PODcast #57 : 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 Elucidations

Nemox PAUSA, ESPRESSSO and EPS Machines

The last two issues of the PODcast have dealt with pod-only espresso machines. It looked as though I had found a reasonable recommendation in the Nemox PAUSA and ESPRESSSO machines. An astute customer directed my attention to the Nemox Special Espresso EPS, an inexpensive pod-only machine. While it isn't a "jaws"-type machine as I have discussed, it is pod-only and may be a good, inexpensive machine. I decided to purchase a Nemox Special for the purpose of evaluation.

In actually trying to acquire the machine, I discovered that the product has been discontinued. But not just this model — apparently all Nemox espresso machines. Despite continuing to be offered at online stores, I think you will find that they are simply not available. It looks like my investigation into Nemox machines has hit a dead end. Thus endeth the lesson of Nemox and the Jaws of Espresso.

OK, now what? It's Sunday afternoon, the PODcast must go out Monday (it's already a week late), and I've had to throw away a week's worth of writing because I just discovered that the machines I've been writing about are no longer available...

And so, I delve into the voluminous back issues of the PODcast to present you with a hopefully edifying elucidation on espresso machine boilers:
 

What it all boils down to...

There are three basic ways of constructing the heating portion of an espresso machine: boiler, thermoblock, and heat-exchanger boiler. Let's start with the construction most likely to be used by PODcast readers.

Boiler machines are the typical home or office espresso machine. Water is pumped into a heated chamber where it is raised to around 203 F. When the user switches on the pump, cold water is pumped into the chamber forcing hot water out of the chamber and then through the pod or ground coffee. This is basically like the water heater in your home. And like a water heater, it can easily run short on hot water if you try to use too much too quickly — that is, it has a definite recovery time between shots which should be heeded. When the user wants steam for frothing milk, the boiler is heated to the boiling point of water. When the valve is opened steam issues from the steam wand. To make coffee again, the boiler must cool back down to coffee brewing temperature. Attempts to pull shots when it is still too hot will result in sputtering and burned coffee. Temperature gauges or indicator lights are useful on such machines that must change their boiler temperature. The above photo shows the brass boiler in a FrancisFrancis! X6.

Thermoblock machines work by having a heat-exchanger made from a block of brass with a serpentine path cut into it through which the water flows. By the time the water exits the block its temperature should be the same as the block. The block should have enough thermal mass to prevent the flow of water from decreasing the block's temperature. This system is also used to heat water in homes. You may have seen under-sink hot water heaters — this is generally how they work. I've heard some negative attitudes towards this system as though it was somehow inferior to a boiler. I disagree. In my experience this system has better thermal stability and has a much better recovery time than a boiler machine. The Ascaso Dream with Fixed Filter Holder (which we used to sell but is no longer available) is such a machine and one that I can recommend highly. The Grimac Nuvola Terry and its cousins also use thermoblocks and there are few espresso machines that make better espresso from pods. Actually, the Terry has two thermoblocks — one for coffee and one for steam. That's the way to do it — no temperature swings and restabilization. In the photo above you can see the two thermoblocks in a Nuvola Terry.

Lastly, there is the heat-exchanger boiler system. It's sort a of combination of the above two methods and is the method employed in commercial espresso machines and a few prosumer machines. The boiler is quite large in these machines and is not for making coffee at all — its purpose is to provide a nearly endless supply of steam for frothing. A pipe carrying water from the pump to the brewhead runs through the boiler, picking up heat from the surrounding hot water. This is the heat-exchanger. The boiler acts like the above-mentioned thermoblock to heat the water in the pipe. The water in the pipe and the water in the boiler do not intermingle. This system is generally quite expensive as it requires a lot of hand work in brazing and bending the copper tubing. Shown above is the heat-exchanger boiler in an Elektra A3.

The Astra Pro is the least expensive machine that I know of with a heat-exchanger boiler. The Astra is also designed with pods in mind (both E.S.E. (single) and double shot) and is made in America. I have a lot of personal experience with the Astra Pro. Astra machines are a good choice for commercial establishments, offices, and serious espresso hobbyists. If you are interested, please call Astra for pricing and tell them PodMerchant sent you.
 

Coffee News

Coffee and your Health

The PODcast has reported several times before about the health benefits of coffee. More good news.

First, studies indicate that coffee drinking offers some protection against head and neck cancers (generally oral and pharynx cancers). The association is more reliable among those who are frequent, regular coffee drinkers, consuming more than four cups of coffee a day. Full report at Science Daily: Coffee May Protect Against Head and Neck Cancers

♣

This report shows promise of caffeine offering protection against skin cancer. Several studies have shown that people who regularly drink coffee or tea seem to have lower incidences of non-melanoma skin cancers. Full report at Live Science: Caffeine May Kill Some Cancer Cells

For more information on the health benefits of coffee, see PODcast Issue #1, Issue #2, Issue #11, and Issue #32.

♣

I found this story to be very interesting and the idea useful. Research shows promise of developing caffeine measuring test strips that drinkers could use to determine the amount of caffeine in a drink. Could be useful for the caffeine-sensitive (which increases with age). Unfortunately, this article is from 2006 and I can find no news since. Too bad...

Full report at Live Science: Portable Dipstick to Measure Caffeine
 

PodMerchant News

Price Reduction on Giamaica Blue Mountain

Ahhh... the mysterious allure of the world-renowned Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee. We've been carrying Lucaffe's Giamaica Blue Mountain pods for a while now. But they're just so expensive that we can't move them at a reasonable profit margin. So we've reduced the price from $25 for a bag of 10 down to $19.80 (still not what you'd call cheap). Get them while they last. We won't be stocking them again.
 

Price Increase on illy

I hate to raise our prices on the already expensive illy brand, but illy just raised their wholesale pricing by 6%.
 

New Private Label Pod Design

Repeating our ever-so-exciting news of last month, our PodMerchant Private Label 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, but I wanted packaging that reflects our business's attitude of professionalism.
 

Clearance Sale on Old-Design Private Label Pods

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

Facebook

Please visit our Facebook Page! We post updates on product availability, coffee-related stories, photos, and videos to our Facebook page. Press on our Facebook Page and you'll get up-to-date news and coffee stories posted to your Facebook News Feed. We also have a discussion board.

PODcast Discount Coupon

PODcast subscribers get a 10% discount* coupon with each issue. Just enter the code below on the Shipping Selection screen during checkout.

• The discount does not apply to illy Caffe' products.
• Coupon expires when the next issue is published, or at the end of the next month following publication of the issue, whichever comes first. This means you need the current coupon code from the current newsletter!
• Only one coupon per subscriber per issue.
• For more information, please see our PODcast Coupon FAQ.

The subscriber version of this newsletter contains a Coupon Code for 10% your next order. Be sure to subscribe to take advantage of this discount.

Keep on brew'n...


Kevin Garrett, The PodMerchant.