Review: Nescafe Dolce Gusto GENIO Coffee Machine

Christmas has arrived early for me this year! When I received an invitation to receive and review the newly launched Nescafe Dolce Gusto GENIO Coffee Machine, I immediately jumped at the opportunity. Why is this coffee machine different to all the others already in the market? Well, to begin with it is Australia's first Hot and Cold coffee machine. Yep, this baby makes both Hot and Cold beverages! Perfect as we head into what I expect to be another hot, hot summer!

I have decided the best way for me to structure this review (and to make it easier for my readers to get the whole gist of it in one glance) is to just jump straight to the point and list its Benefits and Some Disadvantages... so here we go:

Benefits:

·        Easy to Use – coffee machines have always intimidated me. They always seem so complicated to operate. Nescafe Dolce Gusto is very easy to use, simply insert capsule, scroll to the desired / recommended level and press the Hot or Cold button! Refilling the water is easy too, with a 600ml water tank located just at the rear of the machine.

·        Small – does not take up too much space in your kitchen. You can take it with you when you go on a family holiday, camping, etc!

·        Fast – heats up water almost instantly. Takes less than 30 seconds to make a cup of coffee.

·        Convenient – barely needs any cleaning. Hardly any splashback to wipe up, and the capsules are pierced very neatly, very tiny hole.

·        Convenient (2) – no need to manually froth milk. Just press a button!

·        Makes delicious coffee.

·        Makes amazing hot chocolate.

·        Makes both Hot and Cold beverages.

·        A lot of flavours to choose from. You will never be bored!

·        Stylish accessories – I have a weird desire to constantly fill my gorgeous red capsule holder. It just seems weird to see it empty and it gives me this weird sense of satisfaction seeing it full of capsules! It has become a weird obsession... very addictive. Probably not a good thing but it makes me happy, haha!

Some Disadvantages:

·       You are locked in to Nescafe and their capsules. If you happen to not like their coffee, then the machine is useless! Thankfully I love them.

·        Capsules are not the cheapest when it comes to home brewed coffee. Normal boxes cost $7.99 online, or $8.68 at Coles. These boxes have 16 capsules in them, BUT some will only make 8 cups because you need the coffee capsule + milk capsule. If you get the Café Au Lait they will make 16 cups of good quality coffee with milk already pre-mixed in the capsule… so that’s $0.50 per cup. An espresso or any other black coffee will also be $0.50 per cup. Cappuccino, Latte, Hot Chocolate etc will cost $1.00 per cup which requires 2 capsules – the coffee or chocolate + milk capsules.

      (The capsules are currently ON SALE at Coles as an “Introductory Offer” for only $6.40 per box… which makes each cup quite cheap. Grab them quick!!)

o      To put into perspective, we used to drink the pre-mixed Cappucino sachets from Nescafe. They cost $0.50 per cup anyway.

o       I’m not entirely sure how much roasted coffee beans for larger coffee machines cost, so I can’t comment on that. Maybe one of my readers can help? Also don’t forget there will be cost of fresh milk on top of that.

o       If you want coffee any cheaper, I’m afraid you are stuck with bad instant coffee. I cannot imagine ever going back to instant coffee, so I think GENIO is here to stay. I get cafe quality coffee at home (a lot cheaper than coffee from cafes), I cannot complain!

The Nescafe Dolce Gusto website has all the information you need plus some very cool interactive flash demonstration videos you should check out. Click here.