Even if this is your first time at Qwowi.com it shouldn’t take you long to realize we’re fans of the Keurig Brewing System.  More to the point, however; we’re fans of single-serve coffee.  My feeling is that, like the microwave, a single-serve brewer will eventually find its way to just about every counter top in America.  So despite apparent allegiances to Keurig, when we were offered the opportunity to test out the Tassimo Suprema (by Bosch), we jumped at the opportunity.

While the seemingly natural thing to do is to write this review as a Tassimo vs. Keurig; which is better, I’m going to fight those instincts and do my best to review the Tassimo Suprema on its own merits.  Besides, after having used the Tassimo (or “played around with it” as I like to say), it’s really not a question of better or worse because, although both systems are, at the most basic level, designed to brew a single cup coffee, they actually work quite differently.

What is a Tassimo Suprema

I’ve already covered the single-serve coffee part, but for those are who new to the idea, the Tassimo system is designed to brew a single cup of coffee at the touch of a button.  Each T-Disc (a small plastic disc filled with ground coffee, tea, hot cocoa, or milk) has a bar code on its label.  What’s really cool (and fascinating) about the Tassimo is that the machine actually scans that bar code in order to determine: what size cup of coffee (tea, cocoa, etc.) to make, how long the brewing process should take, and the optimal temperature at which to brew the coffee.  Of course, these decisions are made in seconds, so you’re cup of whatever it is you happen to be drinking is ready to go from the brewer to your mouth in less than a minute.

As far as the design and construction is concerned, the Tassimo is resonably compact, and certainly no bigger than the average home coffee maker.  The externally visible components are constructed almost exclusively of plastic, which isn’t unusual for a coffee maker.  There are a couple of very small chrome accents, which in my opinion, are a bit overstated in the product literature.  The 61 oz. water reservoir mounts to the back of the unit.  Two things I really like about the design of the water tank are that it has a handle, which makes it very easy to carry when full, and it can be fitted with a water filter, which eliminates the need to use pre-filtered water, which should decrease the frequency at which the unit will need to be descaled.

Setting Up the Tassimo

Getting your new Tassimo up and running is quite easy.  It’s as simple as filling the tank with water, attaching it to the Tassimo, and you’re basically fully operational.  It is recommended that you run a few maintenance cycles through the machine to clear out any of the plastic taste and to give it a good cleaning in general sort of way.  This is all done with the help of the bar coded maintenance disc which tells the Tassimo that we’re not brewing, we’re only cleaning.  The maintenance disc stows away nicely in a slot between the water tank and the brewer, which ensures that it’s always there when you need it, and unlikely to get lost.

Brewing Coffee (and other stuff) with the Tassimo

The beauty of single-serve coffee systems in general is that they’re easy and convenient.  The Tassimo is no different.  Simply insert your T-Disc into your brewer (face down), and press the brew button (actually it’s a multi-function button), and the Tassimo does the rest.  You can actually hear the Tassimo scanning T-Disc and reading the bar code.  Once it has all the information it needs it gets to work brewing your coffee.  What’s important to remember is that every T-Disc is unique.  A Starbucks disc may be brewed quite differently from a Maxwell House disc.  There is a noticeable difference in the strength of the coffee, the temperature of the coffee, and the actual amount of coffee that ends up in your cup.  As a guy new to the Tassimo system, each new cup was a bit like a box of chocolates…you know the rest.

With any Tassimo beverage you have the option of tweaking the brewing cycle to you personal tastes.  If you like your coffee a bit stronger than what the bar code says it should be, you can manually interrupt the brewing process when the desired amount of coffee is in your cup.  If you prefer a weaker cup of coffee, or you just want more of it, after the initial brew cycle has completed, you have the option of extending it to suite your own personal tastes.

The Beverages

A brewing system is, quite obviously, only as good as the beverages it produces.  My demo unit arrived with a selection of coffee, tea, latte, cappuccino, and hot cocoa, so although I won’t be starting up a T-Disc Challenge anytime soon (my brewer is a loaner), I was able to try a variety of what’s available for the Tassimo system.  Coffee in America is largely a regional enterprise, although there are some exceptions.  The two biggest US chains are Dunkin Donuts, and Starbucks.  Dunkin Donuts coffee isn’t available on any single-serve system, Starbucks coffee is available exclusively on the Tassimo system.  Starbucks alone, I suspect, is a reason why many will choose the Tassimo system.  Tassimo also offers Seattle’s Best, and well as at-home favorite Maxwell House.

As a bit of an aside, the discs themselves are of varying thicknesses and contain different amounts of coffee (which makes sense considering what the bar codes are all about).  What I found interesting, and a bit counter-intuitive is this; the more ground coffee there is in the disc, the less brewed coffee in your cup.  As a specific example, the Starbucks discs are much larger than the Maxwell House discs and contain noticeably more coffee.  The Maxwell House discs, however, produce a much larger cup of coffee than the Starbucks.  Go figure.

