Comparison of capsule coffee machines: Nespresso, Cremesso, Dolce Gusto and Tassimo

There is still a lot of debate about what capsule devices are called. We will not be particularly original in this matter, since, like many sellers with many years of experience, we are of the opinion that everything that is declared by the manufacturer as a capsule machine is in fact a banal coffee maker.

These types of devices are considered the most automated and often have only one button - “like prepare me a delicious drink.” But it is precisely in their ingenious simplicity that a serious drawback lies, since it is associated with many limitations. After all, in such a device you can prepare only the type of drink that the manufacturer intended. And if you decide to improvise, you won’t succeed.

However, since stores call such capsule devices coffee machines, we will try not to be so categorical and simply consider in today’s review what the few manufacturers of these miracle devices offer to cook in them, what advantages and disadvantages they have. And finally, is the game worth the candle?

This is interesting: the first patent for a capsule-type device was received back in 1978. Therefore, the miracle machine became widespread abroad already in the early 80s. As for our mother Motherland, such coffee machines began to appear in our area quite recently. Their range is mainly represented by products from companies such as: Nespresso, Cremesso, Tassimo and DolceGusto. They are made according to the same type and have both their advantages and disadvantages.

Let's talk about trump cards

Modern capsule-type devices boast ease of control and lightning-fast dispensing of the finished drink. However, such devices require minimal cleaning and maintenance. Which, of course, is an advantage compared to classic coffee machines, which require descaling, removing coffee oils and cleaning all elements of the device.

The miniature nature of capsule devices also does not need to be relegated to the background. Especially the issue of dimensions is of great importance for residents of small Khrushchev-era apartments and studio apartments.

Now let's talk about the price. If you look at this issue superficially, then the low price of the device can easily be considered an advantage. But what happens if you dig deeper? You will be stuck with the constant use of coffee capsules all the time. And their price, calculated per serving of drink, is higher than most elite varieties of coffee. That is, the more you drink coffee (for example, if we are talking about a large family or an office filled with numerous employees), the more you will understand that the desire to save money has played a cruel joke on you.

Thus, we found out that cost is the “weakest link” of such devices.

When using capsule machines, you are completely deprived of variability in the choice of drink. That is, you will drink and treat your friends who are only familiar with the type of coffee that the device is programmed to produce.

But among the taste “diversity” you will not find drinks with a bad or unfinished taste. As a rule, the factory packaging and control system operates in almost trouble-free mode. In addition, some manufacturers supervise the entire process - starting with the cultivation of grains on plantations specially designated for these purposes.

Since we have found out the main disadvantages and advantages of capsule devices in general, it’s time to talk about individual brands that represent them on the domestic market.

What is the difference between Nespresso and Dolce Gusto? Let's find out!

The range of capsule coffee machines and capsules on the market sometimes creates real confusion in the purchasing decision-making process. For many owners, not only future ones, but those already using a certain capsule coffee machine, it often comes as a surprise that capsules from a certain type of machine are not compatible with machines of another type. And although coffee from a capsule won’t surprise anyone abroad—capsule machines became quite widespread there back in the 1980s—for residents of Russia and the CIS countries, such coffee machines are still a novelty. On the Russian market, capsule coffee machines are represented mainly by four brands: Nespresso, Dolce Gusto, Tassimo and Cremesso. In this article we will talk about the first two types, because... It is capsules for Nespresso and capsules for Dolce Gusto that you can buy in our store.

What is the difference between Nespresso and Dolce Gusto

Nespresso is the world's first capsule system, originally from Switzerland, which dates back to the distant 70s of the last century. It remains the market leader today. Dolce Gusto is a younger French brand. Both systems were developed by Nestle and, although the developer company does not produce the machines themselves, capsules for both types of machines are produced by Nestle. Of course, the manufacturer presents the two brands differently on the market. So Nespresso is a more expensive brand in every sense, while Dolce Gusto is positioned as a more affordable system. In the case of Nespresso, the emphasis is on premiumness. This is reflected in the strict, expensive-looking packaging of the capsules, and in the appearance and build quality of the coffee machines themselves. Dolce Gusto is presented to the consumer as a more affordable and, one might even say, youth version of the system. These include more affordable capsules, the range of which encourages buyers to experiment, and a more daring design of the machines themselves. The advertising face of Nespresso is the old heartthrob George Clooney, and Dolce Gusto is advertised by the youth idol musician Will.i.am. Buying Nespresso or Dolce Gusto capsules in Moscow is not difficult, as are the machines themselves for making coffee from capsules. Let’s look at the main differences that will directly affect the choice before purchasing.

