Espresso Club

Nescafé Dolce Gusto Capsules Roundup

admin — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 20:15:40 +0000

Nescafé Dolce Gusto is a system developed by Nestle for hot beverage or coffee machines. The system is based on its own coffee machines that make coffee and other hot beverages such as hot chocolate, using specially designed capsules. You are invited to read my post about the Nescafé Dolce Gusto system.

Capsules are usually sold in packs of 16 units, starting from £3.50. Here is a roundup of all the beverages capsules I could find online, for easy access. Please comment with your opinion about flavours you have tried, or could not find here!


Cappuccino (16 Capsules)	Latte Macchiato (16 Capsules)	Chococino Hot Chocolate (16 Capsules)

Mocha (16 Capsules)	Espresso (16 Capsules)	Cafè Crema Grande (16 Capsules)


Cappuccino Ice (16 Capsules)	Caffé Classico (16 Capsules)	Caffé Americano (16 Capsules)

Espresso Intenso (16 Capsules)	Aroma (16 Capsules)	Caffé Classico Decaffeinato (16 Capsules)

Caffè Lungo (96 Capsules)	Caffè Lungo Mild (16 Capsules)	Caffè Lungo Decaffeinato (16 Capsules)

Enjoy your coffee and post your comments about the different flavours!

Nespresso £40 Club Credit

admin — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:27:43 +0000

Take advantage of Nespresso’s special offer for UK residents. You can now get a £40 Nespresso Club credit, when buying any Nespresso coffee machine. All you have to do is claim your club credit after the purchase. Here are the details:

£40 Nespresso Club Credit

After purchasing a Nespresso coffee machine, you should register it at the Nespresso website. You will be able to order your capsules online, and with this offer, you get a £40 credit on your club account. To make a long story short:

Print the voucher available on this link.
Complete the promotion form.
Send the form together with the original bar code, cut from the machine packaging.
Attach a copy of the invoice from the retailer.
Send all of the above before February 28th 2010 to: NESPRESSO Promotion, PO BOX 233, Stamford, Lincolnshire PE9 1WZ.

The offer is only valid for machines purchased by the end of January 2010.

And don’t forget to enjoy your coffee!

Nescafé Dolce Gusto Circolo

admin — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 18:26:54 +0000

Welcome the newest member of the NESCAFÉ’s Dolce Gusto™ System. The Dolce Gusto Circolo.

The Circolo like its predecessor is manufactured for Nestle by Krups. You may find this machine also labeled as Krups KP 5000. The Circolo uses specially designed capsules by Nestle, different blends of air tight packed coffee grounds, or other hot beverages like hot chocolate, and milk. You can buy the capsules at major stores or get them online.

Dolce Gusto Circolo

Nestle own both the Nespresso and Nescafe Dolce Gusto capsule systems, so this machine works in a similar way to Nespresso system machines with thermoblock to achieve a high quality brewing process. But, in the Dolce Gusto machines, as opposed to Nespresso – 15 bar pressure is used and not 19 bar. The high pressure and the capsules are designed to deliver an even distribution of water and pressure over the coffee to ensure that flavor is maximized. For comparison, in traditional filter coffee makers (drip machines) water flows through the coffee grounds at just 1 bar of pressure.

Warranty is given by Krups for two years.

Dolce Gusto Circolo

Technical Specification

Comes in White, Red, Dark Grey and an exclusive aluminum finish Premium Edition.
High 15 bar pressure with Thermoblock Boiler
Height adjustable drip tray for any size of glass or cup
Ultra fast warm up, coffee in minutes
1.3 L removable water tank for easy cleaning, filling and emptying
24 month warranty by Krups

Check out price comparisons and user reviews for the Dolce Gusto Circolo.

Espresso and You – Oh… And Prizes Too!

admin — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 19:56:14 +0000

Who discovered coffee ?
When and where was the first coffee house established?
What time of day do people prefer to have their cup of coffee?
What is your coffee story?

Watch this new video by Douwe Egberts, follow the link at the end of the video, tell your coffee story, and you can win a free trip to Amsterdam!

No related posts.

Philips Senseo Quadrante HD7860 Pickwick Tea Gift Set

admin — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 17:06:09 +0000

I recently wrote about the new Philips Senseo Quadrante HD7860 machine. This machine uses the unique Senseo pod system to brew hot beverages, with many available coffee flavours. Now you can also make delicious tea with one of two available sets by Amazon.

Check them out:

Pickwick Big Set

Pickwick Gift Set

The Big Set includes:

Senseo Pickwick tea pod holder (compatible with Philips Senseo Quadrante HD 7860)
60 x Pickwick tea pods (3 varieties with 20 pods each: Earl Grey, Tempting Red and Fruity Forest).

The Gift Set includes:

Senseo Pickwick tea pod holder (compatible with Philips Senseo Quadrante HD 7860)
1 x Senseo Pickwick tea pod can
1 x Senseo Pickwick tea glass (200ml)
60 x Pickwick tea pods (3 varieties with 20 pods each: Earl Grey, Tempting Red and Fruity Forest).

