. Whether you’re making espresso at home or in a cafè, you’re going to need to have an espresso recipe as a guide, dial in your grinder to make recipe and taste adjustments, and a device that can apply enough pressure to a coffee puck to create the concentrated beverage we’ve all come to know and love as espresso. 

We welcome everyone interested in home espresso into our humble yet proud home barista family. Welcome to Clive! We are glad to meet you and cannot wait to chat with you about espresso. 

Embark on Your Espresso Journey with Clive Coffee 

We’ve heard countless people describe their initial journey with home espresso as falling down the rabbit hole, faced with endless choices, a cacophony of opinions on internet forums, and even a dedicated language and vocabulary that sounds foreign. What if you can avoid that endless path of confusion and indecision from the start? We can translate the coffee hieroglyphs into plain language that makes sense and that anyone can understand. We made it our life’s mission to not only translate a seemingly opaque world but also not to gatekeep information—arming you with the knowledge to make an informed decision when building an espresso setup from scratch. 

Our entire team of coffee professionals has a combined 250 years of experience in the coffee industry at every level, from barista, producer, roaster, cafè manager, and green buyer—all having the cumulative goal of making home espresso accessible to everyone. 

Why Clive? 

It’s a simple answer. We’re the most thoughtful, knowledgeable, empathetic, creative, and badass coffee professionals in the game. We meet everyone at their level and augment their experiences based on that. We’re not shy about holding people’s hands through the process if that’s what it takes for them to pull a better shot or steam milk like a pro.

• White glove service—pick up the phone and call us. Our equipment library is hyper-curated, so we have a machine and a grinder for every type of home barista and can walk you through options from start to finish so that you can make an informed choice. There is never any pressure to buy; we aim to find the perfect setup based on your unique needs. 
• Clive concierge—after your purchase, you are assigned a Clive concierge to be your contact for anything related to coffee. Do you need to jump on a quick Zoom session to figure something out? Want some one-on-one coaching to nail that latte art? This is our passion, call us. We also love email for those who want a less intimate touch! 
• Post-purchase support— This is what separates us from the rest. Clive is in your corner when your espresso machine goes down. Once you’re a Clive customer, you’re with us for life, even after your warranty expires. Our team of expert technicians can help you through any issue to get your machine up and running again. We’re problem solvers.

Why Does Espresso at Home Taste Better? 

Choosing the right espresso setup is one thing; pulling shots is another matter altogether. We retooled the unboxing experience to be seamless by getting you into machine-specific emails, including a setup video that walks you through setting your machine up step-by-step. If you paired a grinder with your espresso machine, we dial it in for you by adjusting the burr position for free. Why do this? Because most grinders are set up way too coarse from the factory, thus getting you in a range where you can waste less coffee out of the box makes for an easier start. If your first shots are still not pulling like you want, call us, and we will take you through the process step by step to triage your workflow, set you up for success, and build your confidence.

•  Quality—High-quality espresso is achievable when you have the right team behind you (hint: Clive’s team!), and making it at home gives you full control over the coffee choice and the brewing process from start to finish. 
• Convenience—Making espresso at home is the purest form of love and respect for the craft, and it transports the café into your home. Do you not have any good cafés in your area, or do you enjoy espresso at odd hours? Bring the café experience home without any limitations. 
• Cost Effective—While initially a significant investment, making espresso at home will save you money in the long run, especially if you buy coffee daily. Check out our savings calculator to estimate how much you’d save by switching to home espresso. 
• Customization—Making a drink based on your taste and preferences and fully controlling how you get there is paramount. You can brew with a single-origin Kenyan in the morning and a Honduran blend in the afternoon. You can control your brew ratio and the temperature of your brew water, use flow control, tinker with the brew pressure, and pre-infuse for gentler extractions. What you can achieve with home espresso is completely up to you, and the possibilities are endless. 
• Social—Making coffee at home is all about the ritual, the sound your steamed milk makes when you add just the right amount of air, the hum of your pump when you see the beautiful caramel brow crema flow, the feeling of pure bliss when you take the first sip of the day. But isn’t this ritual just that much sweeter when you can impress your family and friends with your barista skills and offer them their own espresso experience? We think so. Coffee is best shared. 

Making espresso at home isn’t about shifting a perspective away from the café but is more concerned with shining a light on the common ground between the café experience and the possibilities of what home baristas can achieve. Clive’s role is nurturing the idea that home baristas can make better espresso at home through a three-pronged approach: 1. Ensuring that we lead you to the correct espresso equipment based on your needs and lifestyle, making your vision a reality.  2. By providing unmatched coffee industry experience and engaging post-purchase support that includes, but is not limited to, coffee coaching, one–on–one sessions, and personalized support. 3. By helping you keep your machine pulling the best espresso possible and being there for you when your machine needs a little TLC. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to making espresso, and Clive Coffee promises to usher you into the espresso promised land one shot at a time. Cheers.