Features of the Dolce Gusto capsule system

Both Nespresso and Dolce Gusto were developed by Nestle. However, Dolce Gusto capsules belong to a more affordable class. The capsule contains 6 grams of high-quality ground and roasted coffee, so you will always receive an excellent drink with a bright taste and exquisite aroma.

Each serving of coffee is perfect and harmonious thanks to the unique technology of automatic pressure regulation in the capsule. After all, to brew strong espresso you need high levels, but to prepare a delicate latte macchiato you should limit yourself to a delicate influence.

The Dolce Gusto collection includes 25 exquisite flavors, among which you will find several varieties of black coffee, as well as milk drinks, hot chocolate, cocoa and tea. Coffee machines for this system are produced only by the Krups brand. The cost of the equipment is 4,000 – 10,000 rubles.

Note that you can prepare coffee and milk drinks even using the most budget model. As for the quality of coffee machines, judging by the reviews, the machines are quite well built. Many users also note the stylish and original design.

Advantages and disadvantages

• Wide range of flavors – 25 pieces.
• Tasty coffee.
• The collection includes capsules with hot chocolate, cocoa and tea.
• You can prepare cappuccino using the most budget-friendly and simple model.
• Dolce Gusto capsules are cheaper than Nespresso capsules.
• Dolce Gusto coffee machines have a lower cost than Nespresso equipment.

• The high cost of dairy drinks, since they require two capsules to prepare.
• Some users note that espresso from Dolce Gusto capsules is not as strong as from Nespresso capsules.
• Cappuccino, latte, macchiato and other delicacies are prepared using milk powder.
• Some capsules are not filled with ground coffee, but with instant coffee.

Popular Dolce Gusto coffee machines

POLL: Which coffee maker would you like to buy?

Variety of drinks

The range of Nespresso capsules is exclusively classic coffee - espresso, lungo, ristretto. True, here the buyer is offered a very wide selection of coffee varieties - 25-30 types, including decaffeinated and flavored coffee (chocolate, vanilla, caramel). Whatever coffee the buyer chooses from the range of Nespresso capsules, the capsule will always contain only coffee, without additives.

Not all Nespresso machines can make cappuccino

To prepare coffee-based milk drinks, Nespresso machines use natural milk, that is, in addition to a water tank, the machine also has a milk tank. True, cappuccino and latte lovers will have to pay a little more, because... Not all machine models have a milk tank. Dolce Gusto capsules are not only coffee in the classical sense of this drink. There are not many capsules for making traditional espresso in the range, but there are many options for lovers of coffee with milk. Of course, there are several types of espresso and even ristretto, but also latte, cappuccino (including low-calorie Skinny), cortado, two types of hot chocolate and even Nesquik. Moreover, all the ingredients are already placed in the capsule - i.e. Dolce Gusto machines do not have a milk tank. There is also a drawback to this - the capsules use powdered milk, and some even use instant coffee instead of ground coffee. But for the preparation of these seemingly multi-component drinks, the preparation principle remains the same simple - insert the capsule, press the button. Minimum time and no hassle.

Features of the Nespresso capsule system

The main priority of this capsule system is high quality coffee, which is ensured thanks to innovative methods. Each capsule contains 5 grams of natural ground roasted coffee of rare varieties from different parts of the world. Gourmets will be able to try 28 blends from the collection to find their ideal taste. Any blend goes well with milk, and the presence of dense coffee foam of a golden-walnut color on the espresso indicates the high quality of the drink.

Coffee machines for this capsule system are produced by the brands De'Longhi and Krups. The manufacturers' lineup is impressive, and the cost of equipment varies from 6,000 to 45,000 rubles. All devices have excellent build quality, a neat and even premium design, and they also develop pressure up to 19 bar. It is worth noting that you can prepare espresso, lungo and ristretto on any branded coffee machine, but cappuccino only on the most expensive models (costing more than 20,000 rubles).

