Nescafé KRUPS Dolce Gusto Review & Giveaway

First, I need to apologize for the delay in getting this post up.  It was all written and ready to go and I recently found out that instead of it posting it I accidentally saved it as a draft.  So, this review and giveaway is going up later than expected but better later than never!

Now, on to the post...

As I have mentioned before, I love single serve coffee makers!  Living in a household where only I drink coffee makes full sized coffee makers very impractical and wasteful.  Luckily, there are several coffee makers on the market that are specially designed to make just one cup at a time.  When it comes to choosing a single serve coffee maker, the choice can be difficult!  All single serve coffee makers have one thing in common...they make coffee.  However, how they make the coffee, the type of coffees they brew, and the quality of coffee varies greatly.  Since I've already tried two different single serve coffee makers, I was excited when I learned that Nescafé would be sending my their Dolce Gusto Single Serve Coffee Maker to review on Everything Up Close.

Nescafé Dolce Gusto comes in two different brands: KRUPS ($179.99) and T-Fal ($159.99).  The KRUPS model is sold at a number of specialty kitchen stores across Canada, as well as The Bay, Home Outfitters, London Drugs, and Sears.  The T-Fal model can be purchased at Walmart stores Canada-wide.

 *REVIEW*

For my review, I received a Nescafé KRUPS Dolce Gusto machine (in black).  Since I've heard great things about KRUPS in the past, I was looking forward to seeing this machine in action!

The NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto machine has the following features:

1.) It prepares a "coffee house-like" brewed coffee in the comforts of your own home.  The KRUPS technology ensures that you will obtain the pressure needed to make a cup of coffee at the same quality that they do in coffee shop.  The NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto machine uses an innovative capsule coffee system.  These capsules are made easy-to-use and allow you to make your favorite beverage in only a few seconds - no measuring required!

2.) The great thing about the NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto machine is that if offers a number of coffee types - perfect for all coffee lovers!  This machine has a total of 8 different coffees including 8 hot and 2 cold coffee/iced tea house style beverages.  The fact that this machine offers a cold beverage option, definitely sets it apart from the competition.   

The Nescafé Dolce Gusto capsules sell in most major grocery stores at a suggested retail price of $8.99 per box. Each box contains 16 capsules.  Some of the 'fancier' coffees use two capsules, which equals just over $1 per coffee-house quality beverage.  For the more standard coffees (Cafee Lungo, Espresso, and Cafee Americano), they only need one capsule.  For $0.50 per cup, that is a heck of a deal!  When you compare both the cost of the 2 capsule and 1 capsule beverages, both come in far below the amount you'd have to pay in a coffee shop.  Plus, once you factor in the cost of gas to drive there, and the amount of time it takes you to get there and back, the Nescafé Dolce Gusto is a clear choice!

3.) The style of this machine is definitely unique and probably my favorite aspect of the machine.  When I saw it for the first time, I couldn't decide whether it was more retro or futuristic (think spaceship).  The NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto machine has a unique style that fits today's decor and looks more like a sculpture or a piece of art than a coffee machine!  I wrote in my previous objective Dolce Gusto post that 'This machine is sure to be a topic of discussion because of it's interesting style and useful functions'.  And, after trying it, and showing it to friends and relatives, it proves to be true.  People are surprised to hear that this 'neat' looking machine actually produces coffee!  After seeing the pictures, and having this fun coffee maker in my home, I think that the NESCAFÉ KRUPS Dolce Gusto machine is a piece that you would be proud to display in your home.

This machine is functional for just about any cup size!  The cup tray on the Nescafé Dolce Gusto easily adjusts to three different positions.  Because of the high pressure that this machine produces, the adjustable shelf is key.  Since high pressure can lead to coffee spray, it is important that when using this machine, you set the shelf to fit your cup.  This also allows for proper formation of the froth (yes, a single serve at home coffee machine that is reasonably priced and produces froth).  Personally, for me, the fact that it does produce froth is a significant factor in choosing one machine over another.  Of the other two machines I've tried, neither create the froth that I love on top of beverages!










First of all, this is a great quality machine and it does what it claims it does - It makes high quality coffee beverages that are similar to what you would buy in a local coffee shop in the comfort of your own home and at a much more reasonable cost.  After using the machine a number of times, it is evident the quality of Dolce Gusto beverages is due to the high pressure of KRUPS technology.  The single serve coffee machines that I've used in the past do not come close to the pressure that the KRUPS Dolce Gusto machine provides.

As I mentioned in the beginning of my review, I have already tried two single serve coffee machines in the past and maybe that leaves me biased but it may also leave me more informed and experienced about what I like and what I don't like. 

