Single Cup Coffee Showdown: Tassimo vs. Keurig
Posted by deCadmus on 17 Nov 2005 at 2:18 am | Category: Coffee
– Update Alert! —
It’s two years since I wrote this comparison. I’ve since updated it. The updated version of this article can be found here.
– Update Alert! –
Just when you thought it was safe to cast your lot and pick a single cup coffee brewer (be it a pod coffee machine, K-Cup, capsule or pouch) there arrives on the scene a spiffy new machine — the Tassimo. 
Designed by Braun, manufactured by Saeco, and with its coffee supply manufactured exclusively by Kraft, the Tassimo paints itself as the smartest single serve coffee brewer yet.
It’s not the first single-cup brewer to go to market with a “smarter is better” approach. The Keurig line of home brewers — the B50, and more recently the stripped-down B-40 and the souped-up B60 — have leveraged micro-processor control since their initial introduction a year ago (about the same time the Tassimo was announced.) So how does the new kid on the block stack up against the Keurig brewer? Let’s find out —
Certainly the Tassimo’s got brains. Like the Keurig, this brewer relies on a micro-processor to manage brew volume and temperature. Unlike the Keurig, however, the Tassimo automatically adjusts brew volume, temperature — and, it would appear, some aspects of how its pump drives the brew cycle — to match the parameters of beverage you wish to brew. How? Well… it reads, of course. But we’ll get back to that.
While it fits the same kitchen counter real estate as the Keurig (and the Senseo, and the Bunn Home Café) let’s face it, these machines are all fairly compact) the Tassimo is singularly rounded and squat. I think its designers took their cues from the armored, waddling Mondoshawan in Luc Besson’s space opera, The Fifth Element… (but I digress.) The Tassimo’s shape belies its dimensions; its rear-mounted water reservoir towers over the machine, lending it the same vertical dimensions as the Keurig. At just under 14 inches high, both fit comfortably under most any kitchen cupboard, but the Keurig’s side-mounted water reservoir can be easily removed and replaced without reaching over the machine. Advantage: Keurig.
Both brewers employ grab-handles to lever open the brew-head. The Keurig brewer’s business end is smooth in operation, and remains open until you close it, allowing easy one-handed operation. The Tassimo’s brew-head lever requires two hands, and it closes stubbornly — the force required to close it is a little unsettling. (It took me some time to be certain that I really needed to use that much force to close the brew-head assembly — I was concerned I was going to damage the brewer.) Advantage: Keurig.
T-Disc vs. K-Cup
Keurig’s K-Cup is a deceptively simple device that seals a miniature drip brewing system in a no-mess, no-fuss, disposable package that protects its payload from moisture, light and oxygen. Unlike its progenitor, the Nespresso capsule, Keurig has licensed its K-Cup technology to five different specialty coffee roasters, which today offer more than 100 varieties of K-Cup 100% arabica coffees and teas between them.
The Tassimo reads a page off Keurig’s play book (and Nespresso’s before it) by encapsulating its coffee in its own sealed package — the T-Disc — which boasts a number of innovations. T-Discs can be manufactured with an array of options in terms of overall capacity, payload type, and the size and shape of its exit aperture. Each T-Disc is printed with a barcode that describes its required brewing parameters to the Tassimo. When inserted, the brewer scans the code to determine the amount of water to deliver, the temperature of that water, and the timing of the brew cycle — which may include pre-infusing the T-Disc’s contents. The array of sizes allows for payloads of not only coffee, but also chocolate syrup and shelf-stable dairy products. The various apertures of the T-Disc allow the Tassimo to deliver a simple stream of liquid to your cup, or a frothy, textured foam.
Not only can you brew a cup of coffee, but you can also brew a shot of espresso (2.5 ounces at 192 degrees F), and frothed milk (6 ounces, 156 degrees F) to make a cappuccino or a latte. With its liquid chocolate T-Disc, you can brew a more than passable hot cocoa, too (5.5 ounces, 160 degrees F). The capabilities of the T-Disc make the Tassimo more than a coffee brewer — it’s a hot beverage delivery system. Advantage: Tassimo.
In use
The sophistication of the Tassimo’s brewing capability has its price: the relative simplicity of the Keurig’s brew cycle lends it a performance advantage in both brew cycle and reheat / recovery times. The Tassimo’s heating cycle from stand-by mode may take as long as 60 seconds, and its brew cycle another 60 seconds — twice as long as the Keurig brewer. More, if you choose to program wake and sleep times into the Keurig’s clock you can ensure that you’ll never wait more than 30 seconds for a cup.
