Has Illy found a way to pull the perfect shot?
So it turns out the tried and true process of packing your grounds into your espresso machine's portafilter isn't all that great after all. The folks at Illy contend that water doesn't percolate evenly through the grounds. This leaves you with a shot that isn't as rich as it could be.
To deal with this, they've come up with a small pod packed with grounds that first fills with water, saturating the grounds. As the pressure builds, a valve releases, aeration occurs, and you've now got a rich shot with lots of crema. Mmmm, crema.
Illy will be producing their pod-compatible machines first for their commercial customers. In spring 2008 we will see a modified Francis!Francis! version specifically for the consumer market.
Link: Wall Street JournalLink: Illy
Via: Huffington Post
As a biodiesel user and advocate, I try to keep up with the latest advancements in the rapidly growing movement. Something unheard of just jumped on my radar and I'm completely intrigued: a coffee roaster that runs on biodiesel! 
Now, we always like beer... and during the holiday season we're all about "holiday cheer" if you know what we mean. So imagine how excited we were today to see TWO different blogs about beer over at our friends