Nespresso and Tassimo machines both take coffee pods but are totally different when it comes to the flavour of your coffee and the amount of money you pay for the pods so how do you choose between the two?
In this article we will explain why Nespresso is a better choice than Tassimo even though you can pay a lot less for a Tassimo machine than a Nespresso machine.
Both manufacturers have many different machines to choose from so we also pick out the best of the bunch from both Nespresso and Tassimo and also some alternative pods to the Nespresso original ones that will save you a lot of money in the long run without compromising on flavour.
Nespresso vs Tassimo coffee pods
If you like milk-based coffee drinks such as flat white, cappuccino or latte then you should always use fresh milk to get the best flavour.
You wouldn’t use powdered or a liquid milk creamer in your tea because it wouldn’t taste as nice as fresh milk and nor should you choose anything other than fresh milk for your coffee.
When you go to a coffee shop they always use fresh milk because anything else just doesn’t taste as good.
Nespresso understand this and so you can only buy coffee pods from them, they don’t do milk pods with milk powder in them or some kind of milk creamer.
Tassimo, on the other hand, does coffee pods and milk pods. For latte’s and cappuccinos you need to use two pods, 1 x milk and 1 x coffee.
If its ultra-convenience you are looking for and you are not interested in heating your own fresh milk using a milk frother then Tassimo may be the right choice for you.
You can just pop in a milk pod followed by a coffee pod and it’s done but there are two downsides to that.
A milk pod with liquid creamer or powdered milk just does not taste as good as fresh milk and Tassimo milk pods are really expensive as well.
So for the convenience of using a Tassimo milk pod you will compromise on the quality of the coffee and you will pay more as well which we explain more in the cost of ownership section below.
That’s why we recommend Nespresso over Tassimo especially for milk-based drinks like Cappuccino or Latte, it’s cheaper and tastes better.
One of the key benefits of Tassimo pods is that they have a barcode on them so you only ever have to push one button to get your coffee because the machine knows what kind of pod it is.
The downside to that is that you have to buy the Tassimo original pods because there are no alternatives available due to the way Tassimo have set up the barcodes to stop anyone else offering different pods that are cheaper.
Nespresso, on the other hand, have two different types of pods – Original and Vertuo.
The Virtuo is similar to Tassimo in that they have a barcode so the machine knows exactly how much coffee to deliver but the original pods don’t.
We recommend Nespresso machines that take the original pods because you can choose the amount of coffee you want delivered and you can also get cheaper alternative compatible pods if you don’t want to buy the Nespresso originals.
Some of the more expensive Nespresso machines come with milk carafes that automatically heat and froth the milk for you and add it to the cup for a completely fresh milk coffee experience more akin to what you would expect in a coffee shop and some come with a steamer so you can steam the milk exactly the same as they do it in Starbucks or Costa.
The best way and most cost-effective way to buy a Nespresso machine is to buy a cheap one and then buy a separate milk frother.
All Nespresso machines deliver the same quality of coffee regardless of how much you pay. You pay extra for features such as design and milk carafes and milk steamers.
These are the 3 best Nespresso coffee machines:
Nespresso Essenza pod coffee machine
This is our favourite Nespresso machine because it’s the cheapest one they do but it makes the same quality of coffee as the most expensive one they do. It’s the one I have sitting on my bedside table to grab the first coffee of the day.
The pods that this one takes are the same as the original pods that go into Nespresso machines that cost hundreds of pounds. They all have a 15 bar pump and the coffee is the same.
This one is plastic and isn’t high design but if you are not bothered about that it still delivers the goods the same as all the others. If you like milk drinks like cappuccino or latte then you will need to get a milk frother as well but you don’t need to use Nespresso’s one that can work out more expensive than others.
This is the best value for money Nespresso machine.
See the full review of the Nespresso Essenza pod coffee machine
Nespresso Creatista Plus Pod Coffee Machine
Moving to the other end of the scale the Creatista Plus is one of Nespresso’s top-end machines. It’s beautifully designed and comes with a whole host of features to create the perfect coffee whether you like it black or any milk-based drink.
It comes with its own milk steamer so that you can control the texture of your milk in the same way as any high street coffee shop and you can choose from 11 different temperatures so that will be exactly how you like it and it will stop automatically once it reaches that temperature and there are 8 different coffee choices by default including cappuccino, flat white and latte amongst others.
This machine has it all delivering cafe-quality coffee with a minimum of fuss.
See the full review of the Nespresso Creatista plus pod coffee machine
Nespresso Citiz Pod Coffee Machine
This is a mid-range machine from Nespresso that has been designed to look good on any work surface and has a very compact footprint so it will fit neatly into any space in the kitchen or bedroom.
There are only a couple of buttons making it super easy to use. One delivers a short coffee and the other a long one but they can both easily be programmed to deliver any coffee exactly how you like it.