Brewing a cappuccino or a latte in the Tassimo is a three-step cycle. First insert and brew an espresso T-Disc, and then insert and brew a cappuccino or a latte T-Disc. (The difference: quantity of dairy product, and a different spout — the cappuccino version aerates the milk more than the latte.) Finally, insert the cleaning disk (an empty T-Disc with its own special barcode) and run a rinse cycle. And don’t lose that cleaning disc — you can’t run a rinse cycle without it, and a rinse is highly recommended after you brew either dairy or hot chocolate. It’s sticky, don’t ya know.
Noted quirks
- All single-cup brewers use a pump to deliver water to the brew-head. The Tassimo’s pump is considerably louder than the Keurig’s, and especially so when the pump is oscillating (aerating?) heavily for “frothyâ€Â? drinks: espresso, cappuccino and hot chocolate.
- Most every brew cycle, the Tassimo delivers some water to its drip tray through its backpressure relief valve. That’s not a problem, unless you’ve had to remove the drop tray to brew into a particularly tall cup, and then it can create a fair mess. The Keurig returns unused brew water to the reservoir via its backpressure relief system.
- When you choose a brew volume on the Keurig (B50 or B60 — the B40 offers only a single cup size) the Keurig loads its boiler with any additional water required before beginning the brew cycle to ensure it doesn’t run out of water mid-cycle. The Tassimo does not, and may run out of water mid-brew. To complete the brew cycle you’ll need to add more water to its reservoir.
But what’s in the cup?
In the end, any question of brewing technology is answered by what’s in the cup. This is, of course, a wholly subjective matter — but I’ll take a crack at it.
The Tassimo offers a wide variety of beverage types — coffee, tea, espresso, cappuccino, latte and hot chocolate. That’s a substantial step forward in single-cup brewing capability, however you slice it — and if your goal is to create passably good espresso-based drinks at home with the simplicity of pushing a button (and doing so for a fraction of the cost of a super-auto espresso machine) then you may have found your match in the Tassimo. No, it’s not going to be coffee-house quality — but it’s not bad, either. Likewise, while the Suchard hot chocolate is a little too sweet for my taste, it’s chocolatey — its finish has marshmallow notes, and it’s not bad at all.
The brewed coffee varieties that I sampled with the Tassimo — Gevalia Signature Blend, and Signature Blend Crema — are another story, altogether. The aroma of these coffees is uniformly baked and flat, with taints ranging from wet cardboard to wet dog. Their flavors are somewhat nutty and too much cereally and altogether indistinct of anything that’s much like coffee. Their body is thin; their finish harsh and astringent. At the Tassimo’s standard brew volume they are helplessly over-extracted and bitter.
And it’s not going to get much better. I must remind you that the Tassimo’s coffee content is wholly in the hands of Kraft and its brands — the T-Disc technology is altogether proprietary, and altogether a lock-in to this particular coffee giant. If you enjoy Gevalia Café and Maxwell House coffee, or Kraft’s European brands: Café Norte, Suchard and KenCo, then perhaps you’ll find something to like about these coffees. I tried — and I failed. Utterly.
No, if you like coffee — brewed coffee — and if you have any interest in exploring the depth of flavors and aromas that specialty coffee offers, I think you’ll be happier with the Keurig. 
And if you’re interested in supporting Fair Trade coffee farmers, or prefer organic coffee then I’m certain you’ll be happier with the Keurig — Kraft has made none of these available in a T-Disc.
The Keurig single-cup model ensures that not only are you not tethered to any single roaster’s coffee selection, but you can also choose to brew your own coffee — from your neighborhood coffee roaster, or your own home-roast — with Keurig’s new single-cup insert. (The insert is available now only with Keurig brewers purchased at Williams-Sonoma, but should be available everywhere come January.)
Choice — it’s a wonderful thing.
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Thanks, this is the best explanation of the two choices I have found. I’m buying a gift for my wife and I don’t drink coffee, unless its Irish or Mexican with enough liquor to kill the taste.
Thanks again for a clear explanation of differences.
we like to add a plain water to the Keurig brew for less strong coffee. Can you do this with Tassimo if it has to “read” a barcode for brewing instructions?
