Sad story, for sure, and I really hope the little girl doesn’t carry scars along with her the rest of her life – that’d be even more sad. But, I think we should all be aware, and cautious of the fact, that coffee makers make coffee by heating the water. So there will be hot water, potentially boiling, in the coffee machine, whether it is a drip machine or a high powered espresso or a single-serving Tassimo. And because there is hot water the machines should be treated with care as they are not a toy. That being said, a machine that just sits there and spews its hot water out is not properly designed. Innocent bystanders, such as this little girl, can get injured through no fault of their own. Reportedly there is over 150 reports of this kind of incident and that has prompted the recall.

If you own a Tassimo machine or would like additional information about the recall, then please see their website: Tassimo Safety Recall. You can also call their hotline at 866-918-8763 Monday-Friday 8am – 8pm and on Saturdays from 8am – 1pm.

As recently discussed, the Senseo pods garner high marks for the ability to easily recycle them – they are coffee grounds and a filter. Senseo must, however, compete with the highly popular Keurig (dominating the single-serve market) as well as Tassimo and traditional brewing solutions.

Telling, even more, is that Google AdSense ad in this story for Tassimo! So while competition is admittedly steep for Senseo, Sara Lee does look to continue to expand into different coffee/tea market segments. Sara Lee also recently acquired CoffeeCompany, a Dutch Coffee House chain with over 60 cafes in the Netherlands.

So – your picking a single-serving brewer because it makes sense for you? What is the overriding factor? Environmentally friendly waste or variety of selection and freshness of product? And if you want variety and freshness how far out of your way would you go to recycle the coffee pods?

Take today’s example, Kraft Company’s Tassimo machine. They’ve evidently sent out emails to customers letting them know that if they’ll register their coffee maker they will give them 2 Free T-Disc packages. According to this Consumerist article Tassimo’s website isn’t allowing anyone to register their coffee maker. So while it is a sweet deal, if no one “can” register – what’s the point.

Tassimo, a Kraft brand, is probably best known as the “those single-serve coffee brewers that aren’t Keurig.” Anita has one, and she received an e-mail from Kraft offering two free packages of coffee if she registered her brewer. Yay, free coffee! So she did just that, only to hit a brick wall of customer disservice. Not what you expect after buying a coffeemaker that retails for $140.

You can still read some of the posts on Tassimo’s Customer Service Wall, and you can also see the offer for the free coffee on Tassimo’s US Website. Incidentally, their facebook page would like to know “How’d you discover TASSIMO?”