Tassimo, I love you so!
Written: Apr 21 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Virtually, no cleaning, great tea and coffee, very quick.
Cons: Chocolate is muck, expensive discs.
The Bottom Line: An excellent machine that would benefit from enhancing its range of flavours.
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| barongreenback's Full Review: Braun Brookstone Tassimo 1-Cup Coffee Maker |
As I sit here drinking my Tassimo English Breakfast Tea I cannot help but think how bizarre my world has become. Who would have thunk that my new gadget the Braun "Tassimo" could replace my kettle, teabags and assortment of instant coffees. Yet this is precisely what the Tassimo has done.
Now the Tassimo is undoubtedly a smart piece of kit. My sleek black machine nestles comfortably in the corner of our teeny tiny kitchen and takes up surprisingly little space. Certainly no more than my toaster. Using my Tassimo is an absolutely joy as I simply plug it in, fill up the water reservoir and switch it on. Hey presto, I am ready to go. The Tassimo uses strange things called "T-Discs" which act as your filter and drink in one. They are funny little plastic pods which contain the beverage of your choice be that any one of the variety of coffee, tea or hot chocolate. The machine reads the barcode on the disc and siphons through the right amount of water to make what Braun term as the perfect drink. So, if I select an espresso pod the Tassimo knows this and releases a small amount (75ml I think) of water through the filter of the Arabica filled pod. This results in a relatively flawless espresso.
Perhaps, what is the unique selling point about the Tassimo compared to many of it's competitors however is not the coffee but the fact that it is as comfortable making teas or hot chocolate as it is making coffee. I have in front of me a Twinings English Breakfast Tea and it is the best cup of tea I have had in years. It is a strong flavoursome brew the likes of which would take fifteen minutes to create using the old kettle and teapot combination. This is another great thing about this technological marvel. Each drink is prepared in less than a minute. You pop the pod in, press the on button and off it goes. Subsequent cups do take slightly longer as the machine reheats but even then you are talking an extra ten seconds or so. A hell of a lot quicker, cleaner and more efficient than any kettle or cafetiere I can think off.
Cleaning the Tassimo is my favourite thing of all as it is so minimal as to be non-existent. The only thing that gets at all messy is the barcode glass panel and disc hold. The disc holder detaches with ease and can be rinsed under the tap and the barcode reader wipes clean with a kitchen towel. The device comes with a cleaning disc that you put in instead of a t-disc and this flushes the machine through with hot, clean water. If you do this after each use (which takes seconds), you will never have a problem with this machine. With no assembly or maintenance required other than replacing the water in the reservoir every third cup or so this is the perfect piece of kit for those of us who do not want to spend time descaling and scrubbing out kettles and teapots.
Many coffee connoisseurs will be scoffing at the thought of a multi-purpose drinks machine being able to make a decent coffee and I have to admit, I too had images of vending machine mud. However, there is a good variety of coffees available to the Tassimo although all by Kenco so if you do not like this brand you are screwed! The regular coffee is as good as any coffee shop and the espresso is as strong as you would expect. There is also a nice choice of novelty coffees such as the Latte Macchiato which gives a three-layered effect or the cappuccino which gives a good froth.
Unfortunately, there are a few problems with the Tassimo system. The range of drinks available although on the whole very nice, are also limited. You may find yourself disappointed when you buy a cappuccino only to find it is an espresso with a milk frothing disc. Furthermore, the hot chocolate by Suchard is absolutely vile! As a lover of hot chocolate I expected creamy heaven but got chemical tasting, muddy water. Not the machines fault but I can only hope Cadbury come along and make a disc for this machine. This brings me to the second problem. Although, the T-Discs are a great idea, they are expensive and you are limited to the companies currently supporting the machine (Kenco, Twinings and Suchard). Three quid for sixteen pods might sound okay but that is very expensive compared to a box of teabags or a jar of instant coffee. I would suggest looking for special offers such as the "four for a tenner" offer I have taken advantage of in Asda.
Perhaps the only problem with the machine itself is the size of the cup holder. You will not get more than a medium sized mug onto the cup holder and although you can remove it, this will also mean removing the drip tray which will mean mess. This kind of defeats the clean and efficient idea of the machine.
The Tassimo is the Volkswagen of the drinks making world. All smooth efficiency it may not replace your kettle entirely, especially if you are a frequent tea drinker but it has mine. It retails at a rather hefty £79.99 (UK price) in black or silver but it beats any coffee maker or kettle I can think of in terms of speed, taste and cleaning and I would recommend it to anyone who likes variety in their hot drinks without fuss.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
barongreenback
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Member: Dave
Location: United Kingdom
Reviews written: 58
Trusted by: 16 members
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