What is Dolce Gusto Espresso Intenso?
Dolce Gusto's full-bodied short black coffee pod.
Nescafe describes a medium roast of premium Colombian Arabica and Vietnamese Robusta, rated 7 on its own intensity scale, with spicy and fruity aromas and a velvety crema.
16 pods at £5.35, converting to roughly $6.79 and about 42 cents a cup.
Every price on this page is converted from pounds at a static rate and is an estimate rather than a quote. Neither maker sells these to the United States: the only storefront either runs is a UK one, and that is where the figure comes from.
Which machines does it fit?
Nescafe Dolce Gusto machines only.
Dolce Gusto pods are a different shape from everything else here and fit nothing but a Dolce Gusto machine. The system uses up to 15 bar and the pod carries its own filter and outlet, which is how one machine makes both an espresso and a mug drink.
As with Tassimo, the maker's storefront is a UK one. Nestle sells Dolce Gusto pods in the US through retail partners rather than direct, so the price here is converted from the UK shelf.
What is in the capsule
Seven grams of Colombian Arabica and Vietnamese Robusta, and the seven grams is the story.
Nescafe publishes the dose on the nutrition panel, as "16 black pods x 7g = 112g". Seven grams is more coffee than any Nespresso capsule outside the Vertuo mug sizes holds, and the comparison it enables is not flattering to anybody else.
Nespresso's Livanto, the only one of its capsules to state a weight, holds 4.8g. This holds 7g, which is 46% more coffee, and costs 42 cents against 90. Per kilo that is roughly $61 against $187.
The rest of the record is good too. Both origins are named, the Arabica-Robusta split is stated, and the tasting notes are specific enough to disagree with: red berry, liquorice, nutty, on a medium roast.
What a cup costs
About 42 cents, and about $61 a kilo, both the lowest in this category.
The 42 cents is converted from £5.35 for 16 pods. The kilo figure follows from the published dose: 16 pods at 7g is 112g of coffee for $6.79.
Every price on this page is converted from pounds at a static rate and is an estimate rather than a quote. Neither maker sells these to the United States: the only storefront either runs is a UK one, and that is where the figure comes from.
Both figures are UK prices. Nestle sells Dolce Gusto in the US through retailers rather than direct, so what an American buyer pays is set by the shop rather than by the maker, and this page cannot tell you what that is.
What happens to the capsule afterwards
Plastic, collected through TerraCycle rather than through your bin.
Dolce Gusto pods are plastic rather than aluminium, and Nescafe runs a collection programme with TerraCycle for them.
A collection scheme is better than nothing and worse than the two alternatives here: worse than a peel-and-recycle K-Cup, which uses a bin you already have, and worse than Nespresso's mail-back, which is aluminium and funded by the maker with free postage.
This is where the cheapest capsule in the category gives ground, and it is the honest trade rather than an oversight.
Espresso Intenso vs Nespresso Original Volluto
Two short black espressos, and one of them tells you how much coffee you are buying.
Volluto is 90 cents a capsule, names Brazil and Colombia, rates acidity 4 of 5, and holds 5.0g. Espresso Intenso is about 42 cents, names Colombia and Vietnam, and publishes 7g.
The Nespresso is aluminium with a funded mail-back scheme and the Dolce Gusto is plastic through TerraCycle, which is a real point to Nespresso. On the coffee itself, the Dolce Gusto gives you more of it, for less, and is the only one of the two that will say so.
Is Espresso Intenso worth it?
On the numbers it is the best value capsule in this catalogue, and the numbers are unusually well documented.
Seven grams at 42 cents is a different proposition from 4.8 grams at 90, and Nescafe is one of only two makers here willing to let you work that out.
Two things hold it back and neither is about the coffee: the pod is plastic on a collection scheme, and the price is a UK one converted for orientation.
Who should buy it (and who should not)
Dolce Gusto owners who drink espresso and want the most coffee per pound.
Buy it if you own the machine and want the cheapest genuinely well-documented capsule in this category.
Do not buy it if the packaging matters most to you, because plastic through a collection scheme is the weakest disposal route here. Do not read the 42 cents as a US price.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much coffee is in a Dolce Gusto pod?
Seven grams. Nescafe publishes it on the nutrition panel as "16 black pods x 7g = 112g". That makes it one of only two capsules on this site whose maker states a dose, and the other, Nespresso's Livanto, holds 4.8g.
Is it cheaper than Nespresso?
Substantially, on both measures. About 42 cents a pod against 90 for Nespresso Original, and roughly $61 a kilo of coffee against $187. The second figure is the one that accounts for the pods holding different amounts.
Are Dolce Gusto pods recyclable?
They are plastic and Nescafe runs a TerraCycle collection scheme for them. That is a scheme you send pods to rather than a bin you already have, and it is a weaker route than either a peel-and-recycle K-Cup or Nespresso's funded aluminium mail-back.
Can I buy these in the US?
Yes, through retailers, but not direct from Nestle, whose own storefront for these is a UK one. The price on this page is converted from that UK shelf at a static rate and is an estimate.
Does intensity 7 mean the same as Nespresso's 7?
No. It is Dolce Gusto's own scale and the two are not comparable. Every capsule brand runs its own intensity numbering, and Nespresso says as much on its own pages.
