 Finally a Quality Automatic Hot Beverage System |
| Review Date: October 20, 2009 |
| Reviewer: M. Hill, Colorado |
I have wanted a one cup brewing system for a long time but hesitated after sampling the Keurig system beverages at a gourmet cooking shop demonstration. A friend and I made our selections and had the coffee brewed for us. The initial delight with trying out a new machine was quickly replaced with the reality of a very weak, tasteless, stale cup of coffee. We both took a sip and tossed the cups in the trash. The woman demonstrating the system kindly offered us the choice of another variety, but the results were the same. The idea of the beverage system was clearly better than the execution.
Over the last couple of years I've sampled a few other Keurig varieties, and continued to be disappointed. So, I was skeptical, but hoped the Tassimo would produce a higher quality product, and without question it did not disappoint. Will this replace a $1200 espresso bar? No. Will it replace your favorite coffee shop's concoctions? No. But it makes an excellent cup of coffee, a plus when you just want a cup and don't want to brew a whole pot, and it makes excellent coffee drinks along with tea.
The Tassimo Bosch T65 automatic hot beverage system comes with clear instructions and minimal requirements to get started. An optional water filter is included. This filter is very similar to the one I use in my Cuisinart Grind and Brew coffee maker. In both instances use of a filter is optional but since the quality of the water used to brew coffee or tea greatly affects the end results, I always use either a filter or filtered water.
The unit is incredibly quiet and efficient - the water heats up immediately. There are warning lights for almost every eventuality from too little water in the tank, to when it is time to descale the unit. The machine itself has a nice solid feel -- not flimsy. The maintenance requirements are no worse than those for any quality coffee maker -- they need to be kept clean for optimal performance.
The discs have a barcode which when read, permits each drink to be precisely brewed for optimal taste. But, if after sampling a disc, a level of customization is desired, there is a manual over-ride to permit a smaller size stronger drink or a larger weaker cup. I made one cup after another without any delay. The water tank is large -- 61 ounces -- so it doesn't require frequent filling.
A criticism of the Tassimo over the Keurig is the availability and selection of the discs but I found the discs in many easily accessible retailers including a couple big box store's grocery departments, and of course, they are all over the internet. Currently two free packages of T discs are available when registering the product on the Tassimo web site. This provides a great opportunity to sample a variety of discs and find favorites. The discs I've sampled are listed below. There are currently five different Starbucks varieties available alone. Tazo and Twinings teas are also among the selections, and many more I look forward to tasting.
Starbucks Café Verona - my favorite by far. The coffee is strong and delicious. Even when cold the coffee maintains its flavor. Not quite the coffee shop quality but very close.
Starbucks House Blend - very good. The cup brewed was delicious but the flavor took a drastic dive as the cup cooled and became almost undrinkable. Drink it hot.
Gevalia Signature Blend - this is the only variety I tried and would not buy again. Although it isn't weak, the coffee tastes like bad vending machine brew. A little stale with a flavor reminiscent of coffee brewed through old gym socks. Ugh.
Gevalia Cappuccino - good flavor. The brew is almost a perfect balance of milk (2% so relatively low fat) to espresso with a decent, although not luxurious amount of foam. The coffee is strong enough to have a presence in the cup, although an extra espresso disc can be used to create a stronger coffee flavor.
Gevalia Latte - good flavor. Again, a nice balance between the milk (same 2% variety as above) and espresso flavors. I preferred the latte but would buy both again.
Maxwell House Latte - coffee flavor too weak. This latte is definitely improved by using two espresso discs with one creamer (same 2% used in the Gevalia products) otherwise the coffee flavor disappears into the background and the milk is entirely too prominent.
Maxwell House House Blend Decaffeinated -- a medium brew. The coffee isn't as bad as the Gevalia, but it also isn't Starbucks. There is a slighly smoky aftertaste, which I actually liked. This will do nicely when I've met my caffeine threshold. Currently, the only decaffeinated options are this one, Gevalia Signature Brew (see below) and Gevalia Espresso. Hopefully, Starbucks will create one soon.
Suchard Hot Chocolate Syrup - good tasting chocolate but odd drink. This is a very watery, non-dairy chocolate drink. I've read reviews from people who adore the drink, but I would definitely add a little milk or cream. I did try using creamer T disc but the hot chocolate lost too much of the chocolate flavor. The Suchard, and an espresso disc and a little milk made a passable mocha, but the milk needs to be heated. I understand the Milka T discs, initially only available in the foreign market are now available and that variety makes a delicious cup of hot chocolate. Milka will be in my next disc order, and I will post an update. I will keep experimenting with my remaining Suchard discs and see if I can find a great combination of flavors.
