Welcome to The PODcast, PodMerchant's newsletter of espresso pod tips,
news, education, and deals. This is the December '06 issue — our
fourteenth issue of the PODcast. Back issues of The PODcast are available online.
Espresso Elucidation
It's a Clean Machine...
"It's a clean machine," sang Paul McCartney in the Beatle's classic "Penny Lane." Unfortunately, mine wasn't. I should have known better. And I do know better. But somehow I let my office
espresso machine go for over nine months without cleaning. It happens
gradually so it's not like suddenly one day you notice it. What
happened is this: I had tried our new Aloha Island Kona at home on a brand new FrancisFrancis! X6 and I was absolutely blown away by the flavor. Now, I don't drink much of it, because it is
very expensive, even at wholesale price. But the other day I made some
Aloha Island at the office on my Nuvola Terry, which I had always
thought made great espresso. Where was that fabulous flavor? It was
gone I tell you, gone! It wasn't bad but it wasn't fantastic and it has
to be fantastic. So I got out a package of Urnex Cleancaf
and went to work. After cleaning I tried the Aloha Island again. The
fabulous Kona flavor had returned. Lesson learned — don't let your
machine build up coffee residue.
Espresso Tips
For your maximized espresso enjoyment, we present this issue's tip:
Tip No. 11: This issue's tip expands on our Espresso
Elucidation. To get the best results from Urnex Cleancaf, we recommend
the following procedure. After you've mixed Cleancaf and poured it into
the tank, don't just run it through the machine. I recommend running a
few demitasse-cup-fulls then pausing for several minutes to let the
Cleancaf work on dissolving the coffee residue. Then run a few
cup-fulls again. Pause and repeat until the Cleancaf solution coming
from the spout is clean blue. Be sure to let it rest long enough
between pumping to allow the Cleancaf to work on the built-up residue.
You should also scrub the shower screen and filterbasket with a
toothbrush. Be sure to remove the filter basket and scrub the
portafitler chamber. The shower screen can also be removed to clean on
upstream of it. Residue gets up there too.
PodMerchant News
As Christmas approaches, shoppers are concerned
that products ordered via the Internet won't arrive in time. That can
be true, but we want you to know that PodMerchant usually ships
products the day they are ordered or the next weekday as long as the product is in
stock. If it isn't in stock we'll advise you immediately. Orders placed
by 3 PM Pacific time generally go out that day. We ship orders Monday through Friday.
PodMerchant is located
in Southern California, so UPS Ground to the western U.S. is pretty
quick while Ground times to the east coast are regularly 4 to 5 days.
Note that delays can be expected due to weather and heavier Christmas
shipping load. We do offer 2nd Day Air and 3 Day Select.
PodMerchant Coupons
PODcast subscribers get a 10% discount coupon with each issue. Just
enter the code below on the Shipping Selection screen during checkout.
- Only one coupon per subscriber per issue.
- Coupon expires 35 days after the newsletter is published, or when the next issue is published, whichever comes first.
- Coupons are only valid for PODcast subscribers — we check use of coupons against the subscriber list.
10% off your next order. — Enter code: XXXXXXXX ( subscribers only)
That's all for this issue of the PODcast. Until next issue, wishing
you a Merry Christmas — or a Happy Chanukah — and a Happy New Year!
Kevin Garrett, The PodMerchant.
|