If you have seen the Bosch Tassimo commercial on TV showing the robotic coffee and hot beverage maker that makes hot coffee, chai lattes, cappuccinos and tea in under 60 seconds, you’ll understand my excitement when I received a request to try out and review the new Tassimo T20 by Bosch. Having seen the commercial several times and reading a number of positive consumer reviews online about the T20, we had already planned on buying the machine ourselves if it wasn’t received as a Christmas gift from our Amazon wish list, but a free one is even better.

Subscribed readers already know we drink a lot of coffee around here, but I also enjoy a good hot cup of tea on occasion, especially during cold winter months. Visiting friends and family can enjoy hot chocolate, espresso, crema, lattes and hot tea with the T20, while others may want to have a hot cup of coffee without having to pay outrageous prices at expensive coffee shops like Starbucks. The sleek, compact, space-saving Bosch Tassimo T20 is one mighty little brewing system, making over 40 varieties of hot and cold beverages in less than a minute, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the results.

Tassimo T20 Review and Giveaway

The Tassimo T20 brewbot comes either in black or white. We received a black T20 machine, as I requested, to match other kitchen appliances. The white Tassimo T20 comes with a Color Kit to add additional color to your machine, or to match your kitchen decor. The Color Kits are available in Strawberry Red, Hazelnut Brown, Lime Green and Mint Blue. You can also purchase accessories to add additional color to your machine.

The Tassimo is a one-cup, single-serve machine that creates an assortment of authentic coffeehouse beverages including coffee, tea, cappuccino, espresso, latte, hot chocolate and more in the convenience of your home or office. The Tassimo Home Brewing System works exclusively with Tassimo T-Discs, containing perfectly measured portions of coffee, tea, or concentrated shelf-stable milk. I’ve said before that I wasn’t a fan of single-serve coffee makers in hotels following a vacation to Chicago, but this new Tassimo T20 has caused me to rethink my resistance to single-serve coffee/hot beverage makers. This machine is cool!

Tassimo offers more than 40 beverage and flavor varieties to satisfy everyone’s drink preferences. You can buy T Discs from 13 beverage brands including Milka, Gevalia, Maxwell House, Suchard, Mastro Lorenzo, Twining’s, Kenco, Jacob’s, TAZO, Nabob, Carte Noire and Seattle’s Best Coffee. Tassimo even satisfies your Starbucks coffee addiction with a variety of Starbucks coffees, including Cappuccino Primo and Latte Primo.

Through patented technology, developed and designed by Kraft Foods, Tassimo brewers read the unique bar code printed on the label of each T-Disc once it’s inserted into the brewing machine, telling the machine the optimum temperature, brewing time, beverage size and exact amount of water required to prepare the chosen beverage, ensuring optimal brewing conditions, perfect quality and taste in every cup.

Making your favorite hot beverage with the Tassimo T20 is quick and easy, with zero cleanup. Simply place the T-disc into the slot, close the lid and push the brew button. That’s it! Within sixty seconds you have yourself a hot, delicious drink of your choosing, rather than waiting for a coffeemaker or tea machine to heat up and prepare your beverage. In my opinion, the Tassimo T20 is an excellent choice for your home, office, hotels, or as a thoughtful gift to someone you know and love.

You can buy a Bosch Tassimo T20 single-serve coffee/beverage brewing system for about $129.99 at your local Walmart or Target retail stores, or on Amazon. You can also purchase the T-discs and brewer color kit accessories online or at brick-and-mortar stores are varying prices. Right now and for a limited time, Tassimo is running a discount special for $25 off the purchase price of a new Tassimo T20 Brewbot and they’re giving you two free packages of T-Discs to go with it, if you order through the official Tassimo website at tassimo.com.

Win a Free Tassimo T20 Home Brewing Machine

One lucky winner will receive a Tassimo T20 of their choice, white or black, thanks to the kindness of Bosch and their reps!

