Nescafe Dolce Gusto Chocoletto product reviews

Im not a tea or coffee drinker its not something I have really got into it, so my go to is always milo or hot chocolate drinks, its really hard finding one I actually like and when I find it I stick to it like glue. So when I got Chocoletto to review I was over the moon about it, another hot drink to try. Now the box has 16 pods in it, but that is 8 chocolate ones and 8 milk ones which is only 8 drinks for $9.99 which is a little sad I would prefer a few more drinks for that price.

Making the drink is easy, using the pods they have the level on them these ones happen to be bar 3. Using the pods one is brown the other is white so you get your choc and milk. The milk leaves a little fluffy on top but nothing to get excited about. I found using it on bar 3 a little sweet but also didn't make enough for me to really fully enjoy so I now use the choc on bar 4 and the milk on bar 5 makes my drink a bit bigger.

I haven't yet tried it on a cold setting which I really should but trying something like that being new makes me a little nervous as I don't want to waste a set of pods. I would go through a box in 2.5 days so I have to pace myself to one a day so the box will last me a week. My children aren't allowed this drink and sadly I don't share with guests lol.

When dining out at either a cafe or restaurant hot chocolate is always my drink of choice as I am not a fan or either coffee or tea. I was eager to try out the Chocoletto when I got the chance as I was hoping that it would measure up to a cafe standard which I could conveniently make up at home in my Eclipse, and it sure did.

The preparation of the Chocoletto was simple enough and required the use of 2 pods, one which contains the chocolate powder and the other which contains the milk powder, there are 8 of each pod in the box. These are easy to distinguish as the milk pods have a white base and the chocolate a brown. As both pods require a 3 bar water level there is no need to adjust the water level when you change the pods over, even better.

Once prepared the Chocoletto leaves you with a delightfully smooth and creamy chocolate drink with a frothy layer on the top, just like what you'd get at a cafe! I was easily converted to this drink as was my partner, Miss 3 and my parents, we all agreed that it was the perfect sweetness and chocolate taste when made the suggested way, however my partner being the sweet tooth that he is felt it needed an extra spoonful of sugar to it. I have tried preparing the Chocoletto by preparing the milk pod first also and it gave a similar result as using the chocolate pod first, though I feel I prefered it made with the chocolate pod first as it made the top a little more fluffier.

It hasn't taken my family long to work our way through our first box of Chocoletto which we have tried out in different ways along the way. We have used it to make some fancy hot chocolates by adding mini marshmallows and sprinkles to the finished product - a hit with the kids, and have also prepared it with cold water which worked just as well to make iced chocolate, this was delicious the Chocoletto was served over crushed ice and topped off with some whipped cream, chocolate sauce and crushed flake, extremely good for on a hot Summer day. When I get more pods I would like to try making ice blocks out of the Chocoletto as I did so with the Nesquik and this was amazing and very much loved by my daughter.

As someone who has owned a hot chocolate machine in the past I can totally vouch for these pods as amazing, so much better than having to use powder, the Chocoletto definitely equals cafe level, and in some cases it far superior to many hot chocolates I have paid mega bucks for! I plan to buy more of these pods and love that they can be used as a hot drink in Winter, but also as a cold drink in Summer. My partner as much as he loves the Chocoletto would love to see a white chocolate variety brought out, and I agree that this would be pretty delicious! At only $1.25 per drink these work out a great buy!

The Chocoletto was another item from my "12 Days of KIWImas" prize pack. As with the chai latte variety, it was interesting to see the chocolate pod, and the milk pod both have 3 "lines" of water required, but different amounts of fluids needed (the milk pod gives 110ml, and the choc pod giving 100ml). Again, whether there is something in the pod that adjusts how much actually comes out? I wouldn't have a clue. Just seems weird that the same setting gives different amounts of beverage. UNlike the chai however, this one seems to recommend putting in the milk pod last.

It is instantly noticeable how much darker this beverage is compared to the Nesquik variation. The ingredients claim a minimum of 30% cocoa solids compared to only 11% cocoa powder in the Nesquik, so the Chocoletto is definitely richer in flavour. To paint a picture that would allow you to compare richness, a Hershey's Milk Chocolate bar will generally contain around 20% cocoa. so the Chocoletto is significantly chocolatier (is that a word? more chocolatey?).

Texture-wise, the drink thins out and separates very quickly. Getting past a thin "foam", you end up with a thin, hot beverage, that settles very quickly. A drink that you regularly need to re-mix together. Flavour-wise, it is an enjoyable drink but ultimately very rich, and not something I could drink a lot of. You can feel the beverage work its way down your throat, which I suppose is a good thing as it fills you up faster. But that also means this is a once in a while drink, not something for every day (the sugar content also lends this beverage towards the "once in a while" category).

I never acquired the taste for tea of coffee - something in them disagrees with me and leaves me feeling quite ill. Thus, hot chocolate drinks have been a staple in my life for as long as I can remember, with the traditional Kiwi favourite - Milo - being the benchmark that I measured all others against... at least until they ruined it by reformulating it back in 2015.

Trying this hot chocolate drink gave me mixed feelings. It was simple to make, had a rich, smooth texture and flavour which was somewhat ruined by the use of soy in the milk pod. I think I would have liked it a lot more if not for that, since soy milk is another beverage I have never acquired the taste for. Having tried a few milk-alternatives in the past, I think almond milk may have been a good option instead, if they want to reduce the amount of milk powder used - it would have provided a nice complement to the chocolate giving you a really unique drink. To test this theory, I made a couple of cups up - one using the milk pod supplied, and the other using only the chocolate pod and replacing the milk pod with 100ml of warmed almond milk. Theory proved to be valid, because I really did prefer the almond milk version instead.

