The Sweet Taste of Dolce Gusto
Published in Widow Digs by chefswidowOne would think that one of the perks of being married to a chef would be cool kitchen gadgetry. Not in my case. I have recently discovered after staying at a certain Iron Chef’s house for a week that my kitchen is severely lacking. Part is due to the fact that the Chef thinks I ruin stuff. I guess rust is a no no on knives and cast iron pans aren’t made for the dishwasher. Who knew?
Early on in our relationship he began limiting my access to certain kitchen items, mainly knives, pots & pans, and gadgets. Over the course of our move I discovered the sad truth. I have one knife (that’s right kids ONE) , 3 pots, 1 saute pan, and 1 mixer. I don’t even have a blender!
The Chef has always been weird about our home kitchen. He has some crazy organizational issues and in our previous kitchen we had no space. No space=no stuff. This kitchen, small in size, but huge in storage space allows me some extra room for some cool stuff. So when I was asked to review NesCafe’s Dolce Gusto I knew this was my chance to add to my kitchen collection. The bright red coffee machine came to my house 2 weeks before our move. I thought it would be a perfect time to try out a simpler way to make coffee. The Chef & I are hardcore french press drinkers. We are serious about espresso and we hardly ever partake in fou fou coffee drinks.
Win this machine below!
The Dolce Gusto machine has something for everyone. First thing I noticed when I opened the box was the mamma chick like shape of the machine:
Mamma chick brews us some much needed caffeinated cocktails
The Chef and I have never had a machine like Dolce Gusto. We are hardcore french press fans and have never even thought of owning anything that actually plugs in. Apparently we think we live in Italy and it’s 1935. I set the machine up and we immediatley began our journey into the sweet taste (or dolce gusto if you are of Italiano descent) of Cappuccino and Mocha Late. We tried every flavor they sent us over the course of 2 weeks. My highly caffeinated experience allowed me to come to the following conclusions about the Dolce Gusto:
What I didn’t love:
Throwing out the capsules. It is very very hard for me to throw out plastic and I had to do precisely that everytime I made a cup of coffee. The capsules should be compostable! Coffee obviously is a great for compost and I would feel so much better if I could toss them in my compost bin. You listening Dolce Gusto?
The lack of nutrional information regarding the capsules. Everytime I had a mocha I felt the pounds piling on.
What I absolutely loved:
Many Many Flavors including Cafe Lungo, Cappuccino Ice, Cappuccino, Espresso, Latte Macchiato, & Mocha,. There are also decaffeinated options. My favorite is the Cafe Lungo. Chef’s fave was the cappuccino plus an extra shot of espresso.
The ability to mix and match the flavors. As I said above the Chef liked 2 coffees combined. I too liked to play around with this. Sometimes I would do a macchiato mixed with a mocha which made a very delicious fou fou coffee drink that I tend to shy away from.
The Dolce Gusto machine is very easy to use. You pop in a coffee capsule switch the stick and you have a cup of freshly brewed coffee in under 1 minute.
One of my favorite features of the machine is the cold/hot trigger. You can make hot coffee or you can brew cold coffee. It was perfect for us since the week we chose to move was the hottest week of the summer and iced cappuccino’s were a must.
One of my favorite things about this machine doesn’t have anything to do with the machine. It has to do with NesCafe and Dolce Gusto’s presence in social media. They are on Twitter and Facebook giving stuff away almost everyday. They interact with their customers as well as people who don’t know the product. They go the extra mile. I love that.
The machine itself is very cool looking and I like that it comes in a multitude of colors. I chose red because I’m a harlet. Obviously.
Did I mention that this machine is extremely easy to use? Potato makes 2 cups every morning for us and he’s a pitbull!
I dig this addition to my kitchen and now I actually have room for it. One of you lucky readers needs to make some room as well. NesCafe has been so kind to offer one brand new Dolce Gusto machine to a widow reader. Leave a comment here telling me your favorite thing about coffee: it could be something you eat with it, a coffee brand, a drink, a cellulite lotion made with coffee beans (that’s mine:). Anything as long as it’s coffee related. You have until next Wednesday September 23rd. A winner will be announce at noon.
