You have probably been seeing plenty of this 1 cup wonder lately, but what just what is all the hype about? It's a coffee machine. Ok.... It makes hot beverages one at a time. That's nice.... You can't use regular coffee or espresso beans, you have to purchase their special coffee dohickeys called T Discs - even for the milk. That blows...

Many coffee companies are starting to make their own T Discs for this machine including Nabob Maxwell House and Starbucks but you have to hunt a little to find them. The advantage, Kraft says, is that you are getting a perfectly measured identical cup every time.

However, there are several disadvantages worth considering. The T Disks have to be thrown out after use. They come in a box and are comprised of plastic, aluminium, polyester and polyethylene laminate - all of which, goes straight to the trash can after your beverage is brewed. They can not be reused. You can pull it apart to get at the plastic part and recycle that, but extra effort is required. Since the "milk" (a "milk product" that lives on the shelf) also comes in this format, you will throw away 2 disks per cappuccino. In contrast, the only garbage you'll get from using a traditional espresso machine is coffee grounds.

If you are a coffee aficionado, you will turn your nose up at this machine. It is simply impossible to get the same intense flavor of a good strong Italian espresso with the Tassimo because the T Disks are made to suit the bland North American taste bud. We also suspect the Italians wouldn't allow it.

Despite our reservations, we recently sampled a cup of their espresso. It was everything you would expect from a hospital coffee vending machine.

We'll take the extra 3 minutes and make a proper espresso, thanks.

What do you think? Have you tried this? Do you like it?

Tassimo.com