I love my B50. I have used the Greenmountain coffee k-cups and will try the Timmothy k-cups next. There is only one comment I would make. The Keurig allows different sizes of cups. However, it uses the same amount of coffee for each cup. It simply adds more water to get a larger cup. So, depending whether you like a mild brew or a strong brew, this will be a factor. I preffer a stronger brew so I stick with the smaller cup. If I want a larger coffee I put 2 k cups through the system.
The B50 is out of production and has been replaced by the B60. It now allows a 6oz, 8oz and 10oz cup. I can only assume that the ten oz cup will be a fairly weak coffee.
Has any one else noticed this? Also, has any one else used the ” My k-cup” available from Greenmountain coffee? Does it allow you to get a stronger brew by putting more coffee in the filter? I haven’t decided whether to get one or not.
Bob
Do you know if anyone is developing a hot chocolate K-cup?
Hey, Raul!
Matter of fact, yes… at least one roaster is hard at work trying to develop a hot chocolate K-Cup. ;)
Thanks for such an informative comparison. I have 2 questions I hope you can give more of your knowledge away on….1. Do you know of any upcoming developments on one machine for espresso and coffee? 2. Any comments/thoughts/advice on Nespresso’s brewers?
Thanks again!
L
On question 1, I was referring to Keurig. Oops!
I’m not aware of any development efforts to the Keurig system that would make it a combo brewed coffee / espresso coffee machine. (That’s a very difficult combo to pull off successfully.) On the other hand, I *am* aware of a number of espresso *blends* that are available in K-Cup format from multiple roasters, and more still to come. (No crema, but lots of flavor.)
I recently sampled Nespresso equipment again, and I remain favorably impressed with the technology. Still, Nespresso doesn’t have an open system — you buy a Nespresso machine you are locked in to their coffee. That might not be so bad, ‘cept I don’t much care for most any of their coffee. I recommend highly that you sample before you buy.
You just solved my delimma! Many thanks for passing along your knowledge on the subject.
I have both, and I agree that the Keurig makes the tastiest coffee. However, it can’t do the latte I’d sometimes rather have in the morning. My high school students think the Tassimo latte in the morning is the best reason to get out of bed on a cold winter school day they’ve ever had. You need both, if you have the counter space.
While I really need to publish an update to this article (much in the world of single-cup coffee has advanced since this was written) I should note that — finally — hot cocoa will be available in a K-cup. Green Mountain will be introducing it in April, 2007.
At the same time GMCR will introduce three new Extra Bold blends: Kenya AA, Fair Trade Organic Espresso, and 10% Kona Blend.
Just so’s ya know.
Just a foot note for all the people considering a new home brewer. I sell all sorts of single cup brewers to the home market and to the office markets. Keurig office and home systems are a superior system. I always hear bad things about the Tassimo, Noisy, small cup size, and one product line. Also you can buy your coffee from local business owners in your city, with competitive pricing and selection. Find your local Authorized Distributor and see what they can do for you. Hope you enjoy your new machine. BG
I started with a single serve B40 from Target for $99.95 plus a My K-Cup with the intent that if I hated it by two weeks, I’d take the machine back. Instead, I upgraded to a B60 from Keurig. I used Folger’s ground coffee in my K-cup, which was disappointing me because the medium blend was producing a rather weak coffee. Finally on week two, I broke down and tried a K-cup (Timothy’s French Roast). Thinking it might be weak, I used two K-Cups…I was pleasantly surprised by my first sip with creamer/sugar - Starbucks coffee house strength. My co-worker at work bought my B40 and took it home. She and her husband love it too! She’s a British Tea fiend and raves about her tea. I wanted to get a single serve for the office, so I bought home the Tassimo. Yup, it is loud and does vibrate a lot, but then this is not a smooth operating coffee maker, it cappacino foam with real milk (a process requiring aeration from steam/pressure). Espresso machines themselves are loud when frothing milk. The hot chocolate is chocolately for sure. After making a real latte with coffee from my Keurig, I’m not so sure the Tassimo is a good choice for the office. It does take time to heat up water, where the Keurig is ready to go. Managed to make a home latte using a Braun hand blender and aerating hot milk (heated in a microwave 30-45 seconds) in a separate container. Then pouring that into a cup of my favorite dark bold K-Cup coffee. The result - latte with the foam. So I’ll be returning this Tassimo to the store.
