Single Serve Coffee Forums

I am not a coffee drinker at all, so I have no ability to judge coffee quality. My husband, however, is a bit of a coffee snob. He likes his coffee strong, often orders lattes and has an occasional espresso. He quit going to Starbucks because he said that the quality has gone down. His current favorite coffee shop is Coffee Tree Roasters which is a chain local to Pittsburgh. I would like to get him a ssc maker for a Christmas present for those days when he is short on time and would like a good, quick cup of coffee at home. We already have a Cuisinart drip coffee maker with a built-in grinder which he likes, but he ends up wasting several cups of coffee every time he uses it. I have done some research on different ssc makers and have ruled out the Keurig due to taste quality issues. I guess I am trying to decide between the Tassimo and the CBTL. A few questions I have: When you make a latte or cappuccino with the Tassimo, do you need to have a separate milk frother? It seems that you do need one with the CBTL. Which one provides a better tasting cup of coffee? Any other recommendations? Thanks in advance for your help!

Welcome! That's thoughtful of you. Since you mentioned he likes lattes a lot, the milk will probably be an impt. consideration. Tassimo uses UHT milk in its creamer disks. Think he'd be ok with the taste of that? You could put whatever you want in a separate frother.

Well I have both the CBTL machine and several Tassimo machines and if I want a Latte or Cappuccino I use real milk and a frother regardless of which machine I'm using.

The Tassimo is faster and I particularly enjoy the smaller sized coffees. There is probably slightly more variety of coffees and espressos available for the Tassimo system. The big difference is speed. The Tassimo is really instant on while the CBTL machine must first heat water in a boiler.

The coffees and espressos from CBTL may be slightly better than those from Tassimo, particularly the Cafitaly espressos from Meinl. If your husband likes the Starbuck coffees the coffee capsules for the Versimo work in the CBTL machine.

The Rivo needs to be included for consideration. If he finds the Starbucks espresso bitter the LaVazza espresso lacks that bitterness and the Rivo comes with a great frother. They are available again online at Bloomingdales but may not ship before Christmas.

Thanks everyone! I decided to go with the CBTL with a separate milk frother. Got a great deal at Bed Bath and Beyond. Paid 149.99 for the coffee machine, got 5 boxes coffee capsules free, $50 mail-in-rebate, and used 20% off coupon to save another $30!

Nice. Gonna make him wait?!