Nescafe Dolce Gusto - Jovia by Delonghi product reviews

We have the Nescafe Dolce Gusto - Jovia in Red Cherry. We were actually very lucky - walking through JB Hi Fi on boxing day and discovered it there for only $49! My husband had always been interested in getting a coffee maker, but we didn't really want to spend too much money as I myself don't drink coffee and wasn't sure it would be worth it for hot chocolates. We were very excited to get it home and start using it!

Upon arriving home we unpacked it and found it very easy to understand how to set up. In fact there wasn't really much set up to do! The instruction manual was easy to follow and included pictures to make sure we were doing it right. When we purchased the machine Nescafe were providing free samples of the pods - we had a cafe au lait and a peach iced tea. We read all of the instructions and popped our first pod in! It couldn't have been easier. You simply pop it in, push the tray in, push down the handle and then select hot or cold water. And we were pleasantly surprised with the drinks - they were yummy!

Now 6 months down the track and we have tried a range of products from the drinks ranges. Our machine is used every day at least once. We are yet to try and clean it. One issue we had with trying to find the descaler was that the Nescafe one only seems to be available through the website, however there is a $30 spending minimum on the website. We have ended up purchasing another brand of descaler that we were able to get in the shop as we didn't want to order a minimum of $30 of products and pay for shipping on top.

All in all this is a fantastic machine. We may have got ours on a good special but now we have had the use out of it that we have, it is well worth the full price cost too and wouldn't hesitate to buy it again.

I had a chance to have a play with this machine at a recent KIWIreviews coffee event. My first thought was that I really liked the colour and shape and I liked how small the machine was. I also liked that I could fill the cup as it is manual and not automatic like the other two machines. I thought the design of the box was awesome and a little different, I thought there was sufficient information on t h e box. I like the bright red power cable, means it is easily identified when there is more than one cable at the power point.

This is my favourite of the three machines trialled due to being able to completely fill my cup but the downside is that I actually have to stand there and watch it or there would be a big mess for me to clean up. I think he price is just right. I have never used a coffee machine before and found this was very to use although I can't comment on how easy or difficult the water tank would be to fill up as the host made sure there was always water in the tank.

This was my least favourite machine that we could have a go on. I had never used a coffee machine and since I don't like strong coffee this machine could prove to be a problem for me. The pods have bars on the lids to show the suggested strength but there is no way of measuring but the good thing is that you can get a full cup.

The jug capacity is clearly shown on the box as well as the website but that was about all that was shown on the box so this wouldn't have caught my attention in a shop. The other small drawback is that the water can't be refilled unless the tank is removed and filled at the kitchen tap. After trying the other two machines I would expect this machine to have more functions as it was not the cheapest in price. A good feature s how easy it is to switch from hot to cold water.

There are good and bad points to all the machines but personally I liked the automatic functions offered on the other models and if this was a lower price then maybe I would feel happy recommending this to friends but I would suggest having a good look around to get the features you want before buying.

I attended the coffee machine review meet up to try out three Nescafe Dulce Gusto machines on the weekend and was lucky enough to walk away with this Jovia machine.

Contrary to the other reviews of this coffee machine I really liked it. I liked the fact that you could easily move the water switch between hot and cold to make a warm drink and I liked the fact that you could just keep adding water until the cup was to the level you wanted.

The machine itself looked very stylish with a nice compact design. The space for the cup was adequate and holds all the mugs we own (except for one massively over sized mug my husband sometimes likes to use). I liked how the machine curves around the mug a bit to catch more of the potential splatter, although I did notice that this machine didn't cause too much splatter anyway compared to the other machines I used but that could have been down to mug choice.

We trialed out the water usage and found out that the 0.8L water tank in this machine allowed for 4 full cups of coffee/hot chocolate before the water needed refilling which is pretty good in my opinion.

The review machine we got didn't have a green light on it to indicate that it was ready, it was more of a yellow/orange light. Towards the end of the review meet up someone looked through the instructions and decided it must mean that it needs descaling which is interesting because I thought these machines were new but apparently this one must not be. After we figured out that this machine had a green light to indicate descaling was required I checked the other instruction manuals to see if the other machines lights also changed colour but from what I could understand of the picture instructions it looked like it was just the Jovia that had this feature. I personally think this feature is very handy because you are supposed to descale every 6 months and time can get away from us so quickly but with this feature you aren't likely to forget to do it.

