Review: President's Choice Gourmet Medium Roast T-Discs

We continue our review of President's Choice Tassimo products today with their Gourmet Medium Roast T-Discs. Unlike their Great Canadian T-Discs, these aren't supposed to be clones or knock-offs of anything, but rather just a regular everyday store-brand coffee.

Brewing these T-Discs resulted in a mix of chocolate & smoky aromas with some faint raisin notes hiding underneath. Flavor was substantially better than their Great Canadian as this time we got stronger notes of smoke & dark chocolate which gave way to stronger sour notes in the acidity while things finished off with some oily notes and hints of mild smoke buried at the bottom end of the cup. Acidity was as we just mentioned, notably stronger with more pronounced sour notes at first sip which lingered around for a while before giving way to the spicier notes in the finish. We're starting to think that President's Choice should have named this roast as their Great Canadian since things were turning out considerably better this time around.

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Review: President’s Choice Great Canadian T-Discs

President’s Choice is an in-store brand created by Loblaws grocery stores in Canada and they regularly release seasonal products which they’ve developed via their test kitchens, market research/focus groups as well as their team of chefs who travel the world to find source ingredients. They most recently rose to national fame when they introduced a new TV series/content via Food Network Canada called “Recipe To Riches” (currently within its 2^nd season) where contestants from anywhere in Canada can submit their recipe to a panel of judges and compete to have their recipe/product featured on store shelves each week.

We expected President’s Choice to come out with a new kind of marinade sauce or snack product but they completely shocked the Canadian single serve world and took us by surprise this past Summer when they announced a partnership with Kraft’s Tassimo system and agreed to release their line of in-house coffees in T-Disc format. This would mark the beginning of Kraft branching-out more often and licensing T-Discs with many outside companies since their split with Starbucks. Unfortunately, Loblaws don’t have any stores in USA, so these T-Discs are uniquely a Canada-only product.

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Review: Corner Coffeehouse Sweet Caramel Latte T-Discs

Today we take a look at the 2nd flavor in the Corner Coffeehouse series with their Corner Coffeehouse Sweet Caramel Latte T-Discs.

Brewing these T-Discs resulted in mild caramel notes during brewing along with some of the usual buttermilk notes from the creamer. Again, we were hoping for a stronger aroma, but since it was being concentrated into a 2oz espresso shot, we suppose we were probably expecting for too much. Flavor was a bit better as we detected light notes of caramel up top quickly followed by some of the espresso flavors, then a bit more tinges of caramel followed by sweet buttermilk flavors of the creamer at the bottom. As we neared the end of the cup, the buttermilk flavors & overall sweetness of the drink became more pronounced.

If something has SWEET in its name, you can damn well bet the final results will taste sweet and that is once more the case with these T-Discs. Unlike what we've been seeing lately, we didn't detect any chemical notes in the sweetness and things just seemed like natural sugar overall. At least that's something that Kraft took the time get right. Acidity was pretty much washed-out by the creamer but did yield some bite from the espresso at various points throughout the drink. It helped let the mild caramel flavors come through & would have just washed them out had it been any stronger.

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Review: Gevalia 15% Kona Blend T-Discs

We decided to review something today which is somewhat cloaked in mystery much like the Caribou Obsidian K-Cups or the President’s Choice T-Discs. Today we review the Gevalia 15% Kona Blend T-Discs. These T-Discs were not widely advertised and the only place we’ve been able to find them lately was our local Bed Bath & Beyond retail store and the Tassimo Direct website.

It would appear you can also order from the Bed Bath & Beyond website if you don’t have a retail location near you. As far as we can tell, Gevalia 15% Kona Blend T-Discs are only available in USA. Seems a bit odd for Gevalia to be releasing a Kona coffee blend since there are still issues with the recovering Kona crops in Hawaii at the moment which have forced Keurig & others to stop selling Kona blends due to shortages or insufficient supply. Despite this, we appreciate the fact that they chose to incorporate a 15% blend since most blends a few years back were only 10%. It’s not much more, but hey, we’ll take what we can get.

