Tassimo Hot Choco Salted Caramel (Ocado) By @Cinabar

I drink more hot chocolate than the average person. Having said that, I stopped buying Tassimo hot chocolate and I can’t remember why, it was years ago. If I’m honest, my Tassimo machine has had less love over the last year for coffee too, but mostly I remember a huge wave of disappointment about hot chocolate. This is the first time I’ve seen a limited edition hot chocolate for the Tassimo, so I thought I’d risk it and buy these Hot Choco Salted Caramel drinks to see if I could regain the love.

Inside the pack are two boxes with the Tassimo pods inside. I had a look at the pod and the first hit of disappointed memories came back to me. Originally, Tassimo hot chocolate used to be a liquid inside the pod that made a good hot chocolate, then at some point they switched to instant powder. This pod had powder. There is still hope the flavour will win me over.

I popped the pod into the machine and pressed the button for it to brew me a drink. I waited as it heated and whizzed away. Then it had finished, and the cup was just half full. Oh yes, that is why I didn’t buy the hot chocolate. You can’t get a decent portion. I pressed the top-up button fully aware I was watering down the drink. I can’t cope with a half mug though, that is worse.

So yeah, the flavour is okay. I mean I could put the usual moan in about the fact that salted caramel isn’t that imaginative, but I’ll leave that because it was nice. A little sweet and syrupy, and also a touch of salt. I found the drink to be mild, but it was that or have half a portion, and that reason there is what I’d forgotten. This is a small portion of powdered hot chocolate made with water, under the guise of being a ‘coffee shop selection’. Shame.

Limited Edition Tassimo Costa Gingerbread Latte (Asda) By @Cinabar

At this time of year I do like the Christmas and Winter drinks that become available in the coffee shop chains. Sometime though it is nice to have a seasonal drink at home. We have a Tassimo machine and Costa makes drinks for this, this year they have brought out a packet of Limited Edition Tassimo Costa Gingerbread Lattes. There are eight drinks in the box and to make one you have to use two of the T-Discs, a milk based gingerbread flavoured one to start and then top it up with an espresso, which I think is standard and that part has no flavouring. Can I also mention size here, this is the largest drink size you can get from a Tassimo, it is a mug's worth but not a large mug. The largest drink you can order in a Costa coffee shop is practically bucket sized! :-D

I made myself a drink and gave it a good stir. There was a light ginger aroma but mainly the scent was off coffee.
I gave it the first sip and found the flavour to be far more subtle than I thought it would be. The gingerbread flavour does add a warming touch and a little sweetness, but it is far from being too sugary. If I had ordered a Gingerbread Latte in a Costa store I’m sure it would have come loaded with sweet syrup, covered in cream and topped with one of those cute miniature gingerbread biscuits, and probably some more syrup over the cream top too. This is a much cut back version. I’m sure you could add your own cream easily enough, but the sweetness isn’t there. I’m not saying this is a bad thing, it is just different, a toned down version. This made it very drinkable and enjoyable but not necessarily as much fun as you’d hope for in a Christmas drink.

Milka Tassimo ( New Recipe) [@cinabar]

Now when the courier arrived this morning and dropped off my order from Tassimo I didn't think there would be anything blog worthy in the box. This is not to say that I don’t find Tassimo blog worthy, it was just that it was a semi-regular topper up order. I got some Chai Lattes as they aren't available in the shops, Milka hot chocolate for the same reason and a couple of different makes of latte mostly to top the order up enough so that I could use a voucher that was emailed to me to get a free Milka mug. On a side note I am a Milka fan girl, which is why I order this hot chocolate from the Internet.
Clearly then when my new mug arrived I immediately wanted to make a Milka hot chocolate in it. This is when I noticed that the Milka t-disc had a make-over and it was a new recipe. First thing to note most of the hot chocolates in the Tassimo are made using two discs, one milk based and one chocolate based, both of these are usually liquid. Even Suchards one disc variation is still liquid filled. I was suspicious then when the I spotted the Milka Tassimo had been reduced to one t-disc and, when I shook it, I realised it was just powder. Oh my, that didn't bode well.

