Tassimo T65 Single Serve Coffee Maker Arrives for Review
Tassimo has sent us one of the new Tassimo T65 T-Disc single serve coffee makers to review. Right away you can see the difference in the attractive packaging, and how the removable cup stand will allow you to use larger travel mugs. We also love any appliance in our kitchen that features a cool blue led light - and the T65's illuminated cup stand is the bomb. We'll have a full review soon, but details on this new brewer are below.
The T-65 Tassimo Bosch single cup T-disc brewer features a new Multilingual LC display. We're pretty sure the multi-lingual display will help Tassimo launch into new and existing markets without the need to localize the machines for each market saving money. There's also a new set of lights for cup stand illumination.
Key new features of the Tassimo T-65 Single Serve Coffee Maker (read our T-45 review for all the features of the Tassimo system):
Multilingual LC display
User-friendly visual and linguistic instructions
Guides users through all functions and service steps in five languages (English/ French/German/Italian/Spanish)
Ultimate ease-of-use through self- explanatory instructions
Explanations for every step of use
Cup-stand light
Three lights above the cup stand for illumination
Switches off automatically when brewer is not in use for more than five minutes
Senseo was kind enough to send over a sample bag of their new 10% Kona Coffee Blend coffee pods to review, and we're glad they did. We've been anticipating how good these coffee pods would and could be, and are pleased to say up front - pretty darn good (think Larry David saying that). Kona Coffee tends to be milder and easier on the stomach and palette, and the 10% Kona Coffee blend coffee pods are no exception.
We've been on the hunt for a new travel mug, and we like the look and features of the Contigo mug. The Contigo Travel mug features a patented autoseal lid, and is 100-percent leak-proof and 100-percent spill-proof. You do have to press to sip, and when you release the mug seals. Vacuum-insulated technology keeps beverages hot for 4 hours, and cold for 12 hours. Also, the contoured body makes this mug easy to hold, and it fits most standard car cupholders
Green Mountain has introduced two new Cafe Escapes flavors - Chai Latte (a web exclusive), and Cafe Mocha. We have sampled both of these K-Cups as a result of Green Mountain sending us a few boxes to try out and have the following thoughts:
Cafe Escapes Chai Latte K-Cups - Very sweet, so if you're going to get the most Chai flavor we found making it on the smaller setting and then using a milk frother to get some balance. We did find several of the staff also liked it on the larger setting in a travel mug to sip and enjoy.
Cafe Escapes Cafe Mocha K-Cups - Solid. It's a nice chocolate meets coffee experience with a bit more chocolate than coffee. We think this is one of the best of the Cafe Escapes so far.
There's a mini-site for Cafe Escapes as well, and it's very pleasant with ethereal background music. It's nice to see Green Mountain Coffee continue to expand the Cafe Escapes line - now where is my Caramel Macchiato?
October 2009 Monthly Round-Up for Single Serve Coffee
Another October and another month of amazing single serve coffee news and reviews. We had a slew of coffee reviews this past month, and expect more in the coming weeks. Also expect our Mid-Month Single Serve Coffee Deals as well in November. You can also follow Single Serve Coffee each month on Facebook and Twitter for the latest single serve coffee news, reviews, and deals.
Caffe Inn - Concept Nespresso Espresso Machine Made for Super Heroes
Yep - that's right it's a concept designed by Frenchman Charles Teyssier which seeks to replace Tony Stark's super heart with a Nespresso machine coffee heart. Seems like a decent trade off to me, but other than the looks there's not much more here. Then again, Nespresso machines are always the most interesting and best looking espresso machines we see, and we love the round design reminiscent of the new Dolce Gusto design. See all the pictures at the Design Blog.
Save $1 a box by Dropping A Donut House on Someone
To promote their new Donut House K-Cups, Green Mountain Coffee is running a “Drop A Donut House” promotion. Have fun uploading an image of a friend or family member. Then “drop a donut house” on them, which looks like a fun virtual break for both you and your friend. Plus, both of you will receive a code to save $1 per box off of their new Donut House k-cups.
Breville BKC700XL Gourmet Single Serve Coffee Maker - Now with Quiet Brew Technology
Breville has updated their K-Cup brewer with the ultra quiet brew technology. This has to be our only complaint about the previous model - it was loud. The Breville Gourmet Single Serve Coffee Maker also features a powerful 1,500-watt heating element brews coffee efficiently fast to five different brew sizes. It has a Sleek stainless-steel design. Also new is the iced beverage function which dispenses a concentrated 3-1/2-ounce shot of tea or coffee. Dilute with ice and add water, milk or sweeteners for an iced tea or coffee.
