PODcast #56 : Espresso Pods News

Welcome to The PODcast, PodMerchant's newsletter of espresso pod news, education, tips and deals. Back issues of The PODcast are available online.

Espresso Elucidation

Nemox PAUSA and ESPRESSSO

In PODcast #55, I talked about pod-only espresso machines, made a recommendation for the FrancisFrancis! X6, and also talked about what I call "jaws" type espresso makers. A few attentive readers wrote in asking for purchasing recommendations for this type of machine. Searching for "jaws" machines available in the US yielded very few results. I did find a couple of these machines that seem to have an acceptable presence in the U.S. They are the Nemox PAUSA and Nemox ESPRESSSO Cremalatte (yes, there are three S's).

The PAUSA is a simple pod-only machine using my preferred means of holding the espresso pod. The lever on the left side opens and closes the "jaws," or brewing chamber. There is no steam wand. This machine uses a thermoblock to heat the water instead of a boiler. I consider the thermoblock to be superior to the type of boilers used in home machines.

As you will see in the Specifications and Catalog, the manufacturer makes more than one configuration of this model. However, to my knowledge, only the basic machine is available in the U.S.

PAUSA Specifications | PAUSA Catalog PDF

The ESPRESSSO (yes, there really are three S's) Cremalatte is a more upscale machine with a similar, though more advanced, functional design. The Cremalatte designation means it has a cappuccinatore attachment for the steam wand. The cappuccinatore dispenses frothed milk on the fly. Steam passes through the device, entraining air, and pulling milk through a hose that has been placed into a small milk container. Steam + air + milk = frothed milk. These systems work pretty well, but keeping them clean and sanitary can be a bit of a chore.

As with the PAUSA, you will see in the Specifications and Catalog that the manufacturer makes more than one configuration of this model, including basic, Cremalatte, and Electronic versions. I could only find the Cremalatte machine available in the U.S.

ESPRESSSO Specifications | ESPRESSSO Catalog PDF

Now, here's the disclaimer: I've never used either one of these machines. So I cannot give you a whole-hearted recommendation, nor even a fully-educated recommendation. I can tell you that the design concept is of the type that I recommend. I have used many similar machines. But I cannot tell you what problems you may have with either machine.

Furthermore, I cannot wholly recommend the two companies that I found that sell these machines. Both 800-espresso.com and espresso-deluxe.com seem to be virtual storefronts for much larger companies selling all manner of items and appliances (i.e., they are not "coffee people"). I am concerned that you may not be able to get meaningful assistance from sales personnel at either online store. Their product descriptions are just boilerplate from the manufacturer, and some of the info represents a different configuration from what is being sold (e.g., 800-espresso.com's description for the ESPRESSSO Cremalatte contains data for the ESPRESSSO Electronic). Buyer beware, and make certain you understand their return policy.

800-espresso.com offers the Nemox PAUSA at $399, and the ESPRESSSO Cremalatte at $799. Espresso-deluxe.com offers the PAUSA and the ESPRESSSO Cremalatte at the same pricing as
800-espresso.com.
 

Coffee News

Coffee's endless health debate is grounded in fact

We've reported on coffee's health benefits in several issues of the PODcast. USAToday recently ran a good article summarizing current findings on how coffee affects your health.

Read the USAToday Article

PodMerchant News

New Private Label Pod Design

I've always been very happy with the flavor and quality of our PodMerchant Private Label pods, but the packaging just didn't reflect that quality. That's now changed. Our House pods are now packaged in our signature logo packaging. On the downside, yes, the price has gone up a bit — the custom packaging is not cheap.
 

Clearance Sale on Old-Design Private Label Pods

We've got some of the original beige-package PodMerchant Blend and Decaf pods still in stock. We've marked them down 15%. Get them while they last.
 

Shipping Charges

After lengthy analysis, we've tweaked our shipping charge calculations, lowering them in most cases. We used to take a huge loss on shipping costs and that had to end. The resulting new pricing was, admittedly, too high in many cases. This led to accusations by some customers of attempting to turn shipping into a profit center. Here's the deal — I know very well that shipping charges are the #1 reason for shopping cart abandonment. My goal is to keep the charges as low as possible without actually loosing money.
 

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Keep on brew'n...


Kevin Garrett, The PodMerchant.