Ode to my Tassimo Brewbot

We have been using the heck out of our Glamorous Red Brewbot we purchased through Amazon! I probably make no less than 3 tea lattes a day and my husband, who is still using his regular coffee pot, will have the occasional cappuccino after dinner.

I have a few gripes, but we'll get to that in a minute. For the most part I am more than happy with my little single serve machine. I wish my work allowed us to plug in appliances, because I'd get a 2nd Tassimo for my cube.

Running the cleaning cycle

After opening your new Tassimo Brewbot the water tank needs to be rinsed thoroughly with water and there is a special cleaning disc that is stored in front of the water tank at the back of the machine.

The instruction booklet with the machine will walk you through the proper steps before use. This cleaning disc will also be used after making a milk based drink, or in my case, I will probably use it each time my husband makes a coffee drink as I don't want any coffee residue in my tea! The machine will also alert you when it needs to be descaled, and this cleaning disc is part of that process as well. Don't lose it! I'm glad it's bright yellow color.

We ran an extra tank of water through the cleaning cycle because we kept smelling a plastic chemical smell that I definitely didn't want to be smelling in my drink. The two tanks of water run through with the cleaning disc seemed to take care of the oder.

After the cleaning cycle is through you're ready to prepare your water filter if you plan to use one. The version we bought came with 2 Mavea brand filters, but the machine will run with or without them, which is a nice touch.

Photo Credit: PixelPosy.

You'll need:

A Cappuccino Disc which should come with a Milk Disc, and a Hot Chocolate Disc purchased separately.

Sorry for the dogs barking. Somehow they always know when we want them to be quiet, and it never fails they'll bark.

What to choose

I ordered my machine through Amazon.com, but I decided to try Tassimo Direct for our first round of t-discs. Right now, I can't say I'd use Tassimo Direct again. When looking at my order history, it states my order shipped on 01/09/1900... huh? I contacted customer service to find out that 2 of the products I selected were on back order and they were holding the entire order until those 2 items were in stock. Their site didn't mention that when I was checking out. Her solution was to call their customer service line and cancel or replace those 2 back ordered items and they would ship my full order. Not happy.

A quick search in their forums and you'll find delivery time is an issue for a lot of customers. Honestly, I would have been happier with a partial order being shipped with back order items to follow, or at least some notification that this was going to happen when I placed my order.

We ended up purchasing a selection of t-discs from Bed Bath and Beyond and have slowly realized that t-discs aren't very easy to find. Target and Wal-Mart carry them, but not the full line and no teas in my stores. Bed Bath and Beyond luckily had the full selection, so we stocked up while waiting for our Tassimo Direct order.

When the order did arrive, it was packaged perfectly. The discs were all in great shape. Honestly if I hadn't had to wait so long for the order to arrive I would have considered their direct delivery program.

I'll be using Amazon from now on, and hopefully will receive quicker service.

Update: 03/24/11: I've given Tassimo Direct two more chances and they still stink. The second shipment was ordered on a Saturday and it did not ship until the following Friday. If you're out of t-discs this is a long time to wait. Thankfully nothing was on back order so I did not have to wait even longer, but their Friday only shipping schedule bites.

Tassimo has ended their relationship with Starbucks but they are going to sell out the rest of their inventory. I went ahead stupidly and placed another order with them on Tuesday. Thursday I receive an email with no order information included, but states that something I ordered is out of stock and to please call them. I go online to see what was in my order only to find out they've removed the ability to view online orders unless you are on automatic delivery. I e-mailed asking for more information to be told it's the chai latte discs that are out of stock temporarily and that I will need to call and cancel my order if I want my items to ship. Well it's Friday now, so it's too late to get this shipment out the door, might as well take my chances and wait. I'm serious this time, it is the LAST time I will deal with Tassimo Direct. Bed Bath and Beyond or Amazon are much better options.

Photo Credit: Nibbled.

A selection of reviews and how to's from YouTube on the Tassimo Brew Systems.

1. Turn your machine into an instant hot water brewer by reusing an empty latte disc or simply place the cleaning disc in. Place a tea bag or loose leaf tea infuser into a mug and insert the previously used latte disc. Dispense and you'll have a perfect cup of hot water for your tea.
2. Most packages tell you to use the milk disc second for lattes and cappuccinos, but if you use it first there will be less mess to wipe out of the machine. Of course if you're making several drinks in succession this probably isn't an issue for you if you make the milk based drinks first.
3. The direction booklet isn't very clear, but if you gently push up on the bottom of the nozzle it will pop out. This piece does need cleaned from time to time as it will get gummed up with milk and chocolate discs.

Photo Credit: PixelPosy.