This has been an exceptionally hot summer for most of us. It is the perfect time for Iced Coffee but if you want your coffee with ice to be as strong and delicious as when it is served hot, and you have a Tassimo Single Serve Brewer, you are in luck. New this season are two stand-out selections, both from Gevalia: Black Iced Coffee and Sweet and Creamy Iced Coffee. At first we were skeptical when we received a complimentary sample of each but these brews stand up to ice. Both have a bold taste that won't be diluted by ice and since they are single-serve portions, every cup will be as fresh (and delightfully strong) as the first. Order online at http://www.tassimodirect.com/tassimo/index.aspx and wake up to a refreshing iced coffee.
Single serve beverage brewers ensure a fresh cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate every time. If you like your lattes and other hot milk drinks, there is only one brewer—Tassimo. The newer Bosch single serve brewer is ready when you are and gets the most out of each T-Disc—the little pre-packages of coffee, tea, chocolate or milk creamer. Tassimo, from Kraft Foods, (who sent over a Bosch for us to test) recently introduced new Starbuck’s Latte and Cappuccino. (Tassimo uses innovative T DISCs and this technology enables the machine to read the barcode on each T DISC, ensuring that the brew temperature and amount of water are automatically adjusted for the perfect cup, every time.)
The Bosch brewer from Tassimo, is a welcome improvement on the already pleasing original Braun brewer Tassimo is the excusive seller of Starbuck’s coffee discs Including the new Starbucks latte and cappuccino, and Milka Hot Chocolate (Milka’s lavender signs were highly visible on the slopes at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.)
People who loved the earlier (and still available) Braun brewer will really love the Bosch. According to one loyal T DISC user: " I love Tassimo and my Braun, but Bosch fixed all the things I didn’t like about the Braun. With the Bosch, the system is ready to brew the minute you turn it on. No waiting for the water to heat. And it is quieter than the Braun…altho it does have a smaller reservoir than the Braun..."(This can be a plus, though—you are forced to add fresh water more frequently!) The Bosch is ready to brew as soon as you turn it on in the morning without waiting. It is much quieter and has a better filtering system and it tells you when the water level is low, and when the machine needs to be descaled.
There are some 40 hot beverage varieties all using the patented T DISC technology-- Tassimo brews premium coffeehouse quality beverages, including four distinct coffee blends from Starbucks®. Hot beverage choices include coffee, real milk cappuccino and latte, espresso, Chai Tea Latte, crema, tea and hot chocolate. The Gevalia Skinny Cappuccino—a delicate blend of the intense taste of Gevalia espresso and foamed fat free milk--and the Starbucks Lattes and Cappuccinos will enable you to enjoy these creations whenever you want. Tassimo uses T DISCs, which guarantee first-cup freshness every time. The energy-efficient flow-through water heater virtually eliminates pre-heat time, the sleek and space-saving Bosch design makes it very versatile and convenient. For instance, the cleaning T DISC is stored right in the back of the machine where any excess cord tucks out of the way as well. Another important point is that Tassimo's customer service is good. They do respond and help you resolve any issue that might arise.
For a closer look at all things Tassimo, go to http://www.tassimodirect.com/ to see the brewers and the beverages. While visiting this site you can find out more about the Direct Delivery option, a way to receive regular shipments of T DISCS delivered right to your door. You choose the T DISCS and how often you want them shipped. You can always change your product or delivery frequency online. So with the click of a mouse you will be able to have perfect coffee at the push of button, whenever you wish.
What is the best way to prepare coffee? It may depend on how many servings you need at a time. If two or more people are going to be having a cup or mug or two at the same time, then it make sense t make a full or partial pot with a counter-top coffee maker or other full-pot at a time appliance.
But if you find you are wasting more coffee because only a cup at a time is consumed, (reheating cold coffee is okay once in a while and saving the excess to make iced coffee is fine up to a point) then perhaps a single cup coffee maker makes sense for you.
Yes, the trade-off is that you will have to buy one kind of single serving coffee pod –the one that matches your brewing machine. Keurig, Tassimo and Senseo all have specific coffee pods that go with their appliance.
But once you make the commitment there will be no regret.
There is little else like that first waft of fresh coffee in the morning. There are many excellent coffee brands to choose from and many methods of preparation—drip, cone filter (Melitta) single-cup servers (Tassimo, Keurig, Senseo).
We will discuss the different methods of preparation later but first, there recently was some slightly jarring news from Colombia: Coffee consumption is starting to outpace coffee production.
"There are two markets for coffee: the cash market and the futures market. The cash market is the market today. It is the price you would pay for coffee today if you could receive it today. The futures market is used to help determine the price for future deliveries. It is used to purchase a contract today to guarantee a future shipment of coffee. More importantly, however, the futures market for commodities like coffee is used to help protect against the wild variations that occur due to coffee market speculation."
"Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) -- The world coffee market will swing to a deficit of as much as 10 million bags next year from a surplus as demand growth outstrips production, said a growers group in Colombia, the third-biggest producer. Global coffee output will exceed demand by 6-7 million bags this year as Brazil, the largest producer, is in the more productive phase of a two-year cycle, said Juan Lucas Restrepo, commercial manager at the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia. Lower Brazilian output and demand growth of 2 percent next year will cause the shortfall, he added. A bag weighs 60 kilograms (132 pounds). 'Overall consumption is growing faster than production, and global inventories will decrease further next year,'' Restrepo said in an interview in Tokyo Oct. 17. ``Growth is not coming from mature markets but from emerging markets.'
When Colombia completes a tree replanting program, the amount of coffee hopefully will increase.
