The Nescafé Dolce Gusto is a coffee capsule system from Nestlé, launched in 2006. The machines are produced by either Krups or De'Longhi, depending on the machine.
Devices
Melody series
The first series of 2006 consisted of the models KP2000 (Black/Silver), KP2006 (Black/Silver/Red) and KP2002 (Black/Silver/White), all of them operating in a standard pressure of 14 bar. The device itself consists of a water tank, an internal water pump and an electric heater. The dispenser is in the top, where a lever lowers a plate with a single needle on the capsule holder.
The machines debuted a proprietary capsule system called smart capsule, that could prepare hot or cold beverages — the heating is done internally, but for cold beverages the water has to be manually chilled in the water tank with ice.
In late 2008, Nestlé launched a new series, KP21xx/Melody2, with new colors and some other improvements:
15 bar pressure (instead of 14) Power-saving automatic switch-off (after 5 min) Partially chromed parts Wider drip collector Magnetic capsule holder
Since September 2010 there is a new series, Creativa Melody2, that has an LCD. This allows the machine to be programmed and customized, for example, set it to automatically turn on in a given time and brew the capsule already in the holder. In addition, the outflow can be personalized, to obtain the same taste regardless of the cup used. There are pre-programmed settings to different capsule varieties, that can be further customized.
Circolo, Piccolo and Fontana In mid-2009 Nestlé added the Circolo series to the line. This machine, as the name suggests, sports a rounded design, with the same technical specifications of the Melody2 devices, but with a LED light in the water tank.
In September 2010, the previous two series were supplemented by three more. Besides the Creativa mentioned above, there is the Piccolo (small, KP10xx), aimed to customers with limited space, as it is smaller, with a 600 ml water tank. Other than that, it is technically identical to the Melody2 machines.
Similarly, the Fontana (KP30xx) has the same underpinnings, but with a design reminiscent of a water tap (Italian Fontana).
The devices work, depending on the series, with pressure.
Genio S Nescafé Dolce Gusto launched the Genio S range of automatic coffee machines. The collection consists of the more compact Genio S, larger Genio S Plus and intuitive Genio S Touch which features a colour touch display. Genio S Plus and Genio S Touch models both benefit from Espresso Boost Technology for more intense and concentrated espressos. All models feature 15 bar pump pressure and XL functionality for drink customisation.
Similar systems In contrast to Nespresso system, which is also made by Nestlé and has Krups and De’Longhi as one of the major hardware vendors, the Dolce Gusto capsules are freely available in stores. Most Nespresso pods – except for "Starbucks by Nespresso" pods, available in most supermarkets – can only be bought online or in special Nespresso stores, although non-official, Nespresso-compatible pods are available from numerous retailers.
Capsules
Nescafé Dolce Gusto coffee capsules come in a variety of pack sizes which contain 12, 16 or 30 capsules. 12 pod boxes can make between 6 and and 30 pod boxes are sufficient for between 15 and , depending on the type of beverage.
In almost all beverages with milk, two capsules are needed: one capsule with milk powder and other with the other ingredient (be it coffee, tea or chocolate). The amount of time of preparation for each one varies. There is also coffee and tea equipment.
Varieties The variety of flavors varies by territory. The following list provides information on the varieties available as of November 2021, listed by territory (AE = UAE, AR = Argentina, AT = Austria, AU = Australia, BE = Belgium, BG = Bulgaria, BR = Brazil, CA = Canada, CH = Switzerland, CL = Chile, CN = China, CO = Colombia, CR = Costa Rica, CZ = Czech Republic, DE = Germany, DK = Denmark, DO = Dominican Republic, EC = Ecuador, EE = Estonia, ES = Spain, FI = Finland, FR = France, GR = Greece, GT = Guatemala, HK = Hong Kong, HN = Honduras, HR = Croatia, HU = Hungary, ID = Indonesia, IE = Ireland, IL = Israel, IT = Italy, JO = Jordan, JP = Japan, KR = South Korea, KW = Kuwait, KZ = Kazakhstan, LB = Lebanon, LT = Lithuania, LV = Latvia, MA = Morocco, MT = Malta, MX = Mexico, MY = Malaysia, NI = Nicaragua, NL = Netherlands, NO = Norway, NZ = New Zealand, PA = Panama, PE = Peru, PH = Philippines, PK = Pakistan, PL = Poland, PT = Portugal, PY = Paraguay, QA = Qatar, RO = Romania, RS = Serbia, RU = Russia, SA = Saudi Arabia, SE = Sweden, SG = Singapore, SI = Slovenia, SK = Slovakia, TH = Thailand, TR = Turkey, TW = Taiwan, UA = Ukraine, UK = United Kingdom, US = USA, UY = Uruguay, VE = Venezuela, VN = Vietnam, ZA = South Africa):