Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/491368
STiR tea & coffee industry international 45 Then there are uses ModBar never an- ticipated. A chocolate shop, for example, installed a steam module. Per module pricing varies by device. Espresso modules start at $US5,399 while pour-over modules cost $3,687. Steam modules are priced at $3,995; the optional second steam tap adds $685. ModBar is not distributed internation- ally now but "we field a lot of internation- al inquiries," Waldron says. "We're going fully international in the second quarter 2015. We have a short list of countries we're working with. That's when we'll be open to international customers." To learn more and for complete specifications visit: www.modbar.com or email sales@modbar.com. By Dan Shryock Where do you turn when your business must deliver quality coffee drinks and you don't have a trained barista on staff? Espresso machine maker Conti, cof- fee producer Malongo and Boyd Coffee Company have teamed to design and produce the X-One Pod, a single-serve, no-fuss machine that turns a restaurant wait staff into a team of skilled baristas. "We designed this because the tradi- tional espresso machines don't fit every application," said Dave Wheeler, Boyd's design engineer in Portland, Ore. "There were traditional machines and super automatic machines but no option in between." As demonstrated during the 2014 Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) conference in Seattle, a booth visitor with no barista training inserted a single-serving pod of Malongo coffee, pressed a button and received a single shot of espresso. "This pod brewer is unique," Wheeler said. "It gives us consistency, it gives us reliability, and it gives us a solution for the lack of (barista) training. Anyone can make a drink and make a good drink." The partnership targets restaurants and other businesses where serving quality coffee drinks is important but not the primary focus. "We service a lot of restaurants, for example," Wheeler said. "We found a tradi- tional espresso machine wasn't working in many of those places. The coffee goes stale. The machine doesn't get used that much. You get operators who don't like it. We wanted to help them make a consistent drink no matter who was the operator." The result was coffee that is individually wrapped so it's always fresh. It's pre- measured, pre-dosed and pre-tamped. "You drop it in and you don't have to touch it again," he said. A temperature sensitive steam arm is automated as well. "We designed and pat- ented a frothing system to make foamed milk without putting in any work," Wheeler said. "You're getting a good, quality espresso every time with a good crema. It's always fresh. There's nothing to worry about, no mistakes to be made." The programmable steam wand includes a "foam/no foam" option and automated flushing. A digital display provides diagnostics in real time. The X-One Pod is a modification on Conti's X-One machine design, Wheeler said, "for a commonality of parts." It's available as a one- or two-group machine. "About 20-25 drinks a day is more than enough to pay for the machine," he says, "and I don't need a trained barista." The X-One Pod sells for $US4,200 in the United States. There are 10 units now in operation, Wheeler said. Boyd Coffee Company holds U.S. distribution rights. The X-One Pod isn't the first product Boyd and Conti have partnered to develop. Conti's new Monte Carlo espresso machine is a Conti/Boyd collaboration, Wheeler said. To learn more visit: www.boyds.com, www.conti-espresso.com or www.malongo.com Quick and Simple Espresso