In September Nescafé launched its Dolce Gusto pod system in South Africa. The event paired the coffee variants with delicious mouthfuls of surprising flavours, presented in ways as innovative as their beautiful machines.
The product line’s pay-off line is “Coffee is not just black”, and with the exception of the Americano and Espresso drinks, these are dual-pod refreshments with dehydrated milk pods (for some drinks these are brewed first, in others, last) and coffee pods. Each pod has an indication of how much water needs to be pushed through the system, and you can easily adjust this on the digital display of the machines. Ordinary tap water is super-heated in a matter of seconds, and in less than a minute you have a delicious, hot (or cold) refreshment.
Two models were demonstrated, and we were invited to try it for ourselves, brewing our own cups with just a few buttons.
- The Genio is a “little coffee maker with big ideas” (Dear Birthday Squirrel, this. Please?).
- The Circolo boasts it’s “the most stylish of the bunch” and really looks rather futuristic.
The morning station offered chai latte with mini oat bites with apricot and white chocolate; the chocolate station’s hazelnut and vanilla jelly cubes were my highlight, although the black current caviar pearls with their juicy bursts of deliciousness were a close second.
The baristas at all the stations were so friendly and helpful and knew their products really well. Two lucky attendees walked away with a Genio each, and we were treated to several other delicious snacks. Beautiful (and scrumptious) cupcakes were created especially for the event, and yes, I had two!
Recommended retail prices
Dolce Gusto Genio – R1999
Dolce Gusto Circolo – R2499
Available from selected retailers: Spar, Pick n Pay, @Home, Hirsch’s, Makro, Game, Checkers, Boardmans, Takealot.com
NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto comes in the following 11 flavours:
- Chilled range: Cappuccino Ice
- Morning: Café au Lait and Tea latte
- Chocolate-y: Chococino and Mocha
- Black: Espresso Intenso and Americano
- Something Special: Vanilla Latte Macchiato and Caramel Latte Macchiato
- Frothy: Latte Macchiato and Cappuccino.
For more information about the Dolce Gusto range, and to stand a chance to win some goodies, visit their Facebook page. You can also see some more pics on my Facebook page.
I bought the machine but Nescafe needs to jack up their marketing dept as the coffee pods are not available in all flavours in the stores. There is a new pod called Chai Latte or Chai Tea Latte but i cannot find it in any store. Most of the other flavours are also not available in PnP or Checkers.