Philips Senseo Quadrante HD7860 Coffee Machine Review

admin — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 00:07:16 +0000

I was lucky enough to get my hands on the new Senseo Quadrante HD7860 by Philips today. This is a brand new machine by Philips and it is being launched these days (Sept. 2009) in Europe and is available in major retail stores and online. So here is my review and initial impression of this slick very sharp looking coffee machine.

The Senseo Quadrante joins the Senseo Latte Select which was launched exactly one year ago – to the range of Senseo pod system coffee machines. The Quadrante has a very clean square shape design, and is currently sold in two colors – Black or white.

Philips Senseo Quadrante HD7860

Philips Senseo Latte Select HD7852

For those who aren’t familiar with the Senseo pod system – It is a single serve coffee machine system that combines uniquely designed coffee pods which hold fresh ground coffee in pre-dosed filter packs with compatible coffee machines. The special pods are available in various flavors offered by Philips & Douwe Egberts. What’s nice about the Senseo pod system, is that unlike some capsule systems such as Nespresso or Tassimo, you are not restricted to only Douwe & Egberts products. So can actually buy empty pods designed for the Senseo system, and fill them with your favorite blend. However, most of us will be more than content with the wide range of coffee blends offered by Douwe & Egberts, including decaffeinated coffee, and even hot chocolate!

Senseo Pods

My first impression after taking the machine out of the box was – It is EASY! There is no assembling necessary. A simple and easy to follow flushing process to get the machine ready for brewing your first cup of coffee and I was ready. And this is all you have to do to make 1 or 2 cups of coffee in less than a minute:

Fill the 1.2 Liter water tank with cold water. This will be enough for up to 8 cups so no need to do this every time. The tank tilts out and slides back in very naturally and easily.

Turn the machine ON – You don’t need to worry about turning it off when you are done thanks to an automatic off feature which I really liked.

Open the lid by pulling the lever up.

Place your selected coffee pod in the pod holder – The pod holder will already be place in the center of the machine. If you want to prepare two cups at the same time, replace the single dose pod holder with the double dose pod holder, and place 2 pods instead of 1.

Senseo Quadrante Single Pod Holder

Senseo Quadrante Pod in Machine

Lock the lid by pulling the lever back down till you hear the ‘click’.

Place one or two cups in the cup tray – You can adjust the height of the tray to fit the cup you are using.

Press the 1-cup or 2-cup button to brew 1 or 2 cups.

Philips Senseo Quadrante HD7860

That’s it! Now just watch the machine brew the perfect dose in to your cup/s. Don’t worry about stopping the brewing. Thanks to the auto-dose system, this process is completely automatic so all you have to do is dispose of the used pod once the beverage is ready.

I have made a short video that shows the brewing process:

To summarize, I really liked the Quadrante and most importantly – The coffee was good. If you fancy espressos and lungos this is a very reasonable option to consider priced at £100. If your main beverage is cappuccino, then the Quadrante will not handle the milk frothing for you. For that you can use any of the available standalone automatic milk frothers, or go for the Senseo Latte Select.

A technical specification of the Philips Senseo Quadrante HD7860:

Uses the patented Senseo coffee brewing system (pods)
Power: 1,450 W; Voltage: 220-240 V
1.2 Liter water tank (8 cups)
Auto-off 30 minute feature
Brew volume (per cup): 120 ml
Height adjustable drip tray
Price: ~ £100

Tassimo Coffee Machines History

admin — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:15:00 +0000

If you don’t know about the Tassimo capsule system for coffee machines and hot beverage machines, you are welcome to first read a bit about it in our Tassimo capsule system post.

If you already know about Tassimo you may have encounted two types of machines for it online and wondered which you should go for. I am talking about the Braun Tassimo coffee machine and the Bosch Tassimo coffee machine. Here is some information for you about the history of these two machines.

Braun Tassimo TA1200

Bosch Tassimo TAS4011GB

The first Tassimo machines, which were designed for Kraft Foods products, were the machines made by Braun in 2005. Those are still to be found at certain stores and online but Braun are not manufacturing those machines anymore. Instead, production responsibility was moved to Bosch because of the potential conflicts of interest arising from Braun’s owner P&G also being active in the coffee market.

Bosch expanded its subsidiary plant in Slovenia in 2007, and invested €7m in production equipment and R&D to make the first Tassimo T40 (or TAS40xxGB) models. Since last year, the company has been producing the TAS65xxGB models and now the 85xxGB models, with built-in Brita filters, LCD screen, and a lit cup tray (improvements from the older TAS40xxGB models).

Read more about the Bosch TAS4011GB in our related post.