Considering this, I felt the 8 milk pods in the box would be wasted on me, and while they may still prove useful - such as making a "hot milk" for mixing with baking powder in cakes, etc - it's not really something I would use or consume on its own or as part of a hot drink. That said, they need not go to waste, as I now know quite a few people with these pod machines, and I am sure I could find someone who would make use of them.

Overall, a drink that has a lot of potential, but it's not quite right for me unless I substitute the milk pods with something else, more than halving the value for me.

Hot chocolate is the drink of choice for several members of my family, so I liked having the opportunity to try out this flavour. When I have a chocolate drink myself, I tend to take it black as I don't drink cows' milk, so as this variety is designed to be brewed with milk (one pod of milk and one of chocolate) I decided I would get others to do the testing for me. That was no problem at all. I ended up with more people than I had samples, so I had to select my testers!

Everyone got one sample and settled down to try it. My group ranged in age from 10 (the youngest) to 51 (the oldest) but they all had a love of chocolate in common. Once they had all tasted it, the comments came in very fast indeed. It appeared that absolutely everyone was giving it the thumbs up. Miss 10 had a ring of chocolate right around her mouth, and was grinning enthusiastically. I did not need to ask her what she thought of it; her expression said it all.

People were agreeing that they found the drink very rich and creamy. One of them said that he thought one would be enough and would probably replace a dessert if you had it after a main course as it would be too much to have both. Another said that although it was sweet it was not overdone, and the balance between the sugar and the slight bitterness of the chocolate was just right. They all thought the quantity was adequate, and they liked the fluffy texture and the layer of froth on top.

I checked the ingredients and was satisfied that this was a drink you could safely offer to children. It is made with natural ingredients and there are no artificial preservatives or stimulants, a bonus when you are looking for a drink suitable for younger children. Next time I serve it I am going to prepare it as a cold drink and add some ice-cream and chocolate sprinkles on top. I mentioned this to my group and said I thought it would appeal to children, but the adults were quite taken with the idea and said they would be willing to try it that way too.

I can see other possibilities for this drink. For the adults, it might be interesting to brew a pod of americano or ristretto ardenza and add it to the ready brewed chocoletto to make a mocha drink - it would make double the quantity but could be split between two people. For the children, the addition of a few hundreds and thousands on the top of the hot drink would form a rainbow effect as the sprinkles melted into the hot drink. But for now, everyone seems happy to drink it prepared exactly as the packaging suggests!

I love hot chocolate and as I am not a coffee drinker, and very fussy with other hot drinks, a hot chocolate is my drink of choice in a cafe. While I had use of the Dolce Gusto Eclipse I decided to try the Chocoletto to see what it was like. It is important to note that it uses two pods per cup, a milk pod and a chocolate pod. This means that it makes 8 cups (210mls each) from a box. It works out at $1.25 a cup which is significantly cheaper than the price of one in a cafe.

It was simple to make in the machine especially as it was 3 bars for both pods so no adjusting was needed between pods. The smell was delicious and had a nice froth on top. I have made it both with the milk pod first and the chocolate pod first and both give a similar result. My daughters, 8 and 6 3/4s, both loved the taste of their Chocoletto but found it was too hot for them to drink immediately. The temperate was fine for me. Perhaps next time I will make the girls' drinks with a little cold water, rather than all hot. They are certainly keen to have a Chocoletto another time.

When I first told them we were making hot chocolates they asked for marshmellows in theirs but once they had the Chocoletto mug in front of them they forgot about the marshmellows. We are a family of sweet-tooths and I felt that it was sweet enough and marshmellows would have made it too sweet. It is interesting to note that there is also a Dolce Gusto Chocolate Nequik which is significantly less calories and sugar than the Chocoletto (per 100mls). Chocoletto is more of an indulgent drink but it all comes down to personal preference.

When my husband wanted to purchase a coffee machine I thought that it would become one of those appliances we purchased and never used. Being someone who doesn't drink coffee I certainly didn't think I would get any use out of it, until we found a machine on special and it came with some free samples - including a hot chocolate sample. I was sold! Hot chocolate is one of my favourite drinks and is what I enjoy when we go out for coffee with friends. I was sold and we went home with a machine and a few different pod varieties.

After hubby had made his first coffee it was my turn. I read the instructions on the pack (which are very easy to follow) and began making my first hot chocolate. The hot chocolate uses two pods - one milk and one with the chocolate. It doesn't seem to matter what order you do it in as I now tend just to put in what one I pick up first. I placed the pod in the rack and pushed it in, flipped the switch and heard the sound as the pod was pierced. The water started to flow through the chocolate pod and I was met with the most amazing chocolate smell. Once the cup was full enough (our machine is manual, not automatic) I flicked the switch to turn it off, took out the chocolate pod (make sure to use a cloth underneath as it does drip out of the bottom and what drips out is rather hot) and replaced it with the milk one. I followed the same process until there was enough milk in the cup.

I took the cup out of the machine and took in the smell. It was amazing - I couldn't wait to try it! After giving the machine a wipe I sat down to enjoy. My first sip I discovered the frothy top - just like a hot chocolate made in a cafe. How awesome was this? A cafe style hot chocolate I had made at home! Once I got down to the chocolate underneath the froth I discovered the most amazing, smooth, yummy hot chocolate. It tastes quite rich, but is oh so satisfying. So much more decadent than any other hot chocolate brands I have tried. I enjoyed the hot chocolate right until the last mouthful, and then was tempted to have another one.

I think the price is pretty fair considering the quality of the product. You would pay a lot more in a cafe. However being about $1 per drink it isn't something I would drink lots of in one day - which is probably good because one hot chocolate a day is probably plenty health wise! I recommend these hot chocolates to anyone who asks, and swear by Dulche Gusto machines.