My only real dislike were the colours chosen. The white colour of the machine wasn't to my tastes but I understand this is just a choice and it can actually come in Black or Red too (I would have preferred the black one personally). I also really didn't like the bright red cord which I'll somehow have to hide in my kitchen since it won't go with anything else, it would have been good if they'd thought about this and either made the cord a standard black or made it the same colour as the machine.

This machine looks reasonably large and bulky, but realistically it has a lot less depth to it, making it smaller than most other machines available from the Nescafe Dulce range. Compared with the 'Melody' and 'Mini Me', the Jovia is much more closed off, with more material around the sides of where the cup goes. While this does reduce the chance of hot liquids splashing out and making a mess (And one could say it would reduce the chance of a child knocking the cup out), it nevertheless restricts the cup size available to use. Using what I consider a rather slim but generic coffee mug size, I found there were mere millimetres to spare when trying to use the machine.

The speed at which the machine heats up is good. It takes in general less than a minute, which is great as the machine turns itself off if left unattended (also good for power economy). The water reservoir holds 800mL, which translates to 4 coffees give or take, but the reservoir must be detached from the machine to refill which may slow things down if you had a few drinks to make. The bulky look wasn't overly appealing to me. It looked rather garish, and the shape seemed rather unnecessary, as if lots of extra plastic materials were wasted just to try change the "look" of the machine.

This is a manual machine, so there are no preset controls for water quantity. While the pods recommend a setting for how much water should be used per pod (eg. 3 bars/100mL), there is no way to set that on the machine. You can only turn it off and on. This is useful in some situations as you can better customise your drinks, but it is made far less convenient by the fact that you can't just push a button and walk away. You must instead turn it on, guess at what stage it has done enough and then stop it yourself (Which as opposed to my earlier comment, would actually make it more dangerous around children, as the cups can easily overfill if you are not paying attention). So it would require a lot of trial and error to get right, unless you make it in a beaker where you can see the amount of fluid in the cup. The lack of quantity settings really made this machine feel like a large (yet small water volume) glorified kettle. So it was my least favourite of the bunch.

My wife offered to host a coffee machine review meet up at our house and since this one arrived early we got a few extra days to test it out and I was keen to have a decent coffee. All I had to trial this with to begin with was Chocoletto aka Hot Chocolate. Filling the tank up it was very awkward with the tap that I have, I couldn't fill it without ensuring that there was nothing in my sink and even then it wasn't the easiest thing to fill up. The part where the mug goes is also rather awkward and doesn't quite fit the mugs well.

You can't walk away from this machine because there's nothing automatic about it so you have to keep a close eye on it to ensure you turn off and switch pods at the right time, change from hot to cold etc. when necessary. This was a nice and easy machine to use and perfect for if you want to experiment and trial with it to figure out your perfect mix, but if you're wanting to stick to the suggestions that comes on each box and pod as to how much water to use then this isn't this the machine for you.

It made a nice coffee but in the long run, my least favorite of the three.

This is the middle of the range machine which we tested at the KIWIreviews Dulche Gusto coffee meet last weekend. My first reaction was a bit of shock that the plug was bright red. It seemed a bit odd to go with a classy black machine!

After unpacking the machine, the instructions said that we had to run water through it to give it a clean prior to using for the first time. It said that we needed to put a 1 litre container under the spout to catch the water as it came through. We couldn't find a container of this size which would fit in the rather tight area at the front of the machine.

The drip tray/platform where you put your cup is rather small and really only just fits the base of a coffee cup. I felt that the other models in the range gave a bit more space to place your cup. It would be fine for people who like smaller cups of coffee. The drip tray can be set to three different heights. This helps too reduce splashing as the drink is created. I liked the fact that the footprint of the machine was much smaller and tidier than the Melody machine.

I like the fact that the Dulche Gusto range has such a variety of drinks - coffee, tea, hot chocolate, chai etc. The capsules are so easy to use and keep the kitchen nice and tidy.

This model is my least favourite out of the models we tried. Although it is the middle of the range model, I think that the functionality is the lowest out of the three models we tested. The only thing I think it has going for it in comparison to the Mini Me model is the size of the water container. I would be much more likely to buy and recommend the Mini Me model.

This particular coffee pod machine appeared on my doorstep on the Thursday prior to our coffee event so I had a couple more days to play with the machine and get used to the basic running of the systems of these machines. The Jovia, itself, doesn't take up a huge amount of bench space though I did find it the least visually appearing of the three I trialled and I thought it most odd that it has a bright red cord which just doesn't go well with the black and white machine, and if your color scheme isn't red then it wouldn't suit your kitchen either.