I popped my new mug under the Tassimo, inserted the t-disc and started it off. Now this is the official Milka Mug from Tassimo and I'm making the official Milka Tassimo hot chocolate in it, so why on earth doesn't the drink fill the mug? Seriously where is the rest of my drink, you couldn't serve someone that in a cafe, it looks dreadful leaving a huge gap at the top of the mug. There is a top-up mode on the Tassimo but I didn't want to have to resort to that when I'm taste testing as all that does it add extra hot water. Surely the Milka Tassimo hot chocolate should naturally be an exact fit for the Milka Tassimo mug? Apparently not.

Issue number two occurred when I went to take out the used t-disc from the machine and I could see powder (still dry in places) and some soggy cocoa slush still within it. I could see it hadn't mixed completely. I did later try a second Milka with the same results.
The flavour was almost acceptable, and that was it. It wasn’t the rich soothing flavour it used to have. It was watery like an instant hot chocolate, unexciting. There was a vague hint of Milka with that nuttiness but ultimately I had just made a dull instant hot chocolate. I have a kettle I can make flavourless instant hot chocolate whenever I want, a lot cheaper too, so I really don't see the point of this. It works out quite expensive for instant hot chocolate, the original Milka was a liquid and mixed really well, but those days are gone. We wouldn’t accept it if they switched my espresso to instant, so why is this okay? I now have a fab Milka mug and absolutely no use for it. Here is hoping they correct the recipe asap because I can't see anyone making a repeat purchase. I want my Milka hot chocolate back. :-(

By Cinabar

Tassimo - Costa Latte [By @Cinabar]

I have bought many kitchen gadgets in the past that haven’t stood the test of time. Ice cream machines, hot chocolate maker etc all bound for the back of the cupboard and occasional use only. One of the gadgets that I use every single day though is my Tassimo. I’ve had a machine for a few years now and whether it is an after work coffee or a before bed hot chocolate the machine is used with guaranteed regularity.

Costa Latte
Although Lattes have always been available for the Tassimo recently Costa have got on board and now you can make your very own Costa Latte at home. Inside the pack are two different types of disc for the machine. There are eight milk and eight espresso, and to make one drink you use one of each, i.e. it makes eight lattes. The drinks make a big mug full, which is lovely, so I put my large mug in the machine and loaded in a milk disc. The discs are double sized but fit easily in the machine. The second you press the start button the drink making begins and seconds later hot milk is being distributed to the mug. A quick switch of disc and the espresso is being poured into the milk and the coffee is ready to go. If you don’t have a Tassimo there is no clean up or mess, you just take the discs out and that’s it. The machines do need de-scaling every few months, and I run the cleaning program after I do that, but again it is all automated and just gets on with it on its own. Easy, and I think this why my Tassimo has passed that test of time, no washing up or hassle!
Anyway, back to my Costa latte, I noticed my mug looked a little fuller using the Costa discs than the other make I’ve tried. The taste was good, the milk was thick and almost frothy, with a lovely creamy edge to it. The espresso had delivered a decent shot, it almost looked like a double in amount. As such the coffee was rich and strong, but with no bitterness at all. It did taste like Costa’s I order in store, but came in at a fraction of the price.

Twinings Tea
The other thing that you might not realise with the Tassimo machine is that it also makes tea. Yes just like there are discs for making coffee, you can put some in to make tea. They are from a good make too, Twinings, so I was expecting a good cuppa. I put the disc in and brewed up the drink. I have to admit it did make a proper English Breakfast cup and I very much enjoyed the drink. My only issue is that I can make a really nice cup of tea with a tea bag at home, for a few pence. I can’t make a proper latte though, so that is where I think the Tassimo comes into its own. The tea is nice, and I will drink it up, but the coffee has won me over.