Twinings Chai Tea Latte - very pleased with flavor but contains Splenda and sugar - weird. Nevertheless, I found this chai tea latte delicious, and will definitely buy it again. That said, I do not have a problem with Splenda. Some people have a sensitivity to the sweetener and also notice an aftertaste. I noticed no aftertaste and wouldn't have known the drink contained Splenda if I hadn't read the package. The creamer is the same 2% product noted in the latte and cappuccino products.
Although not necessary, I found using a warm cup (microwave with a little water for 30 seconds) added to the enjoyment. I look forward to sampling the Seattle's Best Coffees, the Milka hot chocolate, the other Twinnings and Tazo teas. This is a quality machine with plenty of delicious coffee and tea selections readily available and it lives up to the promise of an automatic beverage system, something the Keurig system failed to do for me.
Update:
Milka Hot Chocolate -- did not disappoint -- it is a creamy rich hot chocolate that is absolutely delicious. For mocha simply add an espresso disc. This is one variety I will always have on hand. And, there are only 90 calories per serving and 2.5 grams of fat.
Gevalia Caramel Latte Macchiato -- has a decidedly artificial caramel flavor which although not overpowering is unpleasant. I won't buy again. A better idea would be to buy a quality caramel coffee syrup and add it to the Gevalia Latte.
Gevalia Decaffeinated Signature Blend coffee -- ugh, not surprisingly it has the same dreadful flavor as the regular Gevalia Signature Blend coffee. The Maxwell House decaffeinated T disc is far superior.
Update II:
Maxwell House Morning Blend -- brews a large 12 ounce cup of medium strength coffee. The taste is fine, again slightly smoky. I will definitely keep this on-hand for emergencies.
Maxwell House French Roast -- produces a decent bold cup of coffee. I find the quality of the Maxwell House T discs superior overall to the Gevalia regular coffee brews. The espresso Gevalia disc is the only exception because the Maxwell House espresso is too weak.
Starbucks Africa Kitamu -- absolutely amazing bold cup of coffee without bitterness or any aftertaste. This variety has taken over as my favorite from Starbucks Verona. If you drink bold coffee black, this is the T disc to buy. Delicious.
Update III:
2/19/2010 The recently released Starbucks Latte Primo and Cappuccino Primo are absolutely superior to the Maxwell and Gevalia milk based coffee drinks. Starbucks has created their own milk T-Discs and both the cappuccino and latte versions are a significant improvement. Both milk discs contain a small amount of sugar although I did not detect any sweetness in taste. Perhaps the sugar helps balance the cooked milk flavor. The most important improvement is found in the taste of the espresso T-Disc that comes with both drinks. The flavor is fabulous and we can only hope that in the future the espresso discs will be sold separately. I wrote a detailed review of both the Starbucks Cappuccino Primo and Latte Primo under the actual product listings. I also added photos of the drinks brewing because they layered so beautifully. I continue to use my Tassimo daily and remain absolutely delighted by its performance. |
Perfect cuppa joe
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| Review Date: October 21, 2009 |
| Reviewer: G. Ware Cornell Jr., Weston FL |
This is my third Tassimo coffee maker. The first, a Braun Tassimo TA 1400 Hot Beverage System still works, though I recently gave it to friend. It is much louder than the Bosch machines including the Bosch TAS4511UC Tassimo Single-Serve Coffee Brewer, Silk Silver which I just moved to my office. Both Bosch models are significantly better than the original Braun.
The key to excellent coffee is not just in the grind. Good coffee requires good water and a descaled coffee maker. With the Braun machine, this requires you to keep track of the date of the last filter change. On both Bosch machines this is done electronically and even better so annoying but attention grabbing red lights tell you to descale, and once you mix the scaling solution in your reservoir it completes the process automatically. What this means practically is that your server will be at maximum efficiency most of the time.
Tassimo offers a wide variety of coffees, teas and even Tassimo Suchard Hot Chocolate T-Discs, 8 Count, 12.7 Ounce Bags (Pack of 2), which is really good. Expresso, latte and cappuccino lovers can easily make them without a dedicated expresso maker. Just buy the T-discs (Gevalia Espresso T-Disc, Gevalia Latte T-Discs for Tassimo Hot Beverage System, 8 Espresso and 8 Creamers (Pack of 2), Gevalia Cappuccino T-Disc. Tea lovers will find lots of selections from Tassimo Tazo Awake Black Tea, 7 T-Discs, 0.7 oz. net., and Twinings Earl Grey Tea, T-Discs for Tassimo Coffeemakers, 16-Count 1.7-Ounce Packages (Pack of 3), to Twinings Chai Tea Latte, T-Discs for Tassimo Hot Beverage System, 16-Count Packages (Pack of 2). Starbucks coffees are also available.