If you're looking for a machine that you can press a button and walk away then this isn't the machine for you, when you turn the lever you simply have to stay with the machine to monitor it otherwise you will end up draining the water tank and have one heck of a mess to clean up, but it is the easiest when it comes to want to switch the temperature from hot to cold without stopping the machine, so you have a lot more control if you're wanting a warm or lukewarm drink. Whilst you can't walk away from the Jovia it does feel like the more experimental machine of the three.

This comes with a 0.8 litre water capacity and given that I tended to fill my mug with this machine, it was able to do four full mugs before ending up with nothing in the tank. The tank was rather awkward to refill using my kitchen sink tap, so I ended up having a jug of water on standby to use to refill it instead of trying to get my tap in it each time I needed to refill it. Compared to the other two machines the Jovia was the loudest, though only by a minimal amount.

This was a good machine, I think it would suit one best if you liked slightly weaker drinks (though you could just add a second pod halfway through if you really wanted to) and whilst a good little machine, it wouldn't be my first pick.

The sleek design of the Jovia has a much smaller footprint that the other machines that I tried at the KIWIreviews event. I was also lucky enough to be randomly drawn to take this machine home with me.

Due to being a smaller machine than the Melody the water reserve was smaller at 1 litre and everything about it seemed to be smaller. I liked the shiny black look of this machine but was shocked by the bright red cord that this had. Red just doesn't go in all kitchens so would have liked this to be black to match the machine. With having nowhere to store the extra cord I now have a 1 metre bright red cord hanging around on my bench (not the safest or prettiest thing).

It has an adjustable drip tray which is rather small given that you can very easily overflow the cup with this one. Because of the design the drip tray can be adjusted for height however you are restricted to what size cup you can put under due to the enclosed area for cups. The positive of this being slightly enclosed means that you get less coffee splashes.

Unlike the other two machines that I tried which have very easy bar setting, this machine you time how long the hot/cold water is left on. This has taken a bit to get use to as although each capsule has a bar setting there is no comparison to how long this is. I have worked it out by an approx. of volume and also for my taste. Because of this though I feel there is probably a little bit more waste than in the other machines. So there is no pushing a button and walking away with this machine.

What does make this personally controlled lever machine great however is that when making a hot chocolate for the kids I can take it from hot water to cold water to get just the right temperature. Something that would not be as easy on the other machines that you have to set bar settings. It is also great to just be able to grab some hot water with a touch of the lever which I have done when I have made a coffee too strong or made a normal cup of tea.

I have spent quite a bit of time looking at instructions for this machine due to having it at home. The box has very little information on it and the instructions in the box are all pictures which could be interpreted in a variety of ways. By looking that the instructions online you find that these machines have more things than you knew. Automatically cuts off to save power, has a cleaning needle tucked in the machine behind the water reserve, tells you what you need to do to descale every 6 months.

Although this was not my initial pick of machines, after having it at home for over a week I am happier about the functions of this machine. It is not a machine that I would choose to have at work but in my home making hot chocolates for my kids I think it is great.

I love the variety of capsules you can get for this machine, coffee, iced teas, chai, and hot chocolate. What does concern me though is that the milk pods are half soy/cow's milk. I personally do not drink soy so my milk pods will become excess to my needs. Would be great to see Nescafe do either cow's milk or soy milk as the combination is cutting out a lot of people in their market especially those with allergies.

I love that you can raise money for charities/schools (2cents a pod) by recycling theses pods through www.terracycle.co.nz.

I recently tried the Nescafe Dulce Gusto Jovia at a KIWIreviews product meet along with the Melody and the Mini-Me. I found the Jovia to be my least favourite of the three models although it was the middle in price range. If I had never experienced either of the other machines I would have enjoyed the Jovia for what it was: a simple coffee machine.

The Jovia is a mid sized machine with a 1 litre water tank. This would be ideal for one or two people as it would make 4 cups before needing to be refilled. It didn't take up as much bench space as the larger model which for those with small kitchens is an important consideration. The smaller size also meant a smaller drip tray which could prove to be messy and even dangerous with boiling water running everywhere.

The model I used was piano black and looked really nice with one exception. The power cord was a bright red. Everyone in the group commented to the cord. If I owned this machine I would be getting the cord replaced with a black or white cord. On the positive side you wouldn't get confused with what cord belonged to which appliance.

The major disadvantage I saw for this machine was that you had to time the water flow. The other two machines you just set a dial. This meant that it would depend on you focus as to whether you got your coffee at the right strength. It is a fine little machine that does both hot and cold drinks using the Nescafe pod system but there are easier models available.

As one of my favourite cartoon characters says, "No sir. Can't say I like it." And if only I could leave it there...

