Bosch Tassimo T40

I am now, after months of searching, the owner of a Bosch Tassimo coffee machine. Our cheap filter coffee machine packed in so we have been relying on the cafetiere, which is great but you are left with bits of coffee at the bottom of your mug! I have read so many reviews on coffee machines and still couldn't make up my mind. I looked at a variety of machines in shops but they were often very bulky. The filter coffee machines in the past have always been good but I wanted a bit more variety in my coffee. For example "a starbucks at home idea."

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Three weeks ago we are again staring at the coffee machine shelf in John Lewis and noticed the Tassimo. It was compact, pleasing to eye and offered a huge variety of coffees, hot chocolates and teas. It was also fairly reasonably price at £97 although I see now you could purchase it cheaper from Amazon. An impulse purchase and we bought the red one.

We get home open the box but no freebie discs. How annoying we really thought they would provide a couple of samples!! Ah well no worries a quick trip to the supermarket and back home with our selection.

Prior to using the machine, which is incredibly easy to set up, you put it through a cleaning session. Wash the 2 litre removable water tank then fill it with cool fresh water up to the MAX mark. There is a green service T disc which you keep in the back of the machine and is used for cleaning and descaling as required. Turn the machine on and place a large mug on the cup shelf. The disc is placed in the T disc holder making sure the barcode faces down. You then run the machine through the cleaning process until the water tank is empty. It only takes 5 or 10 minutes, not long at all but a bit frustrating for those impatient folk who just want a coffee.

Now the coffee, which to choose there really is a huge selection. Each box contains around 16 discs and on average a box is £2.99. Some of the supermarkets have been doing special deals. We had bought every box available in the supermarket so closed our eyes and picked a disc. I chose a Suchard Hot Chocolate, I kept my eyes closed honest. So we refilled the water tank, switched on the machine, placed our cup and disc in the appropriate places and pressed the start button. A chugging noise, not not too loud, then some drips, more drips then steam and the light changes on the machine to say my drink is ready. I had placed a mug on the cup stand after all it was hot chocolate. A bit disappointing a small amount of drink at the bottom of my mug but it tasted delicious. You can customise your drinks by adding more water, or less if you want a stronger drink. You could also add another disc to make a larger drink. Or mix and match your discs, a coffee and a hot chocolate, try out some recipes. My husband chose a black coffee and he placed a cup on the cup stand which was a perfect size and he was delighted with his coffee.

You can also buy lattes and cappucinos. In these boxes you get 8 espresso coffees and 8 milks which I find delicious but my husband is not too keen. Again these cost around £2.99. I have since ordered a huge selection from the Tassimo web site and we are quickly working our way through them. Maybe it's the novelty!! I am not too keen on the Carte Noir coffees I prefer the Kenco but it is down to individual taste. If you order from the web site you need to order £25 worth of drinks to get free postage and packing. Otherwise you pay £4.50 which is a bit much. I do feel it is going to cost more than the cafeteire or filter coffee but is a lot more enjoyable. There are also a variety of teas available but I am not a big tea drinker so haven't bought any of them to try.

We have had the machine three weeks now and are delighted with it. Fresh coffee is brewed in an instant and there is a huge choice. The machine reads the barcode on the disc and knows how much water to add. I do find the drinks smaller than I would like, not exactly the starbucks idea in respect of size but definitely in taste. But then maybe that is a good thing we probably drink too much coffee anyway.