Mornings are normally easy for me. A cup or three of coffee or tea and I’m good to go. I’ve strayed away from the specialty coffeehouse drinks simply because when I’m out and about, they are far more expensive than I care to spend. Not to mention, I’m inexperienced with them and haven’t acquired the taste or craving for them. ….Until now.
Save yourself a trip outdoors, you can make your favorite barista-quality beverage without leaving the comfort of your couch (or desk chair, or bed)! The Tassimo T20 by Bosch makes coffee, cappuccinos, lattes (with real milk creamers), espresso, tea, and hot chocolate all from one machine. The key to the Tassimo is the T DISC technology, the machine “reads” a barcode on each disc telling it at what temperature, pressure, and length of time to make each individual drink! Most drinks are literally done in a minute’s time!
CLEANING
The first thing you do when you start your Tassimo is to clean it. It’s a simple process that runs water to the system and gets it ready for your hot drinks. Fill the water tank, then using the included cleaning disc, place it in the T-DISC holder in the brewing unit to be read by the bar code reader. Push down the lid and press start! The disc then goes into a handy storage slot in the back of the machine for next time.
BREWING
Now you’re ready for your drink of choice. The first drinks I made were for my kids, hot chocolates. Milka brand hot chocolate is made for the Tassimo and there are two discs for a two-step process. Insert the first disc, the chocolate and it brews about half a mug’s worth of your drink.
Next, you insert the real milk creamer disc and brew that in the same cup. The added milk is even given more air for “froth” it’s quite amazing! Ouila! Depending on the size of your mug, a DELICIOUS cup of hot chocolate is made after a bit of stirring!
Our Take: Having made 4 cups of hot chocolate for the kids and I, our reaction was extremely positive! The chocolate was so rich and tasty and the temperature was hot, but not piping for the kids! There was no need to sit there for 10 minutes blowing on it to cool it down! The machine itself was simple to put together and figure out, I didn’t need my husband to come in and rescue me! When brewing, the machine does make a little noise, a low rumble rather than the percolating hum I’m used to on my other coffee maker.
I’ve since made Latte Primo from their Starbucks line and that drink is a nice creamy one plus a hint of caramel undertones and a nice shot of caffeine equaling lots of flavor. Also a two-disc drink, I can see one of these going a long way in the morning. The temperature is good and HOT and though my normal morning drink is sans creamer, this is a nice change. I think it’s a great machine to have when you’re having a party and your guests all like different drinks. Serve a variety and your guest will be sure to come back time and time again!
T-DISCS
Tassimo has an expanding selection of beverage brand option including, Twinings, Maxwell House, Seattle’s Best Coffee, Gevalia Kaffe, and Milka along with their Starbucks coffee and cappuccino and espresso varieties. Each pack of T-DISCS varies among variety with the number of drinks made, as well as price which ranges from $5.99 pack to $10.99.
The Tassimo T20 sells for $129.99 at Target and Target.com. Once you make a purchase, you can register your machine online at Tassimo.com and get 2 complimentary packages of T-DISCS of your choice!
I received a complimentary Tassimo brewer and T-DISCS to facilitate this review. The opinions are my tried-and-true experience and were not influenced by any source. Your experience may be different.