Tassimo's new micro coffee brewing architecture

Competition improves the breed, and no market segment on the planet can ignore that imperative. There is ALWAYS a better way, no matter what the endeavour and the growth of the capsule-based single cup brewer market over the last decade has been spectacular, with the market started by Nespresso, then followed by Senseo, Illy's E.S.E Espresso pods, and the Keurig system, amongst others.

The pod system makes sense and in a world starved of the one commodity you can never get enough of (time), a semi-automated micro system providing top quality makes infinite sense, particularly when it comes to delivering one of the most used commodities in the world. Coffee is the world’s second largest traded commodity, second only to petroleum, and exploration of the statistics indicate why – 1.5 billion cups of coffee are consumed every day in the world, more than half the U.S. adult population drinks coffee daily and they average 3.5 cups a day. Coffee makers constitute the largest segment in the small kitchen appliance category with over 19 million coffee makers sold every year in the U.S.

But now, there’s a new system that uses a microprocessor that makes intelligent choices for you and refines the science of coffee making enough to give it a competitive edge – using barcode scanning. The Tassimo system has two key components: the Tassimo brewing machine and proprietary Tassimo discs (T-DISCS). Through Tassimo's smart technology, developed and designed by Kraft Foods, the machine's microprocessor reads the bar code printed on the T-DISC label after it is inserted into the machine and automatically calculates the correct water quantity, brewing time and temperature to prepare the perfect beverage. All of the brewing happens inside the T-DISC. An inverse flow of filtered water guarantees optimal flavour with virtually no clean up or residue from previously made beverages. Most beverages are ready in under a minute.

The original

In 1970, Nestlé’s Research and Development department invented the Nespresso capsule-based coffee pressurized coffee extraction system for consistent high-quality coffee brewing on a per cup basis. The first patent applications were filed in 1976 after considerable R&D and after further R&D the system was launched commercially in 1988. Since its launch, the system has experienced 25 % annual growth and there are now 1.6 million active affiliated Nespresso Club members. The consistency of the process and its success was bound to attract competitors and now, it appears that there is once again, a better way. Single Serve Coffee, the One Cup Coffee Lovers Blog has a review of the Tassimo system here.

Interesting coffee facts

Over 70% of coffee is consumed at home Over 80% of that is consumed in the morning

According to the National Coffee Association’s Coffee 2002 Drinking Trends Study, in the U.S.

More than 107 million American adults drink coffee daily

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