I purchased this machine because I like to drink various drinks as the whim takes me. Tassimo allows you to do this. Also, most of the time I'm by myself, so don't need to make a large pot of coffee. Before I made the purchase, I was comparing Keurig with the Tassimo. The reason I chose the Tassimo was a) the price b) the T-discs were more available than the K-cups and the only K-cups the stores here carried were Van Houtte coffee, which I detest c) reviews said the Tassimo makes better lattes and cappuccinos. I'm extremely happy with the machine for the following reasons:
- absolutely no mess
- the availability of different brews, from very dark roasts to light roast, hot chocolate (which IS a bit sweet), teas, lattes (in particular my fave, chai latte), cappuccinos, espressos, cremas and even decafs - I like a darker roast but was even able to find t-disks that were too strong for me
- I like that I can have 4 friends over and give them their preference of hot brews
- the tank is big enough that I don't have to fill it for each cup
- the bar code reader means a perfect brew each time
- the size is relatively small, smaller than my old espresso machine and my regular drip coffee machine (both of which have now been sold off)
- you have a cup of coffee in a matter of minutes vs a drip coffee machine or even a french press
- using just the cleaner disk, you can also simply spit out hot water for your own tea bags
- most of the t-disks are a reasonable price, brewing a cuppa can be less than 50 cents a cup. The Starbucks disks are more expensive, taking you closer to a dollar a cup, but what the hey, what did you pay the last time you actually went into a Starbucks? :)
Cons - and yes, even though I LOVE this machine, there ARE some cons:
- most of the disks make a small cuppa (10 oz)unless you get the breakfast blends, which will make a bigger cup, or you can simply brew 2 disks.
- the cup stand doesn't have finite adjustment - you can fit a regular sized mug, the stand adjusts for smaller mugs, but then it's a big leap to a large mug. If you have a slightly bigger mug, you have to set it on the bottom and then you get some splashing
- the foam is not as stable as coffee shop foams, but then for $99, I didn't expect it to be. As well the foam stability depends on the t-disk manufacturer as well. Nabob cappuccino was quite firm foam that lasted the duration of the drink.
- t-disk storage takes up a bit of space - but I'm still in the "try all the varieties until I find my favourite brew" stage, so I have a lot of selections at the moment
In Dec 2009, Tassimo is coming out with packages of just the latte cream. You will then also be able to use it simply as a milk frother if you wish, or you can make any of your favourite brews into a latte.
Aug 2010 - this machine has been updated somewhat. The newer machines are a bit smaller, taking up a bit less room yet, on your counter. This is mainly due to a redesign of the tank. I just bought my second machine and will be taking the older one to use at work.
Apr 2011 - I just had an opportunity to compare the Tassimo system to a Keurig. To be fair, the Keurig was the single cup model, which requires you to add water each time. I found the Keurig to be incredibly slow to brew, in comparison with the Tassimo. I don't know whether it's the single-cup model or whether all Keurigs are that slow. I didn't like the coffee, but do realize that different brews can be found in the K-cups, other than the one that I was provided with (Timothy's).
Tassimo has just released more T-disks, there are now decaf cappuccinos available as well as a black tea disk. As for the Starbucks disks being discontinued, I'm not aware of that as they are still widely available in Canada.
July 2011 - I can now voice displeasure at Tassimo customer service. In Canada, when you purchase a brewer, you are promised coupons for two packages of free disks. I registered for my coupons, yet several months later had not received them. I contacted customer service again, now several months ago and was promised replacement coupons which I also have not received. If you purchase one of these brewers, DO NOT expect free disks with them. If you get them, bonus.
As well, I've noticed a swing in t-disk availability. T-disks seem to have dropped off drastically in popularity in terms of being available in local stores. K-cups have increased greatly. Though I still think the Tassimo is the better machine, I have now purchased a Cuisinart K-cup machine. At present I continue to use both. The K-cup advantage is the ability to use your own coffee blends, which Tassimo still does not offer.
August 2012 - I have now made a complete switch to the Keurig system. My reasons for this are following:
- the selection of K-cups is HUGE compared to t-disks.
- Starbucks switched from Tassimo to Keurig meaning that I could finally get K-cups that I liked - still don't like strong coffee, but too many of the other K-cups are too bland, forcing me to brew them at 8 and even 6 oz
- never did receive my free t-disks, which really kind of made me angry
- the second Tassimo machine now has the red light problem - light comes on for descaling, but despite going through the treatment, the light has remained on, this is obviously an issue with the Tassimo machines
- stores don't carry the full line of t-disks, so limited selection of t-disks AND limited availability
- the Keurig machine tanks are a little easier to fill as they are either on the side or at the front top, instead of the Tassimos which are at the back, making accessibility difficult if you have it sitting on a counter under upper cupboards
I still say Tassimo has the better system, but they need to improve their customer service, their machine descaling light and their selection of t-disks as well as their marketing to major retailers. Keurig still does not do any foaming drinks and is still a much slower machine, but I find I'm using it more than I used my Tassimo simply because I can find a lot of K-cups that I like (iced tea, variety of hot teas, and lots of different brews). When a friend recently asked me which system I preferred I used the analogy that the Tassimo was like a Beta machine and the Keurig was like the VHS (yes, I date myself with that one!). The Beta machine was a much better system, but everyone bought into the VHS.
