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January 8, 2009
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The hot issue January can get you thinking about hot — what’s was hot last year, what’s going to be hot this year, how hot can I make the heater and still afford to pay for it. Here is a brief guide to what’s hot — from hot chocolate to the hot new way to heat your house. Hot hot heat, part 1 With New Hampshire instituting new regulations aimed at making biodiesel more available, heating with biodiesel may become a more accessible way to warm up. Biodiesel is either a vegetable oil or an animal fat that has been processed to remove its glycerin or essentially its fat. The result is a product that burns much more cleanly. That clean burn helps to clean out diesel-powered engines and help them run more smoothly. On the heating front, biodiesel or bioheat has the same effect, as it can drastically reduce harmful emissions, while also making for a smoother heating process, officials said. John Rymes, vice-president of Concord-based and family-owned Rymes Propane and Oil, said biodiesel is a broad term that refers to a fuel that is produced with naturally occurring ingredients, such as soy beans or animal fats. Rymes’s company (www.rymesheating.com) has been selling biodiesel for about five years now. His company is also home to New England’s only biodiesel blending facility, which is in Keene. Rymes said his company’s main focus for biodiesel is for off-road purposes, specifically home heating. The typical heating blend of biodiesel is a 5-percent blend (B5), which is “virtually seamless” with most oil heating systems, Rymes said. In fact, any customer in the Keene area using oil heat from is currently burning B5, he said, whether they know it or not. The company is able to sell biodiesel to customers at the same rate as regular heating oil or at a discount, he said. Rymes says he is fielding more and more calls every day from customers or people interested in purchasing biodiesel. Biodiesel is doing two things — cleaning up emissions from furnaces, even with just a small percentage of biodiesel, while also reducing the country’s dependence on foreign oil. Even at a 5-percent blend, biodiesel can displace a substantial portion of oil, Rymes said. “When you add these small portions up, these oil-producing nations will feel this,” Rymes said. “I think it’s healthy for the entire community.” Rymes tries to keep the environment in mind when choosing which biodiesel to buy. The company goes with recycled products so as not to use up virgin canola beans or soy beans: “We’ve made a conscious effort to go with recyclables.” Typically, the biodiesel they use comes from recycled animal fat that would otherwise be dumped into landfills, Rymes said. Rymes Propane and Oil, which covers just about all of rural New Hampshire, can’t deliver biodiesel all over the state just yet, but the company would be interested in building additional blending facilities, which would help them deliver all over. The Keene facility cost about $1 million to construct, not including land acquisition, Rymes said. Heating with biodiesel is not all that profitable for heating companies just yet but Rymes is looking ahead. “We’re sold on the future of the product,” Rymes said. “We know people are sick of paying too much for fuel. In order to solve this problem, we all need to come up with alternative energy. We’re betting on the people of New Hampshire and their desire for change when it comes to energy policy.” Visit www.biodiesel.org. Hot hot heat, part 2 Oil prices may be down now, but no one seems to be suggesting they’ll stay down. And even with prices so low, there are still savings to be had — in the form of pellets. Considering that December’s historic ice storm initially left about 430,000 New Hampshire residents without electricity, people have been on the lookout for alternative heat sources before and after the storm, and for many the alternative of choice has been pellet stoves. Pellet stoves can come in different shapes and sizes. Some people use them to heat their entire home, while others look to them as a supplemental heating source for a particular room or section of a home. Wood pellets are made from dried and compressed sawdust and chips. The pellets have an extremely efficient burn compared with regular cord wood and help keep the waste from sawmills and pulp-and-paper operations from making its way into landfills. “It’s all completely wood, but it’s stuff that otherwise is wasted,” said Jennifer Nickulas, spokeswoman for Pelletsales.com, which is based in Goffstown. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal last week, the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association said pellet-stove sales compared with 2007 were up 168 percent through the third quarter of 2008. “When you look at the macro point of view of the country, it makes a lot of sense,” said Jon Strimling, president and CEO of Pelletsales.com. Strimling said pellets, which have caught on big time in Europe, are domestically produced, which reduces the need to import oil. “It’s harvested by Americans, grown on American soil, and they actually have the added benefit of being carbon-neutral,” Strimling said. Pelletsales donated several tons of pellets to Bedford, the Salvation Army in Manchester and the New Hampshire State Emergency Operations Center to help people who lost power in the ice storm. It will be easier now — more than ever — for people in the United States to