Tassimo review after having the machine for a year

It's interesting to read people's reviews on this machine. My view has actually changed over time. I have had this system for nearly a year now, and I couldn't sing its praises more in the beginning - I would have rated it 5 stars. So simple to use, you just push the button and leave it to do the rest.

For the pluses, there is a wide range of coffee, especially if you buy them online, and they usually arrive within a week. The coffees/teas are also available in most large supermarkets, but you will probably see just one or two drinks in the smaller stores. It only takes a few seconds to warm up, and once the cup is in position then it really is just the push of a button - the bar code on each capsule tells the machine how much water to release, and at what temperature.

As for the downsides, there are no chilled drinks available (as yet), it seems to have aged considerably in looks - I think it looks dated yet other machines still look stylish.

I bought my partner a Dolce Gusto for Christmas, and although it has a much smaller range of capsules, (and surprisingly no teas!) you only have to try a chococino or a lungo, and you will be converted.

I can't comment on the milk capsules, as I only drink black coffee, but I will be offloading this Tassimo at some point in the very near future and converting to the DG.

Tassimo seem to be increasing their capsule range a lot more than the DG, and the teas are all very good, and as for the coffees, the Crema Intenso is the best by far. Be careful, I ended up spending a ridiculous amount of money on trying out the coffees online, and as a result spent several weeks wide-eyed and fidgety!

Don't get me wrong, I have been more than happy with the system, and would recommend it, especially for the ranges of drinks - if you like both tea and coffee, then this is definitely the choice.

For me personally, from now on, I will be happy with just lungos and chocochinos from DG.

Hot hot hot....or not.

The coffee maker is good in that it's quite quick and makes decent tasting coffee. However, the temperature that it makes it at is nowhere near hot enough meaning that all that is delivered is a cup of warm coffee. Maybe it's just me, but I prefer my hot drinks to be.......well, hot basically. Also, the milk warmer is ridiculously slow. I have taken to heating the milk in a pan before using the machine to froth it up. All in all, it's not bad but just needs to be hotter.

Superb espresso , but needs some practice to get good results

I've had this machine now for about a month . At first I tried many different types of coffee , some work well , some don't .
So far the 3 Lavazza vacuum packed coffee types work best for me, and supermarket own brand stuff is the worst and should really be avoided .
The instruction manual doesn't actually tell you which pods to use and a call to customer services didn't help in the slightest either so i'm afraid its trial and error there . Senseo soft pods ( almost like round tea bags )seem ok but they are only a quick and cleaner alternative to a proper espresso .
I've noticed the same quirks as everyone else like the filter needs to be pushed all the way to the right for a good fit otherwise you run the risk of being sprayed with hot water ! ( keep the kids away from it ! )
The drip tray does seem to get rather full very quickly which makes me think it is wasting rather a lot of the reservoir than it needs to . Time will tell as to its longevity but so far now i've got some decent coffee i'm more than happy with it , and i'm getting a better crema layer than most coffee shops . 4 out of 5 for now and if i find some decent pods as well i'd give it 5

Marvellous

Makes espresso that would embarrass Starbucks. I thought the idea of having all the different blends was a bit of a gimmick, but you can really taste the difference in the flavours.

It takes virtually no cleaning and heats up in 30 seconds. It can make another cup as soon as it's finsihed the last.

Looks amazing in the flesh. For the money (including Xmas £40 cashback), this is remarkable value for money.

I've had a Expresso machine for years and hardly used it becuase of the waitng and the hassle and the cleaning. This answers all the problems and I think ours will get some serious use.

The only slight negative is that you really have to mail order/internet order the capsules. There are only two Nespresso shops in the UK and they're both in London (surprise, surprise). They're not available in normal supermarkets.

Very Nice espresso maker!

