Single Cup Coffee Maker

Damien December 7th, 2009 (#):

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.

Emiko December 8th, 2009 (#):

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.