Why should you use single servings? The first and best reason is that it is more efficient. How many half pots of coffee have you thrown away? Secondly, it is flexible. At Christmas dinner last year we had a whole range of coffee requests to accommodate- American coffee, lattes, decaf, hot chocolate. With a Tassimo system this is not a problem, nor is their any waste.
So how does this Bosch machine differ from the previous model? One nice feature is the light which comes on over the cup during brewing and serving. The internal electronics are a bit jazzier as well. But mainly you want this coffee server for making the perfect cup of joe, every time. |
Amazing taste.
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| Review Date: October 26, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Erich Maria Remarque, USA |
Tassimo coffee tastes truly amazing. So far I've tried Gevalia Signature Blend, Starbucks House Blend, Gevalia Espresso, Gevalia Latte, and Gevalia Cappuccino. The cappuccino is my favorite, though plain espresso is also good.
Gevalia Signature Blend, on the other hand, is the worst, and I would recommend that you avoid it.
Tassimo coffee does taste CONSIDERABLY better than vending machine coffee, or coffee made on those cheap $20 coffee makers (like the one I had before this :p ). It's comparable in taste to what you get at Starbucks (I am not exactly a coffee connoisseur, you know).
One important thing: If you register your brewer at [...], you can get two free packages of T-discs (one package of your choice, and one sampler package with 8 different T-discs). I registered mine last Wednesday, and the free packages were shipped on Friday (so ignore the disclaimer which states that they will ship in 4-6 weeks). I selected the Milka Hot Chocolate package to see if it's any good.
I would suggest that you read the manual thoroughly, so that this 200 dollar coffee maker performs at its best. It took me about 30-45 minutes from opening to the box to making my first cup. Yes it takes longer than setting up an ordinary coffee maker, but it's definitely worth it. And this is no ordinary coffee maker either.
The LCD screen is cool, and makes this machine "look" more high-tech than it really is. There is a progress bar, but it's not really useful, since there is always a "Please Wait" message displayed on the screen right after the progress bar reaches 100% (and there is still coffee dripping on to the cup).
It's very easy to operate though. If you just woke up and simply want a cup of coffee without any fuss, this machine is great. You simply place your cup into the cupholder, insert a t-disc, and press the button. This can all be done in matter of seconds.
Overall, I really like this machine.
UPDATE: Milka Hot Chocolate arrived via mail yesterday, and it tastes average to me. You can make a tastier drink on your own by mixing hot milk and pure cocoa. Additionally, the sampler package includes the following T-discs: (1) Seattle's Best Henry's Blend, (1) Maxwell House French Roast, (1) Maxwell House Morning Blend, (1) Seattle's Best Breakfast Blend, (1) Gevalia Signature Blend, (1) Gevalia Signature Crema, (2) Gevalia Signature Blend Decaf.
I don't understand why they included so many "Gevalia Signature" coffees in the sampler package, considering that they taste the worst. Maybe it's random, and everyone receives different samples?
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Clever single-cup alternative, with a few caveats...
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| Review Date: October 25, 2009 |
| Reviewer: D. P. Schroeder, Amidst the Carolinas |
The gist of what follows is that I'm very impressed with the design, execution, and functionality of this machine. Is it perfect? No, but what is? I also own both Keurig AND Nescafe/Krups Dolce Gusto machines, so I think I'm well qualified to compare them.
From the sample T-Discs that came with this machine, I can tell that it's capable of making GREAT single cups of coffee. Starting with the sampler of Starbucks House Blend, Medium, T-Discs for Tassimo System, 6.1-Ounce Packages (Pack of 2), I was extremely impressed with the quality and richness of the coffee. In fact, using the manual settings, these Starbucks T-Discs still make viable cups of coffee when extended to 16oz. Not weak at all, which is truly impressive. I only hope that other T-Disc offerings are as successful.
I cannot say that I was that impressed with the three Gevalia offerings -- Gevalia Latte T-Discs for Tassimo Hot Beverage System, 8 Espresso and 8 Creamers (Pack of 2), Gevalia Cappuccino T-Disc, or Gevalia Signature Blend Coffee, T-Discs for Tassimo Hot Beverage System, 16-Count Packages (Pack of 2). I think the problem with the Gevalia offerings is that they don't offer enough ground coffee -- even the non-espresso "Signature Blend" is a fraction of the size of the Starbucks' offering, and, while it has some flavor, it really tastes like a "Rest Stop Special" Blend. It may take a while, also, to get used to drinking reconstituted dehydrated milk, which really overwhelms the flimsy coffee flavor.
HOWEVER, given the SUPERB taste of the Starbucks' House Blend, it's clear that the problem is with Gevalia's product rather than with this machine, and the coffee produced is at LEAST as good as that produced by the Keurig (that also depends on the quality of the K-Cup grind used), and it offers MUCH more flexibility than either of its two main competitors in customization.