Mandatory Entries:

• Subscribe to Telling It Like It Is by email, making sure to verify your free newsletter subscription from the automated email confirmation notice you will receive or the entry does not count (check your spam folder as it may filter there)

• Leave a comment telling me you’ve subscribed using the same email address as your subscription. Current subscribed readers count, but comment with your interest in this giveaway.

• Follow Telling It Like It Is on Networked Blogs and leave a comment with your username there letting me know you’re following

• Visit Tassimo’s official website, then leave a comment telling me which beverages you would love to try!

Optional Entries:

• Follow Tassimo on Facebook and tell them Telling It Like It Is sent you!

• Follow Brewbot on Twitter and tell them Telling It Like It Is sent you!

• Follow me on Twitter, then comment letting me know you are following, and provide your Twitter username

***Unverifiable entries will be deemed invalid and deleted.

Giveaway Rules:

• Open to U.S. residents only

• Must be 18 years of age or older

• No P.O. Boxes

• Giveaway ends on Sunday, December 26th at 5:00 P.M. CST

• Winner will be randomly selected from all comments using random.org

• Winner will have 24 hours to respond to the winning email notice with full name and shipping address information or a new winner will be chosen

Ready, Set, GO!!! Good Luck!!!  (Closed – Winner is: “Betsy From PassingThru”) Congratulations Betsy! You have 24 hours to respond to winning email notice.

Disclosure: We were sent the Tassimo T20 Brewbot Home Brewing system and T-Discs free of charge for the sole purpose of this review; no other compensation was received. All opinions expressed are my own and were not influenced by Tassimo. Sponsor is responsible for shipping prize to winner. I am not responsible for lost or prizes not received. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Similar Posts:

• Consumer Reports Coffeemakers – Best Single Serve One Cup Coffee Maker
• Only Hearts Club Dolls Giveaway Contest
• Top 10 Best Selling Coffee Makers and Single Serve Coffee Makers
• Trunki Suitcases – Gruffalo Trunki Kids Ride On Travel Luggage on Wheels Review and Giveaway
• Book Giveaway: Setting Boundaries With Your Adult Children

Single-serve coffeemakers, coffee makers that make one cup of coffee, are very popular nowadays. Enjoying a good cup of coffee depends more on the coffee brands consumers choose to buy rather than the coffeemaker itself, says Consumer Reports. Tests completed by Consumer Reports on single cup coffee makers and two cup coffee makers helps consumers choose the best coffeemaker for their needs and price range.

CR reviews and ratings show that coffee drinkers don’t have to spend a lot of money on a coffee making machine to get a good cup of joe, plus CR reports that features on some of the higher priced coffeemakers aren’t worth beans. One single cup of coffee in the morning wouldn’t come close to jump-starting our day, since we can easily finish off a twelve-cup pot of coffee with our large coffee mugs, and a two or four-cup pot would be laughable at our house.

Many hotel coffee makers are now either one cup or two cup coffeemakers, compared to the large coffee making machines from past years. We were not impressed with the hotel room coffee maker we discovered during a Chicago vacation trip, but only because one or two cups of coffee just won’t cut it for us. One cup single coffeemakers rank high for travelers and office use, especially for regular coffee drinkers trying to cut back on their daily coffee and caffeine consumption.

Best One Cup Single Serve Coffeemaker

I’ve been considering buying a single cup coffee maker with a travel mug to use at the office on occasion, so I read Consumer Reports and several customer reviews to help me decide which coffee maker to buy. Consumer Reports rates the Black & Decker DCM18S Brew ‘n Go model as the best single cup coffeemaker, and since it’s currently listed amongst the best selling single serve coffeemakers today, that’s probably a good enough choice for some.

The Keurig Special Edition B60 Gourmet Single-Cup coffee maker has received rave reviews by customers who love the Keurig pod coffee machine, and even though it is more expensive than the Black and Decker model, the additional features have me sold on a Keurig. I just have to choose between the B60 3-brew size options and the Keurig B70 Platinum single cup coffeemaker with 5-brew options, but I haven’t made up my mind yet.

