NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto Jovia Coffee Machine Review
Reviewed by Louise Totton
I really like a good cup of coffee, in fact I struggle to feel human in the morning until I have had my first brew of the day. I particularly enjoy a cup of ‘posh’ coffee, which means a trip to one of the high street coffee chains and a spend of around £4 on a coffee and usually more besides as I invariably add a cake or a sandwich too. So by the time I’m finished, I’ve normally spent £10-£12, which is a lot of money, even at just one visit a week. The thing is, a cup of instant or filter coffee just doesn’t hit the spot in the same way as a latte or a cappuccino does.
So with this in mind, I was really excited when I was asked to try out a NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto Jovia coffee machine. The Dolce Gusto is a ‘pod’ type of coffee system, so as well as being able to make a standard cup of coffee (Americano), there is also a large range of the posher coffees available too, including latte macchiato, cappuccino, mocha and hot chocolates – ideal for a treat.
The Jovia is made by De’Longhi, and is available in red, black and white. I was sent the black one and I think it’s a lovely looking machine. It is about the same size as my kettle, so doesn’t take up lots of room on the kitchen worktop and I love the curvy, retro styling. The instructions that come with the machine aren’t the easiest to follow, but fortunately they don’t need to be. The machine is an absolute doddle to set up and get going and is really simple to use.
The water tank clips off the back of the unit, is filled with tap water and clicks easily and reassuringly back into place. You then choose your drink – I went for the latte macchiato first, which is made with two pods. You start with the white milk pod, then follow with the brown coffee pod. This means you get eight drinks from a box of 16 pods, whereas some of the varieties only use one pod which means you will get 16 drinks out of the box. With the latte option, you switch the machine on and wait for the indicator light to go from red to green. You then open the pod tray and put the first pod in and select ‘hot’. When there is enough of the milk in your cup, switch the water off, remove the used milk pod and replace with the coffee pod. The process is repeated until you have a lovely cup of foamy, frothy, milky coffee.
I have to say that I enjoyed the coffee more than any coffee I have had for a long time. It is absolutely delicious and served in a glass cup, it really looks the part too. The thing I really like is that because the machine is a manual one, and you turn the water on and off yourself, you can adjust the ratio of milk to coffee to suit your own tastes which is handy. The Jovia machine also has a cold function which can be used to make an iced coffee – Dolce Gusto also sell an iced cappuccino coffee pod, but I haven’t yet tried this.
I am absolutely over the moon with the machine. The pods are available in all major supermarkets, at around £4.50 for a pack of 16 capsules. This makes the lattes and cappuccinos just over 50p a cup, and the espressos and americanos around 25p – a massive saving on going to out for a coffee and they taste just as good.
The machine has an RRP of £99.99, which I know is expensive but it is available for less when on offer which makes it a bit of a bargain.
I’m delighted with it and with Christmas on the horizon it would make a great gift.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £99.99
For more information visit www.dolce-gusto.co.uk.
