Over a million Tassimo machines recalled for spraying hot water

Canadians who like their cuppa joe produced through futuristic robotic labour will be upset to learn that nearly a million Tassimo coffee makers are being recalled in Canada, as well as about 800,000 units in the U.S. In case you’ve never used a Tassimo, the machines uses “T Discs”—small containers filled by one of the partner brands with coffee grinds, tea leaves or other stuff—to make single servings of hot beverages. Tattooed baristas might hate them for their prepackaged, pre-ground coffee; armchair environmentalists might direct their scorn at the packaging that goes in the trash with every cup. But the latest round of haters is more likely objecting to the burns they can cause. According to the Toronto Star, in the U.S. there have been 140 reports of the machines “dousing people” with scalding water. In 37 of those cases, the victims suffered second-degree burns. Apparently, the discs can explode during the brewing process, spraying hot water on the unlucky brewer—or, in one case, a two-year-old girl. Full details of the recall are available on the Tassimo website. If indeed this is the beginning of the robot uprising, it seems it will be well caffeinated. Read the entire story [Toronto Star] »