Best Cheap Tassimo Coffee Machine - Review of Tassimo Vivy T12 by Bosch

Tassimo machines are quite special compared to other available coffee makers that work on capsules - while they are easily on the more expensive side, that shouldn't be too off putting for big coffee lovers as compared to other machines the Tassimo deliver the strongest and best tasting coffee.

This is possible thanks to the smart mechanism of the Tassimo machines which reads code bars printed on each capsule, therefore knowing exactly how much of a pressure should it punch out to deliver you the perfect cup of coffee. Because of the barcode system the Tassimo machines have no trouble of adapting themselves to different beverages such as cappuccinos, caffè lattes, caffè macchiatos, different teas and even milk-based hot chocolate or other drinks where you have to simply heaten up milk with steam and not mix a cup of hot water with cocoa and then steam it, as it happens unfortunately with so many coffee machines today. For that purpose when you buy Tassimo capsules you'll sometimes find in the package two different capsules - the coffee capsules and then separately the milk capsules - with real milk inside, no powder.

The Machines vary from cheap simple models which can be discounted at only $30 or even lower, up to fancier high-end machines which work faster and sometimes can fill two cups at the same time. As I live alone and I don't feel like investing into this apartment which I got just for the time of my studies, I'm more than happy with my black Tassimo Vivy T12 coffee maker which I only paid about 29.99€ for.

Another great thing to keep in mind is that during hard times used coffee machines are quite abundant on the market. You can either search eBay or Amazon for used Tassimo machine or have a look at local pawnbrokers and second-hand electronics stores. Especially if you are planning to go for a good quality machines. There are some things where you can count on Germans, and reliability is one of them. Older Tassimo machines are produced by Braun whereas all the new ones are made by Bosch.

The Vivy T12 is sturdy and intelligent, there is no risk of spills as with many low-end Nespresso machines and I consider it relatively quiet, knowing what is actually going on in the machine - creating the pressure, boiling water, creating steam etc. And most importantly, they're fast! Less than 45 seconds from turning on the machine to a hot beverage waiting for you on the counter.

The current downside of the Tassimo capsules is their price, but only in comparison with other capsule machines. In reality all the drinks can't cost more than 40-50 cents each which considering the ease and speed of use and the great taste of the coffees is, while a bit expensive, still reasonable. There's coffee shops serving coffee made with professional equipment, at 10x the price, but only half the taste and unfortunately, 10x the wait.

At the time being there still aren't third party capsules available. This is also a factor which keeps prices elevated, but as virtually all other competitors to Bosch have seen their capsules copied and relased by different manufacturers, we can expect the same developments for Tassimo which can only reduce the final price of all capsules available on the market.

As with other automatic coffee makers, Tassimo also has re-usable discs available which are great because you can use them usually hundreds of times until they have to be recycled. I love these options not only because of the possible saving but also because that's better for the nature than throwing away constantly pods made of sturdy plastic.

Before switching for Tassimo machine, I used to use Nespresso coffee maker working on capsules for which I bought the refillable Coffeeduck capsules. Here you can read about my experience using the Nespresso machine with the Coffeeduck capsules.