Top 3 Tasty + Nerdy Kitchen Gadgets

We’ve reviewed all kinds of gadgets, from ties that clean screens, to backpacks that can charge tablets, but we’ve ignored one major area: the kitchen. The kitchen has some of the coolest, tastiest gadgets around, and today we’re finally focussing on just a few. This is top gadgets: Kitchen Edition.

Disclaimer: I’m not a cook. I like eating, not cooking, so these are devices that are quick, easy, and tasty.

1. Tassimo T45 Suprema: ($125)

Before the Tassimo, and its main competitor the Keurig, instant coffee was disgusting, unappealing, and generally something to be avoided. The Tassimo, and similar machines completely changed the game, by offering fast, tasty single serve beverages.

These machines are precision devices if I’ve ever seen such devices. One machine can make tea, several types of coffee, espresso, cappuccino, latte, hot chocolate, tea, and just about anything else you can dream up. Each single-serve “T-disc” has a bar code with specific heating and portion instructions, and these instructions are automatically read and followed by the machine as the coffee is made.

Considering the cost (starting at around $100), the Tassimo’s replications are surprisingly accurate. When I’m writing, I love to make myself a cappuccino to fuel my work. The whole process takes under $5 minutes, and it’s really enjoyable.

Price: The T45 is on sale for $125 (20% off) here. The cheapest recommended new machines start at $80. The absolute TOP OF THE LINE, is the $250 Keurig commercial machine – targeted more towards offices.

Both Tassimo, and Keurig are highly recommended as tools for sleep deprivation, because the coffee is so excellent that you won’t mind the caffeine.

2. Sodastream Revolution Silver (starter kit): ($180)

My Sodastream is another beloved kitchen item. I drink carbonated everything, but I tend to like things very carbonated. It’s expensive, hard to find, and sometimes contains stuff that isn’t good for you (like sodium).

Sodastream solves the problem incredibly. When I crave carbon dioxide, I just grab a reusable bottle out of the refrigerator, stick it into the sodastream, press a button (I usually go for the highest level of carbonation), and instantly I’m drinking cold club soda.

Some of the many reasons why I love my Sodastream:

• I never have to go out for new bottles

• I’ve saved plastic by not wasting single-use bottles, and energy that it would have cost to recycle those bottles

• I set my own carbon levels (extra fizzy).

• No sodium. My seltzer contains just plain tap water and Carbon dioxide

• It feels like science fiction. As a nerd, I still get a thrill out every burst of carbon I see go into the soda. It just looks awesome.

The starter kit I got included the machine itself, two reusable bottles, and one tank of CO2.

Note: They offer a bunch of cheaper machines that work just as well too, like the beautifully designed “source”.

3. Automatic Hot Chocolate Maker: ($30-100)

This is a gadget that honestly I never would have bought on my own. It was given to me as a gift over the holidays, and it changed the way I looked at Hot Chocolate forever.

Using a special recipe, and a built-in “frother”, hot chocolate machines make the chocolatiest, creamiest, frothiest hot chocolate you’ll ever taste inside of your own home (salivating from the thought). They start at the relatively reasonable price of $30, and go up from there, but I’d say that even the cheapest model is a good start with the right chocolate.

This is truly technology making our lives better, one chocolatey drink at a time.

What Kitchen Gadgets Do You Love?

Those were my three nerdy, tasty kitchen gadgets that I had to showcase. I reached out earlier via social media, and a few of you already replied, but I want to know, What kitchen gadgets do you love? Leave a comment below with your answer.

The first responses:

• “Kitchen Aid mixer — great for kneading bread.

• Rival rice cooker — right size for two people. Others are too big. $13 at Wal-Mart”

– Robert Wagner

“My herb chopper. It makes me feel efficient and competent” – Denis Oakley