Now if I could only get someone to ask me to review some knives. My kitchen would be set.
I have always been a strictly black coffe drinker. No milk, no cream, just the harcore black magic elixer. It’s cheap as far as coffee goes – you can make it at home, and as long as you use fresh beans, you’ve got a cup just as good as Starbucks, if not better.
That is, I WAS a strictly black coffee drinker. Then we went to Italy… That was the beginning of the end. That was when I discovered the CAPPUCCINO. And now it’s all over. I have a $3/day cappuccino habit. $21/week. OVER $1,000 A YEAR.
Is this why they say that European vacations are so expenisive?
My absolute favorite thing about coffee is the smell. I have a horrible sense of smell (thanks, sinuses) but can smell coffee brewing from a mile away.
I learned to drink coffee in Russia. Who else can say that?! I had the chance to live there for three weeks in high school … in Siberia … in March. On those nice brisk mornings when Yulia went to school early, she would leave me with her non-English speaking mother … who would invade my room at 8AM repeating the only words she knew … “Coffee? Tea?” “Coffee? Tea?” My non-Russian speaking self was unable to explain that although I thank her for her offer, I wasn’t a caffeine drinker and had never partaken in either of these (OMG.. I KNOW). Soooo … I started drinking coffee. The way I like my coffee also developed from this experience. The Russians like their coffee like they like … ummm… everything else … STRONG. The only thing to cut this obviously-too-strong-for-my-virgin-taste buds beverage was handily, the one thing they had hand; sweetened and condensed milk … yup basically FROSTING. With the exception of Italian espresso I’ve never been much for straight coffee ever since. I’m a fru fru coffee girl who, to this day, is completely unable to find something at Starbucks sweet enough (other than their frappachinos).
my favorite thing about coffee is sensory memory. i’m not an every day coffee drinker, but when i brew a strong pot it takes me back to grad school and my awesome awesome roommates.
I love a cup of dark, rich coffee with homemade apple pie and french vanilla ice cream. Can’t have one without the other.
My favorite thing about coffee is how it brings people together. I love getting together with a friend for coffee– whether that friend is a co-worker and you’re just catching up on each other’s “real” lives, or a friend who moved far away and has returned for a weekend visit. Long brunches on the patio, quick chats in the afternoon– every conversation seems better with a shot of caffeine! Likewise, I love writing with a cup of coffee… what is it about this miraculous brew that makes story-telling so much stronger?
My first taste of coffee growing up was greek coffee (very similar to turkish coffee). I used to love listening to my yiayia (grandma) “read” the sludge that was left in her cup when she was finished.
CW, you totally have to keep me in condsideration for this. I am a Starbucks junkie. If I win, I will call her Coffee chickie. We will bond and I will become legendary for my coffee chickie at the family functions ( YES I WILL TAKE HER TO THE FAMILY PARTIES!! ). I too have a Chef Hubby who will not let me play with kitchen gadgets. Coffee is a pickme up- it’s a universal bonding agent that helps reconnect me with my Chef on our worst days. It helps me find common ground with my friends after I have blown them off for the upteenth time. It’s a peace offering for my mother when she has watched my 3 very active children all day. It’s yet another thing that I have in common with you! And If I have to go any buy my own…. welll…
I guess.( PICK ME!!!!! )
by the way- I also voted for you every day for favorite blogger. And I made my friends vote for you too…. I’m just saying…
My favorite part of coffee is that it gives me a reason to get out of bed in the morning! Ha, sort of kidding, but I love the smell of coffee and the sense of routine it gives my *sometimes* frantic life. I swear, it is like one of those coffee commercials where you take the first sip of coffee while looking out the window, like one second of calm before the day begins. Congratulations on the move and kitchen space!