Many thanks to the folks from Tassimo for sponsoring this post, as ever my views remain impartial.

Tassimo - Oreo Drink (@Tesco @Tassimo) [By @Cinabar]

I love my Tassimo machine, I think it delivers a fab latte and cappuccino which is also fun with a shot of flavoured syrup. The hot chocolates are lovely and quick and easy to make. The only downside is the selection of goodies, in the supermarket at least it is always quite basic. It was rather exciting to find a new drink available for the Tassimo and I was even more impressed to hear that Tesco was stocking it! I managed to pick some up in our small branch in our town centre, and couldn’t wait to get it home.

I have to say I liked the packaging on the boxes inside, the Oreo T-Discs looked like they had stacked Oreo biscuits down the side. There are two varieties of T-Discs in the pack, both used to make the one drink, a milky one and the Oreo biscuit one. This is pretty standard practice for lots of drinks with the Tassimo machines. The pack makes eight Oreo drinks, that come in at 190ml each based on the use of both T-Discs, so fairly small. I chose to make it in our “Irish Coffee” glasses as they are the perfect size. I thought it made sense to use the Oreo disc first then the milk on top, but couldn’t quite see an official order on the wrapper. The picture shows the milky froth on top so that felt right!

Once the drink was brewed it was a dark brown in colour with a milky topping, which wasn’t quite as defined as the one on the packaging. I decided to give it a stir which lost the distinction but did ensure all the ingredients were mixed up. When I took the Oreo T-disc out of the machine I was impressed to see it was completely empty, many of the hot chocolate leave some cocoa residue in the pack and I end up trying to pour it out through the hole - or is that just me? Anyway, there was no need with these.
Now I have to be honest, I did think this would just taste like any other hot chocolate with the Oreo element being just a novelty. I’m pleased to tell you that it isn’t and this really is a biscuit flavoured drink! Its is sweet and yes there is a fair amount of chocolate, but there is also a rich biscuit flavour running throughout. It has that buttery baked taste, and this gives the drink a beautiful creamy edge.It is such a soothing drink, and something so different to for the Tassimo. Unusual yes but delicious too, you just don’t know how nice a biscuit flavoured drink can be till you try one! Its also particularly good for dunking Oreo’s in. ;-)
By Cinabar

Tassimo – Twinings Chai Latte [@tassimo] [By @Cinabar]

I don’t intend to review every tea, coffee and hot chocolate available for the Tassimo machine, but it is a new toy in our house and so has got my interest up. Like the Milka hot chocolate, this drink was also too exciting to pass up!
One of my favourite drinks is spiced tea, and I thought I’d test out how the new Tassimo machine does things, it is actually the first tea I’ve tried in it. I popped the discs in and waited for my drink to arrive. The Tassimo uses a milk disc to mix up this tea, which may seem a bit unusual but is actually the more traditional method with spiced teas in India.
As you can see from the picture, the tea looked very pretty once it was made, with plenty of milk but a good warmth in the colour and a clever two-layer effect. The drink smelt aromatic with a lovely hint of cinnamon and spices, bringing a little slice of the exotic to the Foodstuff Finds kitchen.
The flavour was impressive, although there was plenty of spice, and it was fine for my taste buds, Spectre would have brewed his a bit longer had there been the option. He is the kind of guy who will leave tea bag in so long that you think that he was making tar not tea and the teaspoon can practically free stand in the middle!
I felt that the spices and the creamy milk made more of a soothing drink, with the cloves and star anise tickling the taste buds with the playful cinnamon. It’s a perfect comforting drink for a cold winter evening, with its warming fragrant spices and creamy taste.
Sweetness was something I thought might be an issue, I have one teaspoon’s worth in my cuppa, but Spectre thinks this is sacrilege and doesn’t touch the stuff. The Chai Latte seemed to be okay for both of us, without any addition of sugar from me which leads me to believe there is a tiny bit of sugar already in the brew, but only a very small amount. This is another product I will be buying again, as it is so different from the other drinks on offer for the machine. It is also the only one Spectre has tried as he is a little adverse to coffee and I haven’t yet tempted him with barista skills (which admittedly do consist of just pressing a button).
If you don’t have a Tassimo machine but like the idea of drinking Chai, I should point out that you can buy Twinings Chai tea bags from most big supermarkets. If you are tempted to buy a Tassimo machine, there are some great offer on Idealo at the minute.

