February 8, 2006

Revisiting Tassimo: Making a Cappuccino Tassimo Style

In the second part of our series this week on Tassimo, we wanted to focus on one of the key hot beverages Tassimo can make easily - a Cappuccino. We love a good Cappuccino and resort to all kinds of different methods to make them in the Single Serve Coffee.com test kitchen. We sometimes use our Francis Francis!, or we may pull a shot using the Nespresso and microwave some milk and then froth it up. Whatever the method we have our standards when it comes to Cappuccinos - good buttery milk flavor and a note of espresso coffee.

One of the key differences in the Tassimo system (see our review earlier last year for all the details) is the ability to use actual liquid milk that is shelf stable in a large-double stacked T-Disc to create Cappuccinos. When you purchase the Tassimo T-Discs to create Cappuccinos - they come dual packed with espresso discs and milk T-Discs. You'll pay $9.99 for 10 espresso discs and 10 milk discs - putting the price of your Cappuccino at around $1. Not bad and about 1/3 the cost of a similar drink at Starbucks.

We fired up the Tassimo and proceeded to create a Tassimo Cappuccino using the Gevalia Cappuccino T-Discs.

The Tassimo Gevalia Cappuccino

To create a Tassimo Cappuccino you'll use one espresso T-Disc and one milk T-Disc. Put the espresso T-Disc in first and make that. We used our Bodum Pavina Double Wall glass to make our Cappuccino in. We like a clear mug to really see what's going on and we also like the presentation. Next you'll put in the milk T-Disc and this is where the Tassimo shines on the Cappuccino front.

The pump in the Tassimo goes overboard when making the frothed milk portion. The milk produced is very rich and very buttery - and if you just want some hot milk and no espresso - it's not bad. The pump and the turbulence in the T-Disc really creates a frothy top and the sputtering finish does a great job of pumping up the foam.

How does it taste? Not bad. We think the espresso could come across a little more and we wished it was little thicker in texture. Overall - the butter milk taste and coffee taste are well balanced but perhaps a little too balanced. Nothing stands out here but it's also very tasty.

We proceeded to do a double shot of espresso with a milk T-Disc and found the results much better. Double the amount of espresso made the taste really come out and we often order a double shot in our Cappuccino.

Overall - we like the Cappuccino produced from the Tassimo Hot Beverage system. It's not the best we've had but it is really easy. We also like just having some quick hot milk with little mess as well.

At Tassimo & Braun Tassimo TA 1400 Hot Beverage System & Gevalia Cappuccino T-Discs