Consumer Reports also ranks the two travel-cup Toastess TFC-42T coffeemaker very well in test results, and several Toastess coffee makers make the list of top coffee makers on the market today, plus they’re cheaper for budget buyers. The Nespresso D290 is said to be the best luxury pod coffee maker, for consumers who prefer espresso and want the convenience of its fast brewing time and 16 varieties of high-quality coffee, at a hefty price.

Programmable pod coffee makers are great and easy-to-use, but the Aerobie AeroPress is considered by reviewers to be the best manual one cup coffee maker and is cheap, compact and very easy to use. When shopping for coffeemakers, consumers will find there are several different types of coffee machines to choose from, including manual-drip coffee makers, coffee presses, coffee percolators, espresso makers and “pod” coffeemakers that brew individual cups of coffee using ready-to-use packets of coffee. Consumer Reports says consumers buy more automatic-drip coffeemakers than any other small kitchen appliance—about 14 million a year.

Even though the most basic, inexpensive coffeemaker can make a good cup of coffee, some features make a machine easier and more convenient to use. Before buying any kind of coffeemaker, consider what features and options you want and need, and carefully consider the advantages and disadvantages of each model prior to making a final selection. Reading unbiased single serve coffee maker reviews, and understanding the rating systems applied, helps a lot in choosing a coffee maker for home, travel or office use.

An unbiased review of the Keurig Special Edition B60 has me leaning towards choosing the Keurig Special Edition Home-Brewing System, and considering the fact that it can make a perfect cup of coffee in less than 60 seconds flat, that means I’ll be enjoying great coffee at the office whenever I want to drink coffee. If you are still undecided about what coffeemaker is best for you, check out this brief Consumer Reports coffeemaker buying guide youtube video, which explains the various types of coffeemakers and some interesting features available you might want to consider.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Similar Posts:

• Top 10 Best Selling Coffee Makers and Single Serve Coffee Makers
• Bosch Tassimo T20 Single Serve Coffee and Hot Beverage Maker Review and Giveaway
• Best Sewing Machines and Sewing Machines For Beginners Consumer Reports Reviews
• Consumer Reports Best Coffee Brand Ratings Reveal Best Tasting Coffee  
• Consumer Reports Best Electric Toothbrushes Reviews – Powered Toothbrush or Manual Toothbrush?

Consumer Reports was a great tool for me to use in my search for the top 10 coffee makers that are on the market, and now we’re on a mission to try some of the top 10 coffee brands in hopes of finding the brand of coffee with the best taste, even if it means having a pay a little more.

Online reviews about coffee can be confusing sometimes, since some coffee brands are those we’ve never even heard of, or the reviews are not based on the most current information. Did you know there are more than 70 brands of coffee on the market today?

Having grown weary of the bitter taste and poor flavor quality of many of the cheaper coffee varieties in the grocery stores we’ve tried, we decided to compare coffees and began looking for a list of coffee brands and companies that make the best tasting coffee, and was surprised to learn there are more unrecognizable names and brands of coffee than there are well-known brands.

It comes as no surprise to me that coffee is one of America’s favorite drinks, with average coffee drinkers consuming more than 1,000 cups of coffee each year. Most coffee drinkers, including us, rank coffee blends such as breakfast or house blends as their personal favorite. It doesn’t matter to us whether we drink caffeinated coffee or decaf, or a combination mix of both, but we do enjoy our cups of java every morning and sometimes at night.

I was able to get my hands on the most recent March 2010 edition of Consumer Reports Magazine that came out in February, where experts blind taste tested 37 varieties of coffee with some surprising results. None of the 37 caffeinated and decaffeinated coffees tested by Consumer Reports coffee experts earned an “Excellent” or “Very Good” rating. Many well-known coffees rated only “Fair”, including some of the cheap brands we’ve tried and nearly choked on.

