What to replace Tassimo capsules with: what works and what does not

Tassimo is the only capsule system for which you cannot buy capsules from an outside roaster. The machine reads the capsule by its barcode, and without a code it knows it will not start the drink — so the usual route of “buy compatible capsules and save” leads nowhere here. When you look for something to replace Tassimo capsules with, the answer therefore splits into two different things: replacing a flavour inside the system, and leaving for a different system. This article covers both, including how much you actually save.

Why third-party Tassimo capsules do not exist

In the other systems the capsule works as a passive container. The machine sends hot water into it under pressure and the rest is handled by the programme you chose with a button. That is why it is enough for an outside roaster to copy the shape and the dimensions and the capsule works — that is exactly how compatible capsules for Nespresso, Dolce Gusto, Cafissimo or A Modo Mio came about.

Tassimo turns that logic around. The drink is not determined by a button but by the capsule itself. Around the rim of the T-Disc there is a barcode, and written into it is how much water the machine pushes through, at what temperature, for how long and at what pressure. The machine reads the code, sets the programme and starts. The user has no control over the volume of the drink, and that is deliberate — every capsule has its own recipe.

There is only one practical consequence: anyone wanting to make a compatible capsule would have to copy a valid code as well as the shape. That is not done. There are therefore no third-party Tassimo capsules on the market — only T-Discs made within the system, carrying various brands. Coffee capsules are made under its own name by Jacobs Douwe Egberts, further lines go out under names such as L'OR, and the chocolate and tea drinks under confectionery and tea brands. It looks like broad competition, but technically it is one system and one maker of capsules.

What that means for the price

With Nespresso the saving comes from choosing a different roaster — the gap between the original and a compatible capsule tends to be a quarter to a half of the price. With Tassimo that lever does not exist. There are only three ways to save: pick a capsule with a lower price per drink, take a bigger pack, or leave the system. How the systems differ at base we break down in our overview of how to choose coffee capsules, and the technical background of the T-Disc in the article on why Tassimo is different from the other systems.

Three situations in which people look for a replacement

People mean three different things by the word “replacement”, and each has a different answer. It pays to work out which one you are in first — otherwise you will be looking for something that does not exist.

• The flavour you like is not available. The most common case. The solution is inside the system: there is a capsule that comes close to yours in taste and in volume. The next section is devoted to that.
• The system is working out too expensive. Here a replacement inside Tassimo does not solve the problem, because the ceiling on the price is set by the system itself. The answer is a different system — and with it a different machine.
• You want to fill a capsule with your own coffee. This is the only version where the answer is a clear no. The section on refillable capsules explains why.

Replacing inside the system: standing in for a flavour you cannot get

Inside Tassimo the drinks fall into two groups, and a replacement is only ever sought within your own group. A milk drink is made from two capsules — one carries the coffee, the other the milk, and you put them in one after the other. Black coffee is made from one. So you cannot put a black coffee capsule in place of the milk one and top it up with milk from a carton; the drink would have neither the volume nor the temperature the recipe is built around.

The table below converts the most common drinks into the nearest available capsule. The “per drink” column already takes into account that a milk drink uses two capsules.

One thing falls out of the table that few people would expect: a milk drink in a Tassimo costs more than twice per cup what black coffee from the same system costs. It is not only about the milk in the capsule — it is about the drink using two capsules. Anyone looking for a replacement on price grounds should read that line before starting to pick another system. Moving from a milk capsule to black coffee with milk heated separately is the one saving in Tassimo you can make straight away and without a new machine.

XL capsules are not a different system

The XL or Big Pack label tempts you to think you need a different machine. You do not. All the XL capsule has written into its barcode is a larger volume of water, so the machine pours more — it works in the same machine as an ordinary T-Disc. If you are in the habit of topping up with water because the drink is too small for you, an XL capsule solves that better and without diluting anything.

