The Tassimo Fidelia T40 by Bosche is a single serve coffee maker that uses T DISC coffee pod technology to prepare a variety of hot beverages. There are more than forty hot drinks to select from available from well-known brands like Carte Noire, Cadbury, Twinings, New Costa range and Kenco. There are many espresso drinks, in addition to special as well as normal coffees, chocolates, and teas.
Features
Drink Quality
Tassimo makes use of the latest T DISC technology which employs a designated brewing chamber with a barcode reader. The special encoded instructions are decoded by the reader allowing the machine to brew a better controlled beverage every time. The T40 automatically adjusts the appropriate quantity of water, brewing pressure, temperature and the brewing time so each individual beverage not only comes out great, but tastes exactly the same cup after cup.
Additional Features
If you prefer a drink that is somewhat stronger or milder, there is no need to fear! It is possible to manually adjust the strength to your personal tastes. You can manually set the desired strength using the dedicated adjustment button and get the precise taste you enjoy. This alone is already quite better than most pod machines that have minimal settings available.
The built-in indicators keep you informed of the status of your coffee maker. A solid and flashing light signal the brewing process, while the standby light lets you know the machine is ready to serve you. Furthermore, there is an indicator for manual brewing, an empty water tank warning and not to mention a light to remind you when it is time to descale.
It is also possible to alter the position of the cup stand so you can fit your favorite cup or just remove it altogether and slide in a travel sized mug for one on the go. The 100 cm cable can be tucked away in the storage facility, so everything is tidy. The state-of-the-art flow heater fitted in the unit means that the waiting time for the water to heat up is next to nominal. So in the morning rush when every second count, your drink will be ready just a bit faster. The T40 automatically shifts to standby after every brew cycle, making it very energy efficient and cost effective to run.
Ease Of Use
The unit is amazingly simple to use. It makes use of a single button to start up followed by four uncomplicated steps. Simply choose a drink pod, position it in the disc, press the brew button and in no time your brew is in your hands.
The water tank is an ample two liters, which means you will not need to refill it constantly. It flip handle makes easy to open for refilling while the level of water can be monitored by keeping an eye on the float. It’s important to remember to pre-filter tap water, or you may end up with calcium build-up really quickly with a large tank.
Maintenance
After each drink is prepared and delivered, the T40 gives out a purge of steam, which removes any traces of the drink it just prepared. When the next drink is made, the unit is clean, and in practice there transfer of taste between two totally different drinks. Hence, if you just made an espresso and the next person wants to have green tea, the two drinks will have their own singularly unique flavor without any cross over. But it doesn’t hurt to run an empty cycle to really clean out previous flavors when changing beverage types.
The Tassimo Fidelia T40 almost maintains itself, partially due to dishwasher safe parts in addition to the fully automated descaling function. The piercing unit requires special attention and will require frequent cleaning if you tend to make lots of milk based beverages. Although this is not a major issue, as it is comes out fairly easily.
Last Word
The majority of the people who have purchased the T40 brewer find it to be a very good coffee maker that is well constructed. The drinks are tasty, easy to make and very fast. The only mild issues involve the cost of the beverages. Most reviewers find them to be on the pricey side for day to day use. ot to mention that unless you choose from biodegradable ecological options, pod cups create an immense amount of waste. Furthermore, the size of some drinks is rather small. For example the hot chocolate is only 180ml, while Latte and cappuccino is 200ml. Most coffees are a bit more reasonable at 300ml. Otherwise, it is one of the better pod machines available based on its’ ability to provide better control over your brewing, all while having automatic bar code settings programmed for each pod.
The Bosch Tassimo T40 has since been discontinued and relaunched as the updated Tassimo T47. It may still be possible to find a T40 model at discount from old shelf stock still available, otherwise you can preferably pick from one of the updated alternatives.
