Tassimo - yes, no, which one, something else instead?

A friend has a similar machine, I never find the coffee to my liking.

We have a cheap filter machine (Tesco) if works fine and we can select from any coffee we wish and how strong we like it, a full jug lasts us the morning.

I have tried every kind of coffee machine and have gone back to a French press thingy- then I know the coffee is fresh and the equipment is clean. Coffee from machines can star to become bitter if they are not thoroughly clean - coffee goes off just like anything else and who knows how old the coffee is in those pods. I really should grind my own beans each time but its a faff and I'm the only coffee drinker in the house. S My friend has a Tassimo - foul coffee!!! I ask for tea in her house!!

I gave son this one for Xmas. He loves it. Pods are easy to get and It has a milk frother with it too.

I have a Tassimo and after trying a few different flavours/strengths of coffee, Cafe Crema is the one I enjoy. Not impressed with the hot chocolate though and I have never tried any of the tea. DD tells me the latte is very good.

I know Morrisons were selling them half price around Christmas but I don't know if the offer is still on.

I, however, make do with this little contraption and very good it is too.

Coffee does go off quite quickly, we do buy ready ground (Tesco finest Columbian) but keep it in a air tight tin in the fridge and in our house it only lasts a few days.

We used to have an espresso machine, but as I found, cheap espresso machines do not produce enough pressure to make good coffee, our £20 filter machine is much better

I use a cafetiere and the coffee always tastes good (and smells good too!). I think the trick is finding a coffee that suits. We like Taylors Rich Italian no.4. Sometimes simple is best.

I'm a huge fan of coffee pods, one of our sons bought us a Docle Gusto machine a good few years ago before coffee pods had really caught on and we shoved into a cupboard for quite a few years. When we were having our kitchen re-fitted a while back we got it out and started using it and haven't looked back. We bought an electric milk frother to go with it because neither of us like cold milk. Eventually first machine started to leak and we bought a more up dated streamlined replacement. We can only use Dolce Gusto pods, but we have found we like their Cortado ones the best. A friend has a Nespresso machine which I must say I do covet and haven't ruled out buying one of those as well. Coffee addict! We used to buy a lot of flat whites out and I think we have saved a fortune on cutting back on those. It depends how important coffee is to the individual, having two to three good coffees in the morning really sets me up for the day, I wouldn't want to go back to the instant stuff out of a jar now. When friends come to stay we use ground coffee in a cafetiere, but even that doesn't do it for me anymore.

Given the cost Of a Tassimo, I suggest you try the coffee from one before you buy. Several shops have them on display and will demonstrate by making a coffee.

I use a Tassimo that I won on a tried and tested competition and I have used it on a regular basis,I like the Cafe Crema & The English Breakfast Tea
nice and easy to use it is ideal for just the two of us if we fancy a coffee mid morning.Its smart shiny black and fits into my kitchen decor nicely.

Thank you all for your input.

I don't like coffee and only DH drinks it at the weekend and he usually makes a cafetiere for himself We have various sizes of cafetiere but they are a real fag to clean (if using the smallest) or the coffee goes cold using a larger one. We have ground coffee which we keep in a kilner jar in the fridge but find that it tends to go off before we use it all. I like tea, made with leaves in a pot, but, for a treat, like hot chocolate. We thought a tassimo or similar would be useful but I'm not sure about tea from one glamma.

Our thinking was that, because we drink coffee so little, it might be a better bet.

jings I've just looked up your little gadget. It looks brilliant, but are the filters re-usable? It didn't say in the instructions I found, but it stated "put a filter into the cap", which seems to imply that they're disposable.

kitty The tea comes in pods just like the coffee and at first I was sceptical but was plesently surprised,not too fond of the Hot Chocolate though a wee bit watery for me.

They are not reusable but it comes with what seems to be, thousands! You can buy more from Amazon but you won't need to for ages.

You need to have quite a strong right arm to push the plunger down, but I manage ok. You rinse the plunger in cold water first which makes it easier.

filters here Also, on the same page, it shows a stainless steel one. I don't bother with that.

DH has a Tassimo upstairs in his office. He is pleased with it but he comes down and boils the kettle first to warm up his mug with hot water as the pod coffee seems to lose its heat quickly. It only makes a fairly small amount I believe. I drink decaf from a jar and only one a day so to be honest I can't see the point of the machine. Different strokes for different folks (or whatever the phrase is). Sorry this isn't very helpful.

Thanks Jings, I love my coffee so I'll put this on my birthday list - not for ages yet though

Yes MiniMouse, the filters on this gadget are disposable. I had one of these, made really good coffee and easy to clean. I broke a cup one day when I was too rough pushing the plunger bit down, then a bit broke in the gadget and I never got round to replacing it. I now have a super duper machine that you put beans in at the top and get fresh coffee out at the bottom. Only problem with that is that the coffee is never really hot enough.
I've had "pod" machines in the past but always conscious of the environmental problems with the plastic waste, but I drink a lot of coffee so if you're just an occasional user it wouldn't be such a concern

I wondered about the environmental issue too yoga.

Thanks YogaG Last question - with apologies for rather hijacking this thread - is it any better than a cafetiere? Perhaps the cleaning's less hassle.

I have previous history with regard to buying coffee machines

Nespresso .... but you have to be an extreme addict to justify the expense. I also resented the Nespresso capsule prices although the capsules do keep the coffee very fresh. Now using a De Longhi bean to cup machine which is good too.

You can keep ground coffee or beans in the freezer and use them straight from there. It seems to maintain quality for longer.

yes - the plastic waste!

I would get a Pixie if I was getting one just for us two. But that uses pods too.

Yes phoenix. We know.