We received a NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto Piccolo beverage machine to test and review. The Piccolo is the new and smallest version of the single serve machines made by Krups. Because of its small footprint, the Piccolo is ideal for those with smaller kitchens or for those who want to minimize the amount of counter space loss to a beverage machine. It is deal for small office use, kitchenettes, cubicles, or dorm rooms. The Piccolo has a modern, sleek look to it. Some of the features of the Piccolo are: a 15 bar pump pressure system; 21-ounce removable water tank; magnetic capsule holder, LED lights, and a simple to use hot or cold water selector. It is available in either red or titanium.
The Dolce Gusto Piccolo machine has a removable water reservoir that goes on the back and a removable and adjustable drip tray.
We received the red Nescafe Dolco Gusto
Using the specially designed capsules from Nescafe, you can make hot or cold coffee, chocolate or tea drinks from a variety of flavors and drinks including: Cappuccino, latte, hot chocolate, Americano, Espresso, decaf, mocha, ice cappuccino, peach tea, and Chai Tea latte.
All Dolce Gusto machines use only the NESCAFE Dolce Gusto capsules.
The Piccolo uses one capsule for coffee, espresso, or iced tea; whereas two capsules are used for latte, cappuccino, and mochas. A complete list of the different beverages available on be found on the Dolce Gusto website.
Typically when you purchase a Piccolo, it will come with a sample box of 6 capsules, or 4 beverages:
- 1 Caffè Lungo (Long Espresso)
- 1 Caffè Americano (House Blend)
- 1 Cappuccino
- 1 Chococino (hot chocolate)
This machine heats the water fast, usually in less than a minute because it uses 1500 watts of power via the Thermoblock technology. Using the Custom Control Lever allows you can alternate between hot and cold beverages or adjust the strength and mixture to your lighten.
Make sure the lever is in the center to open the capsule compartment. The blue indicator on the level means cold and the red means hot. Depending on whether you move it to the left or right you can make cold or hot drinks in your Dolce Gusto machine.
Additional beneficial features include an on/off button, automatic shut-off, a height-adjustable drip tray to accommodate just about any size cup or glass, and dishwasher-safe parts.
The drip tray is removable and we have it in the top slot in our picture. It can go down one more slot or put on the very bottom, depending on the size of your cup.
It is fairly simple to use, just add water to the 21-ounce removable water tank, insert a capsule into the capsule holder, secure the locking handle, and slide the selection lever to hot or cold depending on the beverage being used, then press of the “on” button. Oh, remember to place your cup on the tray so you can enjoy your beverage. Be sure to use the custom control lever to make any adjustments to the strength and/or mixture.
There are several features about this beverage that I liked:
The small size of this machine, thus using very little counter space or storage space.
The Custom Control Lever allows you to control the amount of water that is used for your beverage. Which is great, because when I feel like having stronger coffee I control it for less water whereas, when I feel like having a lighter coffee I just it for more water.
It also lets you switch between hot and cold quickly.
The 15 bar pressure system improves the quality and taste of the coffee.
It heats the water quickly, in usually less than a minute you have a good cup of your favorite coffee beverage.
The auto shut off is a nice feature for those of us who forget to turns things off on occasion.
However, there are a few things that I disliked or would be nice to have:
The capsules can be rather expensive, especially when purchasing the two capsule varieties. The capsules may be hard to find. But are usually available at Amazon
It does not come with an optional capsule maker like you can get with for a Keurig machine so you are stuck buying the capsules pre-made.
The down side to the Custom Control Level and not automatically controlling the amount of water used is that you may need to experiment a little to get the right amount of water to obtain the desired strength. The boxes of capsules do provide how many ounces to use, but you have to estimate how many ounces have been brewed. Probably the best way to determine when to stop is to watch the stream of water and when it starts to run clear, shut off the water.
This beverage machine may be a little loud for some people.
Maybe in the future they will offer a re-useable capsule that can be used when you just regular coffee or tea.
Overall, I would recommend this nifty little beverage machine. It is a good, inexpensive little machine with which you can produces a decent latte or cappuccino at home. It provides you a quick, convenient way to go beyond the normal black coffee options.
We also reviewed the personal size Keurig machine and this is our personal favorite of the two machines. The big plus with the Keurig is the filter contraption you can get to replace buying K-Cups where the Dolce Gusto does not have that option. That saves you are alot of money in those tiny cups and you still get the convenience of the single cup machine.
Read our full review of the Keurig so you can compare the differences for yourself.
Disclaimer: We received a Nescafe Dolce beverage machine to review and test out. All opinions are our own and your experience may be different than ours.
. A blue indicator light will flash showing you that you need to open the top lid. Lift the lid.
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