Coffee making in our house full of knives is a manual operation. Three different ways to make coffee and all require stovetop boiling of water or heating, Melitta style, french press or a little stovetop Italian espresso maker. Believe it or not, we like it that way, and only a little half and half added to each cup please. So please leave us out of the contest but do come over some time for a cuppa or maybe a little glass of wine.
What is this caffeinated cellulite-reducing cream you speak of? Can you really tell a difference?
It took a few temper tantrums to get my point accross, but Nathan has finally learned a valuable lesson: pots, pans and knives do NOT go in a dishwasher… leave them in the sink and I will wash them proper.
I love an Americano with a splash of 1/2 and 1/2. I also dig the French Press but I lack that right fine piece of equipment. Plus it’s just comforting to hold a hot drink.
Leave me out of the drawing–our poor apartment is bulging with lack-o-space/storage syndrome.
My favorite part of coffee is the ritual. A morning cup of coffee is one constant in my day. Weekend or weekday, home or away. Not every day brings something to look forward to, so a cup of coffee provides a reliable handhold to pull yourself out of the sleep hangover and into another day.
the best thing about coffee – i’m not embarrassed to admit it – is fondling the warm mug for the first hour of my day every morning. mmmmm . . . and the aroma.
I love “fou fou” drinks…there’s something about that first sip that delights my tastebuds. And the smell is to die for to.
Coffee gives me the energy and will to chase after my now-two year old. It is a necessity, not so much a luxury item.
Why do I love coffee? The same day that my dear hubby gave up using heroin for good was the same day he became a coffee drinker. He gave Red Bull, soda, heroin, pills and all the other horrible crap he used to put in his system and started drinking the good old jo. So coffee just plain fucking rules!
hands down my favorite thing about coffee is drinking it with someone else. i love the whole visiting aspect that is coffee.
pick me!
My mouth was watering just reading your post – I had the wonderful experience of trying a machine of this type when I was in Chicago (although it was one of those from the brand that begins with a K but I won’t post it here). I have been jonesen for a machine like that since then, I too love all the wonderful combinations and fun of playing around to satisfy my cafeine addiction! Oh yea, I wouldn’t even care what color the Mama Chick was – that is a way kewl looking mama!
I love the smell of coffee and, like you, adore the French Press. Beyond that, I am nuts about the fact that the boyfriend and I buy the beans and he roasts them for us. It is GREAT!
I love my coffee with all the sweet wonderful flavors in those little creamer cups. I had a chance to try a Dolce Gusto creation at a friend’s house and absolutely LOVED it. Now I need one. And Wednesday the 23rd is my birthday … coincidence? I hope not!
Hi,
Thanks for sharing your honest review of Dolce Gusto – much appreciated (and I’m thrilled you liked it).
For everyone else, I’m Michelle and I handle the social outreach efforts for Dolce Gusto, like working with bloggers and maintaining the Twitter account.
I thought I’d address some of the concerns/thoughts in the post. And if anyone has any other questions, please let me know. The best way to reach me is @DolceGustoUs (by the way, we’re actually not on Facebook – that fan page is for Dolce Gusto Europe).
I can appreciate your concerns about recycling the pods, we hear that a lot. Nescafe Dolce Gusto is a global brand. You might be reassured to know that the capsules are recoverable through packaging recovery schemes in Europe, called green dot organizations. These do not exist in the US, so in part one reason we can’t be recycled is the recycling capabilities / infrastructure specific to the US market. In general, Nestlé is committed to reducing the environmental impact of packaging, without jeopardizing the safety, quality or consumer acceptance of its products. The company strives to reduce weight and volume of materials; lead in the development and use of renewable resources; support the recovery of used packaging and decrease waste and use recycled materials, where appropriate. If you have any questions on the process, let me know and if I can’t answer for you, I’ll be sure to find someone who can.