Coffee

Among my samples was the Starbucks African Kitamu (dark roast) which I really enjoyed.  The Starbucks Colombian was pretty good as well.  In truth, I didn’t much care for the Maxwell House French Vanilla (no surprise, since I don’t care for French Vanilla in general), and the Gevelia Signature Blend was a bit on the weak side for my tastes.  Of course, there are lots of other varieties available, so everyone should be able to find something that appeals to his/her own personal tastes.

Tea

Both of the Tea varieties I sampled (Tazo Awake Black Tea, and Twinnings Earl Grey) were passable.  I don’t mean that to sound like a bad thing.  I’m just not much of a tea guy (I’m still learning to appreciate the subtleties), so why there wasn’t anything bad about them, neither one offered a life changing taste experience either.

Hot Cocoa

One of the side benefits of the Tassimo design is that the T-Discs can hold liquid as well as powders and grinds.  The Suchard hot cocoa, as an example is syrup-based, not powdered.  The implementation works well and the cocoa itslef is almost as good as when you make it yourself.

Specialty Beverages

For my money, the absolute best feature of the Tassimo is its ability to produce what I call two-stage beverages.  My box of samples included both cappuccino and latte offerings.  Both packages include not only espresso discs, but also an equal number of milk discs.  The first thing I did was compare the milk from the latte to the milk from the cappuccino.  This discs are, in nearly ever respect, identical.  The only difference is the bar code itself, which as it turns out, makes all the difference in the world.

Both cappuccino and latte are brewed the same way.  First, insert the espresso disc.  The Tassimo does its bar code reading thing, and then spits out a few ounces of espresso.  When the machine has finished with the first stage, remove the espresso disc and replace it with the milk disc.  It’s right about here that difference between cappuccino and espresso become quite impressively different.

As lovers of cappuccino will tell you, the foam is the thing.  Tassimo knows that, so when it’s adding milk to your espresso it’s foaming the hell out of it.  When making a latte, the milk is steamed, with just a hint of foam added at the very end.  In both cases I thought Tassimo did an outstanding job of replicating what, for the most part, is an coffee house exclusive.  I added a bit of chocolate syrup to my last latte, and it made for the best mocha experience I’ve had since my wife made me stop at Starbucks on the way home from Brooklyn back in November.

For those looking for single-serve system for home, the cappuccino/latte thing may just be one more thing the Tassimo can do.  For me, it’s absolutely the single best feature of the Tassimo system.

Cleaning and Maintenance

Day to day cleaning of the Tassimo Suprema is simple enough.  External surfaces can easily be wiped down, and many of the pieces involved in the actual staging, puncturing, and dripping of the T-Discs can be easily removed from the brewer for cleaning.  Some parts are even dishwasher safe.  You may want to consider getting some pipe cleaners as it’s difficult to reach all the way into the piercing unit assembly.  Should something go horribly wrong, and you break something, no worries – replacement parts are readily available on the Tassimo website.

For more advanced cleanup, like descaling, you’ll need to use a descaling solution in conjunction with the maintenance disc.  I didn’t actually try descaling the unit myself, but I like the necessary (but annoying and potentially difficult) process is built into the overall design of the system.

What I like about Tassimo

• Offerings from popular brands like Starbucks, Seattle’s Best, and Maxwell House
• Bar code system for more specialized brewing
• Two-stage brewing process that produces really good Latte and Cappuccino
• Built-in water filter, which eliminates the need to pre-filter your water, and reduces the need for descaling
• A maintenance disc which simplifies the descaling process

What I don’t like about Tassimo

• Available selection of coffees, teas, etc. is somewhat limited
• Bar code system could potentially limit opportunity for new varieties to be added – what good is a new bar code if your brewer doesn’t recognize it?
• Brewing weaker/stronger cup of coffee cannot be programmed, and must be done manually
• In some cases the “optimum temperature” of the coffee proved to be too cool after cream was added – this was especially true with the Starbucks disks
• Premium T-Discs are more expensive than coffee for other single-serve systems

Final Thoughts

The Tassimo system is a worthy competitor in the single-serve coffee arena.  While the current coffee varieties are comparatively limited, that fact is mitigated somewhat by it’s ability to produce true latte and cappuccino beverages (a feature that sets it apart from the competition).  I’m impressed by the ease of both setup and cleaning.  From a functionality standpoint it does exactly what it’s supposed to do; produce a single cup of coffee, quickly.

For brand loyalists of Starbucks or Seattle’s best, the Tassimo is very likely the right system for you.  Those who crave variety, may want to consider alternatives.  Having tried both of the leading systems in the single-serve marketplace, one thing I can say with absolute certainty; you can’t go wrong either way.

Although this is the first in the series, check back soon for all of the reviews that are part of Qwowi’s Kitchen Week 2009.

Shameless Plug

The Tassimo Supremo, as well as a full assortment of T-Discs and accessories, are available online from CoffeeForLess.com and Amazon.com.  We hope you’ll consider choosing our affiliate partners for your purchase.  This site is wholely funded by ad revenue and affiliate programs.  When you support are affiliate partners you support us.