Philips to Acquire Saeco and Gaggia

admin — Fri, 29 May 2009 22:30:48 +0000

On Monday, May 25th 2009, Philips announced that it would acquire Saeco International Group, after settling an agreement with Saeco’s banks over Saeco’s outstanding debt. The purchase sum has not been disclosed.

Saeco Odea Giro

Saeco is the Italian based leading espresso machines company and is controlled by PAI Partners. The company, which also makes machines under the well known Gaggia brand, produces traditional coffee machines, capsule system coffee machines, and bean to cup coffee machines. All together it has 30% of the European market, and has reportadly sold 318 million Euro over the 12 months that ended March 31.

Philips among others, holds the technology behind the Senseo coffee machines, which produce espressos using coffee pods, with a Philips coffee machine.

Philips Senseo HD 7852/50

Caffitaly Nautilus Coffee Machine Review

admin — Sat, 23 May 2009 13:12:55 +0000

The Caffitaly Nautilus is the newest member of the Caffitaly capsule system coffee machines. For those of you who are not familiar with the Caffitaly system, you are welcome to read about it and about other capsule systems in related posts. Bottom line, these machines make coffee using prepacked ground coffee capsules of the Caffitaly system (Like the Nespresso system, but with different capsules). The name Nautilus comes from its shape, which is designed after the unique marine creatures called Nautilus. These creatures are considered to be “living fossils” and have survived practically unchanged for millions of years.

Caffitaly Nautilus

The Nautilus coffee machine is perfect for making espressos and lungos, but it also has a milk steaming nozzle, so you can prepare more sophisticated beverages like cappuccinos and latte machiattos. I got my hands on a silver Nautilus unit and I have to say that I’ve really enjoyed it so far.

Caffitaly Nautilus Silver

The Nautilus looks very stylish when closed. You can see the large 1.2 Liter water tank which is very easily pulled out for refilling.

Caffitaly Nautilus Silver

In the photo above, you can see the empty capsules disposal container which fits up to 15 empty capsules, but you will probably want to pull it out and empty it a little sooner than that, just for keeping everything clean. Raising the silver lever, opens up the capsule base, where you place the full capsule just before making your beverage. When you are done with making your espresso, lifting the lever again automatically pops the capsule out right into the empty capsules container.

Caffitaly Nautilus Up Close

The Nautilus has 2 modes: Coffee preparation mode, and milk steaming mode.

Clicking on buttons “A” and “B” changes between modes. Because the boiler needs to be heated to a higher temperature for milk frothing, it is recommended to first brew the coffee, and then change to steaming mode. You may actually need up to 30 minutes for the boiler to cool down and go back to coffee preparation mode, so make sure you make all the coffee before working on the milk.

The knob marked as “C” controls the coffee brewing or milk frothing operation. It is a simple manual operation, so depending on the mode the machine is at, pull or push the knob to brew coffee or let out steam. When satisfied, just bring the knob back to the middle. There is no automatic dosing here.

The big lever marked with “D” opens up the capsule base (when lifting it). After placing a new capsule, you push it back down, and only then the machine is ready to brew the coffee.

The coffee flows out of the coffee pouring hose marked with “E”, and the steam for milk frothing shoots out of the nozzle marked with “F”. Take a look below at the steamer in action.

Caffitaly Nautilus Steamer

Here is a short video I took of the complete operation of making an espresso:

Another video – This time take a look at the making of a perfect cappuccino with the Nautilus:

To summarize, we are looking at a beautiful coffee machine for your home. It is perfect for making espressos and lungos. If your main beverage is cappuccino, then this machine is not the milk frothing device, but that is often the case with these machines. You can find great standalone automatic milk frothers out there, so don’t let that stop you from getting this beauty.

A technical summary of the Caffitaly Nautilus:

Uses the patented Caffitaly capsules system
17 Bar high pressure pump.
Thermoblock technology boiler
1.2 Liter water tank
15 empty capsules disposal container
Weight: ~ 5kg
Dimensions: W: 24cm H: 30cm D: 32cm

Nespresso Coffee Machines Video Gallery

admin — Sun, 10 May 2009 21:36:03 +0000

Nespresso coffee machines are famous all over the world for the beautiful design as well as delicious coffee. You may also think of George Clooney when you think Nespresso. The Nespresso capsules system is a very common system for coffee machines many homes these days. In this post I want to put videos and links to videos of Nespresso coffee machines, so you can get another look at them before buying or if you’re just curious. Enjoy the show:

Krups Nespresso xn2007 with Nespresso Aeroccino Demonstration

Another Krups xn2000 demonstration video

Krups Nespresso xn5000 Le Cube Demonstration

Nespresso Delonghi Lattissima EN660/670/680 Demonstration

Nespresso Siemens Porsche Design Demonstration

Nespresso Siemens Porsche Design promotional video

Nespresso Magimix M200C Demonstration

Nespresso Aeroccino Demonstration

You are welcome to post links to your videos or other videos you find online.

Thank everyone for making these beauties and helping everyone who is reading this post