Compare Coffee Brands

According to CR, coffee drinking consumers like us can still find at least a few “Good” cups of coffee. Expert taste testers sipped their way through more than 3-dozen varieties of coffees to find which coffee brands taste the best. Amongst the list of well-known coffee blends tasted by the experts were Dunkin’ Donuts, Starbucks, Folgers and Maxwell House.

A good cup of coffee should be smooth and complex, without any excessive bitterness or off-flavors, such as woody, grainy or papery, like the cheap coffee brands we’ve been drinking lately, such as: Folgers Classic Roast Medium and Maxwell House Master Blend Mild. The coffees were taste-tested black to get the true flavor, but if you normally add cream and sugar (or International Delight French Vanilla creamer like we use) some of the coffee brands tested would probably taste fine. Those include Starbucks’ House Blend and Green Mountain Signature Nantucket Blend, the Medium Roast.

When Consumer Reports tested 100 percent Colombian coffees, it found several that tasted very good even when black. One recommended coffee to try is the top-rated Eight O’Clock Coffee 100 Percent Colombian. Consumer Reports also taste-tested 13 decaf blends. Just like the caffeinated blends, none rated excellent or very good, but some were improved by adding milk and sugar or your favorite coffee creamer. Consumer Reports said for the best combination of taste and price, try Starbuck’s Decaf House Blend or Peet’s Decaf House Blend.

Both the Starbucks House Blend (26 cents per cup) and Green Mountain Signature Nantucket Blend Medium Roast (23 cents per cup) offer a good combination of taste and price. Both have an earthy, woody taste, but Starbucks was found to be a fairly bitter to very bitter darker roast, while the Green Mountain has green/sharp flavor.

Decaf Coffees vs. Caffeinated Coffee

There’s slightly better news for decaf drinkers. Although none of the 13 decaf blends Consumer Reports tested scored higher than Good, several performed at least as well as their caffeinated brand counterparts, which is quite a feat, because the decaffeination process can harm flavor. Allegro Organic Decaf Blend Medium Dark, Peet’s Decaf House Blend, Caribou Daybreak Coffee Morning Blend Decaf, and Bucks County Decaf Breakfast Blend were among the better scoring varieties.

All coffees consist of arabica or robusta beans, or a combination. Arabica beans are more expensive and tend to make better coffee. So perhaps it’s not surprising that blended coffees scored lower than several 100% Colombian arabica caffeinated brands tested by Consumer Reports last year in March 2009.

In rating coffee, Consumer Reports experts look for smoothness and complexity, with no off-flavors. The beans should be neither under-roasted nor charred, and the brew should have at least moderate aroma and flavor, and subtle top notes. Some sourness and bitterness are desirable, too, to keep the coffee from tasting bland.

Coffee drinkers should look for the best combination of taste and price. Don’t count on familiar brand names or expensive price tags. Some coffees from popular companies like Maxwell House and Folgers languish near the bottom of Consumer Reports Ratings. The package price doesn’t accurately reflect the cost per cup because the density of the grind varies and manufacturers recommend using different amounts of coffee for a given amount of water.

Top 10 Caffeinated Coffee Brands – “Good” Rating

• Starbucks House Blend – $11.37 per pound, 26 cents per cup

• Green Mountain Signature Nantucket Blend – $11.21 per pound, 23 cents per cup

• Dunkin’ Donuts Dark Roast – $11.39 per pound, 28 cents per cup

• Allegro Blend Light Roast (Whole Foods) – $13.32 per pound, 32 cents per cup

• Archer Farms Breakfast Blend (Target) – $8.56 per pound, 29 cents per cup

• Kickapoo Organic Driftless Morning – $13.32 per pound, 32 cents per cup

• Peet’s House Blend – $12.91 per pound, 30 cents per cup

• Sam’s Choice House Blend Medium Roast (Walmart) – $8.00 per pound, 18 cents per cup