The machine itself sounds great, but it has too many issues that annoyed me, and none of the functionality that would give it a fighting chance with me. I respect that it does what it says, but it doesn't do what I would want. On the bright side, since I don't drink tea or coffee, this machine doesn't need to have much appeal to me. Yet I still find myself wondering what sort of person it takes to sit behind a desk and decide that yes, a machine like this would be a hit in the market.

On the plus side... with the right cup, and a good sense of timing, this machine does make teas, coffees and hot chocolates, as promised. Thus endeth my list of positives.

On the flip-side of that... the design immediately gave me cause for concern, because of the awkwardness of filling the water container, the visual impression of being top-heavy, the utterly-manual nature of it, and the constrictive cowling at the top of the cup bay. The last of which prevented all but the most narrow of my coffee mugs from fitting in it, even at the lowest position of the cup tray. That alone almost prevented this machine from being tested at all!

The fact that the pods indicate water levels by bars, yet this machine has no bar indicators on it at all is, frankly, mind-boggling. If ever there was an item to put on the "What the HECK were you THINKING?!" list, this is at the top. It meant that pure guesswork was required when it came to working out how long to hold the lever over for each pod. That said, since this was the second machine we tried on the day, we had some idea of how far up the cups 2-, 3- and 4-bars of water should come, so there is that I suppose. Still, that's a plus to the people, not the machine.

The garish red power cord was a bit of a shocker too, but since I am not a colour-co-ordinated kinda guy, and residential aesthetics isn't my strong-suit, it didn't worry me as much as surprise me at the huge contrast of a big black egg with red tail.

Overall, not one I would buy, and I will be surprised beyond speech should this still be on the market 6 months from now.

I had the opportunity to test out some Dulce Gusto machines the other day and this one is the middle of the range model out of the three we tested. My review below is based on being a non coffee drinker as my hot drink of choice would usually be hot chocolate or chai tea, both of which there are available in the Dulce Gusto range of pods. I was also very impressed that there are some lovely flavoured teas - the peach and the lemon ones being the ones I know about.

The first thing I noticed about this particular machine was the bright red cord! This is such a lovely looking machine but the cord spoiled the look for me so I do suggest that you check the cord colour before you purchase the machine as it certainly wasn't something I expected on such a stylish black machine.

Like the other machines you easily insert the tea or coffee pod and the water flows through the machine and through the pod (heating as it goes if you select hot water) and fills your cup with your chosen beverage. Unlike the other machines we tested, this one doesn't allow you to select the number of bars of water that your drink needs - you have to guess how long to push the lever for. The advantage of this is that you can make your drink stronger or weaker as you prefer but the disadvantage is that it's not so fool proof for a non coffee drinker for me, who might want to make the perfect coffee for visitors.

Personally this would not be my machine of choice - I'd rather pay a bit more and go the whole hog with the flash model or buy the cheaper model which I think wins out over this one easily. If you are thinking of buying a Dulce Gusto machine, I suggest you read my reviews on the other models to compare features and see which one suits you best. I'm still giving this a reasonably good score as I love the Dulce Gusto machines in general, but it's more the fact that the features on the other 2 models are so much better.

I was lucky enough to be invited to a day event on the weekend to trial the range of Nescafe Dolce Gusto. The Jovia is the mid range machine and it was the second one we tried. The one we tried was in Piano Black, but when it came out of the pack it had a bright red cord. This was a little off-putting, though I guess one good thing about the cord is that it would stand out in a multi-board. Still, if you were looking to match a kitchen aesthetic, it would look fairly ugly.

The Jovia has a one litre capacity. The bottle has a hole in the side, and would be a little difficult to fill in my own sink because of the way my taps are placed. We could also see that running a litre of liquid through the machine in the beginning, as part of the cleaning process was a bit awkward. There isn't a lot of room for a 1 litre container, so you have to switch mugs through as it is emptying. However, you could stop and start the flow of liquid at least.

The drip tray was big enough to stand a mug on it, but there was doubt that it would hold much liquid if the machine was accidentally turned on. I felt the machine was too small for me. It looked like it wouldn't take up a lot of room, but it almost felt too squashed to fit a smaller surface space.

Probably the biggest issue I had with the machine was the system for running the pods through it. Instead of having bars you can set, you have to hold the machine on and count until you think you have moved enough water through the pod. I really think that I would get that wrong all the time and I like things to be standardised. Aside from that, the machine was okay to use. The pods go in and out easily. You get a few cups out of it before needing a refil. I just wasn't particularly sold on the machine.