Tassimo Vs. Keurig

Choosing between the Tassimo and Keurig single serve coffee brewers took me months of researching online opinions and reviews, weighing out the pros and the cons. Finally I bit the bullet and choose one impulsively with some Christmas gift money!

Read on to benefit from my over thinking and personal experience in an effort to help you choose the right single serve brewer for your home, or office, or home office!

P.S.: I ended up with Bosch TAS4513UC Tassimo Single-Serve Coffee Brewer, Glamour Red and I couldn't be happier! It has been 3 years with our Tassimo and it still makes consistent and tasty beverages. We've had no issues with our machine. I will say most of our friends and family have gone with the Keurig and are equally as happy.

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For the purposes of this comparison I am using the 2 models I was trying to choose between. The Tassimo Suprema Home Brewing System by Bosch and the Keurig Platinum Brewing System. Both brewers are displayed and purchasable through the Amazon links above. The machines are comparable in price at around the $169 mark. Both are near the top of the mid range home brewers in terms of features. Read on for more information on the two coffee brewers.

1. Drink Variety?

   Tassimo:

   Tassimo's claim to fame is the consistency of the drinks based on their unique bar code technology that calibrates the machine to the perfect water temperature, pressure and drink size. If you have a sleepy brain in the morning, never fear the Tassimo does all the work for you, just remember to put a mug under the spout! The Tassimo also has the built in ability to steam and froth milk from the real milk t-discs, so this is the machine for making cappuccinos and lattes. Brand variety is limited to a handful. Drink choices include more than 40 varieties of Coffee, Tea, Hot Chocolate, Cappuccino, Latte, Espresso, Iced Coffee and real Milk Creamers.

   Keurig:

   Keurig is King for variety with over 200 different k-cups in Coffee, Tea, Hot Cocoa, Iced Coffee, Iced Tea, and Apple Cider in a wide selection of brands. The Keurig does not have the ability to froth or steam, however you can buy separate attachments to handle frothing and still enjoy cappacinos and lattes. If you enjoy flavored coffees and teas you'll find just about everything you'd want in a k-cup.
   
   
   
2. Which Handles Big Cups?

   Tassimo:

   Drink size is determined from the bar code on the drink t-disc, however at the end of the drink cycle you have the option to add more water manually to your cup. The t-discs are optimized for consistency so adding water manually will result in a weaker drink.

   Keurig:

   Choose from 5 options for cup sizes before brewing. 4 oz, 6 oz, 8 oz, 10 oz and 12 oz. Experiment with the k-cups to find your perfect size beverage setting. From what I can tell there is no option to add additional water without running a second cycle. There have been complaints that the Keurig draws a lot of electricity, making it difficult in some homes to run other appliances while making a cup of coffee.
   
   
   
3. What about the Water Tank?

   Tassimo:

   61 fl oz tank fit with a Mavea Maxtra water filter, but the unit will run just fine without the filter in place. The water tank is set in the back of the machine, which means you must pull the machine away from the wall for refills. This does, however save on precious counter real estate. The sleeker design is more attractive in my opinion.

   Keurig:

   60 oz water tank mounted on the side for easier refills. The side tank does mean it will take up a bit more counter space. No built in filter option.
   
   
   
4. Programmable?

   Tassimo:

   Nope, the machine reads the bar code on the t-disc to get all the information it needs to brew a consistent drink. No brain power of your own required. However, you do have a manual override to add more water at the end of the cycle. No clock.

   Keurig:

   Yes. You can select water temperature, automatic start and 1 of 5 cup sizes (see 2nd bullet). It also has a digital clock.
   
   
   
5. DIY drinks?

   Tassimo:

   No refillable options for t-discs. Although you are able to insert the cleaning disc and get hot water for use with your own teas, which I do quite often. Instant hot water is a very nice feature.

   Keurig:

   Yes you can make your own k-cups by buying a refillable k-cup kit. People who enjoy grinding their own beans, really love this option. This was one of the most positive aspects that was pulling me from Tassimo.
   