• Eight O’Clock Original – $7.35 per pound, 16 cents per cup

• Melitta Classic Blend Medium Roast – $7.08 per pound, 11 cents per cup

Top 10 Caffeinated Coffee Brands – “Fair” Rating

• Caribou Daybreak Morning Blend – $11.52 per lb, 42 cents per cup

• New England Breakfast Blend – $7.12 per lb, 11 cents per cup

• Folgers Gourmet Selections Morning Café – $8.29 per lb, 9 cents per cup

• Chock full o’ Nuts Original – $4.75 per lb, 12 cents per cup

• Maxwell Breakfast Blend Mild – $5.00 per lb, 4 cents per cup

• Folgers Breakfast Blend Mild – $5.39 per lb, 6 cents per cup

• Bucks County Breakfast Blend – $11.95 per lb, 44 cents per cup

• Maxwell House Original Roast Medium – $4.94 per lb, 5 cents per cup

• Maxwell House Master Blend Mild – $4.72 per lb, 4 cents per cup

• Folgers Classic Roast Medium – $5.69 per lb, 5 cents per cup

Best Decaffeinated Coffee Brands – “Good” Rating

• Allegro Organic Decaf Blend Medium Dark (Whole Foods) – $18.65 per lb, 42 cents per cup

• Starbucks Decaf House Blend – $12.36 per lb, 28 cents per cup

• Peet’s Decaf House Blend – $12.80 per lb, 29 cents per cup

• Caribou Daybreak Morning Blend Decaf – $13.99 per lb, 46 cents per cup

• Archer Farms Breakfast Blend Decaffeinated (Target) – $9.05 per lb, 34 cents per cup

• Seattle’s Best Blend Decaf Light Roast – $9.59 per lb, 15 cents per cup

• Kickapoo Organic Decaf Breakfast Blend – $14.65 per lb, 32 cents per cup

• Sam’s Choice Organic Blend Decaffeinated – $8.00 per lb, 18 cents per cup

• Bucks County Decaf Breakfast Blend – $11.70 per lb, 42 cents per cup

The 4 Decaf coffee brands with only a “Fair” rating are Maxwell House Decaf Original Roast Medium, Eight O’Clock Decaffeinated Original, Dunkin’ Donuts Dunkin’ Decaf and Folgers Classic Decaf Medium coffees.

For caffeinated coffee drinkers on a budget looking for a Good cup, Consumer Reports recommends Melitta Classic Blend Roast (11 cents per cup) and Seattle’s Best Breakfast Blend (15 cents per cup). Decaf coffee drinkers on a budget may want to consider Seattle’s Best Blend Decaf Light Roast (15 cents per cup) or Sam’s Choice Organic Blend Decaffeinated Medium Roast (18 cents per cup).

Similar Posts:

• Consumer Reports Coffeemakers – Best Single Serve One Cup Coffee Maker
• Top 10 Best Selling Coffee Makers and Single Serve Coffee Makers
• Give Up Coffee? Why Should I Stop Drinking Coffee?
• Bosch Tassimo T20 Single Serve Coffee and Hot Beverage Maker Review and Giveaway
• Recycling Coffee – 25 Ways to Recycle Coffee Grounds

For people that drink as much coffee as we do, our recent experience with a single serve coffee maker in our hotel room during our Chicago vacation created temporary disappointment. I can only guess as to why hotels choose to provide hotel guests with one-cup coffee machines versus one that brews more than one cup of coffee at a time, but we weren’t impressed.

The moment we checked into our hotel room and saw the tiny coffee making appliance sitting on the counter at the hotel we stayed at, we knew we weren’t going to make it through our entire vacation trip with that silly looking coffee maker. We made a beeline to the nearest store and bought a cheap, black 12-cup automatic coffee maker that was sitting all by itself on a discount clearance shelf for just ten dollars.

We also bought our favorite coffee creamer, two large coffee cups that only cost 99 cents each, and a decent size container of our favorite brand of coffee and coffee filters. We couldn’t help but laugh when we read the front of the coffee maker provided by the hotel, where it claims to be a two-cup coffee machine that comes with pre-measured coffee pods. The only way it would be possible to get two cups of coffee from that machine would be for us to use cups from a little girl’s toy tea set. Simply ridiculous.

