For several years, I have considered myself a tea drinker. Pretty much two varieties, Irish Breakfast or Earl Gray. Now, I did not give up coffee totally. If I am out, in a diner or restaurant, I may order coffee, but only because American seems to have no idea how to make a decent cup of tea. It is not hard.
Take good tea and add boiling water. BOILING water not that lukewarn stuff from the side of the coffee maker. At home, I use tea bags..but an Irish brand..and loose tea, especially Adagio's Earl Gray Bravo. An electric kettle to boil the water and that little basket thing.
Put tea in basket, basket in cup, water poured through basket into cup. Wait several minutes, remove basket and tea leaves. Done.
But then Christmas came and this Tassimo brewer came into my life. I suspect the Bro and Sil gave it to me so that the Bro could have a cup of coffee when they come to my house, because before I had no coffee available. And the strange thing? I have started to have a cup of coffee myself on occasion. Because, I must say, with the Tassimo, it is very quick, easy to make the one cup I need..and quite good.
And it make tea!
Their Earl Gray is very nice.
As is their hot chocolate.
Their espresso.
Their cappucccino.
Their Crema
Now, there is another very big brand of this sort of brewer out there, but the Bro thinks this one is better and I must now agree.
Because the Tassimo has a bar code reader that reads the different code on each pod and brews it correctly, in three diffent sizes, depending on the product. With the Crema, it finishes the cup with a blast of hot air to make the foamy, velvety top. Cool.
On the other brand, you can make different sizes, but it is just adding more or less water to the same amount of coffee..so it is just weaker or stronger. Not different.
I have my Tassimo sitting on a nice drawer in which I can store a nice selection.
Including my beloved Earl Gray.
But fear not loose leaf tea, I still love you too.
This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by
Beth Fish Reads.
This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
I have the other big brand for coffee and quite like it. Although I also have a regular coffee maker. I mostly use my own coffee in the K brand because it's way less expensive.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know about the bar code reader thing in the T brand -- very cool.
Anyway, I drink tea only in the afternoons and Adagio's Earl Gray Bravo is one of my all-time favorites and a staple in my house.
Water for tea must be 212F; water for coffee is only 190F
I don't like coffee but I love tea. My current favorite is Caramelised Pear Tea :)
ReplyDeleteyes, without doubt it is more expensive than other ways of making coffee. But for me, who am only going to drink one cup..well it is way cheaper than Starbucks or even my local Wawa convience store.
ReplyDeleteand it sure as heck does not pay be to make a pot and throw most of it out.
I'm so glad you showcased this today. I've seen them advertised but wondered if they were any good or not. I think they are a great idea for one or two drink households. My husband and I are considering one.
ReplyDeleteWe have the Keurig maker that uses K cups, and I love it. But I think the Tassimo is really the same deal. I love being able to have all that variety available in the little pods to switch around whenever the mood hits.
ReplyDeleteI've never been a coffee drinker, but I have recently started drinking tea, so your post is very interesting to me. I may have to look at the Tassimo.
ReplyDeleteI have the other brand and mainly use it for tea, but my hubby does use it for coffee sometimes. I went with the Keurig because there are more varieties of drinks available.
ReplyDeleteI drink only tea, and my husband only drinks coffee (except when he's sick, then it's plain tea).
ReplyDeleteWe have a keurig for him and I have a zarafina tea maker that I love. It has settings for black, green, white and herbal teas which adjusts the temp and brewing times for each variety. I love it. I also buy from several online tea sites, and Adiago is a favorite.
Perfect to keep you warm this weekend.. I hear you a are getting snow!
ReplyDeleteSmiles~
gypsea nurse
My coffee machine died last year, so after much research I bought a small espresso machine to make Mochas. Then for xmas my parent's bought me a Kerig. I wasn't sure, but oddly enough I love the little one cup coffees. It is easy and tastes good. Also way less calories than an Mocha. Always good to try new things. A london fog is OH so good!
ReplyDeleteI have the other brand and we love it! Everyone gets exactly what they like. But the Tassimo sounds cool with the bar code reader. What a great gift, even with the ulterior motive, LOL!
ReplyDeleteobvioulsy the poor Tassimo is less popular than that other brand...but in my family we hear our own drummer..or whatever that saying is.
ReplyDeleteTrue, the other has more choices, (ok, vastly more choices) but this one has more than enough for me. working my way through some coffee choices these days...
Lucky you to have such a fancy brewer and that makes so many varieties to keep everyone happy. I'm a big coffee addict and just ordered an Aero Press coffee maker.
ReplyDeletehaha i had the same idea that dad got me that so he could have coffee at my apt. its like that time they got me a new tv for the superbowl bc he didn't want to watch it on a TUBE tv
ReplyDeleteI am an early adopter and have had my Tassimo for 3 years. Makes great single cups. Love the cappacino best of all. The water temp is perfect for making green tea. Use my own tea bag and the 'cleaning disk' and press the button when the ready light comes on. These makers are also great for kids who want hot water, but you don't want them using the stove. Use the cleaning disk and they can safely get all the hot water they need. We have a gas stove and I didn't want the kids using it unsupervised. they used the water for their noodles and cuppa soups as well as drinks..
ReplyDeleteSomeone once taught me how to make a good cup of tea... after I used tepid
ReplyDeletewater for their cuppa.....
I'm not a 'real' coffee drinker...
but give me a Starbuck's latte anytime.... for tea I prefer English
Breakfast...
I love the video! I drink mostly coffee but I have a cupboard full of tea hmmmm...
ReplyDeleteThat Tassimo brewer sounds very cool! It wouldn't be of much use in our house, since we all drink massive amounts of coffee, but if I was living on my own I'd definitely go for one.
ReplyDeleteI also love tea. Usually Earl Grey in the summer with milk and honey, and Constant Comment in the winter with a touch of lemon.
I so love our Tassimo, too! Since there's usually just the two of us and we don't always drink our coffee at the same time, it's just perfect. We do drink a lot of tea too though :)
ReplyDeleteI love your little drawer to store the coffee. Perfect!
Hi Caite,
ReplyDeleteThanks for reminding me where I read the Tassimo post. I have updated my current post to add a link to your post. Thanks.