I have rather a lot of experience with Esbit. Maybe I can help.

It was my primary fuel for an AT thru-hike a few years ago. I used it all but about ten days (when I switched to alcohol because a slip box got lost and I couldn't buy any Esbit).

Very consistently, for the whole trip, cold water or warm, windy or calm, one tablet in a homemade windscreen/potstand brought 20 oz. (approx.) of water to a rolling boil in about six to eight minutes.

My pot is aluminum, about 5 in. in diameter and about 2 1/2 in. deep. The aluminum is completely uncoated. The lid is a tight fit. It was salvaged from a smashed Boy Scout cook kit, around 1949.

There was often enough Esbit left over to keep my dinner simmering for another three or four minutes.

My system is to bring the water to a boil (or very close) and pour off what water I don't need for the food (usually 6 oz. or 8 oz.)into my drink cup, then pour my food into the pot and return it to the heat for a couple of minutes. Then I wrap the pot in my fleece touque and wait another five minutes or so, sipping my drink.

Yes, the Esbit gunks up the bottom of my pot a bit, but I carry a round piece of the green plastic scrubbing sheet to both clean the bottom (as needed) and to insulate the bottom of the pot while it's "cooking".

I think I may have a less acute sense of smell than others, since I rarely even notice the odor (but I do notice the wonderful aroma of the food).

Lately I have been using the little titanium wing stove with an aluminum baking pan windscreen (as above, holes punched in bottom, clears the pot by quarter inch all round, comes a bit more than halfway up sides of pot). I probably have about a dozen days on this system, and so far, my experience seems to be just about the same as during the thru-hike.

From above, it would appear that I am getting a bit more out of my tablets than is the common experience, and doing so consistently. Don't know why.

One thing I like about the Esbit that hasn't been mentioned is that If I don't use the full tablet, I can blow it out, keep the remains and use them when I need a little bit (actually, I usually accumulate enough that I wind up using them in place of a tablet).

The only trouble I've had with them is finding a way to hold them and light them sometimes, especially in a wet, cold wind.

Hope that's useful, Howie. Obviously, your mileage may vary.