PLEASE NOTE! This is a long review. The tassimo will not appeal to the hardened coffee fan!
I have wanted one of theese tassimo machines since they first hit the market. However having just set up home i could not afford one. the story begins with the death of my beloved Russell Hobbs coffee maker due to miss use! Let this be a lesson to descale your appliances & to clean the milk off the frother nossle as this is what busted my old coffee maker.
Like i said earlier this is not a machine for the real coffee lover but the reason i decided to finally get a tassimo was because i seldom drink coffee. When i do it has to be cappucino or latte other types are too strong for me so for the majority of the time i drink tea. I purchased a cheapie Cappucino machine which was a total disaster. Being disheartened by this i went into John lewis on the search for a better machine. I was looking for a decent machine between £75 up to over £1000. Forget it. I don't even own a dishwasher so there was no way i was forking out this kind of cash for a coffee maker!
The reason i didn't just run out & buy a tassimo when they first hit the market was because i was worried it was a gimmick & at £99 it was going to be a big let down if they didn't take off & i couldn't get the T Discs.
Good old mothers what would we do without them? Sick of me drueling over theese machines in Sainsburys she finally gave in & bought me one at a cost of £79.99. The price of theese machines has come down by aroud £20 to £79.99 from £99. I think with the exception of argos where they are still £99.
WHAT IS TASSIMO? It is a hot drinks maker that uses little pods called t discs. it will make several hot drinks including Hot Chocolate Tea Expresso Cappucino Cafe Crema & most recently caffe latte
Before i go any further if you do not like Twinnings tea or Kenco coffee you're stuffed! This is one of the main drawbacks with this machine if you run out of T discs You cannot use this machine or if you prefer nescafe or P G tips too bad. Tassimo have teamed up with the companys they have chosen to make theese discs exclusivley for this machine. There is no shops own equivelant.
HOW DOES IT WORK? Each T disc contains a measured ammount of tea or coffee etc which you place in the top then close the lid, you then wait for the Auto light to turn green, put a mug in the front under the brewing mechanism then press the button. in less than 60 seconds you have your hot drink. All you do then is flip up the lid & dispose of your T disc. Incase you are wondering about water there is a large tank on the back where the water goes. This does not require filling evry time you use the machine.
ANY DRAWBACKS? I love this machine so much so that i have disposed of my kettle. However i would be doing you a dis service if all i did was sing it's praises. Though i have had no problems with it i do have several issues with it.
1) Set up is a breeze all you do is clip your water tank on the back BUT it says on the box free T Discs . There was one box of cafe crema in with the machine which i do not even like so you have to make sure you buy a pack of drink pods that you do like before you get it home.
2) This machine is eco freindly in the sense that it only heats the water for the one drink. However the T discs are made of hard plastic that have to go in the bucket & it does not say on the box if the plastic is degradable or not.
3) The noise. This machine uses a pump so it is very noisey as the drink is made in less than a ninuite this does not bother me but if you want a hot drink in the middle of the night be prepared to wake the whole household.
4) Build quality. This is dreadfull. The machine is constructed entirley of plastic & is very jobbly in use. The failing of this machine is going to be the lid under where the pod is placed it is very weak in construction. If your disc is not in properly or you force it shut you are going to break it off. This machine needs very gentle handling.
5) Mugs. Although set up is a breeze getting cups or mugs to fit is a pain in the neck. The ammount of liquid that is contained in a drink. The amount varys from drink to drink the amounts are all listed in the instruction manual. So you have to measure out water in a jug & pour it into your cup to make sure it will not spil over. However if you prefer a smaller drink you can stop the brewing process manually. Do be sure to measure out the water into your chosen cup before you start or your drink will overflow.
Please note if you have Denby craftsman mugs they do not fit much to my annoyance as theese mugs were very expensive & have been rendered usless.
You can throw the water out of the cup once you have checked it holds this ammount as it is not part of the drinks making process. This is just what i did before my initial start up to make sure i wouldn't have tea gushing all over the place.
WITH ALL THEESE DRAWBACKS WHY DO YOU LIKE IT? there is no mess or fuss! You have no coffee grounds all over the place , no tea bag drips. there are no parts to wash all cleaning involves is removing & rinsing A small internal component every couple of days & emptying the drip tray every day. This will fill up quite rapidly. i actually thought mine was faulty but this water that goes into the drip tray is part of the brewing process. As long as you check it every 6 to 8 drinks it will be fine.Another big plus for me is that i have arthritic pain & have difficulty in lifting heavy kettles full of boiling water all you have to lift is you mug of tea! Much safer for me anyway!
WHAT DO THE DRINKS TASTE LIKE? TEA It is strong & refreshing. The best tea i have ever tasted. this is best served just with a dash of milk! The t disc contains real tea leaves. There is no chance of your tea stewing!
Filter coffee I cannot really comment as i do not like this type of coffee. I have had one mug of this & was awake for about 3 days its so strong infact it gives me tremmors! There is a decaffinated version but i have not tried this. the coffee is however always very hot.
Hot Chocolate I did not like this at first. It was to watery. However the formula has been improved now so it is much more chocolaty & thicker than it used to be. I do like it now although i would say it leaves your mouth with a sort of powdery residue when you have finished the drink.
Cappucino Nowhere near as good as the kind you get at starbucks.However it is no worse than the type you would make with a £40 Cappucino machine. If you are seriusly into your coffee fork out a bit more for a gaggia machine. It is hot i don't like my coffeee too hot but my partner has complained that it is not hot enough for him.
Latte My partner likes this but i am not impressed. It tastes nothing like latte to me infact i would say it has an almost chemical taste.
I have not tried the crema or exprsso so i can not comment on theese. However i will say this much when making coffee it always smells like real freshly brewed coffee. Unless you grind your own beans as required you will buy ground coffee in bags like i used to & on several occasions i found it had gone stale. the beauty of this system is that the Tdiscs are sealed so the coffee though already ground is as fresh as it would be from a newly opened bag.
IN CONCLUSION I like it it does what i require of it with no mess or fuss. Unless you are a hardcore coffee fan & just enjoy the ocasional cappucino or hot chocolate as a treat this is for you.
There are only two people live in my home & i have banished my kettle forever. However if you have a large family this will be an as a treat thing you could not afford to do without your kettle As at £3.29 for 20 tea pods it can be expensive. Nor is this machine any good if you have more than 2 visitors as by the time you make the last persons drink the first persons would be cold.
It's noisey The T discs are expensive & I doubt very much if i will get more than a year out of it but it has never given me any problems to date & if it does break down after the year is up i will be going out & buying another as it is quick & easy to use & clean.
I cannot rate it highly enough but it would have been wrong of me not to point out all of it's aspects both good & bad. I would have given it 5 out of 5. But that is personal opinion & is not very helpful to the general buying public!
Hope i have been of some help & not bored you too much!
More details
Durability
Satisfactory
User's Manual
Fair
How much did you pay?
£79.99
Any repairs?
NONE
Special features?
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