Pod People: Tassimo Home Brewing System
This is a compensated review by BlogHer and Tassimo
I never really drank coffee until I met Sean, and if we’re being honest, once I did start drinking coffee, I only drank it to impress him. Look, this is just what happens when you meet your husband when you're sixteen. He gets, like, twice the amount of things to tease you about for the rest of your life.
Anyway, somewhere along the way---probably after our fifteenth date at Dunkin’ Donuts; I know, what a romantic, huh?---I actually started, you know, liking coffee. And then, worse than liking it, I even started craving it. I couldn’t wake up properly in the morning without drinking a cup. “You’ve created a monster!' I told Sean. He brewed another pot and laughed.
So when BlogHer asked if I’d like to try the new Tassimo home brewing machine, which brews hot drinks individually from pods, I was intrigued. Thus far, we’ve made our coffee in a traditional pot, in a French Press, from a jar (uh, not recommended) and….well, from another one of these pod-style machines that I bought on a whim a few years ago. I’m pretty sure we only used that one once. It was---how shall I put this?---not a hit. With anyone.
The Tassimo, I’m pleased to report, is vastly different. To start with, while the old pod-style machine I’d tried was a garish blue, the Tassimo is an innocuous silvery-black contraption that looks pretty smart in your kitchen. It’s made by the decidedly high-end Bosch, and---as far as I can tell—costs twice the price of the other one. I mean, yeah, I know money can’t buy you happiness, but I’ll tell you this: it certainly buy you better tasting coffee.
Our Tassimo came with four different packs of pods: one for hot chocolate (made by Milka), one for coffee (made by Starbucks), one for cappuccinos (made by Gevalia), and one for chai tea lattes (made by Twinings,) I figured that the brand names would mean that the drinks would taste pretty good, and—for the most part---I wasn’t wrong.
We started out by slipping in a Starbucks pod---set-up of the machine was basically a piece of cake; the instructions are clear, the buttons are big, there isn’t really any leeway for going wrong---and watched, transfixed, as the coffee made itself. The Tassimo prides itself on having a special feature that “reads” whatever pod you put inside and prepares the drink accordingly; each pod, apparently, has a barcode on it that tells the machine what to do. I’m pretty sure this is what our grandparents were envisioning when they pictured the year 2009, aren’t you? Boy, I bet the creators of The Jetsons wished they’d have thought of that.
The Starbucks coffee was good. “I probably wouldn’t believe that you ran down to Starbucks and got this for me,” said Sean. “But I’d definitely drink it.” The chai tea latte was fairly interesting---neither of us are big chai tea latte drinkers---but the hot chocolate, I’ve got to admit, was a bit of a disappointment. Maybe it’s because I’m a bit of a hot chocolate snob, but I’d probably just stick to making this on the stove. The cappuccino was the biggest hit---in fact, when I tipped a little bit of Baileys into the mug, it became a veritable creamy delight (though I’m pretty sure you could tip a bit of Baileys into a sewage plant if you wanted to, and have it taste okay.)
All in all, we were both really pleased---and, honestly, a little surprised---by the quality of the coffee drinks, as well as how easy it was to switch between them (you just put a pod in, press the button, and go. It takes about thirty seconds for your drink to splash into your cup, and you get a decent amount at the perfect temperature.) I was a huge fan of the fact that you could just make one cup at a time---perfect for if one of us is up earlier (or later!) than the other and doesn’t want to brew a whole pot---and I can imagine it would come in really helpful if you were entertaining and had a lot of people who wanted very different things. I’m also considering the idea of taking the Tassimo into work, keeping it in my cubicle, and undercutting the Starbucks in the building’s lobby by charging a dollar less than they do for a cup of coffee.
(Oh alright, not really, but I still might put it in my cube and brew myself a cappuccino every now and again for a little afternoon pick-me-up. Uh, without the Baileys, of course.)
If you’d like a Tassimo of your own, I’ve got one to give away. All you’ve got to do is tell me this: what’s your favorite hot drink? Honestly, how easy is that? I mean, unless you tell me that you still like drinking it from a baby bottle, there really doesn’t appear to be any wrong answer.
To enter, leave me a comment below---or a link to your answer on your own blog---with your answer to the question above. The contest will begin on December 17, 2009 and end on December 30, 2009. Make sure that the e-mail address you leave is correct so I can contact you when you win.
Here are some rules:
- No duplicate comments.
- You may receive an additional entry by linking on Twitter and leaving a link in the comments.
- You may receive an additional entry by blogging about this contest and leaving a link in the comments.
- This giveaway is open to US Residents, aged 18 and older. (Sorry, foreign teenagers! That kind of sucks for you.)
- Winners will be selected via random draw, and will notified by e-mail.
- You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. That person will be like “damn, that other person was sleeping on the job."
You can read the official rules here, if that’s your bag, and you can also head over to the BlogHer round-up page for eight more chances to win a Tassimo. For more information, you can go to the Tassimo page right here.
Good luck! Happy drink brewing!
Dec 18, 2009
My favorite hot drink is a hot chocolate with whipped cream, especially when it's cold out and I'm not feeling well and I don't have to go anywhere! Even better when I have an almond biscotti to go with...
