Are you a coffee nut?

While I’m not, my husband certainly is. In fact he can’t start his day without a good cup of coffee, followed by several coffees throughout the day.

A coffee machine is a big investment for many families, especially when not everyone in the family drinks coffee, which is the case in our house as I’m a tea drinker. I even stretch to the odd Chai Latte on occasion. So when I was recently invited to review the Nescafe Dolce Gusto Coffee Machine which makes both coffee, chai, hot chocolate and iced teas, I was intrigued.

This cute little machine, which reminds me of a sitting cat, would look great in any kitchen. Even better it only takes up a small amount of bench space.

So, how does it work?

The machine is very simple to use and begins by filling the water tank at the back of the machine.  Then press the power button and wait for it to turn from orange to green and it’s good to go! When the light is green turn the wheel on the machine to match the number of bars on the capsule of your choice. Each capsule provides a guide as to the pressure required to make the coffee.

Insert the capsule and press either the hot or cold button depending on the style of drink you are making.

If you are making a milk based coffee insert the milk capsule first, and when that is finished, remove the capsule, adjust the dial for the second capsule, and press the hot or cold button.

The capsules are made for single use, but I decided to try making coffee a second time using the capsules. This was mainly due to the fact that the coffees from the machine only make 240mls, and our coffee mugs are quite a deal bigger so I wanted to fill the mug. It worked well, although was slightly weaker than the first batch.

What are the capsule flavours?

There are 14 flavours in the collection. They are:

• Cappuccino
• Hot Chocolate
• Americano
• Cafe au Lait
• Latte Macchiato
• Espresso Ristretto
• Skinny Cappucino
• Skinny Latte Macchiato
• Caramel Latte Macchiato
• Espresso Decaf
• Espresso Intenso
• Chai Tea Latte
• Cappuccino Ice
• Nestea Peach

What’s my favourite flavour? Well, the two flavours I really wanted to try are online exclusive, the Chai Tea Latte and the Nestea Peach, and both are flagged as Coming Soon to the online store, so sadly I didn’t get to try them. My husbands favourite was the Cappuccino.

Review

After trialling it for a couple of weeks here are my thoughts:

Pros:

• It’s small and only takes up the teeniest amount of bench space. It’s light too, so if you like clear surfaces it won’t break your back lifting it in and out of a cupboard each time you want to use it.
• It’s quick. There is no need to pre-heat or to stand over the machine to froth milk. The machine does it all for you.
• The coffee is hot. There are a lot of coffee machines on the market that don’t deliver hot coffees, much to the dislike of people who like their coffee piping hot.
• It’s more than just a coffee machine. It makes hot chocolates, chai lattes and iced teas. Theres sure to be something to please everyone. In fact there are 14 varieties of flavours available.
• The milk based beverages actually do have froth. While I rarely drink hot chocolate I did enjoy the hot chocolate pod I tried.
• It’s portable – if you have a holiday house you can take your coffee machine with you.

 

Cons:

• The coffees and hot chocolates made by the machine are 240ml in size. So when I made my husband a coffee in the big mug he usually has his coffee in, well, it looked like the tide was out. So if you are a fan of a big coffee this might be a problem.
• The cost – some beverages, such as chai latte’s, hot chocolates and milky coffees require two capsules. With a box of capsules retailing for $7.99 for 16 capsules that’s $1 per drink. Not exactly bank breaking, but not cheap either especially when some people like 3 or 4 coffees a day. The espresso style coffees work out to 50 cents per coffee.
• The machine only fits Nescafe pods.
• This is a personal thing, but my husband didn’t like the taste of the milk from the milk capsules. I thought it was fine though.

Where can you get one?

The Nescafe Dolce Gusto Genio retails for $229 and is available online or at Harvey Norman, Target, The Good Guys, Myer, Big W, Coles, and IGA.

OR you can WIN one below :D

 

Win a Nescafe Dolce Gusto Genio coffee machine

Here’s your chance to win your very own Dolce Gusto GENIO Coffee Machine valued at $229!!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Give Away Rules:

1. Competition is open to Australian residents only! 
2. You will need to log in to enter using the entry form below. Either using your Facebook account or name and email address (you can find this below the Facebook login button).
3. You will receive entries for each basic task you complete. Some entries are worth 1 entry and others are worth 3 entries. For example Like Delicieux on Facebook you will receive 1 entry. If you Like Delicieux on Facebook and Follow Delicieux on Twitter you will receive 2 entries!
4. For 3 (three)  bonus entries, you can share the give away or leave a comment below. You can also receive 3 bonus entries EACH DAY for sharing the give away on Twitter and your Facebook page and you will receive 3 EXTRA entries for each day you do this!
5. To submit your entries select the entry option and click on the Do It button to follow the entry instructions and record your entry. This step is important otherwise your entry won’t count!!!! And don’t forget to do this for EACH task you complete!
6. The more times you enter the greater your chance of winning!
7. 1 lucky winner will be chosen at random and the winner will receive a Nescafe Dolce Gusto Coffee Machine!

 

Delicieux was sent a Nescafe Dolce Gusto GENIO coffee machine to review with thanks to Nestle and Impact Communications. The receipt of this machine in no way impacted my review. Please read my disclosure policy for further details.