Dolce Gusto

The Nescafé Dolce Gusto is a coffee capsule system from Nestlé. The machines are produced by hardware manufacturers Krups and De'Longhi.

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 display. 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 14 or 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 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 – 12 cups and 30 pod boxes are sufficient enough for between 15 – 30 cups, 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):

Recycling
Nestlé and Jacobs Douwe Egberts UK have joined their forces to create Podback, a first of its kind recycling programme for coffee pods. The scheme is set to launch in early 2021 and cover brands including Nespresso, Nescafé Dolce Gusto and Tassimo, with the aim of expanding the programme to eventually include all of the UK’s coffee pods made from plastic or aluminium.

Podback allows for three different recycling options including: Collect+, Kerbside collection – Exeter City Council, Cheltenham Borough Council and South Derbyshire District Council are currently in discussions with Podback to become the first confirmed partners, the aim is for more local authorities to welcome the scheme in the future – and retailer ‘handover at home’, allowing consumers to hand their coffee pods back for recycling when they get their groceries delivered.

Criticism
The pod and coffee capsule system draw some criticism due to the lock-in effect. This means that the low cost of acquisition for each coffee machine is illusory, since the costs of the capsules for it exceeds that of conventional coffee — sometimes several times — and can cost more than the machine itself in a short time span unless a refillable capsule is used. A further disadvantage is the increased amount of waste due to the disposable nature of the Nescafé capsules, although in some countries recycling programs exist.

A trial recycling scheme has been operating in the UK during 2019 but has drawn criticism in social media channels. The scheme is only limited to purchases done from the Online Dolce Gusto shop, through receipt of a special pink 'return' bag'. High Street purchases, on any other official Dolce Gusto purchase through other online retailers are also excluded.