make the shift to pellet stoves. Beginning Jan. 1, the federal government will implement incentives for homeowners looking to purchase pellet appliances. People can receive a tax credit of up to $300 toward the purchase of a pellet stove or a furnace. The government is also offering tax incentives for people making other improvements to their homes to make them trap heat better. In Europe the incentive is up to 40 percent, but Strimling is encouraged by the overall direction the country is taking. “It’s an important first step,” he said. “It’s at least a small step in the right direction.” Using pellets for heat helps to stabilize heating costs, as Strimling said pellet prices have remained stable for more than 10 years, which is unlike any other type of fuel. Pellets are still a cheaper alternative, even now with oil prices low. Regardless, prices aren’t expected to stay low. “We don’t know when it will occur, but we do know it will occur,” Strimling said of the inevitable rise in oil prices. “There’s a sincere feeling that [people] don’t want to be importing oil and burning it,” Strimling said. “Why burn oil?” Beyond oil and electric, pellets can offer a more efficient option than wood stoves with all the same environmental benefits. Pellets offer six times the energy density of original wood. Pellet stoves are easier to use; they typically require the owner to dump a bag of pellets into the stove about once a day. A wood stove would need to be stoked several times throughout a given day, while also bringing in more dirt to the home, Strimling said. For people who do have wood stoves, pellet companies are starting to offer a brick product, which is basically a large pellet, that can be burned in wood stoves. Bricks are much more efficient than logs. One ton of wood bricks would be the equivalent of about 1.5 tons of dried cord wood. Pellets tend to be cheaper than purchasing wood for stoves as well. Different systems for pellets are emerging where pellets are automatically fed into furnaces and boilers, meaning there is no fuel handling for homeowners. Pellet sales would deliver pellets in bulk to people with those systems and blow pellets through a hose into a bin in a person’s basement or garage. “We think it will open up new markets,” Strimling said. “Granted there are costs to install new appliances, they know the next time [oil] spikes, they’ll be glad they did.” The hot ticket 2008 seemed like a fairly dismal year for many music venues around the state. Both the IOKA Theater of Exeter and the Stone Church of Newmarket fell to financial woes, and with the country in a recession, people began cutting back on entertainment expenses. Tupelo Music Hall in Londonderry seemed to be the exception, consistently drawing popular musical acts like The English Beat, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Rickie Lee Jones, and Bo Diddley and comedians like Paula Poundstone and Gallagher. Not only has Tupelo brought in big names, it’s bringing in big numbers for audiences, consistently selling out shows. “We sold out 70 percent of our shows in 2008,” said owner Scott Hayward. “I don’t know what our final numbers are for the year yet, but we’ve probably done about 30 to 40 percent better this year. Each year we get a little better, and more of our shows are becoming full-capacity events.” Hayward took over ownership of the spot and renamed it Tupelo Music Hall in 2004, and though he didn’t come from a musical background, as a businessman, he saw the opportunity to fill a void in the live music market. “For a long time there have pretty much been two options,” Hayward said. “The large venue like The Palace or the Capitol Center that seats 800 to 1,200 people — or the local bar, which often times doesn’t have good sound systems or are noisy and small. There just weren’t any really good mid-sized music venues.” So, besides size, what sets Tupelo apart from other live music places in the state? Hayward sees a couple of crucial factors in its success. “We run on a different model than other places,” he said. “We’re an all-ages, BYOB room, which makes for a fairly inexpensive night for people,” he said. “Our state-of-the-art sound system also makes us different. A lot of artists have really responded to it because they like to play small rooms, or do acoustic shows, and a lot of other places just don’t have the sound system they need, or even the crowds they want.” Though ticket prices range anywhere from $20 to $75 (one show with The Alarm, The English Beat and The Fixx fetched $100 a ticket), people are paying for more than the music. “We have an extremely tight niche,” Hayward said. “At Tupelo, you may pay $65 to see someone like Joan Osborne, or you could go to a place like the Capitol and see her for $40, but you wouldn’t get the intimacy. Our venue is essentially the stage, so you can sit right next to it — right by the performers.” Hayward sees the Londonderry location and Tupelo’s unusual New England-style structure (the hall looks more like someone’s house than a place where Richie Havens has played) as assets, rather than liabilities. “Because of where we are, we don’t have walk-up traffic like some other places, but we are a destination for people,” Hayward said. “We pick up a lot of Boston crowds, as well as artists who have maybe just played Boston and stop by on their way further up north. If we were in Concord, I don’t think we’d do as well.” The closings of entertainment venues like the Stone Church and the IOKA don’t faze Hayward, but he does see