   
   

The choice really boils down to do you prefer simple flavored coffees and like to grind your own beans (Keurig) or do you fancy cappuccinos and lattes without going to a coffee shop (Tassimo)?

Image thanks to Stepheye

Maybe I'm just an indecisive person?

You may have read the above list and knew instantly which brewer is right for you. I think they are both great single cup coffee and tea machines, and you can't go wrong with either. But in case you're curious why I choose the Tassimo over the Keurig... well here's a little bit of my logic, if you want to call it that!

• I'm not a coffee drinker, but I do like tea lattes and cocoa with steamed milk. Tassimo does that without any additional mess!
• I like to take a good sized travel mug of tea with me to work, and I don't mind a weaker tea so I fill my travel mug to the brim with the manual over ride. The limited cup size was a big detractor to the Keurig for me.
• I am not a morning person and am always running late; I like that the Tassimo does the thinking. No wasting time mucking up a programmable setting.
• I am the type of person that orders the same thing off the menu once I discover I like it. As long as it's good quality, I don't need a lot of variety.
• I like to entertain and a majority of our family and friends enjoy cappuccinos and lattes. I have no idea how to prepare coffee, and now I can make them fancy coffee house drinks that are consistently good each time. I'm so impressive!
• No way in the morning is either one of us in the mood to be making our own coffee/tea pod. I am more than happy to let the machine take over.
• The frothing and steaming milk is not a feature our current coffee machine can do.

All of these personal qualities in me, led me to buy the Tassimo. So if that's the case, what in the heck was tugging me towards almost buying the Keurig?

• Well, my husband is a big coffee drinker and likes to grind his own beans. The reusable k-cup was an attractive feature, and one I was using to "sell" him on the idea of us buying a single cup coffee machine. He already has a coffee maker he is happy with.
• The plentiful varieties of tea were so very tempting.
• Same for the variety of flavored coffees I could have on hand for guests.
• It would be fun to have instant Apple Cider.
• Almost every shopping center we went to had a giant display of k-cups, reminding me I wanted one. Plus all that variety was easy to find.

Photo Credit: Nibbled.

Which brewer would you buy and why?

We love our Tervis cups and mugs, they keep cold drinks so cold the drink is often gone before the ice is melted, even on hot summer days. The cups and mugs do equally well with keeping hot drinks hot. You can buy them with decorative inserts of almost anything imaginable, from sports teams, decorative swirls or yes even the world's best mom/dad/grandma/grandpa mugs. It's a fun personalized cup, or buy them clear and simply enjoy the look of the fun layered specialty drinks a Tassimo machine can create. Travel lids and straws are available making them super convenient for the commute to work and they come in several cup sizes to fit whatever drink you're making.

If you enjoy specialty coffee drinks like cappuccinos or lattes and want to make them at home, the Tassimo is your machine.

I have had my Tassimo Brewbot for about 9 months and still use it nearly daily. As the weather has warmed we're now enjoying iced coffees and iced chai lattes, still as delicious as the hot drinks. My husband is addicted to mocha lattes by using a milk disc, a chocolate disc and an espresso disc. I wake up almost every morning to a chai tea latte and enjoy it most out of the tea options currently available. Tassimo did just lose their deal with Starbucks, but have promised customers a new line of bold coffee options to come out this summer. I hope they also introduce more teas.

Photo Credit: PixelPosy.

For flavored coffee lovers, or those that enjoy grinding their own beans, the Keurig is the single serve coffee machine to go with.

The Keurig offers many different brands of flavored coffee, teas and an apple cider. The k-cups (one use coffee filters) can be found for around .60 cents a cup and in many areas can be found sold at grocery and big box stores in the coffee aisle. Plus you can also grind your own coffee beans with the refillable k-cup. For straight up coffee lovers you can't go wrong.

Image thanks to sashafatcat

Starbucks ditched the Tassimo brand and now are available only with the Keurig. If you enjoy Starbucks coffee and Tazo tea, Keurig is now your machine.

Photo Credit: PixelPosy.