In 2022, Nespresso released the Vertuo system. Its key feature was the ability to brew large volumes of espresso. The brand offers 4 capsule sizes and 5 cup sizes: 40 ml, 80 ml, 150 ml, 230 ml and 535 ml. The second feature of the system is the presence of a unique barcode on each capsule, by reading which the coffee machine selects the optimal parameters for preparing each portion of the drink.

Advantages and disadvantages

• High quality of finished coffee.
• Large selection of signature black coffee flavors - 28 blends.
• Thick coffee foam on the surface of the espresso.
• All blends go well with milk.
• Exceptional quality ground coffee capsule.
• Wide selection of coffee machines from premium brands.
• High pressure extraction.

• The original capsules are expensive and can only be purchased in the company store.
• High cost of coffee machines with cappuccino maker. The collection does not include tea or hot chocolate.

Popular Nespresso coffee machines

Model selection

Nespresso capsule coffee machines are produced by two companies - Krups and DeLonghi. The model line includes more than 20 different models, half of which, in addition to espresso, can also prepare coffee-based milk drinks. The assortment usually includes 5-6 different colors that will fit well into any interior.

Dolce Gusto capsule machines are manufactured by Krups. There are not as many models as in the Nespresso line, only 5-6 pieces, but in a variety of colors and shades. They are distinguished by their bold modern design and simplicity of execution. For example, the new Drop model is shaped like a coffee drop.

Prices

As mentioned above, Nespresso is presented as a premium brand, and Dolce Gusto as more affordable. Typically, prices for Nespresso machines start at 10,000 rubles, but the company periodically holds promotions during which, by purchasing a certain number of capsules at a time, the machine itself can be purchased for 5,000 rubles. The cost of original capsules averages 40-50 rubles per capsule (read cup).

Dolce Gusto is a more mass and affordable brand. The price range for machines of this system is from 5,000 to 14,000 rubles. The capsules themselves cost an average of 23-26 rubles apiece.

CREMESSO

Another Swiss capsule system promoted by Delica. She enjoys well-deserved popularity. Offers potential buyers 15 flavor variations. It is possible to prepare 4 types of tea. All capsules have a volume of 7 g, and the contents are in a reliable food grade polymer shell.

Useful: the range of flavors is represented by several types of traditional espresso, ristretto, decaffeinated drink, macchiato and lungo. By the way, the latter is presented in separate lines of capsule devices, which are equipped with a milk addition system. Their cost is slightly higher.

Coffee machines are produced under a similar brand, Cremesso, but their range is noticeably less represented on the domestic market. This fact is very sad, since this is the only capsule system characterized by unified control and streamlined production.

All Cremesso capsule devices boast a working pressure of up to 19 bar, ultra-fast operation. For example, a capsule coffee machine takes 15 seconds to warm up, and from 15 to 20 seconds to dispense the finished drink. Another nice fact is that they have low power consumption.

It is necessary to say something about the appearance of Cremesso devices. The judges of a prestigious industrial design competition gave the Bestofthebest award to the UNO model. We think that says a lot. The price of a Cremesso capsule-type coffee machine varies from 5 to 20 thousand rubles.

Briefly about the advantages:

1. Excellent, stable taste is guaranteed (thanks to a full cycle of control - starting from growing the grains and ending with their “clogging” into capsules).
2. Coffee machines are distinguished by their design and speed of serving ready-made aromatic coffee.
3. Tea lovers will be pleased to be able to prepare four varieties of this drink.

Of course, there were some drawbacks:

• The flavor variety of coffee is quite small - 11 “shades”.
• The distribution of these capsule devices in stores leaves much to be desired.
• The ability to prepare coffee with added milk is available only in expensive machines equipped with a classic cappuccino maker.