Dec 18, 2009
My favorite hot drink is the Triple (that's 3 shots of espresso) Grande Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks. I just LOVE this drink!
Dec 18, 2009
I love hot Cocoa in the winter time with marshmallows;-)
Dec 18, 2009
Tweeted
http://twitter.com/LisaSVance/status/6809361631
Dec 18, 2009
I blogged this giveaway here
http://mommyblessingsinsmallbundles.blogspot.com/2009/12/win-atassimo-br...
Dec 18, 2009
I tweeted this giveaway here
http://twitter.com/gijeanie/status/6809435245
Dec 18, 2009
peach black tea with a splash of milk
Dec 18, 2009
I love coffee day and night!!
Dec 19, 2009
hot cocoa with marshmallows and whipped cream, the real stuff, not cool whip
Dec 19, 2009
Tweet http://twitter.com/Ziggywag/status/6828007187
Dec 19, 2009
Chai Tea...so yummy!
Dec 19, 2009
Easy...Earl Grey tea. Straight; no milk, sugar, cream or anything.
Just steamy tea goodness.
Dec 19, 2009
I mostly drink tea, but the past few weeks i've been trying to train myself to like coffee. I think it's starting to work!
Dec 20, 2009
I love Irish breakfast tea!
Dec 20, 2009
Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks, hands down, best hot drink ever.
Dec 20, 2009
I like hot cappuccino!
Dec 21, 2009
my favorite hot drink is coffee with lots of sugar and cream
Dec 21, 2009
I love Hot chocolate!
Dec 21, 2009
tweeted
http://twitter.com/Missybeez80/status/6900051832
Dec 21, 2009
If she can get over that it doesn't look like a coffee pot, this might be just the thing for an 80 plus mom living alone.
Dec 22, 2009
My favorite hot drink is coffee, although, like you, it's not that I love it as much as I have to have it in order to be a normal, bright-outlook-on-life kind of person for the rest of the day.
Oh, and anything with Bailey's or peppermint schnapps is a winner with me too!
Dec 22, 2009
Pumpkin Spice Latte with lots of whip cream (did I say that?) is my favorite hot drink. But coffee is my standby!
Dec 22, 2009
Tweeted- http://twitter.com/GiveAwayChick/statuses/6937399333
Dec 22, 2009
I love this product. The Gevalia and Starbucks coffees are the best. I like combining a coffee and the hot chocolate together for a mocha with whipped cream.
Dec 22, 2009
Love cappaccino, hot chocolate and hot tea on a cold winter day.
Dec 22, 2009
Oops forgot my email address jklythgoe@verizon.net.
Dec 22, 2009
I die for Italian cappuccino. they took it out of the machine at work and I have been boycotting the new flavors.......I have dreams about that cappuccino
Dec 22, 2009
My most very favorite hot drink is coffee with cream and sugar. I have been drinking it daily for at least 35 years.
Dec 22, 2009
I linked to you as @kennarog on Twitter.
Dec 22, 2009
I lined to you as @kennarog on Twitter and I tweeted at http://twitter.com/kennarog/status/6951268295.
Dec 22, 2009
I love coffee .. day or night.
Dec 22, 2009
I tweeted about the Tassimo!
http://twitter.com/itsownterms/status/6952918278
Dec 23, 2009
I blogged about your giveaway.
http://curiouscrafting.blogspot.com/2009/12/i-found-another-giveaway.html
Thank you!
Dec 23, 2009
I have many favorite hot beverages, especially this time of year and living up north. But given the choice I almost always choose fresh-brewed black coffee as my favorite.
Dec 23, 2009
I'm in love with Chai tea and I would savor every drop that came from the Tassimo collection!
Dec 23, 2009
I like Folgers coffee.
Dec 23, 2009
I like Folgers coffee.
Dec 23, 2009
I love HOT coffee. It has to be h*o*t!! and coffee is fine with me.
epintor@cox.net
Dec 23, 2009
dunkin donuts hot chocolate with whipped creammmmmmmmmmm....cravvvinggg coming on nowww.
Dec 23, 2009
mmmm. i love any hot coffee...black, latte, mocha...i am an in home barista!
Dec 23, 2009
I like a regular coffee with cream....yumm!
Dec 23, 2009
My favorite hot drink is, sadly, no longer made. It was a super thick chocolatey drink that Starbucks was promoting several years ago. I believe that it started with a "ch" but it wasn't chocolate.
Aztec or Inca chocolate or something like that. All I know is that it was delicious and it went great with a marshmallow square and whatever book I was reading!
Dec 23, 2009
I am a coffee fanatic. Morning, noon and night - I drink. Never sugar, but always milk or cream...used to be black, but I can't drink it straight - hot any longer -- so cream to cool it so I can drink, and then drink another cuppa!
Thanks! :D
Dec 23, 2009
I love a good mocha.
Dec 23, 2009
I love hot chocolate!
Dec 23, 2009
http://the-prestigiator.xanga.com/718168692/8-great-giveaways-for-a-tass...