As for the nutritional information, the breakdown isn’t on the individual capsules per se, but should be listed on each box. You can also find all the information on our Web site. Here’s the mocha: http://www.dolce-gusto.us/Products/Capsule-Flavors/Mocha.aspx
As for skim options, they are always working on new flavors and this kind of feedback really is helpful in making those decisions and taken into account by everyone. For example, next month we’re introducing Caffe Americano, an everyday mild/smooth cup of coffee.
Thanks again – good luck to everyone entering and let me know if you need anything else.
Michelle
I started drinking coffee when I was 8. No kidding. My mother and grandmother told me it would stunt my growth. My grandfather encouraged me to put in lots of cream – and sugar. Drinking coffee is about my memories of him: our visits to the coffee shop for a donut, eating my grandmother’s pie after dinner, warming-up on the fishing boat at 5am. It was our ‘treat’ together. I thought I was being subtle and covert about drinking it. But, no. Four years later, after he’d died, my grandmother gave me one of his coffee mugs, which my husband now uses. I love that. Sappy, yes – but drinking coffee connects people, even people who’ve never met. And it still makes me feel like a little girl in a grown-up world.
My favorite thing about coffee is that it can be made to suit any time of day, any season, and any occasion! I love a nice hot Americano with a smidge of cream and sugar on my way to work. In the fall a pumpkin pie spice latte is so nice to curl up with. At Christmas time a peppermint mocha makes shopping even more fun (I know…didn’t think shopping could be more fun, but it can!!). Summertime = iced coffee! Espresso with italian biscotti… Regular old coffee with scones at grandmas… ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES!!!
My favorite thing about coffee is pretty much everything. I love the smell, the taste, the sound of it brewing and the way it perks me up. Mr. EM and I are pretty picky coffee drinkers. We like it black and strong and we prefer either a dark french roast or African roasts. Our very most favoritist of all is Cafe Altura’s Dark Sumatran. We used to be able to get it through our food buying club, but it has recently disbanded and we now find ourselves in a bit of a coffee crisis. Sigh.
hey! i just started reading your blog! i loove a good cup of joe! i started to REALLY drink it nearly 3 years ago, when i got sober! it is usually free at meetings and it was always available at the 3/4 way house i lived in. i live off the stuff. truly something that helped me get sober and stay sober. and sorry, i am totally a frou-frou coffee drinker
scooters carmalicious smootie all the way..YUM!
Ahhh, coffee.
It’s always hard to explain things when one is in love, it’s many small things that all add up. Maybe you like the way they make you feel, maybe it is the sweet aroma they carry with them, or maybe it is the way they caress you in the morning. Love can look strange from the outside, but can feel so wonderfully warm and invigorating from inside. I think I hear the French press calling me back.
My favorite thing about coffee is that a coffee bean is the symbol of my relationship with my partner. Coffee is like us…strong, sometimes ground down, not everyone’s taste, but incredibly addictive. Ordering her drink at Starbucks gives me a taste of her when we are separated.
Homemade coffee ice cream.. mmmm
Oh and the smell of coffee is amazing…
My favorite thing about coffee is seeing how tightly I can pack my stovetop espresso maker.
I want my espresso to be as strong as possible. Then I use it to make my favorite ice cream — Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream.
Please don’t tell me how many calories are in the sweetened condensed milk. I’m fine with being an uninformed consumer.
Last year Sephora stopped making the coffee bean shower scrub that I used almost daily for two years. It was a sad, sad day.
Since then I’ve been in an extended, low-grade mourning period, somehow muddling through with the help of French vanilla iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts, which is a daily, mountingly expensive habit. I’d love a new excuse to make my own at home. Because really, there’s not much I don’t love about coffee. It’s one of the bookends of my day (and since I’m not thinking a wine press is very practical for my house, I’ll go with a new, nifty coffee maker.
)
I LOVE the smell of coffee beans! One of life’s true sensory pleasures!
I love the smell of the coffee brewing… makes a not-morning person almost smile! Then I love the first sip… mmmm. The ritual of the process is nice too… relaxing, restoring….
