Leaky Tassimo

Grumpy_chap

We have a Tassimo machine which are rather like but recently the edge has gone off it.

It has always worked fine but some point last year we had some hot chocolate pods that spilled hot chocolate everywhere.  That was annoying, but once we identified it was only the hot chocolate and then that batch of pods was used up, everything seemed find again so we put it all down to a faulty batch of pods.

In the past week, we had the same thing again - hot chocolate pods spilling hot chocolate everywhere.  We decided it might well be another manufacturing issue with the chocolate pods and discussed whether we needed to just stop having that type of pods.  (There are alternative hot chocolate pods that we might choose instead.)

However, yesterday, I was making a cappuccino when there was a pop (significant enough to make me alert to the event) and the machine spilled coffee grounds everywhere and steam vented out to the room.  Coffee grounds are, it turns out, harder to clean up than spilled hot chocolate.

So, this makes it the third type of batch that has no worked as it should.

We wondered whether this is something anyone else has experienced.  
Is there a manufacturing issue with the pods?
Is it a thing that the Tassimo machine gets old and then at some points is unable to load / puncture the pods correctly, resulting in spillages?

If there is an issue with the pods quality control, we'll probably just bin the machine.  May consider something else.
If the machines just get to a point where they can't handle the pods correctly, we may just buy another machine.  Maybe a Tassimo again, or maybe something different, just for a change.

molerat

Occasionally, but rarely, get a leaky pod - generally seem to be milk.  I replaced the dispenser nozzle on my previous machine and it leaked consistently, it was a copy and the pod seal was nothing like the original, so could be a seal problem rather than pod.  First machine lasted over 8 years with daily use when it sprung an internal leak and daughter had a newish one she hardly used so now have that.

As for hot chocolate I found out the Cadbury jar is pretty much the same as the pods so decided to use my hot water disc set to 250ml and 3 teaspoons of powder in a  cup, a fraction of the price

sheramber

the only time I have had coffee grounds everywhere is when the pod has not been properly aligned so it gets punctured but the top doesnlt go down fully. Adjusting the pod means it has a second puncture hole in it and it leaks.

Lavendyr

Have you cleaned the barcode reader? This is usually our issue. 

Grumpy_chap

Thank you for your thoughts.

The easy one is the barcode reader - that sometimes plays up, but once cleaned, all seems OK.  It is not the current issue.  When the barcode reader is obscured, it seems to be that the pod is simply not recognised and nothing happens.

The pod that released coffee ground everywhere was really an "explosion" when it went.  I may have under-expressed things by "pop (significant enough to alert me to the event" as it was a proper explosion and I absolutely leapt out of my skin.  I was trying to avoid a click-bait title / thread "Exploding Tassimo" so settled on the more understated "Leaky Tassimo".  For the time being, that seems to be just the one-off, so we'll put it down to that for now at least.

Annoyingly, we cannot seem to get all the grounds out of the machine so every drink of every type has a few coffee grounds fall down with vibration.  

As for the hot chocolate, we will use up what we have and not buy any for a while in case is a manufacturing issue with that specific product line.  In the mean-time, we purchased some of the Cadbury and Options instant powders and will try those for a while.

miniemma

I've been using Tassimo since they first came out and have had my fair share of burst pods!

I agree with @molerat , try getting a new dispensing nozzle, I think they are called the piercing unit. I got mine on eBay.

Having said that, I have also had whole boxes of faulty pods and always email Tassimo and they send me a voucher.

Grumpy_chap

I just had a look at the piercing unit and I can see how that would wear. 
As a spare, the original item is £10 and a copy £5.  For that difference, the copy of likely a false economy (as @molerat found).
It is quite disproportionate, though, as a whole new machine can be had from around £35.

My biggest thing is, from the coffee pod that did explode, I can't seem to get all the grounds out of the machine so every drink has a few more vibrate down.

molerat

I have sometimes found that the exit hole on the pod has not been fully pierced and the dot is still blocking the hole which could lead to a build up of pressure in the pod.

Grumpy_chap

I am revisiting this thread.
Fortunately, the "exploding coffee" has not repeated but we've had another sequence of pods not allowing water flow in the path that it should be.  Again, hot chocolate.
This may be a daft question, but I will ask anyway @molerat - which is the entry hole and which is the exit hole on the pod?  Is there a way to verify the appropriate puncturing of the holes before setting the drink to be made?

Mrs G_C has suggested the solution is the Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser, but they are expensive to start with, extortionate for the flakes, more clutter on the worktop and look like a right old faff to clean

rach_k

Grumpy_chap said:

Mrs G_C has suggested the solution is the Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser, but they are expensive to start with, extortionate for the flakes, more clutter on the worktop and look like a right old faff to clean

We have a Velvetiser and have bought them as gifts for people so I do think they are worth the money but there are loads of cheaper alternatives that are also fine.  They do the same thing - heat the milk while turning it.  You get a different result from those hand-hand frother/whisks - as the name suggests, it's much more velvety than bubbly.  

You don't need to use the Hotel Chocolat flakes in them; you can just use normal hot chocolate powder.  We use Cadbury but things like Horlicks work really well too, but you could go as fancy as you like! 

They're not at all a faff to clean.  The whisk lifts out (I think it's magnetic) so you're left with essentially a cup to wash out and a whisk to wipe, plus a lid (although that rarely gets splashed).  We tend only to put milk in the Velvetiser and pour that on top of hot choc powder or add to coffee, which helps with clean up.  However you make it and whatever chocolate or chocolate powder you use, we've found it much nicer than the Tassimo hot chocolates, which are really poor in comparison - I think it's the "milk" that is terrible!

molerat

This may be a daft question, but I will ask anyway @molerat - which is the entry hole and which is the exit hole on the pod?  Is there a way to verify the appropriate puncturing of the holes before setting the drink to be made?

The centre hole is the exit.

Sometimes the piece of foil that is supposed to be punched out sits over the hole.