Summarize

Nespresso

+

An impressive selection of black coffee;

+

Large range of high quality coffee machines;
+
Possibility of using capsules from other manufacturers.
—
High cost of branded capsules;
—
Expensive cars compared to competitors;
—
Coffee with milk is prepared only by more expensive models of machines with a cappuccino maker;
—
The range of capsules does not include drinks such as hot chocolate and cocoa.
Dolce Gusto +
Variety of drinks - coffee, coffee with milk (cappuccino, latte, diet cappuccino), cocoa and hot chocolate;
+
More affordable capsules;
+
Inexpensive cars;
+
Cappuccino, cocoa, latte can be prepared by any of the machines in this system;

—

The quality of the machines is lower than that of the older brand;

—

The choice of black coffee among branded capsules is significantly lower;
—
Capsules for preparing dairy drinks contain milk powder and, in some cases, instant coffee.

Founder of the Nespresso genre

Swiss systems from the NestleNespresso SA brand first appeared in Europe in 1986. Today, you can find 26 varieties of coffee capsules for the device on sale (6 of them do not contain caffeine). Agree that such a variety of tastes is impressive. At the same time, 21 types of capsules represent classic espresso, and the remaining 5 are lungo.

Note: for those who don’t know, we inform you that espresso lungo is prepared using the same technology as the original drink. It just requires more water to cook it. Thus, the finished “stretched” coffee is less strong, but has a more bitter taste than its classic “relative”.

The weight of coffee in aluminum capsules from this manufacturer is 5 g. Of course, this is slightly lower than the standard 7-9 g per serving of 30 ml. But to be fair, it must be said that “underweight” has absolutely no effect on the taste characteristics of the drink (thanks to the use of high-quality raw materials). It is noteworthy that such a drink is tastier than the one obtained by loading 9 g into a Tassimo machine. But we'll talk about this a little later.

Devices for this system are manufactured by two companies - DeLonghi and Krups. Moreover, their selection is very wide and impressive.

Nespresso automatic capsule machines are different:

• excellent build quality;
• premium appearance;
• working pressure of 19 bar (and this despite their modest dimensions);
• the cost of devices ranges from 5-45 thousand rubles.

The disadvantages of Nespresso include the cost of capsules - about 500 rubles for a set of 10 pieces. They are also not so easy to find - they are sold only in branded departments.

Despite this disadvantage, we must not forget that the system boasts the largest variety of alternative capsules. The production of coffee capsules for Nespresso is carried out in all corners of the globe.

We invite you to familiarize yourself with the list of manufacturers. And note that this is not a complete list:

• Cafe Royal;
• Oysters,
• Smart Coffee Club,
• EGOISTE,
• Professo;
• Pelican Rouge,
• Kaffa,
• JuliusMeinl.

Sokolov capsules are distinguished by their high and, in our opinion, unreasonable price. The most affordable ones in terms of price include: Living Coffee, EliteCoffeeCollection and SingleCupCoffee. They are more budget-friendly - from 150 to 400 rubles.

Attention: if you are looking for capsules that can be purchased in a network of retail stores (the same Auchan or Lenta), then we advise you to pay attention to alternative capsules from the Russian one. It’s just worth noting that their price is close to the original coffee capsules, so interest in the domestic manufacturer has decreased somewhat.

If you search carefully, but this will take time, you can find special empty capsules in online stores. That is, you can pour regular ground coffee into them and enjoy life. The only catch is their rarity.

There are also reusable ones (using them saves about 150%). If desired, it is permissible to use only one capsule (Emohome and Coffeeduck), but you need to wash it constantly, and the process is somewhat tedious. C&M and Capsul offer drink lovers disposable capsules, which include a special tool for rolling the filled capsule with foil. As you can see, the choice is quite large.

So, let’s systematize information about Nespresso systems.

As usual, let's start with the advantages:

1. Wide selection of coffee flavors – 26.
2. Large selection of devices from brands such as DeLonghi and Krups. The devices are of high quality.
3. It is possible to use alternative capsules. That is, instead of original Nespresso, which costs 500 rubles, you can load capsules into the machine for 150 rubles. Prices are per package of 10 units.
4. Theoretically, any ground coffee can be used. But the possibility of practical implementation leaves much to be desired.

Weaknesses include:

• The high cost of original capsules and their smaller distribution. Basically, they are sold only in branded special departments.
• Compared to competitors, Nespresso systems are known for their higher prices.
• If you are a fan of coffee with milk, then you can prepare and enjoy the taste of such a drink only if you have a machine with a cappuccino maker. And their cost is slightly higher than standard capsule systems.
• Hot chocolate and tea are not included in the flavor line.