Tassimo Finesse review: a £39.99 pod machine, if you can live with the discs

If you want a Tassimo Finesse review before the current sale ends, this is the one. The Finesse is Bosch’s small Tassimo pod machine, and right now the black TAS162EGB is £39.99 at Currys, checked 28 Sep 2026, down from £118.99. That’s a sale price, so it may not last. I haven’t tested this in person. My verdict is based on the specs Currys and Bosch list, dated UK prices, Currys owner ratings and the published reviews I name and link below.

Tassimo Finesse review: the short answer

Buy the Tassimo Finesse if you want a cheap, compact pod machine that makes a cup with no warm-up wait and lets you grab discs in almost any supermarket. At £39.99 at Currys (checked 28 Sep 2026, a sale price that may end), it costs less than eight 16-disc packs of Kenco Americano at £5.30 each (checked 28 Sep 2026). It suits black coffee, tea and hot chocolate drinkers best, because those drinks take a single disc.

Who it isn’t for: latte and cappuccino fans. Milky Tassimo drinks use a coffee disc plus a milk disc, so the cost per cup roughly doubles, and there’s no way to use fresh milk. If you want milky coffee from pods, the Dolce Gusto Genio S Plus is worth comparing, though it has the same two-pod habit.

Skip it if recycling matters a lot to you. Which? notes that Tassimo discs are hard to recycle, and I’d take that seriously before buying into any pod system.

Who it isn’t for: anyone who wants to cut down on packaging waste. A machine that uses ground coffee or beans is the better fit, and my guide to the best espresso machine under £300 is a good place to start.

What it costs right now

• Tassimo by Bosch Finesse TAS162EGB, black: £39.99 at Currys, in stock, checked 28 Sep 2026. Currys shows “Save £79.00” against a was-price of £118.99, which it says ran from 24 June to 21 July 2026. It’s a sale price that may end, so check it on the day. See the Tassimo Finesse at Currys
• Other retailers: I couldn’t confirm a live price at Argos, Amazon or Tassimo’s own UK shop, so I haven’t listed one.
• Discs: Tassimo Kenco Americano Grande XL (16 discs) was £5.30 at Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco, checked 28 Sep 2026 via Trolley.co.uk. Tesco was running a 3 for 2 offer and Waitrose had 3 for £13 (single pack £5.70 at Waitrose), both multibuy offers that may end.

What you get: specs and what’s in the box

Currys lists the Finesse with a 0.7-litre tank, 1400W of power and a 2.2kg weight, at 265 x 157 x 366mm (height, width, depth). There’s an adjustable cup stand, automatic cleaning, an LED descale alert and auto power-off. It comes with a two-year manufacturer’s warranty.

Bosch’s support page explains that it uses a flow heater, so there’s virtually no heat-up time, and that cleaning and descaling use a special service T-disc. Each T-disc carries a barcode that tells the machine how to brew that drink, so there are no settings to get wrong.

Currys lists the machine only in the box, with no starter discs, so budget for a first pack or two. Expert Reviews highlights an IntensityBoost option for a stronger cup on the TAS16B5GB version of the Finesse. I couldn’t confirm from the Currys listing that the TAS162EGB has exactly the same features, so check the product page if that matters to you.

Who it isn’t for: anyone making several mugs in a row. A 0.7-litre tank that has to come off to refill will get tiresome for a busy household.

The discs and running costs

The Finesse only takes Tassimo T-discs, but they’re easy to find. Expert Reviews counts more than 70 discs to choose from, and the Which? pod machine guide mentions more than 30 drink types across the system, from coffee to hot chocolate.

On my sums, the £5.30 Kenco Americano Grande XL pack (checked 28 Sep 2026, at the supermarkets named above) works out at about 33p a cup, and less if you catch a multibuy. That’s reasonable for pods. The catch is milky drinks: TechRadar points out that lattes and similar drinks need a coffee disc and a milk disc, so the cost adds up. Expert Reviews also notes that the milk discs contain sugar, which is worth knowing if you’d rather not have it in your coffee.

Who it isn’t for: anyone who wants the cheapest cost per cup over years rather than the lowest price on day one. Beans or ground coffee usually win there; see my guide to bean-to-cup machines under £500.

What reviewers and owners say

Most published reviews cover sibling Finesse models rather than the TAS162EGB itself, so treat them as a guide to the range rather than this exact machine.

• Expert Reviews (TAS16B5GB) likes the IntensityBoost option and the huge disc choice, but flags the small tank that has to be removed to fill, and the sugar in the milk discs.
• TechRadar (Finesse Friendly) finds it cheap and compact with good milk foam, while warning that two-disc milk drinks get pricey.
• Woman & Home finds it small and easy to live with, but notes there’s no bin for used pods.
• Which?, in its pod guide, says Tassimo is easy to use, but the machines are slower than some rivals, the pods are hard to recycle and there’s no fresh-milk option.

Currys owners are happy overall: 4.6 out of 5 across 168 reviews (checked 28 Sep 2026). Retailer ratings often reflect the first few weeks of ownership, so I’d read them alongside the reviews above rather than instead of them.

Who it isn’t for: anyone who wants a big-name test of this exact model. I didn’t find one, only tests of close siblings.

Tassimo Finesse vs Tassimo Happy

The Tassimo Happy TAS102EGBC starter kit is £106.99 at Currys, checked 28 Sep 2026, with no sale flagged. Currys says it includes about 88 discs, and owners rate it 4.5 out of 5 across 28 reviews. Both machines take the same T-discs.

At current prices the Finesse is £67 cheaper. You could buy plenty of discs with that difference, so unless you specifically want the Happy’s bundle, the Finesse on sale looks like the better deal. If the Finesse goes back up towards £118.99, the maths changes.

Who it isn’t for: anyone who’d rather have lots of discs included in one purchase. The Happy kit handles that for you.

Downsides

• Small tank. 0.7 litres, and it has to come off to refill (Expert Reviews).
• Milky drinks cost more. Two discs per latte, and the milk discs contain sugar (TechRadar, Expert Reviews).
• Recycling. Which? says the discs are hard to recycle.
• No fresh milk and no pod bin. You can’t use your own milk (Which?), and there’s nowhere to collect used discs (Woman & Home).
• The price may not last. £39.99 is a sale price; Currys’ was-price is £118.99.
• Reviews cover siblings. Most tests I found are of other Finesse versions, not the TAS162EGB.

Where to go next

If you want milky drinks with fresh milk, my best milk frothers guide covers standalone options. For the other pod machines I’ve covered, read my Dolce Gusto Genio S Plus review, Nespresso Vertuo Next review and Nespresso CitiZ review. And if you’d rather skip pods altogether, try my guide to the best espresso machine under £300.

FAQ

Is the Tassimo Finesse’s £39.99 price a sale? Yes. Currys shows it as “Save £79.00” against £118.99 (checked 28 Sep 2026), so it may go back up. Check on the day.

Can the Tassimo Finesse use Nespresso or Dolce Gusto pods? No. It only takes Tassimo T-discs, which are widely sold in UK supermarkets.

Does the Tassimo Finesse come with pods? Currys lists the machine only, with no starter discs, so buy a pack alongside it.

Can it make a latte? Yes, using a coffee disc plus a milk disc. There’s no way to use fresh milk, and TechRadar notes the two-disc drinks add up.

How much does a cup cost? About 33p for a single-disc drink, based on the £5.30 Kenco Americano Grande XL 16-pack at Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco (checked 28 Sep 2026). Milky drinks cost roughly double.