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Review: Wal-Mart Our Finest Canadian Blend T-Discs

Once in a while, something which can only be described as an oddity comes along and makes you do a double-take while your brain tries to comprehend what your eyes are seeing. It can be something slightly normal that just doesn't seem quite right... like a lime green Lamborghini sporting pink alloy wheels or it can be something completely absurd and off the wall which defies reality... like Gary Busey.

Well folks, we introduce to you today the Gary Busey of T-Discs, something which appears to be a Canadian exclusive sold only in Canadian Wal-Marts under the in-store brand known simply as Our Finest. It's also the most recent officially-licensed Tassimo product to hit Canadian shelves. Today we check out Wal-Mart's Our Finest Canadian Blend T-Discs.

Brewing these T-Discs resulted in very mild dark chocolate aromas with a faint note of smoke, but once the coffee sat in our mug for a few minutes, the aroma virtually disappeared with only the faintest hint of cocoa. Not exactly the strongest or most unique aroma we've ever experienced out of a T-Disc, so things weren't getting off to a good start.

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Review: Carte Noire Caramel Latte Macchiato T-Discs for Tassimo

Today we decided to review a recent (well, recent on this side of the pond) new flavor from one of our favorite Tassimo brands, namely the Carte Noire Caramel Latte Macchiato T-Discs. Carte Noire has produced some superb products in the past and their espresso was always one of our favorites for quite a while.

Brewing these T-Discs unfortunately did not result in any caramel notes whatsoever which left us a bit perplexed since we were certain the word caramel was surely on the label. When the espresso T-Disc was popped in, we noted the characteristic smoky notes of the espresso along with some earthy notes in the background, but that was it. Odd... where the heck did the caramel go?

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Review: Gevalia Mocha T-Discs for Tassimo

Tassimo users have been making their own for ages via using Suchards & various espresso T-Discs, but now there’s finally a dedicated mocha flavor in the Tassimo line-up. Today we review the Gevalia Mocha T-Discs. Have they found caffeinated chocolaty bliss or created something similar to soaking a Hershey bar in a glass of instant coffee? Let’s find out.

Brewing these T-Discs resulted in mild cocoa aromas when brewing the syrup followed by smoky aromas with hints of molasses when brewing the espresso. The combined aroma of both was mostly light cocoa with very faint oily notes of the espresso. A neat aroma morphing effect occurred as we got to the bottom of the cup as we started with light cocoa, then stronger espresso notes, then stronger cocoa notes again.

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Review: King of Joe Dark Roast T-Discs for Tassimo

Our journey through Joe’s kingdom continues today with the King of Joe Dark Roast T-Discs. One thing we forgot to point out in previous reviews was the work that went into designing the logos on each T-Disc. The subtle use of a coffee bean for the letter o in Joe, the different silhouette head/face shapes for each flavor, etc. All little touches that make us like the brand even more, so hats off to the designers/artists who worked on that.

Brewing these T-Discs resulted in notes of molasses with faint tinges of hickory hiding underneath along with very faint oily notes as well. Flavor was again dominated with notes of molasses & hickory but we also detected very faint bread/grain notes similar to their espresso T-Discs. It’s interesting to see the genesis of a flavor note just starting to emerge here and the longer the beans are roasted, the more the note develops since we know for sure it’s more pronounced in the espresso T-Discs.

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Review: King of Joe Cappuccino T-Discs for Tassimo

We continue our review series of T-Discs today with the King of Joe Cappuccino T-Discs. Now, keep in mind that we’ve already reviewed the King of Joe Espresso T-Discs which are what’s being used here, so all the key points noted below are for the COMBINED aroma, acidity, flavor, etc. of BOTH the espresso and milk T-Discs, not just the espresso T-Discs.

Brewing these T-Discs resulted in smoky notes which were somewhat subdued by the milk creamer’s almost buttery aroma. Things were a lot more toned down compared to the espresso T-Disc alone as we weren’t getting all the original notes as before. Flavor had the same smoky notes with strong oils present, but they were again less prevalent this time around due to the addition of the milk creamer.

