Gifted Product Review
Whoa – when my husband picked up this machine from courier office in December he thought Christmas had arrived early for him! Though he first chided me for adding another gadget to the arsenal that are taking up space in the kitchen.
While we are bigger tea drinkers he loves the coffee my Brother’s fancy machine makes. I enjoy a rare cup of coffee when out with friends. Neither of us are drink instant coffee.
The Nescafe Dolce Gusto GENIO Coffee Machine is a little beauty , it looks stylish and is so compact unlike my brother’s fancy , chunky coffee machine. It is also Australia's first Hot and Cold coffee machine.
Considering the forecast was a for long hot summer – I was keen to test it fully but never got around to purchasing cold coffee varieties.
In between a few trips to Sydney, Christmas, New Year and appointments I've given the automatic Dolce Gusto GENIO Coffee Machine , a fair workout to give my honest review.
Plus I thought I'd lost the
I also asked a few visitors for their opinions too. My brother said the coffee "Wasn't bad "
My friend said it was "better than golden arches and better than instant granules"
Another friend said she was tempted to slip out the back door with it because I didn't use it everyday.
My humble opinion - Literally under a min to a beautiful beverage a 'homestyle' barista would be proud of ... without the fancy froth artwork.
Each capsule is loaded into the slide out tray and then the lever pushed down towards the machine
(a fine needle pricks the capsule).
Some flavours require a milk and coffee capsule, so you just change the pod -in turn. Dial up the amount for second pod, put lever down and press the button again.
Why is Nescafe Dolce Gusto GENIO Coffee Machine different to other coffee machines ?
Well , I can't honesty say having not personally compared it with other capsule/pod brands. Though I've tasted other pod machine coffee. The most unique feature of the Nescafe Dolce Gusto Genio is the range of drinks it can make that the others don't !
It could be tricky to choose between different models within a brands before you invest a wad of cash on them. Maybe bug your friends or Facebook contacts ... for their opinions.
So I will stick to my experiences– there is pages of information on their website.
Pro’s and con’s: Nescafe Dolce Gusto
Pros:
- Simple and easy to Use – My brother’s machine is complicated and time consuming to operate. GENIO is so simple and easy to use. Insert pod, scroll to the recommended level (refer to image on individual box) press the Hot or Cold button! .
- Fast – your coffee or hot chocolate is ready in less than 30-60 seconds – water is heated almost instantly. Time means that a lot to some people especially the rush of getting kids ready for school and onto the bus.
- Convenient – with no beans to grind and no milk to froth and no messy grounds to dispose of.
- Refilling the water between cups is easy too - a 600ml water tank is attached at the rear of the machine is plenty for 2 cups.
- There is virtually no cleaning up, the machine; barely needs any cleaning takes but 15 seconds to rinse the removable drip tray (if required) and wipe and drips from pods as you dispose of them. (I haven't needed to descale).
- Detachable cup holder in three different height positions in order to fit large, medium and small cups under the spout.
- Awesome hot chocolate and I love the coffee and coffee aroma.The froth is delicious.
- Available in Hot and Cold beverages ( though we didn’t try the cold varieties yet) with 14 flavours to choose from you can try them all and never be bored
- You could take it with you on holidays or even to work (if you really wanted to – make some cash on the side)
- The website has some stylish accessories and the ‘right’ cups available to order if you are into that kind of thing. Plus a choice of five machines .
- Dolce Gusto technology is by De longhi of Italian design and quality .
Cons:
- You can only use Nescafe capsules or pods so you better like their coffee which we did !
- Do the maths - At approx $7.99 a box – available online and in stores - 16 capsules in them – either 8 coffees (if milk capsule variety – need 1 milk and 1 coffee pod per cup) or 16 (Café Au Lait without - that’s 50c - $1 per cup – significantly cheaper than a cafe’ purchased coffee but dearer than home brewed or instant / granulated coffee. Previously , I liked the occasional pre-mixed Nescafe Cappuccino sachets @ about $0.50 per cup too.
- Sugar is pre-mixed (in some varieties) , they weren’t too sweet but tough if you don’t take sugar with your coffee.
- Milk Froth is powdered (in some varieties) and you don’t have a choice with some varieties to use your own milk/froth.
- The capsules are not recyclable as I’m told and seen other varieties are. They will drip and leak the watery residue too if you leave them on the bench. • I know roasted coffee beans for coffee machines costs vary depending on quality , so I can’t comment on these costs . Milk too - barista milk is pricey.
- Be aware of the fat content of the milk varieties – if you are watching your weight and calorie intake.
- While the capsules are available at most retailers , there is limited stock at some and two varieties are online only.My local supermarket has not had much shelf stock at all and it's been very annoying. I haven't seen any stock of the skinny varieties at all.
Overall - Dolce Gusto coffee is very addictive – just saying ...you won’t want to go back to instant coffee. There’s no excuse not to have seriously great coffee any time you want at home, but it will cost you! My favourite was Latte Macchiato.
Flavour
|
8 Cups
|
16 Cups
|
Cost/cup
|
Cappuccino
|
*
|
$1
|
|
Hot Chocolate
|
*
|
$1
|
|
Latte Macchiato
|
*
|
$1
|
|
Skinny Cappuccino
|
*
|
$1
|
|
Skinny Latte Macchiato
|
*
|
$1
|
|
Caramel Latte Macchiato
|
*
|
$1
|
|
Chai Tea Latte
|
*
|
$1
|
|
Cappuccino Ice
|
*
|
$1
|
|
Americano
|
*
|
.50
|
|
Café au Lait
|
*
|
.50
|
|
Espresso Ristretto
|
*
|
.50
|
|
Espresso Decaf
|
*
|
.50
|
|
Espresso Intenso
|
*
|
.50
|
|
Nestea Peach
|
*
|
.50
|
Check the snappy Nescafe Dolce Gusto website which has all the information with interactive flash demonstration videos you might like to check out. The music is mildly annoying though.
Disclaimer : No financial payment was received for this gifted product review - I received Nescafe Dolce Gusto GENIO Coffee Machine {and 3 boxes capsules} to review and keep. All opinions are my own.
What is your favorite coffee variety and do you own a coffee machine ?
♥
