- The Compact One and easy to use
Bosch Tassimo Vivy 2 Coffee Machine TAS1402GB
Tassimo is owned by Jacobs Douwe Egberts who are themselves one of the largest players in the coffee market and owners of many coffee brands including Kenco so this company knows what it is doing when it comes to coffee.
Tassimo coffee machines have been around since 2004 but have seen a massive rise in popularity over the last 5 partly due to the huge rise in popularity of capsule and pod machines overall and partly due to the huge marketing budget that Nescafe has put behind Nespresso promoting the ultra-convenience of not having to mess about with coffee beans or ground coffee.
This Tassimo Vivy 2 coffee machine is manufactured by Bosch who is a highly regarded kitchen appliance brand.
This type of coffee machine is most suited to anyone that is getting a bit fed up with instant coffee and is looking to take the first step into the world of coffee machines.
Tassimo competes with Dolce Gusto at this end of the coffee machine market with both performing in a very similar way and the machines costing a similar amount so it’s worth checking out both before deciding which way to go.
These machines are cheap and very affordable compared to some of the other espresso machines that you could go for so what you need to understand is whether or not Tassimo will give you a decent cup of coffee
Overall Score 9.8/10
Design 9/10
This is a very inexpensive product and so do not expect anything particularly eye-catching from a design perspective.
This is much more of a functional item than something that is going to take pride of place on the kitchen worktop.
That said it looks fine. Bosch has tried to get creative and add a little bit of stainless steel effect in the spout that delivers the coffee and a couple of strips on either side.
This particular review is for the black colour but it also comes in red or cream.
Overall it does look a bit plasticky and a little flimsy but this is what we would expect at this price.
This not a machine with all the bells and whistles of the more expensive espresso machines or bean to cup machines but at a fraction of the price this may be exactly what you are after
An average size for this type of machine it measures in at 29cm deep, 21cm wide and 34.5cm tall. This will fit just fine on most kitchen worktops
If it specifically capsule or POD based machines that you are after but want something a little more exclusive then you may wish to consider a Nespresso Machine.
Functionality 9/10
Without a doubt, the two biggest selling points of a Tassimo are the price and the convenience.
If these are your two most important things for you’ve pretty much got it narrowed down to this or the Dolce Gusto
Getting a bit sick of the cheap instant stuff from the supermarket? This is a good place to be looking.
Not really interested in grinding your own coffee beans or dealing with all the mess of used ground coffee? This is a good place to be looking.
Most coffee machines need a short period of time for the machine to warm up before it can be used but not with the Vivy 2. The heating element installed with this device fires the machine up and ready to use in about 5 seconds. So a big plus there.
The water tank is quite small at 0.7 litres but you should always keep the water as fresh as possible so no big deal there.
The cup stand effectively comes with 3 adjustable levels depending on the type of drink that you are producing. As it comes which is suitable for say a Cappuccino cup or you can remove the drip tray to make space for a larger glass for say a Latte and there is also a slot for you to move the stand up for smaller drinks such as an Espresso.
By far the best feature of this coffee machine is what Tassimo call “INTELLIBREW”.
What this means is that no matter what capsule you select the coffee machine will know exactly how much water to push through the capsule to ensure that your drink is just right. You don’t have to worry about a thing.
So, for an espresso a short drink will be delivered and for a latte a much longer drink. A cappuccino will be something in between the two. It does this by cleverly reading a barcode on each capsule.
This feature is not available on the Dolce Gusto machines so a thumbs up to the Tassimo in that respect when comparing the two of them.
If the water is not quite right for you and you want a little more then you do have the option to manually override and give yourself whatever amount works for you.
Ease of use 10/10
This is simplicity itself. Lift up the top. Insert the capsule and press the only button on the front of the machine. The Tassimo does the rest.
You literally can’t go wrong. It’s the easiest of all machines to operate. You can’t get any easier. Top marks.
Quality of coffee 8/10
Tassimo are extremely popular coffee machines so you don’t need to worry about where to buy the capsules. They are available in all supermarkets in the coffee aisle.
Supermarkets stock the most popular ones and there are some real crackers from the like of Costa, Carte Noire and Kenco.
Be aware though that the capsules are not that cheap and you can pay up to £5 for 8 and that doesn’t include the milk capsules which you need to add on top if you like milk-based drinks such as cappuccino or latte.
It still works out a lot cheaper than the local coffee shop but bear in mind its powdered milk with water added to get the milk so it’s not going to taste as good as a cappuccino from Costa
Value For Money 10/10
This is a very inexpensive coffee machine and the fact that it can read each capsule and deliver the correct amount of water for each drink automatically for this price point is a big plus from our perspective.
A neat, clever coffee machine that is well worth considering is this is your first venture into the coffee machine market
- The Compact One and easy to use
Last update on 2024-11-11 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