Although I enjoy the beverages and the quality of the beverages made by this machine, there are some functions I'm not crazy about.  With other single serve machines I am used to popping in a disc, cup, etc., pressing a button, being able to walk away (if need be), and come back to a perfectly brewed cup of joe!  With the Dolce Gusto machine, you need to attend to it throughout the entire brewing process.  Several of the beverages require two capsules, which requires you to switch them out part way through the process.  Also, with the Dolce Gusto you are required to manually control the amount of water that is added to the contents of each capsule.  This requirement means that if you need or want to walk away from the machine during the brewing process you can't.  This also means that you have to carefully read the instructions to ensure you are adding the right amount of water to each capsule.  This was a decently easy task when using the Dolce Gusto cup that came with my machine but when trying to use my own cups, I had quite a bit of difficulty adding the right amount.  However, if you've ever successfully used an espresso or cappuccino machine, this machine will likely feel like a breeze for you!  It offers similar style/quality coffee at a much more reasonable price.





When I first received this machine for review (a couple of months ago), there was no way to buy additional Dolce Gusto cups for this machine, luckily now you can!  The Dolce Gusto online store carries a number of accessories including travel mugs, sets of Latte Macchiato glasses and cappuccino and espresso cup & saucer sets, as well as capsule holders.  Unfortunately, in the Canadian online store, most of these items seem to be out of stock. 

Conclusions
With that said, there are a number of benefits to this machine, as well as a few things that lead to me using this machine less frequently than the other machines that I own.  Before buying a single serve coffee machine, you need to decide on your priorities and must-haves in a machine - what would work best for you, your tastes, and your lifestyle?  For some people, high quality coffee shop quality coffee may be their priority, whereas other people may like or need to multi-task (like me) and need a machine that cycles through the coffee making process on it's own.

So, although this is not the coffee machine for me,  it may be the coffee machine for you!  This would make a great bridal shower/wedding gift or Christmas gift for the coffee lovers in your life that value high-quality beverages and don't mind the couple of extra steps that this machine requires.  Plus, the Nescafé KRUPS Dolce Gusto now comes in a few different styles including the Melody 2, the Piccolo, and the Circolo.  Be sure to check out the Nescafé KRUPS Dolce Gusto website for more details.

 *GIVEAWAY*

How many winners are there? One.

What can you win?  One winner will receive a Nescafé Dolce Gusto Machine.  Total ARV = $179.99.

To enter, Go look through the Nescafé Dolce Gusto website.  Then come back here and tell me something you learned about their machines. This question must be answered to gain an entry in the giveaway.

Each of the following will give you one extra entry in the giveaway (unless stated otherwise). Please make sure to leave a separate comment for each thing you do:

*NEW* - Telling me the name of your favorite product on EUC Designs ZAZZLE or telling me a design/product you'd like to see offered in the future.
*NEW* - Purchasing something from EUC Designs ZAZZLE.  Visit my post to find a listing of current coupon codes.  7 ENTRIES!
- Telling me the name of the Dolce Gusto capsule you'd most like to try.
- Entering one other giveaway on Everything Up Close, then leaving me a comment hear indicating the name of the other giveaway you entered (Maximum of 1 entry).
- Subscribing to my blog via email.  

- Adding my main button to your blog sidebar.
- Adding my Everything Up Close Holiday Wishlist event button to your blog sidebar.

- Following me on Twitter (@ihchicky). Please leave your Twitter name in your comment.

- Following me on Blogger / Google Friends Connect (publicly).
- 'Liking' Everything Up Close on Facebook and leaving a comment on my Facebook Fan page saying 'Thanks for the Nescafé Giveaway!'  Please leave your name (First name and last initial) that is shown on Facebook for verification. 2 ENTRIES!

- Tweeting about this giveaway with a link to this page. Please leave a link to your tweet or your twitter name. You can do this once a day.

- Blogging about this giveaway on your blog. Please leave a link to your blog post in your comment. 2 ENTRIES! Please leave 2 separate comments if you blog about this giveaway.

- Talking about and linking to this giveaway in any public forum or on Facebook. If you do this, please leave your user-name and a link to the post. 3 ENTRIES! Please leave 3 separate comments if you blog about this giveaway.

Important Entry Details: The above entries (main and bonus) can only be submitted once per person (except for the tweet entry, which can be done daily). Please do not use more than one blogger account or add additional anonymous comments to gain extra entries. This is not fair to everyone else and this practice is strictly prohibited. If a person is found to be using more than one account to enter the same giveaway, they will be disqualified from that particular giveaway, as well as all future giveaways.

This giveaway will end on Wednesday, December 15th at 11:59pm (Central Standard Time). After the giveaway has ended, the winner will be picked randomly using random.org. EMAIL RULES: In order to win, you must provide a valid email. I will be notifying the winner by email only. Please make sure your blogger profile includes your email address and make sure that it is visible. If you do not have a blogger account, please make sure you have included your email address in your post. If there is no email address provided, to contact the winner, another person will be chosen. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the winning email notification with their complete mailing address (I will be forwarding all this information to the sponsor), If this information is not received within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen.  

This giveaway is open to residents of Canada!

Good Luck!

**Disclaimer** To complete this review and post this giveaway, Nescafé sent me a KRUPS Dolce Gusto machine free of charge.  Receiving this item did not in anyway alter the information which I discussed in this article; this review is 100% my own opinion.  I did not receive any other type of compensation for this review/giveaway.