If you’ll pardon the pun, there’s a war a brewin’ in the single cup coffee maker world. If you’re like me, your day can’t start without that steaming hot cup o’ joe in the morning. I seem to want to call these coffee makers, but both of these systems make hot tea, hot chocolate, and other items like even iced coffee. One of these appliances, even touts itself as a “beverage delivery system.” I’ll just call them coffee makers for now. The two contenders are the Keurig and the Tassimo. Both have models that do basically the same job. They brew a single cup of coffee as if it’s your own personal barista. Both models use “pods” of coffee in a small cuplike disc. Tassimo uses the T-disc while Keurig uses the K-cups. Both models have a built in filter to filter your tap water. One advantage the Keurig has over the Tassimo is that it sells “my kcup” which allows you to use your own coffee. Problem with that is the cleanup and the fact that your end result is not as good as the result you get using their K-cups discs. Starbucks has an exclusive with Tassimo, so if you are a Starbucks fan, Tassimo is your only option unless you use the my kcup. This device is cumbersome, hard to clean and impractical at best, but it does give you a path to the Starbucks brand via the Keurig. I don't recommend the my kcup at all. It totally ruins the convenience factor.
The discs for both are a bit pricey, but compared to a $5 cup of java at your local coffee cow, it’s a bargain. The cost per cup ranges from about .50 (for a basic coffee), to 1.50 for a cappuccino (which uses two discs in the Tassimo).
Another advantage the Keurig has is the availability of the K-cups. Many stores and discounters are now carrying the K-cups. While the Keurig leads the market in availability and the fact that you can use your own coffee, the Tassimo is the wiser of the two machines. The Keurig uses some electronics to affect temperature when brewing, but the Tassimo uses a sophisticated bar code on all the T-discs to brew you a perfect cup of coffee, latte, espresso or cappuccino. The Keurig just doesn’t have this capability. If you want this in the Keurig, you’ll have to buy a separate milk steamer. In the Tassimo, the milk comes in the T-discs and the creamy cup of hot goodness makes itself even though you have to use two T-discs to make it (coffee and then milk disc). It knows what to do with the discs as you put them in though.
The Keurig will allow you to adjust brew volume (how much water is used), although it requires you to tell it a 6 oz or 10 oz brew. This will affect the boldness of your final product. The Tassimo gives you a period of time when your cup is finished to manually push a button to add more water to your brew. Again, I like the ability to customize the amount of water using the Tassimo’s approach even though you have to stand and wait for the “add water to me” blinking green light and manually push a button.
If you want a great cup of coffee, the Keurig is a good choice. It’s simple, it’s a bit faster than the Tassimo and it’s available in lots and lots of places. If you enjoy Starbucks coffee, like the occasional latte, cappuccino or espresso , then the beverage delivery system called Tassimo is the clear winner. The only downside to the Tassimo, in my opinion, is the fact that you have to find a retailer in your area that carries the discs. Typically Bed Bath and Beyond and Kohl’s carry the line.
Both of these devices are a big improvement on your typical "Mr. Coffee", and if you have a sophisticated coffee palatte, I hightly recommend them both. My clear favorite, because I enjoy lattes and cappuccinos is the Tassimo. Meatmeater gives the single serve coffee brewers a big well done. Let me know if you have either of these systems and leave us a post below. Good luck and good coffee.
Gives Single Server Coffee makers a "Well Done"
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