Real coffee at home? (Krups Dolce Gusto KP200040)

Member Name: sandra101

Product:	Krups Dolce Gusto KP200040
Date:	21/03/08 (527 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: fast, flavours, good for company

Disadvantages: dearer than instant

I received my Dolce Gusto coffee machine to trial it from www.bzzagent.co.uk, it allows members of the public to try new ideas and use word of mouth to tell people whether things are good or not.

I'm a bit of a klutz at putting stuff together but thankfully my husband had it completed by the time I came home and he freely admitted that I could easily have done it myself. It looks very space age and funky I got the black one so it fits well into my quite modern kitchen.

What they say

The fast and easy way to prepare your favourite coffee
Only uses coffee that's roasted and ground from 100% pure Arabica beans
Works at 14 bar high pressure, the same as a coffee shop machine
Thermoblock technology heats fresh water for your coffee, instantly
Made by Krups and guaranteed for two years.

Using the machine was simple. You fill the water tank, nice big lid, speeds up the process, turn it on at the side and a green light starts to flash, once this has finished (about 10-20 seconds) there is a place to insert the pod right at the front as you push down on this it pierces the pod you then push down the lever to allow the hot water to run through the pod and make the coffee. Each coffee\chocolate drink has a different recipe. Eg. The choccochino requires 4/5 of the cup to be from the chocochinno capsule with a 1/5 from the milk capsule.
The speed is what I like about it the best. After the few seconds it takes for the green light to go steady, the water heats instantly as it passes through the machine and its like just going out and having a drink without having to put on the kettle and stand around waiting etc. The instructions supplied and the quick reference cards make things easy to work out
Its all easy clean and you can play with the recommendations to create your own blend, eg. You choose when the coffee stops and milk starts or add some normal milk or cream from the fridge.
To make the most of this I am planning to buy flakes and marshmallows so when I have a house full of 13 year olds I can serve this and look as fancy and impressive as the local restaurant were they love the chocolate. One of the milkier coffees would also be a grown up drink to serve to teenagers who are visiting yours rather than giving them loads of sweet pop or even for 16/17 year olds who believe they should get alcohol this I reckon would be an acceptable alternative. Its also something they can use themselves and the mixing of the different capsules looks so cool when served in a glass cup.
The coffee pods sell for approx. £2.99 a box - some have 8 capsules of drink and 8 of milk others (cappuchino and Gusto have 16 of just the drink) this works out at either 38 pence per cup or 19p which compares amazingly well to buying in a coffee shop or enroute to work. Think how much you could save if in 40 seconds in the morning you could fill one of those insulated travel mugs with a café gusto for 19p instead of grabbing one at the train station for £1.50. If you are a big coffee drinker the machine will pay for itself in no time. You can also buy from the Dolce Gusto website but I think they need to lower their £2.99 delivery price a little.

The machine also came with a sample kit which included a macchiato glass, a cappuccino cup and saucer, and a box of different coffee pods to try. The website sells more cups and accessories which can be paid with by cash or by points which you earn by buying pods etc.
This is a professional looking coffee machine and would look equally well at home or in an office.
Drinks Available
Latte Macchiato
Cappuccino
Caffe Lungo
Espresso
Espresso Decaf
Chococino
Cappuccino Ice
Café Mocha

Summary: If you drink a lot of coffee this will save a lot of time and possibly money

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