Great detailed and fair review! I recently purchased a B60 and am couldn’t agree more with your assessment on the Keurig end. Extra bold espresso blend + hot chocolate have been my staple since I took it home.
Btw, I’ve been poking around online and it looks like the B70 model has been sold out everywhere. Green Mountain’s website says they’ll be available later in July. Did you have any idea whether it was due to its popularity or if it was being phased out (a la B50). I was thinking of getting one for my folks, since they tend to be larger travel mug drinkers.
Thanks!
The B70 is *not* being phased out, but has simply been a bit of a victim of its own success. Production just hasn’t been able to keep up with demand for the model.
I think if you’re able to wait until it becomes available again (very likely August delivery) you’ll find it *especially* suitable for folks who like theirs in a travel mug size…
I love my Tassimo machine — how it works, the coffee it provides, etc. If you have to take the drip tray out for a bigger cup, it is quite messy, so I normally just brew into a normal cup and then pour it into my travel mug. I do wish the coffee selection was better. That’s really my only harsh complaint. I hate Starbucks, which is what Tassimo picked up, and I’m jealous that the K-cup has Gloria Jeans. :)
I agree with Janet’s students, a Tassimo latté is a superb reason to get out of bed, or in my case, go to work in the morning. I am very satisfied with my little machine ( a european entry-level 1050) , and as someone who makes espresso and cappucino the old-fashioned way at home, I find the taste actually pretty good. In Germany, we have a nice spectrum of Jacobs coffees , espresso, crema XL etc. available, it’s enough for me. Perhaps they will come out with more variety later.
I find the machine itself really easy and straightforward to operate and keep clean. The amount of water in the drip tray is minimal, and the entire splash panel can be removed for cleaning every now and then as necessary.
The compressor is a little loud but not obnoxiously so. I now associate the rumbling and gurgling with a great cup of coffee coming my way, so I kind of like it.
Very good review. I have never tried the Tassimo but was interested in how it compares to the Keurig because I am looking to buy a machine as a gift for someone.
I bought the Keurig B40 for my office. A great choice, it offers a great variety of excellent coffees for employees and visitors and brews single cups very fast. Everyone that sees it wants one.
We got so used to the convenience and coffee quality that we bought one for home. I don’t see how you can beat the Keurig for great coffee, fast and easy.
I bought the Keurig B60 to try at home and my wife and I were instantly impressed. The selection of coffees great;everything from Diedrich’s smooth nutty coffee to Green Mountain’s extra bold but smooth Double Black Diamond and Coffee People’s extra pungent Black Tiger. I also enjoy the selection of hot chocolate and teas that are available. It is awesome for my office at work as we do not have a convenient place to clean a regular coffee brewer. The simplicity of adding water and tossing out the k-cup make it ideal for my situation.
Another office used to have a Tassimo, but after experiencing my Keurig they bought one, too, as they really only wanted a good simple coffee maker.
If you do like stronger coffee, then you want to make sure you find the “BOLD” k-cups. There aren’t a lot of them, but the Green Mountain Double Black Diamond is great as well as Newman’s Own Blend “Extra Bold” which is strong enough for the 9.3 oz cup with cream and sugar, but is really smooth.
The best sites I’ve found for shopping for k-cups are GreatCoffee.com, CoffeeGiant.com, and CoffeeCow.com depending on which selections you find most agreeable.
Thanks for the review.
I find the Keurig coffee to be only slightly better than instant, which is in my view only okay if it’s my only choice. I have had coffee brewed by an office version of the Keurig and by my Dad’s home unit. I only drank the coffee because I had no other choice. I found the tea products in K-cups to be un-finishable. I found the Flavia, btw, to be equally bad.
I bought a Tassimo for my company after an employee raved about her Tassimo. I was so blown away by the taste and variety that I convinced my wife to get me one for Father’s Day. Father’s Day is next week but I already opened it! Mmmm chai…
The Tassimo is slower and louder, but to me, the end-product is so vastly superior I cannot believe that there is even a discussion about it. I have had T-discs of Seattle’s Best, Starbuck’s, and Gevalia coffees; Gevalia cappucino, and Twining’s chai. They have all been really, really good. There is really no comparison to the “Kool-Aid coffee” that K-cups produce.
One negative: the first machine I purchased did not work properly. I exchanged it (at Bed Bath & Beyond) for another a few hours later without issue. Bed Bath & Beyond, btw, has a great selection of Tassimo flavors.
I am now in Tassimo heaven…