Dolce Gusto pods come in a variety of coffee, tea and even hot chocolate choices in a pod or a capsule form. While it is loved by many, things like its cost per pod/capsule, and its contribution to more plastic wastes due to its single-serve purpose concerns the consumers.
Can you use Dolce Gusto pods more than once? The simple answer is no, you can’t. If you want to enjoy the complete coffee experience your Dolce Gusto offers, that is. It’s not that you’ll break your machine when you use a pod twice, but by doing so, you are compromising your coffee’s quality.
In this article, you will not only know why you should avoid reusing your Dolce Gusto coffee pods. I will also let you in on some ways you can save and be more environment-friendly without risking your probably most looked forward to moment every day – coffee time!
The Dolce Gusto Experience
A Dolce Gusto Machine is a product by Nescafe that was built to give consumers an excellent coffee experience that comes close to what you would experience in a cafe.
Since it was introduced in the market, Dolce Gusto’s been consistently receiving good feedback and reviews. Its ergonomic design, functionality, and reasonable price range made it a popular choice for those who wanted to try the pod coffee machine.
Nescafe’s Dolce Gusto’s principle is to always serve great-looking and great-tasting coffee. Nescafe is widely known for its exceptional coffee products and the Dolce Gusto pods definitely live up to its reputation. What sets Dolce Gusto apart from other single-serve coffee machines is their professional-grade pressure-based system that produces superior tasting beverages, with both cold and hot options.
And while Dolce Gusto machines are compatible with Dolce Gusto pods, it offers a wide range of drink choices for both hot and cold beverages. So having limited drink options is not really a problem. If you’re not a fan of coffee, they offer tea and chocolate-based drinks too. They also partnered with Starbucks, producing a line of pods in your favorite Starbucks drink flavors.
Nescafe also constantly works towards sustainability. The Dolce Gusto machines are built with power-saving technology making it automatically switch off after a few minutes of brewing a cup of coffee. With this, you are sure that it doesn’t take much electricity and you also won’t have to worry about leaving it on for a long time.
Another thing that makes Dolce Gusto stand out is its unconventional rounded designs, setting it apart from the usual box-type coffee makers that usually takes up a lot of counter space. It also comes with slick and modern colors that perfectly add up to that modern kitchen vibe. All that to say that the Dolce Gusto experience indeed gives the modern art of coffee experience.
Using Your Coffee Pods Twice
One box of Dolce Gusto pods contains 16 pods. If you only opt for black coffee, then you would also get 16 cups. If you purchase a latte beverage box, you will get 16 pods which consist of 8 espresso pods and 8 milk powder pods, giving you a total of 8 delicious and frothy cups of lattes.
Each pod or capsule is thoughtfully and creatively designed to automatically regulate the pressure that goes into each of them. So whether you’re making a strong espresso or a creamy macchiato, with the right setting, expect to get a perfectly made cup that you will surely enjoy!
However, since these pods are made for a single-serve purpose, some consumers might think that it can be quite costly and also not very environment-friendly. So they tend to think of ways to be more practical such as maybe reusing the same pod for another cup of coffee.
You’ll Get Over-Extracted Coffee
Technically, you can use your coffee pods twice. It’s not like your machine will suddenly break or stop working when you do. However, when you use the same pod twice, what you will get is over-extracted coffee. Just like with any method of brewing coffee, using the same coffee grounds the second time will ruin your coffee’s overall quality – taste, texture, and even color.
The second cup you will get for sure is much weaker. It won’t be as rich, full, and strong as your first one. This will also have an obvious effect on the color and the texture, which will be way runny and watery.
Instead of feeling satisfied and energized as you would when drinking your favorite coffee, you might end up just feeling disappointed and maybe even cranky for having a bad cup of coffee.
What You Can Do Instead
If your concern is to get more coffee from the pod, then you can slightly increase the volume of water in the initial pull or brewing. This will give you not exactly twice the amount but a few additional sips on your first cup without totally compromising its quality. Just make sure you don’t add too much because this will also significantly affect your coffee.
Ways You Can Recycle Your Pods
Since the Dolce Gusto pods are mostly made up of plastic, consumers are likely concerned about its sustainability. The good news is that you won’t necessarily have to contribute to the increasing number of plastic wastes because there are several ways you can recycle your used coffee pods.
Do-It-Yourself Recycling
After using your Dolce Gusto pod, you can remove the used grounds and add them to your compost heap to be used for planting and gardening. You can then dispose of the plastic cups in your recyclables bin that gets collected regularly by your local authority. Just make sure you drain your coffee pods thoroughly.
Let THEM do the Recycling
What’s amazing about Nescafe is they offer good recycling options as part of their sustainability initiative. You can order their recycling bag online when you order your machine or pods, this is where you can temporarily store used plastic pods, and once full, you have the option to drop it off at their boutique shops or partner centers, depending on your area and country.
In New Zealand, they partnered with TerraCycle and CollectPlus in the UK. If you’re in the US, you can check from the Nescafe Dolce Gusto US website the nearest collection point near your area. This is also completely free of charge.
You can also look up their website to know more about their sustainability initiative including their recycling process and how your used pods are used to make recycled fences, plastic decks, or benches.
There are Reusable Coffee Pods
If you wish to use your Dolce Gusto machine with your favorite local or branded coffee grounds, there are some Dolce Gusto compatible reusable pods that you can easily buy online. You can purchase pods made of high quality, food-grade plastic that you can use up to 150 times.
With this, you won’t have to spend much money on buying dozens of pods every time and you will also have much less waste!
Conclusion
If what you want is a great cup of coffee then you should not think of compromising your coffee’s quality by reusing your Dolce Gusto Pods as this will negatively affect the taste, texture, and color of your coffee.
Despite the good intentions of wanting to be more practical and sustainable, you might end up not getting the satisfaction you used to have when having your daily caffeine fix when you reuse your coffee pods.
I’m sure you don’t want that. Besides, there are now several recycling options for your used coffee pods giving you a guilt-free and more satisfying coffee experience.
P.S.
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