The Scenario:
You’ve eaten a fine meal at a locally owned restaurant. You put your arms on the table, relax your posture a bit as you sink back into your chair. You sigh. The buzz of the restaurant is winding down…a low hum that signals the end of the service and as you look around, people are smiling and laughing and languidly swirling the last of their dinner wines, rapt in inebriated conversation. You spy a white porcelain cup on a petite saucer across the room. Of course. The perfect end to the meal! You look around for your server, eager to place an order for a steaming cup of shade grown satisfaction. Its intoxicating aroma pearls into your nose like gossamer ribbons. That first sip that is like inhaling a tempered bonfire…the flavors that sweetly spread across your tongue and mingle with your dulled senses. You breathe in. You exhale through your nose and you smell it.
Coffee.
The PC after dinner Marlboro.
I love coffee for so many reasons:
I travel for a living and some times, the only consistent thing to my day is a cup of “pod” coffee as I get ready to face the world. The aroma and the warmth can at least get me moving, no matter what city or what day of the week…
But, then I love those days when I am not on the road and I get to work from home or the office. The Man will put the pot together the night before with a note that says “I’m ready, just push the button.” One quick push of a button that wonderful brew is waiting for me by the time I am out of the shower. And someone else cared enough to make that brew ready for me…
And, what about wonderful, lazy weekend days (as few as they are) or cold winter mornings (or evenings) when that warm, magical, dark liquid warms your hands through the mug (yes, I fondle my mug too) and then seeps down to warm your heart and belly? Those wonderful times when you can just sip it and enjoy what a magical brew truly comes from these beans….
In a world that is constantly moving and changing – coffee, ah coffee, is and has been one of the few constants over the past thirty plus years and I expect it will be for the next thirty plus or more!
I’ve never been a fan of brewed coffee. Steve and I were daily espresso/cappuccino drinkers. When we were in Europe for 3 months I needed to purchase an espresso machine to use there. At home I grind my own beans and use a non-automatic espresso machine so I can control all the elements I need to for a perfect shot. I was surprised at myself when after looking at many options for espresso machines I decided on a Nespresso machine. I agree with you in that for me, the biggest drawback (and it is big) is the wastefulness of those plastic capsules. That almost prevented me from buying in to the whole Nespresso idea. I would love to have one of these machines for home (left the one I purchased at my Sis’s in La Suisse). I am off the bean now but as much as we have friends and family over I am still grinding beans and making espresso for others. The ease of use of this machine makes sense for having it on hand for company.
I have had espresso from several of the other coffee brands’ systems and none of the other espressos come close to Nespresso’s.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE everything about coffee but I’m stuck drinking decaf due to my body’s inability to handle caffeine. In fact with the exception of my last two trips to NYC, I haven’t had a caffeinated cup of coffee in over 10 years! One cup in the a.m. will have me bouncing off the walls at midnight.
But as much as I love the taste and the smell, I hate that it makes me crave a cigarette and a late night diner, back when we could still smoke indoors. I gave up smoking over three years ago but there are still certain triggers that cause that craving and coffee is one of them.
my favorite thing about coffee is.. being a cook i dont get to see my wife as much as i would like so every saturday morning we walk our dog to the farmers market to pick up somethign for breakfast, then sit on the back porch and drink our coffee and actually get to talk about how our week was!, alittle bit of calm in my crazy day! so my favorite thing about coffee is it gives me time to enjoy the company of my wife on a busy day!
I really love the smell of coffee being made in my kitchen. It prepares me for the taste ahead.
I like my coffee to taste like ice cream (and my ice cream to taste like coffee) which is why I hardly ever drink it. I’m kind of a 50% coffee, 40% cream and 10% sugar kind of girl. I LOVE frou frou coffee drinks but since I’m not made out of $$ I only get them as a treat when I’m traveling. All that said, one of our offices has a similar machine – with the pods and different flavors and all and I LOVE that coffee! I don’t know what it is, but I have coffee every time I’m in that office. I also am a huge fan of iced coffee so I love that the DG cold brews, too. And since I gave up my usual caffeine delivery device (Diet Coke), I need some sort of replacement!
