Specialty Coffee Association Show
PodMerchant is a member of the
Specialty Coffee Association of America, and I attended this year's show in Long Beach, CA. It was a big event and there was lots to see and do. I met many vendors and several new products should be appearing at our online store in the next few months as a result.
The booth at the show that got my attention the most was that of IMA —
Industria Macchine Automatiche, a manufacturer of food packaging machinery. They had on display their CL 123 pod making and packing machine. I spoke at length with IMA's friendly and knowledgeable representatives. I learned much about how pods were made and had some pod mysteries for cleared up for me.
First, a little description of the machine. Ground coffee is introduced into a chute at the top left of the machine. The coffee is compressed into cakes and sealed between layers of filter paper which are then trimmed and inserted into folded foil envelopes which are then sealed. This machine can also count and pack the pods into dispenser boxes. Coffee, paper, foil and boxes in — packaged dispenser boxes of pods out. Very nice.
The left "wing" of the machine where the pods are formed is controlled for atmosphere, temperature, and humidity. It is filled with a nitrogen atmosphere and the foil envelopes are "puffed" with a jet of nitrogen before being sealed. Oxygen sensors sniff for the presence of the freshness-killing gas to ensure that the pods will be fresh many months in the future.
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IMA CL 123
Pod Packing Machine
The left section of the machine has a nitrogen environment, protecting the freshness of the coffee.
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IMA CL 123
Work Flow
Shown with ground coffee entering the input chute at top left. Note rolls of filter paper (yellow), foil wrapper (gold), and dispenser boxes (green).
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Almost Pods
The cakes of compressed coffee before being sealed with the top filter paper.
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Those mysteries that I mentioned before? First, I have been asked if the glue used to seal pods is Kosher. The answer, at least with this machine, is that there is no "glue." The top and bottom filter papers are sealed with a meltable plastic such as polypropylene or polyethylene. These plastics will not dissolve and so it is reasonable to assume that if the coffee is Kosher, then the pod will be as well. (That's all I know about this so please don't ask for further clarification or guarantees).
What about orientation of the pods? Is there an "up" side and a "down" side? Some pods have a clear orientation but most do not (and this trend towards symmetry continues). I have been surprised that the roasters themselves seem to know little about this. But after my discussion with the folks at IMA I can see why. The roasters are roasters and not packaging engineers. It has been said, and I have passed along the "factoid," that the bottom side of the pod is often marked by a circle of small bumps. "What are those bumps for?" I asked IMA. The answer is found in the way the pod is manufactured.
The lower filter paper is sucked down into a cavity which forms the lower half of the pod. The cake is formed and compressed into this cavity (see photo above). The pressure from forming the cake presses the coffee and lower paper slightly into the vent holes used to suck the paper down into the cavity. Hence, the presence of these bumps
does indicate the bottom side of the pod a
s manufactured. Does that mean that this side should be face down in your espresso machine? Probably not. However, if upon inspection, the individual pod has one face deeper than the other, I recommend that that side go downward in the filter basket. I think that as time goes on and as more roasters and pod making companies employ machines of the standard of IMA's we will see fewer and fewer pods in which orientation is an issue.
Another mystery explained is why sometimes pod envelopes are blown up like beach ball. While we've not received any of these in a while, we have gotten these from Lucaffe and Izzo in the past. This causes many problems for us — including cartons bursting and being impossible to stack. Ironically, this unfortunate situation is caused by the coffee essentially being packed
too fresh. You see, when the beans are roasted they give off CO2 (carbon dioxide). Bags of whole beans often have a one-way vent valve to release the CO2 after packing. It turns out that CO2 will continue to be outgassed even from ground coffee if it is ground right after roasting. So if the roaster proceeds directly from roasting to grinding to pod packing, the coffee may still be throwing off CO2 after the foil pouch is sealed, resulting in painful swelling. (CO2 retards oxidation so this should not cause freshness problems).
If you are interested in learning more about IMA's pod making machine, we have posted their
CL 123 Product Brochure (Adobe PDF).
We are now stocking pods from Mokarabia. Please see our Featured Product in this issue. Mokarabia is a premium coffee and priced accordingly. From their website: "Caffe' Mokarabia is the creation of Mokarabia S.p.A. of Bologna, Italy. Mokarabia enjoys a world-class reputation with historical distinction. It is the premiere coffee produced by the Zanetti family of Bologna, coffee traders since 1700. Over the centuries, the Zanetti’s have become experts in the cultivation, processing, selection, roasting and preparation of fine coffees."
This issue's Featured Product is
Mokarabia Arabica Espresso Pods.
Mokarabia Arabica is a
100% Arabica blend, meaning it is a blend of 100% Arabica beans from multiple growing regions (see our
Coffee Primer). I have not yet been able to find out the origin of the beans.
Starting with the pod, there is no overt marking of orientation. It should work well with either side up. The pod is nicely formed and firm with no coffee grounds on the outside. The filter paper appears to be unbleached.
The crema is pretty good for a 100% Arabica coffee (Robusta beans create much more crema than Arabica beans). On my machine, the crema is hazelnut colored, or about the color of a leather saddle (I suppose that hazelnut is the preferred descriptor as saddles are not quite as tasty...) The body of the crema is fair, clinging somewhat to the walls of the cup as it is consumed. The aroma is excellent. In addition to the usual toasty, malty aromas, there are faint candy-like smells like butter toffee. The taste is smooth and chocolatey. It is a well balanced blend without oddities or flavor "spikes". I really enjoy it. The body, like the crema, is moderate. Not thin, not grainy.
Note: This is a premium coffee and the subtle aromas and flavors that make it worthwhile will be lost in a machine that is not clean and in excellent working order. I would not recommend this coffee if your machine needs cleaning. We do sell
Urnex CleanCaf for such occasions.
