Gadget: Nestle Dolce Gusto by Krups

Coffee Machine

(79, www.amazon.co.uk, www.dolce-gusto.co.uk)

We're inundated with coffee gadgets that promise the best tasting, the fastest or the most authentic coffee experience. Entering this competitive coffee Colosseum is the Nestle Dolce Gusto by Krups. Will its coffee be judged worthy?

The Dolce Gusto is reassuringly easy to get going. The most exciting bit is selecting your coffee capsule - with a choice of cappuccino, caffe classico, espresso, caffe lungo, latte macchiato or chococino (hot chocolate). Lift up the handle on the front of the machine, slot in your selection and slide the water knob to the right for instant hot water. The Dolce Gusto then does the hard work of forcing the 15 bar pressured water through the capsule into your waiting mug. Since I'm no coffee lover, it was left to my coffee connoisseur friend to sample the end results. A couple of yums and wows later and the espresso was deemed just about as good as the real deal from her favourite high street barista with the chococino a close second thanks to its luscious creaminess. The coffee is great. My only issue is that it can be a bit of a fiddle. There's a fair amount of capsule swapping for the more extravagant blends and it's up to you to stop the hot water. The gadget part of me just wanted to press a single button and for the machine to magically do the rest.

After you've invested 79 for the machine, a mug of cappuccino or a cheeky espresso is only going to cost you around 31p (a box of 16 capsules costs 5). A tasty deal all around, especially if you compare it to high street competitors.

This article was first published in The Scotsman Magazine on 06 February 2010