Call that kawfee? New York embraces better brew

By Christine Kearney

NEW YORK (Reuters) - At a Manhattan coffee bar, an ultramodern machine whirls and zips a selection of beans from clear silos of freshly roasted coffee beans through plastic chutes to be instantly ground and brewed to order.

While New Yorkers were once satisfied with generic deli brew "to go," demand for specialty coffee bars and expert baristas is growing, coffee experts say.

Seeing themselves as the next step up from chains such as Starbucks, independent cafes have sprung up in the city, roasting their own beans and using the latest by-the-cup techniques or experienced baristas to grind and brew rich, creamy coffee and espresso-based beverages.

The coffee palates of New Yorkers are closing in on those of their sophisticated West Coast counterparts in Los Angeles and Seattle, said Mike Caswell, a former Starbucks engineer who designed the futuristic-looking machine for his cafe, Roasting Plant, which opened last year.

"Coffee culture is catching up in New York," said Caswell, whose machine allows customers to point to jars of freshly roasted beans and choose blend, strength, size and type of coffee beverage. "And with the willingness to advance coffee to the next level, New York is leading the West Coast, which is traditionally more established."

New Yorkers have always thrived on coffee but for some time they lacked good taste, he said. Some are turning to the smaller, independent coffee bars that charge $3 to $4 for espresso.

The trend is up nationally as well. Seventeen percent of U.S. adults are drinking gourmet coffee daily this year, up from 14 percent in 2007, according to the National Coffee Association of USA preliminary 2008 survey.

Manhattan's Cafe Grumpy is famed for its "Clover" coffee machine, which like Roasting Plant grinds and brews each cup of coffee to order. Grumpy charges between $2.25 and $6 for a cup depending on what bean you choose.