Fresh week - Day 2

I knew day 2 would be difficult being out all day and evening.

I made some bread dough on Monday night by combining 500g flour with a teaspoon of quick yeast, 300mls warm water and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. I then kneaded until smooth and left overnight in the fridge in an oiled bowl covered in cling film.

Tuesday morning it had doubled in size so I knocked out the excess air and shaped into a loaf tin. I then left for an hour to rise for a second time before putting in the oven at 200 degrees centigrade for 25 minutes. The result was lovely but still a little doughy in the middle. I will try again but leave to rise a little longer and bake for longer.

Lunch was a panini from costa coffee, clearly freshly made, but not by myself.

Dinner was a sad affair of buffet sandwiches and coffee but I did avoid the Danish pastries!

All in all not a prefect day but not a fail.

My Tassimo Machine

I know this isn't my usual recipe/food review but I though I might branch out into food related things such as my lovely coffee machine. I used to work in a cafe as a barista and have struggled to get a decent coffee at home. I've had a Gaggia machine but it was a bit of hassle cleaning and scaling and time consuming to make a single cup as I am the only one who drinks coffee.

I've had a Tassimo machine for almost a year now and have to say I'm very satisfied.

 

Ordering

I ordered my machine from Amazon purely because they couldn't be beaten on price and I like to look at the reviews before purchasing. So ordering was as easy as anyone with an Amazon account will find and arrived the next day, as I have an Amazon Prime account.

Put in Milk disc

 

 What's in the Box

As you would expect the machine comes with cleaning instructions and everything you need to get going.... except samples!
I understand these might go out of date but it would be nice to have something to try when you get your machine home, so be warned, make sure to buy some T-Discs before getting the machine or you will be disappointed.



The Machine Itself

Put in Coffee disk

The machine, once set up, is able to dispense a fresh cup of coffee with one press of a button. If you like something a bit fancier you use 2 discs, one after the other. A single disk drink will take a minute to dispense and a double will be about 2 minutes. You can also top up your drink once its finished dispensing by holding the button down.

I made a lovely Costa cappuccino (pictured). I've heard some complaints that the milk is a condensed milk, so yes it is a bit sweeter, I would usually add sugar to my coffee but don't have to with the Tassimo milk discs. Also "no" it doesn't taste as good as going into Costa, at 54p, without leaving your house, nobody would go to Costa any more if it did!

Finished Cappuccino

I've found it much quicker than boiling the kettle and also only uses enough electricity to heat exactly the right amount of water.

Value For Money

I bought the T40 which is £119 on the Tassimo site, Amazon prices vary, It has a large removable water tank and is a little more noisy than advertised but not loud enough to wake anyone in the mornings.

The easiest way to look at cost is by single or double drinks. One disk varies from 24p for a basic coffee or tea to 28p for a Costa Americano, a double (so milk disc and coffee/chocolate disc) will cost from 47p for a Carte Noire Cappuccino to 62p for a Costa Latte, the latte uses a large milk disk.

A huge saving on coffee shop coffee but a bit more expensive than the premium (micro-ground) instants.

If my machine broke would I buy another one? Yes, definitely