Tassimo: A Review

I purchased a Tassimo Single Cup Home Brewing System just under two weeks ago. My model is known as the Tassimo-T20 which I believe is the most basic model and has the lowest price tag. I've seen these sold from $70- $100. I think this model was slighty more (In the $150 range) when it first came out. I purchased mine from Real Canadian Superstore for $80 (I was choked because the day before I purchased it, it was on sale for $70).

Here is the box that it came in. It didn't come with anything except for the machine itself and some user guides with basic instructions and safety info in them. I felt that for $80, it should've came with some freebie t-discs (T-discs are the discs that you put into the machine that tell it what to make). It does come with a product code on the bottom of the machine which you can register online to receive 2 free packages. I have yet to do that because I'm lazy and want free stuff NOW. I do need to remember to do that though...

This is the machine outside of the box. Pay no attention to the glass, pieces of packaging from the Tassimo box and butter knife covered in margarine :) It is pretty compact and smaller than most coffee machines. It does not take up much counter space at all which is great!  This model is very simple to use and has very few buttons to contend with. It has a power on/off switch and a button which you press when you want it to brew something, or when you want the machine to give you more water in your cup after something has brewed. This is a nice feature, particulary when brewing drinks that use strong espresso.  I find it very simple to use and my only complaints about the machine are very minor.

Pros:
- easy to use
- doesn't take up much space
- easy to clean
- I enjoy that it only makes one cup at a time
- no coffee grounds!
- makes specialty drinks (lattes, hot chocolate, macchiatos, etc)
- T-discs are easy to store, do not need to be refrigerated and are available in most chain stores
- I have enjoyed the taste of all of the t-discs I have tried. Some I like more than others, but I have yet to try a truly yucky one! :)
- It isn't extremely noisey and it brews a cup of coffee (even if there is a two step process in about two minutes).

Cons
-The t-discs are PRICEY. The t-disc packages usually make 8 cups of coffee and cost about $6-$12 a package (depending on the type of t-disc). However, it works out to being about 1-1.50 a cup and that is a lot cheaper than buying specialty drinks at Starbucks!
- There isn't a huge selection of t-discs to choose from (at least not in my stores). I have noticed that there are some on the Tassimo website which my stores do not appear to carry. I hope more options are introduced in the Tassimo line in the coming year(s).
- I find that sometimes the latte or steamed milk t-discs tend to be a bit messy when removing them from the t-disc tray. Clean-up simply requires a quick wipe and isn't a huge deal, but sometimes I have had hot milk drip out of the t-disc onto my skin.

As you see, I have identified many more pros than cons. So far, I really enjoy the Tassimo! I like that it is basically a robot barista. It is a pretty neat piece of technology. Simply place in your desired t-disc and the machine reads the barcode on the t-disc. The barcode tells the machine what type of drink is to be made and what water levels it requires. Pretty nifty!

I thought I would share my thoughts on the specific t-discs that I have tried.

These are the first four that I bought when I purchased the Tassimo machine. I picked up Cadbury Chocolate Milk (2 step process; chocolate syrup and steamed milk), Nabob French Vanilla (one step process), Caramel Macchiato (two step process; caramel espresso and latte milk), and Americano coffee (one step process).

I have also tried (but do not have a photo of):
-Skinny Latte (two step process; espresso and skim milk)
- cappucino (two step process; espresso and cappucino milk)
- Chai Tea Latte (two step process; milk and chai tea)

Cadbury Chocolate Milk :I enjoyed this one but probably wouldn't purchase again. It has a great true hot cocoa taste and is much less artificial tasting than most hot cocoa powders. At $7 it is pretty pricey to be a regular purchase when a large tin of hot cocoa powder can be purchased for a fraction of that cost. It is nice for a treat though.

Caramel Macchiato: I LOVE this one and would definitely re-purchase. You can really taste the caramel flavouring and it is nice and frothy and just yumtastic! It is very similar to the caramel macchiato that you would purchase at Starbucks.

Nabob French Vanilla: This is a nice rich cup of coffee with a wonderful french vanilla taste to it. Would definitely repurchase.

Americano: I enjoyed this one, but it is very potent. I probably wouldn't repurchase it. I did enjoy the forthy topping it makes though!

Skinny latte: Love this and would definitely repurchase. This drink is only 35 calories and tastes very similar to Starbucks.

Cappucino: This was lovely, but I didn't really notice much of a difference between it and the latte. For that reason, I probably wouldn't purchase again because my store didn't have a skinny cappucino version. I'd rather just buy the latte package and have the option of skim milk.

Chai Tea Latte: This is by far my favorite. Lovely flavour and sooo yummy!! I have purchased this one twice as both me and my boyfriend enjoy this one. We have both picked it as our favourite so far!

Overall, I really enjoy this machine and it has made early mornings slightly more tolerable!