Dec 23, 2009
tweeted
http://twitter.com/DeeGee13/status/6990098946
Dec 23, 2009
I love to drink any variation of coffee!!
Dec 23, 2009
I love peppermint mochas especially this time of year!
Dec 24, 2009
A nice hot mocha just starts my day off on the right foot!
Dec 24, 2009
Coffee is my favorite hot drink of course!
Dec 24, 2009
Oh, I love anything with white chocolate in it.
Dec 25, 2009
I LOVE COFFEE! i think somone should invent an IV drip of coffee, LOL
Dec 25, 2009
mocha latte is always a winner
Dec 25, 2009
I LOVE morning vanilla lattes
Dec 25, 2009
My absolute favorite hot drink is caffe latte! That's why I'd love to own a Tassimo, so I can recreate the experience I had in Italy of drinking a great cup of caffe latte every morning. I can almost taste it now...
Dec 25, 2009
My favorite hot drink is soy milk latte!
Dec 25, 2009
tweet.http://twitter.com/tcarolinep/status/7054694468
Dec 25, 2009
Blogged. http://tcarolinep.blogspot.com/2009/12/giveaway-nothing-but-bonfires_25....
Dec 26, 2009
A Tassimo brewing system would precisely complement the versatility, clean lines, and elegant execution that my early morning lingua franca craves.
Dec 26, 2009
My favorite hot drink is flavored coffee. I love butter rum flavor and hazelnut.
jerseygirl137(at)yahoo(dot)com
Dec 26, 2009
Tweet!
http://twitter.com/jerseygirl137/status/7064276496
jerseygirl137(at)yahoo(dot)com
Dec 26, 2009
This would be the perfect addition for my kitchen! I am the only one in the house that drinks coffee and I usually throw it out since it gets yucky before I can get it finished. Thanks for the chance.
Dec 26, 2009
I love hot apple cider this time of year!
Dec 26, 2009
I Tweeted! @danimcgarry
http://twitter.com/danimcgarry/status/7075982555
Dec 26, 2009
my fave drink is hot chocolate and if my hubby makes it for me it is 10 times more delicious!
Dec 26, 2009
Just like the kids-good hot chocolate.
Dec 26, 2009
I like hot coffee with a shot of creme de cocoa..
Dec 26, 2009
My favorite hot beverage is home made hot chocolate with Hershey's Baking Cocoa, fresh heavy cream, sugar and a pinch or two of fresh grated cinnamon.
Dec 27, 2009
My Favorite hot drink is a Cafe Latte non fat.
ShawnaMichelle@ymail.com
Dec 27, 2009
My favorite hot beverage is a cappuccino from Peets coffee.
Dec 27, 2009
Tweeted. thanks so much for the extra chance to win!
http://twitter.com/WendiP/status/7096332511
Dec 27, 2009
Yes - a cup of coffee - not a pot - that is all I need and want. thanks
Dec 27, 2009
My favorite hot beverage is chai latte, not too sweet, made with 1% milk and lipton's chai tea.
Dec 27, 2009
We each live alone and feel that it would be so comforting to have such a delightful beverage maker to cheer up our day, especially since we love hot drinks. If we had to choose, your maker would definitely be our first choice!
We absolutely adore hot drinks and our favorite is probably the Italian cafe orange cappuccino. It is simply magnificent. We first tried it when on a vacation in Tuscany, Italy at a lovely little cafe. The orange zest really lends a unique accent.
Also in Italy, we found your wonderful machine and immediately longed for one. It would be such a pleasant treat to earn the opportunity to win you marvelous machine and be able to make infinite varieties of hot drinks. Thanks so much for the opportunity!
Dec 27, 2009
My favorite hot drink is a double expresso latte, but I usually switch up between vanilla and raspberry shots.
Dec 27, 2009
I love Americanos!
Dec 27, 2009
Mmmm, I love chai lattes!
Dec 28, 2009
Tweetered
http://twitter.com/mandabunine/status/7118525385
Dec 28, 2009
Didn't get my boyfriend a christmas gift! He is a coffee fiend! He would LOVE this machine!
Thanks for the extra chance to win!
Dec 28, 2009
hot chocolate or hot ovomaltine.
Dec 28, 2009
I'm pretty boring. my favorite hot drink is...coffee! if it's a well-made good brand of coffee i prefer it black. not so good, then i'll take it with a splash of milk. and sometimes if i want a little bit of sweetness i like a shot of hazelnut.
Dec 28, 2009
Plain black coffee every morning! But for an afternoon pick me up I like to go with a grande 2 pump vanilla soy caramel machiatto from the Bux!
And tweeted at twitter.com/beachphotog
Dec 28, 2009
chai spice tea :)
Thank you!
-kc
Dec 28, 2009
I'm a hot chocolate girl! With apple cider coming in second place.
Dec 28, 2009
White mocha!
Dec 28, 2009
Mocha - half coffee, half good cocoa. My go-to comfort drink when I'm cold!
Dec 28, 2009
I'm a tea with milk person.
Dec 28, 2009
Coffee with vanilla cream. Made by my hubby and brought to me in my bathroom while I get ready for work!
Dec 28, 2009
Vanilla latte. Yummm.