Nescafe Dolce Gusto Ristretto Ardenza product reviews

We have only had the Nescafe Dulce Gusto coffee capsule machine for a couple of months so haven't tried a lot of capsules as yet. Only the hot chocolate, Nesquik and Cafe Lait. We haven't been keen on the milk capsules which come with the Cafe Lait so were keen to try the Ristretto Ardenza. As an extreme strength, we hoped that the taste would still be nice and not overpowering.

So starting off with taste. 10/10 in that category! It certainly was strong, but because of how our Dulce Gusto works, we can turn the machine off sooner to make it less strong but still have the flavour. The flavour itself wasn't overpowering and tasted just like a coffee from a cafe! We drink our coffee white, so added warmed milk to the coffee liquid. Mocha is also a popular drink so add with a teaspoon on drinking chocolate and you have a scrummy, just like cafe, hot mocha drink. Because this strong coffee doesn't come with milk capsules, you get a full 16 capsules for $10 (or $9 like I found on special!!) which makes it so affordable, even mixing it with milk.

We often use instant coffee in our mud cake recipes and with my birthday last week, it was mud cake time! But alas, no instant coffee in the house!!! Never fear, we threw in a capsule into the machine, turned the water on and voila...instant coffee! It made the mud cake rich (but not overpowering of coffee) and so moist, it didn't need the addition of cream or custard and was perfect on its own. So the Ristretto Ardenza is definitely the one we will buy again for not only a classic coffee, but also mocha, to add with a caramel syrup, and to especially use in baking when needed.

I was pleasantly surprised to open my review box and find a box of Nescafe Dolce Gusto Ristretto Ardenza. I was lucky enough to receive a couple of boxes of the Nescafe Dolce pod coffees to review but I was most intrigued to try this flavour first. The first time I made it, I made it as per the instructions on the packet to only use 1 bar of water. This was much too intense for me, so the next time I made a coffee I added 100ml of warm milk and it was perfect. Possibly the nicest coffee pod I have tried making it this way, tastes like a barista made coffee from a cafe. I even added a teaspoon of drinking chocolate with the milk to make an at home mocha for a little treat and that was good.

I think value for money is pretty great, you get 16 delicious coffees for $10. It's awesome that you get 16 pods, whereas if you purchase the other flavours that include the milk and coffee pods you only end up with 8 coffees. These are available to purchase at your local supermarket or you can purchase them on the Nescafe Dolce website.

My favourite thing about the Nescafe Dolce pods is that they are recyclable. TerraCycle have 154 recycling drop off points nationwide where you can drop off your used pods so they can be recycled. You also receive points or $0.02 for each pod that you recycle so a great innovative to get behind.

The packaging is nice and simple, yet effective and each different coffee pod has it's own colour lid so it's easy to work out which flavour is which. The coffee pods also have a brown coloured pod, whereas the milk pods are white so no confusion between the two. Overall I really enjoyed trying the Ristretto Ardenza, I will be purchasing it in the future and it's definitely my new favourite pod flavour.

I don't drink coffee much at the moment but I'm ever keen to find a new coffee that I might like and enjoy.

I figured the first thing to do would be to try this as the packaging suggests,Mohicans means only one bar of hot water. The aroma was fantastic, no doubt at all that this was going to be a strong drink. I gave it a little sip and was right away hit by the taste. I did however find it a bit too bitter for me, I really don't like things too bitter and so it put me off trying it again for a couple of days. I tried this again diluted, upping the amount of water, but didn't find it improved things.

I ended up trying this, one bar of water, adding a little bit of sugar and then some milk, whilst it still wasn't my preferred drink, this did make it more drinkable for me. I decided to experiment with this coffee and decided to do so when we were making pancakes. I added some of the coffee to my pancake mix, with a sprinkling of chocolate and bananas. This added a nice effect to the pancake and gave it a little more pep.

This is good value for the price but not a drink I will be buying again.

This was a new product for me so I decided to sample it at several different strengths before commenting. So, over the course of three sessions, I had the opportunity to experience a range of tastes and effects. Each cup was different, but I enjoyed them all. I think it might depend on the time of day as to what effect you are after - certainly, I like a short strong shot in the morning whereas I would not go for the same intensity late in the day in case it kept me awake. Possibly this is wishful thinking - I guess you are getting the same dose of caffeine from the capsule whatever the setting you choose - but having it more diluted might mean you don't go back quite so fast for a second cup.

The first time I tried it was with two friends. We had fresh cherries and strawberries with chocolates for dessert, and I served the coffee at the same time. The recommended setting is a 1, but as this was quite late in the evening, I settled for a 4. Perhaps this was not quite the way to test it, but I wanted their reactions as well so they all got the same strength. Incidentally, both of them habitually drink their coffee black (as I do) and without added sugar, so there was no additive involved.

The aroma was awesome. We gave it the sniff test and if we had not all already had a serving I would have had to make more - that just-brewed smell of fresh coffee is irresistible! The brew was piping hot so we had to wait a little while before sampling. When we did, we were all impressed by the smoothness of the product. Often a stronger coffee can generate a bitter aftertaste, but there was no evidence whatsoever of that unwelcome "burnt toast and charcoal" effect that you can get from cheaper varieties. For me, the experience has to be clean-cut with a pure coffee flavour, and with no extras apart from those that are intentionally included. The final verdict was a thumbs-up all round and a PS from one friend who said he thought that it made a perfect combination with the dark chocolates included in the dessert.

Next morning, I made myself a coffee at the recommended setting (1). This would prove the ultimate effect for taste and strength! I was intrigued to see just how small the quantity was when compared to the previous setting. The result was darker, but it was topped by a decorative frothy layer almost as thick as the coffee below it. This made a very attractive drink and I might be inspired to purchase some smaller coffee cups to enhance the appearance. The aroma was pleasant but not overpowering, but what really impressed me was the flavour. Full-bodied, rich, definitely coffee but unbelievably smooth and totally delicious. I am aware that it contains licorice and juniper but the flavours have been so well blended that you cannot isolate them. Long after I took each sip, the flavour lasted so what appeared to be a very small drink actually lasted me a good five minutes as I was determined to savour each drop!

The third trial was as a long cold drink. We had this for lunch with plain sandwiches and fruit. I used up three capsules and brewed at a 6 setting to fill three tall glasses, then I let it go cold before adding some vanilla ice cream on top. This was not quite as successful as the two hot drinks I had made; I think I should have used a lower setting on the machine to make a more concentrated drink. It was pleasant, but we all thought it was a bit too dilute so maybe next time I make an iced coffee I will use a 3 setting or possibly a 4.

However, the consensus was that this is a first-rate coffee and certainly compares very well with the commercial drinks that can be purchased at outlets in town. The price is very reasonable, working out at around the quarter of the average barista price, and the quality is up there with the best. I can see this becoming one of my favourite coffee varieties in the future. I am hooked already!