Top Ten Best Selling Coffee Makers

Even though the automatic coffee maker we bought during our vacation doesn’t appear anywhere on the list of best selling coffee makers, we were pleased with the results even with the slow brewing time. We’ve been talking about replacing the lousy Proctor Silex coffee maker we have at home for a better quality machine, and since we donated the one we used during our trip to the kids, we’ve been checking out coffee maker reviews and ratings for all the different kinds of coffee makers.

Apparently, single serve coffee makers like the Keurig coffee maker are a growing trend amongst many coffee drinkers as a way of reducing their caffeine consumption, but we would just switch to decaf coffee if we were concerned about caffeine addiction problems. We’ve never been espresso/cappuccino coffee drinkers, and hot tea never appealed to me, but we do love the taste of great coffee brewed at home.

You might think that the amount of coffee we drink everyday might lead us to buy a large commercial type coffee maker, perhaps one that brews upwards of 100 cups of coffee at a time, but that would be overkill. We’ve read review articles on various types of coffee makers that brew 10, 12 or 14 cups of coffee at a time for comparison purposes, and even checked out ratings on Consumer Reports.

What is the Best Home Coffee Maker?

Trying to compare coffee makers for personal home use versus industrial sized coffee makers appropriate for business offices became somewhat frustrating. All we wanted to know is, What is the best home coffee maker on the market today? Until we began our search for a new coffee maker, it hadn’t occurred to me that there are so many brands of coffee machines to choose from! DeLonghi, Cuisinart, Gaggia, Braun, Krups, Saeco, Capresso, Bunn, Sunbeam, Senseo, KitchenAid, Black and Decker, Mr. Coffee, Coleman, Jura and Zojirushi are the brands that come to mind. That’s a lot of competition for coffee makers, and each wants to be considered the best.

After reviewing customer reviews and online ratings for coffee makers, it became clear that deciding which coffee maker machine was the best is just a matter of opinion and personal experience. There also appears to be a certain amount of hype surrounding some coffee makers which caused some doubt in our minds as to the reliability and trustworthiness of some online reviews. However, if you’re interested in an honest, unbiased review of the Keurig Special Edition B60 Single Serve Coffee Maker, I can personally vouch for the source.

A few years ago we had a Bunn coffee maker that worked like a champ until it was dropped and broken, and even though it can be a bit pricey, it was our favorite over all the other brands. The fact that a full pot of coffee was brewed and ready in two minutes flat was just one of the reasons why we chose the Bunn. That old saying “you get what you pay for” probably rings true when it comes to buying a good quality coffee maker.

Types of Coffee Makers

I certainly wouldn’t attempt to convince anyone that one brand of coffee maker is better than the other, because there are many factors to consider in the selection process. Whether you buy an automatic drip coffee maker, manual drip, French press/Plunger Pot, stove top percolator, espresso/cappuccino/latte machine or pod coffee maker, consider your personal preferences of what you need your coffee maker to do and what features are important to you.

Should it have programmable settings? An automatic on/off safety feature? Brew interrupt/pause feature? What is your price range? Color preference? Amount of available space for the coffee maker? Do you need a space-saver undercabinet type coffee maker? Do you need a single or dual cup model, or perhaps a family size standard coffee maker with 8, 10, 12 or 14 cup options? Once you decide what features and options you want in a coffee maker, choosing the right one for your home or office becomes much easier.

Similar Posts:

• Consumer Reports Coffeemakers – Best Single Serve One Cup Coffee Maker
• Bosch Tassimo T20 Single Serve Coffee and Hot Beverage Maker Review and Giveaway
• Consumer Reports Best Coffee Brand Ratings Reveal Best Tasting Coffee  
• Best Sewing Machines and Sewing Machines For Beginners Consumer Reports Reviews
• Kids In Mind Parental Movie Ratings With Your Kids In Mind