General Chat

Have recently been given one of these, and when I made the coffee using Costa pod, it tasted awful. I looked at the contents of pod and it contained a % of sugar.

It seems that other pods for use with Tassimo all use sugar.

Has anyone got a machine like this or is having similar problem with added sugar.?

Sue

they all have sugar in lots of it too
these "pod" machines either at home or coffee shops are utter c-p just an expensive way of drinking poor quality espresso coffee. No go for those with diabetes of course.
Espresso is fine but get the real deal.
here are some suggestions
http://blackheartscoffee.com/italian-coffee-machines-best/
we have a gaggia liberated from a north London restaurant. It was made in the 1970s but it is still going fine with a bit of tlc.

best budget solution is to buy some ground coffee (abt £3-4 per packet) some filter papers and a plastic container for the filer < £ 5. Put the filter into the container and put the ensemble onto a jug. Put in coffee to taste and then very hot (not boiling water). A ground coffee machine from Tesco and similar is £15-50 - much less even than the budget Tassimos.

We have the Bosch Tassimo machine and we buy Costa pods - although the machine takes other makes of pods too - but we love it. You have to make sure you really shake the milk pods well before using.

We buy the Latte and Cappuccino pods and we used to get the Americano pods too for a black coffee but have now started to buy the Tesco single filter packs for black coffee. The plastic cup like filters are very good and at £2 for 10 filters (20p per cup) it doesn't seem bad for decent coffee.

We got the machine a few years ago from an offer through either Tassimo or Costa (can't remember which). I think we paid £40 but it came with £30 worth of coffee pods so thought it was good value. We like it so much that when another offer came through last year we bought another machine and have put it in the loft in case the one we use ever breaks.

I think most of the sugar is in the milk pods.

Kath. x

"I think most of the sugar is in the milk pods."
correct

I will never understand the popularity of espresso pods they are so disappointing compared to the real thing. Cheap to buy and minimal effort I guess.

Has anybody ever tried out the Tassimo coffee (or similar) on an EU citizen or an American ( if you can find one ) ? How did they get on?

I suppose with brexit there will be a huge tax on anything to do with coffee (other than instant) while tea will be zero rated.

We have a Nespresso with an integrated milk frother
which came free with the coffee machine.

Thanks Rollo and Kath, and Emma for your information.

I have just had another look and yes Kath, the sugar is 5.5 in the milk pods.

No good for me as I am a diabetic.!!!!!

Oh well, that's that then.!!!!!


Sue x

You are right about the minimal effort Rollo. They are so easy. We like to use the Costa Coffee shops and find the pods give a very similar taste, although I agree that a decent cup of coffee from a bean to cup machine will always be better.

Kath. x

I have type 2 diabetes but I still have some sugar in my diet so don't have a problem with this coffee.

Kath. x

I've got a Nescafe Dolce Gusto coffee machine - love it - had it for a number of years and always use the Skinny Light Cappuccino - no sugar - got my last machine quite cheaply in Curry's - around £36

Ann, my daughter has one of those.!


Kath, am also type 2 and have sugar in my diet, including chocolate (naughty) , but unfortunately I just don't like it in tea or coffee.!!



Sue

I've gone back to the old percolator which is about 50 and stands on the hob.

We were given a really good coffee machine around 35 years ago and it lasted 25 before it packed up. Since then I've tried two different machines, one still working but I much prefer the old percolator. :-D

We had a coffee percolator (stove top) when I was a kid, used to come out on Sundays and we bought the coffee from a small shop that roasted and ground the beans (I can smell it now - mmm).

Over the years have used filter papers and cones, a Cona machine which I bought 2nd hand, drip filter, cafetiere and, for the last 15+ years, espresso machines. The latter have improved over the years, the cheaper ones are much better now. Currently using a De Longhi which is good.

The pod machines are disastrously environmentally unfriendly, and I have not been overly impressed by the coffee.

SheilaWestWilts clearly knows what a decent cup of coffee is so I am not a minority of one :-)
I didn't know the pods were an environmental disaster
http://blog.honestcoffees.com/blog/environmental-impact-of-using-coffee-pods
though it can be sorted.
I did know the cups used in Starbucks etc cannot be recycled
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-36882799

struth!!! something Rollo did not know!!!! :-D

Nespresso pods can be recycled.

Starbucks also avoided paying UK taxes for 14 years - eventually paid some - (obviously not all they owe) last year. :-|

We only use drip filter, buy coffee beans and grind them as needed.


BUT .......

........ Rollo who knows everything, yet really knows very little about some things ............

Have you ever thought that there might be people who love coffee but cannot make it by any so-called "traditional" means that you advocate because they are too handicapped?

The Tassimo machine with its pods does provide a way for someone so severely handicapped that they can only use one hand and / or not stand without support.

I know several people in that situation. A carer can set up the machine, and the person only need insert the pod and the start.

thanks to all of you who have given input. I have certainly learned a few things.!!

Some very individual and interesting aspects I would never have thought of.!!
:-D

Sue

Being in possession of only one working hand does not render a person disabled according to UK DWP. For sure it is an inconvenience but it does not stop essential activities such as cooking and making real coffee.

Back in the day I smashed up my left arm playing rugby. It was a long time before I got full use of the hand back and had to learn to write, fry bacon and make coffee with the other one - I am left handed. A while later I was working as a junior coffee (yes) trader at Hay's Wharf in the City of London. I managed to break the other arm and so had to set up the testing with just the one. Green beans, roast, grind, coffee in bowls. Perfectly possible with one hand.

It is quite easy to roast beans in a frying pan. Chuck in the green beans keep them moving until the heart iof the bean opens then smartly move them into a bowl for grinding. Use Arabica beans. Back in my one handed days I then dumped the roasted beans into a little electric grinder which ran while the lid was held down. Then a cafetiere and I was done.

There is very iittle the one handed person cannot accomplish given sufficient determination even if one arm is in plaster. I knew a guy with only one arm in Egypt who was a formidable squash player and ran a popular restaurant. Excellent coffee!

Coffee by value is the 2nd most traded product in the world after oil.

"When will it be ready?
- when the coffee arrives from the Yemen."
(old Arabic saying)

Rollo .............

oh thou who knowest it all, and knows very little about many things ...............

If you had truly read what I posted, you will note that I said ...

"Have you ever thought that there might be people who love coffee but cannot make it by any so-called "traditional" means that you advocate because they are too handicapped?

The Tassimo machine with its pods does provide a way for someone so severely handicapped that they can only use one hand and / or not stand without support."

Please read those two paragraphs over and over again until you understand what I said.


Severely handicapped

Not stand without support



The person I know is in an electric wheelchair because of a muscular progressive disease. They have the use of only 1 hand, which they obviously use to drive the wheelchair by means of a knob.

They cannot safely drive the wheelchair from kitchen to their chair, and carry a cup of coffee at the same time. Yes ........... they have been taught how to manoeuvre themselves from the wheelchair to a lounge chair.

To have the machine set up next to the chair is ideal for them.


I think even you will agree that this is a much different situation from you breaking your arm playing some stupid sport. You had the use of all other limbs and the rest of your body.


OR .......... do you suggest the person stays in the kitchen and waits for someone to make the coffee for them, and carry it to the living room?

If so, you are taking away some of what little independence they have left.