Dolce gusto coffee machine -worth keeping

[VeloVixen]

I have won one, still sat in the box while I’m debating what to do with it. Is the coffee nice? I was looking at the pods in sainsburys today and it does seem a bit expensive. Also I pretty much only drink coffee with coconut milk as I prefer the taste, or I drink mochas. I couldn’t see any mocha pods. Can I just add a bit of chocolate powder to make it a mocha? Can i use americano pods and then use a milk frother and add my own coconut milk?

I do accept own a much fancier de longhi bean to machine coffee machine and have given up trying to figure it out. So at least pods might be easier?

I currently use the nescafe sachets which are quick and simple. But I’m hoping the dolce gusto machine might be nearer a coffee shop coffee??

I did see some coconut flat white pods in sainsbury and also Starbucks caramel macchiato pods which I think I could be tempted by.

do they need much cleaning?

I have an aldi machine that takes dolce gusto and nepresso pods... I use the dolce hot chocolate pods but not the coffee as its all the cappuccinos, mochas, extra flavours etc.

Home bargains and B&M are cheaper for the pods than supermarkets.

Why not eBay it and make some money?

I have a Nespresso machine which I really like but I recently acquired a Sage espresso machine which is way better and doesn't use all those environmentally dubious pods. Plus I love all the grinding and tamping. Though now I drink too much coffee as it's TOO GOOD

I am tempted to have another go at trying to work the de longhi machine out but I just don’t have the patience for it I don’t think.

Love mine, use it every day, I'm a hard core coffee drinker, the dolce compatible pods, cafe au lait are £3.50 in lidl for 16 and they also do cappuccino pods same price

That’s definitely a much better price.

I bought one when we were between houses and I never knew when I’d be back. At least the coffee stayed fresh and I used the pods with milk included.
Now for environmental and cost reasons I’ve stopped using it. The coffee it made was pretty basic and the Amazon refillable pods were messy to use. So back of the cupboard it is.

For this house we bought a Gaggia Brera bean to cup machine and I hate it! It makes good coffee but there’s always something that needs to be added, cleaned, filled up and it only has enough brain capacity to show one warning at a time. Just when you think it’s ready to go, it flashes up something else! Not great when you’re tight for time….

In your situation I’d sell your Dolce Gusto as BNWT and buy some really nice coffee beans to get to grips with a real machine. Hopefully yours will be less cantankerous than mine!

I had one years ago, but stopped using it because of the wastefulness of pods - that would put me off still despite assurances that they can be recycled.

I had a Gaggia Brera next - I did like it, but as Sgtmajormummy says, it did seem needy. Not so the DeLonghi machine. What is difficult? Bet there's a youtube video to talk you through it.

I’ve tried watching YouTube videos but I have bad adhd and struggle to take stuff like this on board. I need someone to actually show me. Someone in the village has offered so I might take her up on it

You can get coconut milk coffee pods - they definitely do a flat white, don't know about mocha

We have one in work and everyone brings in pods. It's ok, not like proper bean to cup coffee but nicer than instant. Tip cafe au lait, americano and flat white pods only require one pod per drink, the rest require two. So you get double the amount of drinks in a box of 16 pods by choosing one of those.

They are simple to use:

Switch on to warm up
Ensure there’s water in the jug & your cup is ready
Pop in your desired pod (checking the markings for the quantity setting)
Close to puncture the pod
Adjust the setting to match the pod
When the ready light is on flick the switch on

You can adjust the quantity setting as you prefer for personal taste

As @UndercoverCop says, some of the coffees come as two seperate pods - the coffee and the whitener, others are one pod per cup. This can vary the cost per coffee
Shop around for promotional deals and compatible pods

For maintenance it should be descaled occasionaly, otherwise it’s a light clean of the body

For waste the plastic pods are recyclable but your local may or may not take them - you can also send them back for recycling