Accessories include charcoal water filter, My K-CUP for your own roast, measuring scoop, 18 K-Cup variety pack. One of the best features about the Breville Gourmet Single Serve Coffee maker is the integrated My K-Cup and spoon - it's just too cool to pop open the top and store it away.
Douwe Egberts has introduced a very high end single serve coffee maker concept that makes you jump and interact to get your coffee. For us - that doesn't make a whole lot of sense, especially after a hard night and just wanting to get a single cup of coffee, but hey it's a concept. We've included the video below, but essentially think of it as a large touch screen super auto-matic coffee maker that has a camera in the front like the Sony Eye for Playstation. By moving around and then doing your selection - you'll get your coffee - maybe.
We’ve been sampling some of the European T-Discs which started appearing on www.tassimo.com these past few months and decided to continue our tour of Europe with one of Austria’s preferred brands of coffee: Jacobs. As a result, today we’ll be reviewing the new Jacobs Monarch T-Discs which you’ll see are not that different from their previous Kroenung T-Discs.
Upon brewing, faint hints of caramel start to emerge from your typical aroma of medium-roasted Arabica beans. Billed as having an irresistible “verwohnaroma” (aroma) with “citrusy notes”, we can’t say we found any of that present except for the taste which had the characteristics of your average medium roast with the exception of the faintest caramel notes and, we could be mistaken here, perhaps a tiny hint of lemon as well. It seems most European T-Discs have profiles that are becoming more and more identical, so we had a bit of a difficult time differentiating this T-Disc from its Kroenung counterpart or other competitors such as Kenco’s medium roast and Carte Noire’s Petit Dejeuner had it not been for some key factors such as acidity and aroma.
A new brand of k-cups, The Donut House Collection, is now available from Green Mountain Coffee. Four new k-cups are being offered, fresh from the roaster, and you can buy them directly from Green Mountain Coffee by clicking here. Green Mountain Coffee was kind enough send us a set of K-Cups of each of the new types - here's our thoughts on these new coffees from Green Mountain Coffee:
Cinnamon Roll K-Cups - yummy and not too much cinnamon
Chocolate Glazed Donut K-Cups - our favorite of the bunch. Lots of chocolate and lots of flavor.
Donut House Coffee K-Cups - what you'd expect yet a little more bold in flavor. We like it - especially with some cream and sugar
Donut House Decaf K-Cups - This is a good decaf if ever there was a good decaf.
Top 10 Best Selling Single Serve Coffee Makers - October 2009
Fall is upon us, and so is our Top 10 Best Selling Single Serve Coffee Makers list for October. Keurig is now dominating the top two slots, and you'll notice the Senseo single serve coffee pod brewer is now missing from the list. Why? There are still no Senseos available at retail in any quantity that we can find because of their product recall and lack of a product relaunch. The Home Cafe still hangs and trails the long tail of single serve coffee at number 10. We're wondering when the new Tassimo TAS 65 will start to appear on the list - but so far it's older Bosch sibling is still the most widely available Tassimo model.
Do you think these coffee makers represent the best selling or the best? What single serve coffee makers do you think should make a best of list regardless of sales? Sound off in the comments and let us know.
Nespresso Concept D290 Spotted on Curb Your Enthusiasm
That's right people - Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David sip Nespresso while filming Curb Your Enthusiasm. Thanks to Shawn for spotting the Nespresso D290 on one of our favorite shows.
From Shawn:
Just got around to watching Season 7, Episode 3 of Curb Your Enthusiasm (the one where Larry has the big Seinfeld Reunion Show idea). In the scene where Larry is trying to convince Jerry to do the reunion show, there's clearly a Nespresso Concept D290 (or maybe it's a C290?) along with some Nespresso Lungo capsules on the counter top behind Jerry's sofa.
Nespresso Singatoba Special Edition Espresso Capsules Review
Scott over at SingleServeEspresso.com has a full review of Singatoba. Singtoba is this season's Special Club Capsule from Nespresso, hailing from the island of Sumatra. The 100% Blue Batak Arabica beans are sourced from the northern part of the island and goes through a ferment and wash type process that has it acquiring both flavor complexity and its characteristic blue hue. Nespresso seems to have gone all out here and split roasted the coffee, light roasting some portion of the blend to keep the fruity and earthy notes, while dark roasting a portion of the batch to develop the body and the strength of the espresso.
Click on through for Scott's full review, but we also really love the deep earthy notes along with a roast profile that medium to dark coffee drinkers will love. Great stuff - and thanks to Nespresso for sending us our Singtoba capsules to try as well.
Fall is upon us and so is a ton of different Pumpkin Spice single serve coffees to pick from. Each year we kick back and sample in the best, and make sure to stock up on a few extra boxes for the winter months as well. If you're looking for some advice on what's good for pumpkin spice k-cups or coffee pods then look no further then this review and news round-up.