their impact on the state. “I don’t think their closings have necessarily helped or hurt us,” Hayward said. “I think what it’s done is that it’s made us the only game in town, which is unfortunate, because it means that these big artists who would normally come in a few times a year will now come in maybe once a year.” What is important for Hayward is for Tupelo to remain a destination for live music, and for him, consistency with the public is key. “We really want to be known as a music venue, and think that in order to be known as a music venue, you need to continually offer live music,” Hayward said. “We average about three shows a week. A lot of music venues in the state either shut down after the summer, or only have music a couple of times a month.” But that’s not to say that Hayward is not willing to shake up the Tupelo name. At one point, he looked at moving the venue to Derry. That plan fizzled, but Hayward says he’s still looking to open other Tupelos in the future here in the state. Fans of the original need not worry, however. Hayward says that he’s not interested in straying far from the formula. “I don’t want to change the way we do things,” he said. “What we have now is working for a reason — Tupelo brings music lovers, and we want that to continue.” Hot chocolate A paper published recently in Science, the journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, described a study by Lawrence Williams of the University of Colorado and psychologist John Bargh of Yale: they found that volunteers holding a cup of hot coffee were more likely to describe a designated other person as warm than were volunteers holding a cup of iced coffee. Put that together with recent research indicating that happiness is contagious, and you’ve got a bona fide good reason to go get yourself a hot beverage. As my first good deed of the new year, I have selflessly sampled hot chocolates from major food chains around southern New Hampshire, taking note of prices, flavors and cocoa sludge levels so that you may be a more informed consumer. These are the places you’re likely to hit when you’re on the run, not near your favorite supplier and in need of a little chocolate warm-up. I’ve done the legwork; now all you have to do is enjoy. Listed in order from worst to best (YMMV, particularly depending on how strong you want your chocolateness), here’s what I found. First, the ground rules: (1) I always ordered a small, if more than one size was available. (2) If asked, I declined whipped cream; if not asked, I accepted whatever they served. (3) We shall not quibble about what is “hot cocoa” and what is “hot chocolate.” This article is about the hot chocolate-flavored milk-involving beverages commonly sold in wintertime. Each restaurant or fast-food joint calls it what they want and makes it how they will. (4) All beverages were purchased on a recent weekend in Manchester. I could not arrange a blind taste test (the drinks would’ve been cold by the time I could get them all back to my lab) but, I swear, I’m fully open with nothing but positive expectations of anyone offering me a hot chocolate. • McDonald’s Premium Hot Chocolate $1.99 This tastes terrible. I don’t know what it is, but it isn’t hot chocolate. Hot something; hot chemicals of some kind, hot plastic, hot yech. This beverage is part of their new “McCafe” attempt to have it both ways — be pretentious and high-end and be unpretentious and low-end. It smells like vegetables. The bad ones. “HOT CHOCOLATE YUM” said the big marquis sign outside. Oh really. • Dunkin’ Donuts White Hot Chocolate $1.69 Tastes like hot white chocolate. Smells like white chocolate. Also, vanilla notes. Creamy, not bad. Reminds me of vanilla pudding, or a vanilla instant breakfast drink, or a bite of creamy sweet white chocolate bark. If you like that sort of thing … it’s passable, but not going to set off any fireworks. • Panera Hot Chocolate $2.19 Unusual flavor. Tastes burned and smokey. Semi-blech. Were it not for the existence of that “what the heck is this?!” entry from McDonald’s, this one would be the bottom of the chocolate barrel. Made with chocolate syrup, it tastes more like hot chocolate milk than hot cocoa/chocolate is supposed to (in my book) taste. Not what I think of when I think hot chocolate. • Dunkin’ Donuts Hot Chocolate $1.69 Smells like toasted Oreos but tastes like Swiss Miss. I wouldn’t be surprised if it is Swiss Miss. To me the cardinal feature of Swiss Miss, what differentiates it from other non-instant hot chocolates/cocoas, is that it leaves a tastebud-numbing residual impression of artificial flavor. This is kinda like that, and not all that satisfying. I know some DD aficionados cling to it, and it’s a decent, unpretentious, inexpensive, convenient warm treat. It just doesn’t move me, as a chocolate-lover. • Gloria Jean’s Hot Cocoa $2.25 This has foam on top, like a cappuccino. It’s on the weak side, not very chocolatey, and tastes marshmallowy. Not really bad, but not really good either. Bland and unmemorable, taste-wise. • Starbucks Hot Chocolate $2.50 Thin, very mild, it smells relatively milky. If you like the idea of hot chocolate but don’t actually like chocolate all that much, have this one. Hardcore chocolate fans will find this weak. It’s also available at Barnes & Noble cafés; I checked and yes, in my experience, it seemed like the same drink in both places (and was the same price). • Starbucks Signature Hot Chocolate $3.10 Halfway between a Starbucks Hot Chocolate and a Godiva is the Starbucks Signature