By Cinabar

Bosch Tassimo & Milka Hot Chocolate (@Tassimo) [By @Cinabar]

Oh my, I have a new toy in the house, and I’d like to introduce you all to my new Tassimo machine. I think I have made it clear on many occasions that I love my hot drinks, be it teas, coffee or hot chocolates, and I find a time for each of the above.
The Tassimo caught my eye as it had some brilliant features which are perfect for a lazy person like me. You put a drinks disc in, press a button and your drink appears. It’s fast to make a drink, with drinks brewing in under 60 seconds, which impressively beats a kettle! The machine has almost no maintenance and comes complete with a Brita water filter so shouldn’t even need de-scaling. There is no cleaning up after or before use, you pop the T-Disc in, after the drink has been made you remove it, no drips or anything it’s all just a clean environment. When the machine has finished the drink it jets some steam through itself just to make sure there is no residue. Also the used T-Discs are recyclable which is an important addition when you have the recycle police in the house (aka Spectre).


More than this though, Tassimo is the only manufacturer to have Milka hot chocolate, and I’m sure you are all aware of my feelings on the subject of Milka – as it is the best darn milk chocolate on the planet!!! :-D I have been wanting to try Tassimo Milka hot chocolate since 2008 and here is a link to prove it!!!
If you have used a Tassimo machine you will be aware that some of the drinks are quite small, and only fill a cups worth. As I prefer my hot drinks in a mug, I have been a bit disappointed with the size of some of them. The cappuccino it makes are lovely, but are a bit small so the Latte Macchiato (unsweetened) has been my coffee of choice because it fills a mug properly. I am pleased to say that this Milka hot chocolate also fills a mug which is a relief as a hot chocolate should be a long soothing savoured drink! I have tried the Suchards hot chocolate in the Tassimo and had to use a double measure of T-Discs to fill the mug, and I only rated the drink as ‘nice’ at the end of it. I have loved the coffee but as this was my first trial of a hot chocolate I was a bit disappointed.


I had my fingers crossed when I popped in the Milka T-Disc and it turns out I was in luck. The Milka drink it makes is pure heaven. The flavour is a lot stronger than the Suchards, and you can definitely pick up on the distinct alpine Milka taste. The chocolate drink is smooth and velvety, and topped with lovely milk froth and chocolate. The flavour has a hint of nut and lots of cream and is just absolutely perfect. I know I’m a Milka fan girl, but for me it is an absolutely dreamy drink. It made me want to hug the Tassimo and say thank you!!! I can’t work out why so many of the shops don’t stock the Milka T-Discs particularly as they actually make a full mug too. I had to buy these online, but as you can imagine I’ve already ordered a second box! Also in my last online order I have included a packet of Twinings Chai Latte which sounds gorgeous, and either myself or Spectre will be writing about that soon too.

Big thanks to the lovely folks at Idealo
If you are looking for your own Tassimo bargain (and they are cheaper than you think) check out the Idealo website.

By Cinabar

Tassimo – Milka Hot Chocolate

I have a whole array of under used kitchen appliances, from things like candy floss makers through to milk frothers. Consequentially my need of a Tassimo hot drinks machine has fallen on deaf ears…

So, I don’t currently have a Tassimo machine, but I stumbled across the exciting fact that there is now a Milka Hot Chocolate cartridge available for them, and now I really want to try them!!!