This is our office machine, i also have a similar machine from Breil at home, costing a bit more. But i'd have to say the Gaggia works better. Haven't had any problems with it, since we were new to an espresso maker, it took a few days to learn to operate it right. After that, perfect tasting coffee in the office every day! Very good set of accessories too...

good coffee

I bought my coffee machine a few years ago, and yeap it broke within the first couple of days.........took it back to the shop and they replaced it with no problems. Now i wouldnt be without my little two cup coffee maker, like a lot of reviewers, it is ideal for making a cup of coffee to take to work with you, or if your like me ideal for sitting infront of the computer with, and enjoying a fresh cup of coffee whilst you surf the net. Although this machine has its faults, it also has its plus's and I for one love my little Russell so much infact, I bought the one cup version i saw for work.

Its a drip

It very pretty, but it drips all over the place while pouring. Take this off the shelves.

excellent coffee!

Thanks to this machine i can enjoy my favourit coffee whenever i want, the selection of coffee provided by nespresso is great too! Make great Latte macciatto!

Have a pen handy

So quick and easy to use, and the coffee selection is great. (which is why I bought it). There are a dozen or so different flavours varying in strength (3 of which are long).
Now for the not so good stuff.
Firstly description says delivered with an assortment of coffee - you get one capsule of each 'flavour' so get a pen ready to rate which ones you like. The coffee can only be bought from Nespresso so it's not cheap @ around 28p per capsule (after postage charges).
The cup warmer is gimmick value only - of no use unless you leave the machine on for an hour, and flush out the cold water in the pipes into another cup before inserting capsule - Hmmmm?
That said, it is good coffee better than perc. etc. Of course it's one cup at a time though.

Barista quality"crema" coffee at home, without fuss, every time

Quite simply this machine has no equal on the domestic market. It is the answer to the problem of making quality expresso coffee every time. We have tried a series of machines from the quixotic"chrome peacock" to the workaday"pod" machine, but this is far, far superior.

With this machine, you simply pour the coffee beans in one end, press a button and a perfect cup of fresh expresso coffee emerges within seconds with a perfect (and delicious)"crema" every time. It is highly adjustable, so for example, you can select"long" or"short" expresso, and you can easily vary the strength(6 options) just by pressing a single button.

If you take milk in your coffee, the jug system is ingenious and simple to use, again using a single button. It effortlessly produces that wonderful, creamy, thick foam that you normally only see in commercial outlets. Moreover, it does this within seconds for cup after cup, eliminating that tiresome fuss experienced with lesser machines. The result tastes like a professionally-made cappuccino or latte.

More prosaically, it tells you (on the small electronic screen) when to empty the coffee grounds or fill the tank (both very simple procedures). It also rinses itself when you switch it off. It looks good too: it is a quality item, well made with very high specification chrome and plastics. It is not too big: it has plainly been designed to sit comfortably on a domestic kitchen work surface and it does so very happily, without looking disporoportionate.

In short, while this machine is obviously expensive, it produces commercial quality coffee with a fantasic crema and/or foam at the touch of a button, consistently, and without fuss. If you love expresso coffee, it is well worth the money.

Never have coffee looked this good

This is a true marvel of simplicity! Eva Solo have brilliantly designed a quick and easy way to make really good coffee. In the time it takes to make a cup of tea you can make a full pot, or in this case a carafe, of fresh and aromatic coffee. And as a bonus for busy people it takes no time to clean. You can even put it in the dishwasher if you don't have time for 2 minutes of hand washing. If this doesn't convince you take a look at it. It gives style to coffee that no espresso machine can ever match. Scandinavian design at it's best!

Bialetti stainless steel coffee thing

Described as a 'four cup' coffee maker but unless you're using cups the size of large thimbles it produces nothing like four cups. One normally sized cup or beaker is all you'll get out of it.
An additional problem if you're using gas is that the diameter of the base is so small that it will not sit on the trivets on most gas hobs so you'll need a flame diffuser. Even then because of the small base flames are almost certain to lick up the sides and damage the insulated handle.
The stainless steel looks nice but shows every finger mark, a satin finish would probably be better and the quality of manufacture isn't brilliant on closer inspection.
I sent it back for a refund.