Tassimo
The Tassimo Hot Beverage System is a consumer coffee machine that prepares one-cup servings of espresso, regular coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and various other coffee drinks, notably those including milk such as latte or cappuccino.
It was first introduced in France in 2004 and is now also available in Andorra, Austria, Canada, Greece, Germany, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Russia, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The machines were developed by Kraft Foods Inc.. The original machines were manufactured by Saeco and distributed by Braun. In early 2008, Proctor & Gamble, the parent company of Braun, began phasing out sales of Braun kitchen appliances in North America.[1] In August 2008, it was announced the new generation of Tassimo machines would be manufactured by Bosch. At the same time, Kraft announced double-digit growth for the second quarter in a row for its Tassimo coffee T-Disc sales.
All machines operate with the Tassimo-labeled coffee pod, called T-Discs. The beverages range in price from $0.31 to $1.12 per drink depending on the product.
Tassimo T-Disc coffee brands are owned by Kraft, and include: Gevalia, Maxwell House, Jacobs, Carte Noir, Twinings, Suchard, Milka, Cadbury, Kenco, and Nabob.
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[edit] Current Machines
Currently Tassimo have 3 models of single cup coffee makers to choose from. They all utilize the T DISC (Tassimo coffee pods). The three different models are the TASSIMO Intermediate, the TASSIMO Suprema (which comes with Red or Silver highlights) and lastly the TASSIMO Premium which comes in 'Twilight Titanium'.
In North America, the Models are the T20, T45 (in 4 side colour panels) and the T65 - which includes an LCD multilingual display and an LED light over the dispenser to illuminate the cup.
All machines have similar features, however the Intermediate and Suprema models are not suitable for use above altitudes of 6,500 feet.
[edit] Technology
The system utilizes proprietary non-reusable plastic beverage pods called Tassimo discs (T-Discs), which are produced and distributed by Kraft. Each has a bar code printed on its label. Once inserted, the Tassimo machine reads the bar code to calculate the amount of water, brewing time, and temperature for the specific beverage. The brewing process takes between 30–60 seconds. Discs containing milk use UHT milk, not powdered milk.
[edit] Recall
On February 9, 2012 about 835,000 coffee makers are on recall in the United States and another 900,000 in Canada after dozens of reports of the brewers spraying hot liquid, coffee grounds or tea leaves onto people.[2] Reports from the Consumer Product Safety Commission say that there have been 140 reports on the maker, 37 of those cases involve second degree burns.[3] The Commission has also recalled 4 million T-Discs over reports that they can burst while brewing.[4]
Customers who participate in the coffee maker recall are shipped a replacement component which will help prevent the contents of a defective T-Disc from spraying if the T-Disc bursts. The component is shipped free of charge, including instructions to allow customers to install the new component themselves.[5]
[edit] See also
- T-Discs
- Coffee pods and capsules
- Caffitaly
- Flavia
- Keurig
- Lavazza
- Nespresso
- Saeco
- Senseo
- Singles capsules
- Lavazza BLUE
[edit] References
- ^ "Bye, Bye Braun". foodandwine.com. January 30, 2008. http://www.foodandwine.com/blogs/mouthing-off/2008/1/30/bye-bye-braun-some-shocking-news.
- ^ http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/02/09/tassimo-coffee-recall.html Tassimo coffee recall
- ^ http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml12/12106.html Consumer Product Safety Commission Report
- ^ http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml12/12107.html T-Disc Recall
- ^ http://www.tassimosafetyrecall.com/Brewer_Check.HTML Bosch® brand Tassimo Brewer Recall - Replacement T DISC Holder