A great option if you don’t want to splash out for a top of the range model but you want something a bit nicer than the most basic one.
See the full review of the Nespresso Citiz pod coffee machine
These are the best 2 Tassimo coffee machines:
Bosch Tassimo Vivy 2 Pod Coffee Machine
If you want to drink better coffee than instant and you don’t want to give any thought to preparation the Vivy 2 is a very cheap machine that provides fully automated coffee both black and white.
Milk-based drinks use a milk pod as well as a coffee pod for cappuccinos and lattes and the barcode on each pod tells the machine exactly what to do so you don’t need to get involved. Press one button and you’re done.
See the full review of the Bosch Tassimo Vivy 2 pod coffee machine
Tassimo Happy pod coffee machine
Both the Happy and the Vivy 2 are very similar in terms of size and water tank capacity but the Happy is perhaps a little funkier in terms of its design and they both have a barcode reader that scans the pod so it knows exactly how to deliver your coffee with just the press of one button on the front.
Promotional prices do change on both on a regular basis so check the price of both when you are looking to buy in order to get the best value for your money.
See the full review of the Tassimo Happy pod coffee machine
Bosch Tassimo My Way Pod Coffee Machine
As the name would suggest the Tassimo “My Way” gives you more control over exactly how your coffee is delivered. In addition to the basic models you can choose the temperature of your coffee according to how hot you like it.
You can also choose more or less coffee and program it once you are happy so that it will do the same thing every time with several people in your home able to program how they like their coffee so it becomes a one-button press each time for ultra convenience.
See the full review of the Bosch Tassimo My Way pod coffee machine
These are 2 of the best Nespresso compatible coffee pods:
Amazon Solimo Nespresso compatible coffee pods
If you choose to buy a Nespresso machine you don’t have to buy the original Nespresso coffee pods if you don’t want to as they can work out quite expensive in the long run.
These Amazon-branded pods are excellent value for money and are available in a number of different options such as espresso, lungo and ristretto.
See the full review of the Amazon Solimo Nespresso compatible coffee pods
L’OR Nespresso Compatible Coffee pods
If you prefer a brand you already know and trust then these L’OR compatible pods work out cheaper than the Nespresso originals but have great flavour and are available in a range of different types to suit all palletes.
See the full review of the L’OR Nespresso compatible coffee pods
Nespresso and Tassimo cost of ownership
Pod coffee machines have a similar business model to home printers. If you have a printer at home you probably remember wanting to spend as little as possible on the printer and then when it came to replacing the ink cartridges you couldn’t believe that the cost of the cartridges was almost as much as you paid for the printer.
When you buy a coffee machine that takes pods it’s very important to look carefully at how much the pods will cost and less about how much the coffee machine itself costs.
If you like the coffee it produces you could easily have the machine for 3-5 years or even longer.
With Nespresso you can choose to use other pods that are not made by Nespresso but with Tassimo you can’t so you get more flexibility with Nespresso and you’ll save money over the years that you own the machine.
Nespresso and Tassimo coffee quality
Nespresso is owned by Nestle and they own Nescafe so they know a thing or two about coffee.
Tassimo is owned by Jacob Douwe Egberts who own brands like L’OR coffee so they also know a thing or two about coffee.
Both Nespresso and Tassimo pods contain ground coffee beans that are vacuum-sealed in the pod to retain freshness.
The quality of the beans used is similar so which one you like the most comes down to personal preference.
Personally I prefer Nespresso coffee as they offer a large variety of different types and blends to accommodate every taste whether you like a super strong coffee or something milder.
The other big player in the coffee pod market is Dolce Gusto. You can learn more about them in this article:
If you decide to go down the Nespresso road you can find out more about coffee pods that will work in your machine but they are not made by Nespresso in this article:
How to choose and buy Nespresso compatible coffee pods
Verdict
Tassimo coffee machines are cheaper to buy than Nespresso coffee machines but when you take everything into account and you look past the initial cost of the machine Nespresso wins hands down.
You should be wary of any pod machine that takes milk capsules because milk in a pod can never taste as good as fresh milk and when the milk pod costs a lot more than using a bit of milk from the fridge that just doubles the reason why you should avoid milk pods.
With Nespresso you also get the option to use pods other than the ones Nespresso themselves sell but with Tassimo you are locked into using their pods and as a result it costs more per cup of coffee with Tassimo than it does with Nespresso especially for milk-based drinks such as Flat White, Cappuccino and Latte.
You might pay a little more for a Nespresso machine upfront but in the long run it will cost less when you take into account the cost of the coffee as well and you will enjoy a better coffee experience with Nespresso compared to Tassimo.
The only reason to choose Tassimo over Nespresso is if you don’t want to get involved at all with the milk to create your drink of choice but it will cost you in the form of expensive milk pods.
If you do decide to go down the road of Tassimo and you like milk-based coffee drinks then buy their espresso pods and heat and froth fresh milk yourself.