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Review: Tassimo Tea Bar Raspberry Iced Tea T-Discs

We continue our iced tea review series today with the new Tassimo Tea Bar Raspberry Iced Tea T-Discs. As we previously noted in another review, Tassimo Tea Bar is an in-house brand created by Kraft for the Tassimo. Our main problem with the Peach Iced Tea T-Discs was the sucralose taste. Let's see how it factors in this review.

Brewing these T-Discs resulted in strong aromas of sweet ripe raspberries quickly filling the room and like the peach iced tea flavor, you could also smell some of the black tea aromas in the background. Looking good so far. Flavor this time around was MUCH more palatable than the peach T-Discs. While the ingredients list on the packaging clearly shows sucralose is present, you don't get slammed in the face with it. It's actually barely noticeable. Instead, you get the sweet taste of raspberries bursting forth upon each sip. You can tell there's sucralose lurking around somewhere in the background, but the black tea tannins kick in before it becomes too noticeable. A superb job this time & much more enjoyable overall.

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Tassimo Tea Bar Peach Iced Tea T-Discs

We posted this review back in August, and we thought we'd bring it back in time for the holidays to surprise you. :-) Well - it surprised us that we had posted it so we will now bring you the Raspberry review today instead. Our original review of the Tassimo Tea Bar Peached Iced Tea T-Discs is here.

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Review: Tim Hortons Latte T-Discs for Tassimo

A few years ago when Tim's first started selling lattes and cappuccinos in their coffee shops, the big thing they kept pushing in its ad campaigns were that the drinks were made with premium espresso. Well, after our rather dismal experience with the President's Choice Cappuccino T-Discs, we're hoping Tim's wouldn't allow Kraft to produce their namesake products with anything other than premium ingredients.

Brewing these T-Discs resulted in buttery aromas from the milk creamer blending with strong smoky & oily notes from the espresso while also revealing some faint cereal notes hiding underneath. At first we thought that Kraft had decided to use a European milk creamer T-Disc for this drink until we realized it had a buttermilk aroma. Closer inspection revealed that these are just the same latte creamer T-Discs with a new foil label. Acidity was surprisingly balanced given the propensity for espresso to be on the heartier side of the acidity scale. It helped the milk creamer flavors flow throughout the drink without masking anything up yet it was strong enough to keep things from going dull.

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Review: Corner Coffeehouse Sweet Vanilla Latte T-Discs for Tassimo

As we’ve been seeing with the recent Tea Bar & King of Joe T-Discs, Kraft decided it would be best to develop new in-house brands vs. trying to continue importing foreign T-Discs from other countries. While we wish they would have concentrated more on the latter, we’re still glad that they’re cranking out new products instead of sitting around doing nothing. Today we take a look at another new in-house brand with their Corner Coffeehouse Sweet Vanilla Latte T-Discs.

Brewing these T-Discs resulted in mild sweet vanilla notes during brewing along with some of the characteristic buttermilk notes from the creamer. We were hoping for a stronger aroma, but since it was being concentrated into a 2oz espresso shot, it’s no wonder it didn’t have time to fill the room. Flavor fared a bit better as we detected light tinges of vanilla quickly followed by some of the espresso notes, then a bit more vanilla flavors and a sweet buttermilk finish with the creamer at the bottom. As we neared the end of the cup, the sweet buttermilk flavor of the creamer became more intense as the vanilla flavors started disappearing.

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Review: King of Joe Espresso T-Discs for Tassimo

Over the past several years, we’ve been known to complain about the lack of new T-Disc flavors in retail stores, online or elsewhere and were just about ready to think that Kraft had all but given up on the Tassimo since Starbucks left and decided to partner with the competing Keurig machines instead. Ah, but then something strange happened… Kraft & Bosch decided enough was enough and started listening to fans. New machines were being introduced, a major safety recall was handled somewhat efficiently (for the most part) and best of all, after what seemed like ages of inactivity, new flavors were being released.

A few at first, then more, and eventually the levee broke and we were flooded with a tidal wave of amazing new flavors to the point where we almost couldn’t keep track of all the new things that were coming out left and right. Could it be? Have Kraft FINALLY listened to our complaints & concerns? It would seem so.

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