Leaving for another system: which one is closest to Tassimo

When the reason for a replacement is price or a narrow choice, the solution is a different system. But the unpleasant part needs saying out loud here: a different system means a different machine. A capsule from another system will not go into a Tassimo — not even Dolce Gusto, which is closest in size, because the T-Disc holder has a different geometry and, above all, no barcode is present. The difference in price per drink is small in absolute terms, so the payback on a new machine runs into hundreds of drinks. It is worth it for someone who drinks coffee daily, not for someone who has a cup on Friday.

The overview below starts from what you value most about Tassimo.

For lovers of milk drinks: Dolce Gusto

Anyone who bought a Tassimo for latte macchiato and cappuccino without a milk system has one full replacement, and that is Dolce Gusto. It is the second system where the milk component sits inside the capsule, so you need neither a fridge nor a frother. A milk pack such as Nescafé Dolce Gusto Latte Macchiato costs $9.15, which is $0.57 per capsule. How many capsules one drink uses is worth checking on the pack description in the milk lines — this is exactly where the most common comparison mistake gets made, and it holds across systems, not only with Tassimo.

On top of that, compatible capsules from other makers do exist for Dolce Gusto, for instance the Dolce Vita line, where you can also reach flavours the original range does not have — cappuccino with Irish cream costs $6.68 a pack. That is precisely the choice you do not have with Tassimo.

For those who drink black coffee and want to save

If you mostly drink black coffee in your Tassimo, the price difference against other systems is small — Morning Café XL at $0.50 a drink holds up even against Nespresso. The real saving lies only with Senseo pods, where the price per cup comes out lowest of all the systems. A paper pod, though, brews coffee without high pressure, so you will not get the crema you are used to from a capsule. There is more on that in the article on Senseo pods. Anyone weighing up machines will find a comparison in our overview of the best capsule machine.

Price per drink: where a replacement really shows

The price per capsule is a misleading number with Tassimo. A pack marked “16 capsules” means eight drinks in the milk lines, because each one uses a coffee capsule and a milk capsule. Anyone comparing the price per capsule will find Tassimo half as expensive as the reality.

When you look at the price per drink, though, an interesting conclusion comes out of it: Tassimo is not an expensive system; the milk drinks in it are expensive. Black coffee sits in the same band per cup as Nespresso, Dolce Gusto or Cafissimo. The milk capsules, though, jump to more than double that, and up there no other system is to be found. So the decision is not “stay or leave” but “what do I drink from my Tassimo”.

Three savings you can make without a new machine:

• Move from a milk capsule to a black one. The biggest single step. Milk heated separately is not as convenient, but the difference is more than twofold.
• Take the large packs. A pack of twenty capsules or more has a lower price per drink than an eight-capsule one, even though it looks dearer on the shelf.
• Pick the flavour by the price per drink, not by the price of the pack. The difference between the individual Tassimo coffee lines at the same pack size is easily worth noticing per cup.

Refillable capsules and ground coffee in a Tassimo

The question of whether you can put your own coffee into a Tassimo always comes up. The answer is unfortunately negative, and again it is because of the barcode.

An empty refillable capsule has no code, so the machine will not read it and will not start. The solutions that turn up get round the problem by reusing the code from the original capsule — a sticker, or a holder with a scannable code. It only half works: the machine does start the drink, but it runs to a recipe that was set for a completely different coffee and a different grind. The volume, the temperature and the flow time are then random against your coffee, and the result looks like it. Add hand dosing and tamping to that and you have a brew that does not behave the same from one day to the next.

Do not try ground coffee poured straight into the holder at all. The T-Disc holder is not a filter basket, and coffee without a capsule ends up in the waste container and in the machine's circuit.

Anyone who wants their coffee under their own control is in the wrong part of the market with capsules generally. The nearest compromise is E.S.E. pods or a lever machine with your own grinder — a pod is a measured dose, but the volume and the time are yours to run.

What to watch out for when looking for a replacement

The machine model does not determine the capsule

Tassimo has a range of models with marketing names, and people then look for “capsules for my model”. There is no need: all home Tassimo machines take the same T-Discs. The differences between models are in tank volume, controls and fittings, not in the capsule. An overview of the machines is in the Bosch Tassimo capsule machines category.