My favorite thing about coffee is when someone else makes it! I make horrible coffee. I have been through three different machines, none with a tasty success. So now, my mornings start out at Dunkin, because in my small neck of the woods, that is my only option.
My favorite thing about coffee is my old (and well-stained) coffee mug. It comes out of storage every fall when I can enjoy a hot cup of joe in my sweatpants while reading the newspaper without any guilt. Sometimes (always) bailey’s makes it into the cup due to football season!
I am a BIG Dolce Gusto fan because it’s completely famazing! My fav is the
Please pick me! I really want my own DG machine. I *heart* DG!!!! Thank you CWidow and DG 
Latte Macchiato and can’t wait till I get to try the new DG Mocha. I love good coffee so much, i’m here at Mokah in deep ellum (Dallas, TX) singing for my coffee
My favorite thing about coffee is the sweet, sweet fix of caffeine that runs through your veins while you drink it … and the fact that you can find almost anything you use in coffee flavor/scent.
What is not to love about coffee!
The smell of a fresh pot bring people from miles around.
When it’s hot, it’s warm and cozy. Great for conversations with friends.
When it’s cold it’s refreshing and fun – summer in a glass!
Short and dark espresso takes me back to Italy every time.
Cappuccino with its frothy top tickling your nose.
Latte – with lots of hot milk is a meal replacement in a pinch.
I think I’m going to go get a cup now…
one main thing is coffee never tells me the last 2 pages of script I’ve written were crappy. It sits there in my Darth Vader mug warming me. That and the smell. I use to love stocking the coffee aisle at work. I could stand in there for hours.
mmmmm. banannas foster coffee!
I remember when I was little grabbing cups of coffee in the waiting area of a doctors office and dumping sugar and cream in it until it was sweet enough to delight my taste buds. To this day I still love my coffee, just with a better flavored creamer. The smell of fresh brewed coffee always reminds me of those visits.
Wait, wait… I want to hear more about this cellulite lotion made with coffee beans…
I would LOVE to win this because I am addicted to flavored, flavorful coffee!! I started out with black mumble-mumble years ago, then moved up to black with sugar, then I discovered the delicious smoothness of Half & Half and how decadent it made my coffee, and then… I discovered flavored coffee and flavored coffee creamers. Oh, joy! Heaven!! I quickly learned that Amaretto is Ambrosia.
So I would like to win this because I can totally see myself experimenting with different flavors of coffee and creamer. Thanks, Dolce Gusto, for the opportunity to win one!
May I just add that I read Michelle Venorsky’s comments about recycling and nutritional contents, and I am impressed that the company seems so responsible that she would come on your blog and address your concerns. Even if some things aren’t immediately do-able, I like that they are actively searching for solutions and/or better ways of doing them. Kudos!
I love the radiant smile on my daughtes’ faces when I bake a loaf of Chocolate Coffee Bread. “Oh, Mommy ! Thank you! I can’t believe you made it!!!”
Oh coffee, the sweet nectar of life. I love the taste of coffee and I guess I like the effect it has on me. I couldn’t imagine not having coffee. I love the fact that I can have it as a drink ro coffee or have it flavored. One thing I discovered recently is that chocolate covered coffee beans rock!
I love a good cup of mocha cappuccino. YUM!
The smell…I just love the smell of coffee!
My husband thinks everything about coffee is grand!
The smell of coffee may be one of the best things in the world. Nothing beats warming your hands around a smooth cup of freshly brewed coffee not to mention the wonderful buzz it causes!!!!! i always end up talking way faster.
To be honest I don’t drink coffee,but Christmas is coming up! I have a friend who loves ice coffee & coffee in general that she goes to dunkin donuts everyday! This would be a perfect gift for her for Christmas!
Thanks
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