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6 best Tassimo coffee machines for perfect hot drinks at home

Speedy and brilliantly versatile, these gadgets are a kitchen essential for hot drink lovers

Jon Axworthy
Thursday 17 June 2021 06:00 BST
Whip up everything from speedy Americanos and lattes to teas and hot chocolate
Whip up everything from speedy Americanos and lattes to teas and hot chocolate (The Independent)
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Imagine a coffee shop where there’s never a queue, the barista never gets your order wrong and no one minds if you wander in wearing your pyjamas, and you’ve got a pretty good idea of what it’s like to have a capsule coffee machine in your kitchen.

One of the major brands is this realm is Tassimo, which has the Bosch name and design team behind the machines and uses barcoded “T-disc” pods to tailor your morning brew or afternoon pick-me-up.

There are a few things that separate Tassimo coffee machines from the capsule crowd, the first of which is the fact that they are not just focused on coffee, and also offer a wide variety of hot drinks, including branded brews and coffees from Costa to Cadbury.

The other big difference is that while other machines use high (15 to 19-bar) pressure to make espresso, Tassimo machines use just 3.3-bar pressure, which reduces the time it takes the machine to warm up and be ready to deliver your coffee, which is good news for any one impatient for their caffeine fix. This lower pressure also means its heater can keep going for multiple drinks, which is handy if you’re playing barista for a crowd.

The reduced pressure does create less crema, the flavourful frothy layer that usually sits atop an espresso, but Tassimo machines still offer espresso pods, which is one of the drinks that we tested the machines on, as well as Americanos, cappuccinos and lattes.

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Within the range itself, the big difference between the models is design and mode of operation. They all use the same T-discs, but some will offer a wider range of drinks, and all of the machines will deliver milk-based drinks without the need for a milk frother or steam wand, as drinks are made with two capsules, including a milk one. In terms of the sustainability of the capsules themselves, they are recyclable, via Terracycle, but we found that drop off points weren’t overly abundant in the UK.

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The best Tassimo coffee machine for 2021 are:

  • Best overall – Tassimo myway2: £139.99, Tassimo.com
  • Best for your workspace – Tassimo happy: £99.99, Argos.co.uk
  • Best for families – Tassimo vivy 2: £39.99, Argos.co.uk
  • Best for coffee in a hurry – Tassimo suny: £49.99, Argos.co.uk
  • Best for dinner parties – Tassimo joy: £59.99, Argos.co.uk
  • Best budget buy – Tassimo style: £39.99, Currys.co.uk

Tassimo myway2

Tassimo myway2 indybest.jpeg

Best: Overall

If you’re quite specific about the coffee in your cup then the myway2 allows you to select different strengths, temperature and sizes from the 40 different pods available. When you find the sweet spot you can then store the setting in the machine so that the next time you’re craving it, you can get your drink quicker – aou can do this with over four drinks, which is useful for households with different tastes. The coffee the machine produced was excellent, with rich espressos with a noticeable crema that didn’t disappear as soon as we started to drink it. The myway2 has a 1.3L water reservoir and also has a self-cleaning function with dishwasher safe parts.

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Tassimo happy

Tassimo happy  indybest.jpeg

Best: For your workspace

Imagine having to endure a day at work without a tea or coffee break? If that doesn’t bear thinking about, then the happy could be a very welcome addition to an office space to keep you supplied with hot drinks throughout the day. Eye-catching and compact, with a choice of 36 pods, the happy will dispense your drink quickly with a one-touch operation, although you can press and hold the button for more water if you want to customise your coffee and opt for a longer drink. Very easy to clean, with dishwasher safe parts, the fact that the happy has such a small footprint means that it can unobtrusively sit in the corner of a break room or even on your desk; plus its two-tone livery with various colour combinations will brighten up the dreariest work day.

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Tassimo vivy 2

Tassimo vivy 2 indybest.jpeg

Best: For families

A one-button machine with over 40 compatible pods that was up and brewing within minutes of unboxing and will take up very little space on a kitchen countertop. Even though the water reservoir is one of the smallest in the range (0.7l) it’s still plenty for three or four good quality brewed coffees, as well as smooth lattes and cappuccinos. The vivy 2 really comes into its own with the other hot drinks it offers that might be more to the taste of the non-coffee drinkers in the house, with T-discs from Twinings, which brewed a nice cup of tea as well as chocolate drinks from Cadbury, Milka and Oreo, which got a thumbs up from the kids.

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Tassimo suny

Tassimo suny  indybest.jpeg

Best: For coffee in a hurry

Very easy to operate, we really liked the smartstart technology that comes with the suny, which means that the machine detects when you’ve pressed a cup against it and begins the brewing process. In addition to the fact that it only takes 27 seconds to heat up, you can see why Bosch calls this machine “the quick one”. The coffee was good, offering nice, silky, milk drinks and strong Americanos without any of the bitter after taste that you get from inferior coffee.

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Tassimo joy

Tassimo joy  indybest.jpeg

Best: For dinner parties

With the biggest water tank in the range (1.4l), the joy is able to cater for larger gatherings and coffee mornings, and with the brita water filtration system in the machine – as with all the others – you know that you’re extracting the coffee from the capsule with the cleanest possible water. We found that the joy was most suited to milk-based drinks, as it was the best machine for producing frothy, luxurious milk from the capsules. There are five different cup sizes to choose from and there’s an adjustable cup or mug stand, according to the size of the drink that you’re making. This is what makes the joy a very versatile machine that is well suited to keeping up with the demands of after dinner drinkers.

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Tassimo style

Tassimo style  indybest.jpeg

Best: Budget buy

Not only is this the cheapest machine in the range, but we found that it was the style that produced the best results when it came to the Costa pods, so if you’re used to spending a lot of money on high street takeaway coffees the style could be an excellent way of saving a good deal of money over time. The Costa pods are included in the forty plus pods available for the machine, so as with all the Tassimo machines, finding a drink to your liking shouldn’t be a problem.

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The Verdict: Tassimo coffee machines

If we could only choose one Tassimo machine from the range then it would have to be the myway2 because of its versatility in being able to produce some of the best espressos, while also handling the dizzying array of other T-disc flavours extremely well. Well priced and nicely designed, it would be a welcome addition to any kitchen or workspace.

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Looking for more gadgets to make your morning java? Try our best pod coffee machines for an easy at-home brew

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