Do not mix up a T-Disc and a Dolce Gusto capsule

Both capsules are larger and flatter than a Nespresso, so they look similar on the shelf. You can tell them apart by the barcode — only the T-Disc has one around the rim. A Dolce Gusto capsule does not fit a Tassimo or the other way round, even though customers often try it.

A milk pack holds two kinds of capsule

The coffee capsule and the milk capsule look different and carry different codes. If only the milk ones get used up from a pack, the remaining coffee ones are not wasted — they can be used on their own as a smaller black coffee. It does not work the other way round, because a milk capsule holds no coffee at all.

Keep hold of the service capsule

A service capsule belongs with the machine and is what it uses for cleaning and descaling. It is not a drink and cannot be bought in a pack of coffee, so if it gets lost it is awkward to sort out. Store it with your supply of capsules, ideally somewhere visible — in a capsule holder, for instance.

A replacement in taste is not the same as a replacement in volume

When you replace a capsule, watch the volume of the drink written into the code as well as the taste. An espresso capsule and an XL capsule can be made from the same coffee, but the drink that comes out of them will differ in strength — and with Tassimo that is a change you have no way of levelling out with a button.

Frequently asked questions

Are there third-party Tassimo capsules?

No. The machine only starts a drink after reading the barcode on the capsule, so an outside roaster cannot make a capsule the machine would accept. All available T-Discs are produced within the system, even though they carry different brands. That is what makes Tassimo different from Nespresso, Dolce Gusto, Cafissimo and A Modo Mio, where compatible capsules exist as a matter of course.

What do I replace Tassimo capsules with when my flavour is unavailable?

Look within the same group of drinks. Put another milk drink in place of a milk one, and another black coffee of the same volume in place of a black one. A latte macchiato is best stood in for by the caramel version or by a cappuccino, and for black coffee the closest is L'OR Café Lungo Absolu. You have the whole range in the Tassimo coffee capsules category.

Can ground coffee or a refillable capsule go into a Tassimo?

In practice no. An empty capsule has no code and the machine will not read it. Solutions with a recycled code start a programme meant for a different coffee, so the result is unstable. Do not pour ground coffee into the holder; it is not a filter basket.

Will a Dolce Gusto capsule fit a Tassimo?

It will not fit and it would not work either. The systems have different holders, and Dolce Gusto has no barcode of the kind Tassimo uses to run the brew. They are two incompatible systems, even though the capsules look similar.

Which system is the cheapest after Tassimo?

On price per cup, paper pods and professional systems with large packs come out best. With Senseo pods the cup price is the lowest of the lot, and with Lavazza Blue a little above that. For that price, though, you lose milk drinks from a capsule, and with pods the pressure brewing as well.

Is Tassimo an expensive system?

Not for black coffee; there it is in the same band as the other systems. What is expensive are the milk drinks, because one cup uses two capsules. Anyone drinking mainly lattes and cappuccinos from a Tassimo pays more than twice per cup what black coffee from the same machine costs.

Do I have to think about which machine model I have when replacing capsules?

No. Home Tassimo machines all take the same capsules, XL included. The model affects the controls and the tank size, not compatibility.

Summary and recommendations

Replacing Tassimo capsules works differently from the other systems, because the option of “buy the same thing cheaper from another roaster” is missing here. The barcode that makes Tassimo convenient also closes the door on competition.

If a flavour has simply dropped out, the replacement is easy: stay in the same group of drinks and watch the volume. If price is what drove you to look, start with what you drink. Milk drinks are the dearest item on the whole capsule market in Tassimo, and moving to black coffee with milk heated separately saves more than changing the machine. Only once black coffee is your main drink and you want to go lower still does another system make sense — and then reckon on paying for a new machine too.

Anyone who wants milk drinks from a capsule at a lower price goes to Dolce Gusto. Anyone who wants the widest choice of coffee, to Nespresso. Anyone who wants the lowest price per cup, to pods. And anyone who wants to keep the convenience of a machine that knows how to make the drink itself will stay with Tassimo capsules — they will just pick by the price per drink and not by the price of the pack.