The only negatives I'd give to the Bosch machine are that it doesn't offer you the option of using your own grind, as the Keurig system does by using a Keurig My K-Cup 2-Pack Reusable Coffee Filter Basket Replacement, and the water reservoir (while excellent in being large) is on the back-side of the machine, so when you need to refill the reservoir, you have to pull the entire unit out from under the counter to be able to lift the reservoir straight up and out. Largely because of the customization possibilities, it is not a "quick" single-serve coffee maker; however, this small deficit is easily made up for by the quality of the coffee produced.
The Tassimo absolutely blows away the Krups/Nescafe system in just about every category (see my review on it), and, while the Tassimo system may not be as cost-effective as the Keurig system, it offers a lot of features (water filter, larger water reservoir, customizable cup-sizes, more structured descaling program rather than just running vinegar through it for hours, bar-coded T-discs to ensure that each cup is made directly so specs w/o hassle, etc.) that the Keurig system does not. Frankly, I like both of those systems, for I sometimes like to single-serve my own grinds with the Keurig, though if I had to choose between the two for an office, reception-area, or like-setting, I'd very likely go with the Tassimo.
It's a truly fine, ingeniously-engineered machine, and I look forward to the forthcoming T-Disc offerings to saturate the market, for I believe this system produces not only wonderful cups of coffee, but it's the most customizable unit I've seen, which should cater well to us somewhat finicky coffee drinkers. This is an extraordinary machine, and I plan to keep it out and operating alongside my Keurig, even though I've stuffed the Krups/Nescafe machine in the closet.... somewhere..... because I've found all of its coffees that I've tried to be downright undrinkable. This Bosch, on the other hand, is a clear keeper! |
Tassimo 65 for the best single cup of Java
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| Review Date: December 6, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Bekka, NYS |
Prior to buying my T-65, I was given a Keurig as a gift and was never happy with the resultant brew. No matter which K-cup I used including what was considered to be a stronger brew, I found the coffee to be watery & lacking. Not full bodied at all. I resorted back to my Class-A Grind and Brew. I had absolutely no intention to find a replacement for the K, thinking all single serve coffee makers would be the same. However, the Tassimo Braun w/the added functions to make Lattes and Cappucinos caught my eye and I decided to give this one last try. I'm glad I did. For well over a year, I have enjoyed the best brewed coffee, latte, crema, & cappucino. There were a few annoyances with the older T-Braun, a small amount of backwash, noisey machine, bulky coffee maker with an ackward water reservoir, & difficult set up to use larger cups or a travel mug. In the end, for the quality of the coffees brewed, it was worth it to me to put up with the minor annoyances. Recently, I heard the newest Tassimo Bosch T-65 addressed those past issues and on Black Friday I upgraded to the T-65. My son happily took ownership of the T-Braun I had. The T-Braun was still running strong. After using my T-65 for a few weeks, I can say T-Bosch did a great job redesigning this sleek machine to address those failings of the older model T-Braun. My travel mug fits nicely, all sorts of cup sizes also fit, no backwash, quicker brew, much quieter, and this compact machine looks sleek on my counter top with no awkward water reservoir. Admittedly, the one true con remains to be T-discs are harder to come by except if you order online. However, I am finding local stores that have a greater assortment of T-discs on hand. Online you can purchase Jacobs, Carte Noire, Seattle Best, Starbucks, Kenco, Mastro Lorenzo, as well as Maxwell House and Gevalia T-dics. Locally, I can find Gevalia, Maxwell House, and an assortment of Starbucks. By the way for those who might not care for Gevalia Lattes and Cappucino, there's a new offering that I found recently in BBB. Starbuck's new Primos -- Cappucino and Lattes. Ohhhhh myyyyy, its like having SB's in my kitchen. Larger brew and the froth of the milks froth thicker than previous brands. Although T-Bosch may not have the quantity of assorted available coffees as Keurig, there is definitely something to be said re: the quality of the T-discs Tassimo offers. If the question hinges on quantity [more selection of brands of coffee] vs quality [more quality that can be described as gourmet & more depth to the brew], then I'll pick quality over quantity any day. I just think Tassimo is taking the time to ensure quality before adding new brands to their line. That said, some find the clean up to be a small con & the competitor-demonstrators exaggerate this notion. I don't view it that way at all. I've spent a lot more time cleaning my large Grind and Brew. For the Tassimo, in just the time it takes to brew a cup or two of coffee, which is seconds, I can have my T-65 wiped & cleaned, and that is only after I make cappucinos or lattes. No biggie & sooo worth it!!! Don't believe this machine requires massive cleaning. If you want a cappucino or Latte from a machine that only brews coffee, you will require a frother. You still have to wash the frother when you are done. My T-65 does it all without a hand-held frother ; )
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