Nescafé Dolce Gusto Infinissima review

Created with German appliance manufacturer Krups, Nescafé’s Dolce Gusto Infinissima is an manual coffee pod machine that can make everything from a flat white to a mocha latte. With a striking modernist design and eco-friendly features, it’s a great option for anyone who wants to add a little indulgence to their morning ritual.

Price and availability

The Infinissima is currently available for £100 from Debenhams, or Nescafé Dolce Gusto’s Amazon store if you prefer, sitting around the mid-range in terms of price when compared to competitors. 

Although the machine itself is not pricey, it can be expensive to run with 48 pods costing around £10 - and if you’re making a coffee that requires the use of two pods, you’re looking at 24 servings for this price. Compared to the fifty or so servings you get from 100g of instant coffee (which can cost anywhere between £1.50 - £5), it’s not exactly great value for money. 

However, Nescafe Dolce Gusto pods aren’t competing with instant coffee - they offer a far more indulgent experience, more akin to buying a coffee to go from a café or chain store, and compared with those prices, it’s actually very reasonable to spend £10 on 24 drinks. 

Design

Inspired by the infinity symbol, at a first glance the Infinissima looks...odd, to say the least, with a globular pod holder and triangular transparent water tank, making it appear more like a modern art sculpture than a traditional coffee machine. 

That being said, once we set it up on a kitchen counter, it looked less strange, and quite aesthetically pleasing, with minimalist lines and a sleek design. Although the Infinissima is relatively slim, it does take up a fair amount of counter space, so those with smaller kitchens may prefer a more compact machine like the Dolce Gusto Piccolo Manual. 

We tried out the black model with grey accents, which would suit most decor styles, although if you’re after a more modern look you may prefer the white model - alternatively, the red model will liven up your mornings with a bright pop of colour.

With an adjustable cup holder, you can use the Infinissima to make anything from a tall latte macchiato to a tiny espresso without worrying about spillages or splashes on your kitchen counter. 

Features and performance

When setting up the Infinissima, the manual instructs you to flush out the dispenser using both hot and cold water functions, after which the machine is ready to use - to turn it on you simply press the power button on the side of the device. 

Once the button lights up green, and you have filled the water tank, the Infinissima is ready to use. It works like any other manual capsule machine - just slide your chosen pod into the magnetic holder and you’re ready to go, and with over forty Nescafé Dolce Gusto drinks to pick from, you’re spoilt for choice. 

Next, just switch the lever on the top of the machine to release the coffee from the pump, with hot or cold options available depending on the drink you’re making. As the Infinissima is not an automatic model, you have to switch off the pump yourself, which can be a little tricky to get right if you’re making a drink that require more than one pod, as you will need to estimate the correct amounts of milk and coffee for example. 

That being said, Dolce Gusto capsule boxes display an illustration to help you get the amounts right for each drink. You can also adjust the height of the plinth for different coffees, which is great for making smaller drinks like espressos, as raising the plinth stops the coffee from splashing out of the cup. 

We tried out Dolce Gusto’s latte macchiato pods, and found the process really simple from start to finish, with the high pressure pump delivering the coffee really quickly. This particular drink does require the use of two pods - one for milk, and one for the coffee, and guessing the correct volumes for each could sometimes be tricky, but the resulting coffee was hot, frothy, and delicious. 

With the largest pods designed to make 200ml of coffee, people who need a bigger pick-me-up in the morning may disappointed by the size of the drinks, but we found the capsules made the perfect amount of coffee for us - it’s just a matter of personal taste. 

Although making the coffee was pretty seamless, we did find that the pump drips for quite a long time after it’s switched off - if you’re in a hurry this will be caught by the drip tray, but does mean that the Infinissima requires fairly regular cleaning. Still, it’s easy to slide the drip tray out and run it under your tap for a quick clean. 

One cool feature of the Infinissima is that it automatically switches off after five minutes of inactivity, giving it a great energy consumption rating. It also has a handy descaling alert feature, meaning you won’t forget to keep your machine in great condition - you’ll know to do this if your on/off button glows orange. 

Final verdict

Overall, we really liked the Dolce Gusto Infinissima, and felt that its ease of use and cool, minimalist design, was well worth the £100 price tag - however, the Italian modernist look won’t appeal to everyone, and those with smaller kitchens may find its footprint to be too imposing. 

Making beverages with the Infinissima was easy from start to finish, and the resulting coffee was really enjoyable. In truth, no manual coffee pod machine will ever compete with the real thing sipped languorously in an Italian cafe, but if you’re looking to go on a Starbucks detox, the Dolce Gusto range definitely makes a great substitute. 

It can be costly to run, with 24 servings costing around £10, so if you’re on a strict budget you may want to stick to the instant - still, it all depends on how frequently you make hot drinks, and how much you’re willing to spend on a good coffee. 

Although we only tried out a few of Dolce Gusto’s drinks, you won’t feel restricted with over 40 varieties available to try, ranging from the classical cappuccino to Moroccan green teas, and more. If you have an Amazon Dash button, you can easily replenish your stocks when you run out with one click, which is really convenient. 

As much as we liked the Infinissima, there were issues with dripping, and we feel the overall experience would be improved by the machine automatically turning the pump off when the correct amount of liquid has been reached for each type of drink - however, Nescafe do offer models with this feature if this is a concern.

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