Tassimo discs are for use in the Tassimo Hot beverage System. In fact, they can only be used in the Tassimo.
In that sense, they are similar to Keurig’s K-Cups.
But they are not exactly the same.
With the Braun Tassimo brewer, or hot beverage system as they prefer to call it, there are holders for two discs – not just one.
This gives the Tassimo a unique flexibility.
For example, if you want to make a cup of cappuccino with the Tassimo, you add one T-Disc containing espresso coffee and a second disc containing liquid milk. (The milk discs don’t need to be refrigerated.)
The Tassimo then uses both the coffee and the milk to create a very passable cappuccino, with a nice frothy head to it.
This is something you can’t do with either the Keurig K-Cup coffee brewers or pod brewers. The Senseo brewers do have what they call a “frothing chamber” which adds a light crema to your coffee. But other than the Tassimo, no other one-cup coffee maker gives you the option to add milk as part of the brewing process itself.
Most T-Discs coffees are made by Gevalia right now. And you can also buy T-Discs with Twinings Tea and Suchard hot chocolate. These are all available at a reasonable price through Amazon.com. (Although "reasonable" is used here as a relative term - as T-Discs are certainly more expensive than coffee pods, and even K-Cups.)
Overall, the selection of different coffees and blends in the T-Disc format is very limited, when compared to K-Cups and coffee pods.
However, as the popularity of the Tassimo system grows, we can expect more and more coffees to be made available in the T-Disc format.
Review of the Braun Tassimo Hot Beverage System:
The Tassimo Hot Beverage System