hot chocolate. More chocolatey than the regular Starbucks, but not as chocolatey as the Godiva. When it comes to standard hot chocolate, this would be my fallback from Godiva if I’m not in a salted caramel mood. • Ben & Jerry’s Hot Float $4.99 Not exactly a hot chocolate, this is a hot chocolate float — hot chocolate with a scoop of ice cream thrown in, topped with whipped cream. It only comes in one size — larger than most of the small hot chocolates listed here, but not huge. You can choose any flavor ice cream you want for the scoop; I chose coffee. The first sips were hot and I only tasted the hot chocolate, not any of the ice cream. The drink tasted like Ben & Jerry’s hot fudge sauce — a distinctive and yummy, albeit sweet, flavor. Gradually the beverage cooled and I could taste the ice cream flavor. The whole thing became warm rather than hot, and gained creaminess. Though I would’ve liked to, I didn’t have a chance to try to ferret out the hunk of ice cream for scientific investigation before it melted. Yes, this drink is expensive, but that’s largely because of the scoop of dense ice cream. • Starbucks Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate $3.40 Like the name says. They’ve found the perfect ratio of saltiness, caramelliness, chocolate, and warm. Ooh this is tasty. Not deeply chocolatey, but chocolatey enough and a wonderful combination of flavors. Driving past Starbucks makes me pine for one of these now. • Barnes & Noble Café: Godiva Hot Cocoa $2.47 Mmmmmmmmmm. The chocolatiest of the bunch, this one has a deep, warm chocolate flavor, not too far from an old Starbucks drinking chocolate. It gives some hints of powderiness and there is quite a bit of sludge on the bottom of the cup, but it’s a good sludge — get a wooden stirrer before you leave, and dredge some up for licking. Hot bodies Want heat? Try yoga. “Bikram is, in short, a beginner yoga class that is challenging,” said Pubali Campbell, director of Bikram Yoga Manchester. The 90-minute class always involves the same 26 yoga postures and two breathing exercises. The big difference is that the studio is heated to 105 degrees. The class hasn’t changed in more than 40 years, Campbell said. This way, practitioners can continually work on related aspects, such as developing range of motion, and mental and physical discipline. “It’s a very introspective practice,” Campbell said. Benefits come not from perfecting poses, but from the effort put in, Campbell said. The main difference is heat, but also, class structure can vary in other types of yoga. With this, “you know what you’re getting, that’s where meditation comes in,” Heather DeAngelis said. She’s taught Bikram for about three and a half years, working in Portsmouth and Manchester before opening Bikram Yoga in Concord in September. The first half of the class is made up of stretching and balancing standing postures, and the second is postures on the floor, DeAngelis said. The first reason the studio is kept at 105 degrees is safety, Campbell said. “It’s a lot safer and more effective to stretch when the body is warmed up,” Campbell said. The second is “it forces us to sweat. We believe, in the Bikram yoga community, that there are a lot of benefits to sweating,” Campbell said. There are some arguments that there is no detoxification from sweating, but Campbell points out that many cultures over history have seen it as beneficial. The heat has other physiological effects, including helping to burn fat faster, DeAngelis said. Thirdly, the heat poses a mental challenge, Campbell said. “I can’t do whatever I want, whenever I want to,” is a concept Bikram practitioners want to develop. “We believe that by learning to keep the mind and body strong in the face of stress,” people can be happier, Campbell said. Campbell said the 105-degree thing does keep some people away, but she tries to explain it’s not a problem when you expect it and are properly hydrated. “That’s not to say there won’t be times when the heat will be too much, but we are training our bodies to tolerate more stress,” she said. On the whole, it’s fine, and people who were panicked before they first went into the studio say they wish they had tried it earlier, Campbell said. Bikram can also help alleviate symptoms of different conditions, such as chronic back pain, DeAngelis said. Bikram Manchester specializes in working with new students, since the studio is only four years old, Campbell said. Only a handful have said it wasn’t for them, but there are other ways to incorporate yoga into your life, Campbell said. Campbell said she recommends going to class “as often as possible,” which for some people is once per week. She recommends three times per week for new students, because of the learning curve. While some people practice daily, Campbell recommends giving yourself one day of rest between sessions. Bikram Manchester offers 29 classes per week, with seven instructors. DeAngelis said she came to Bikram as a runner. While training for a marathon, she started to notice knee and hip problems. She was running 30 to 40 miles per week, but “my body felt crappy,” she said. She liked the idea of yoga but didn’t have the patience to practice it until a friend introduced her to Bikram. It is a way for her to blend relaxation and intensity in a workout, she said. After college, she worked in business, marketing and advertising, but always wanted a job where she could help people, which is how she started teaching Bikram.
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