Nescafe Dolce Gusto Jovia by De’Longhi

The Dolce Gusto Jovia is an entry-level, budget offering from De’Longhi that is an ideal entry point into the Nescafe Dolce Gusto coffee pod range. Its simple operation and great looks mean it can find a place in every home.

Aesthetics

I have to admit that the Dolce Gusto Jovia is a wonderful looking coffee machine that’s available in a limited selection of colours (black, white and red) and won’t look out of place in any modern kitchen.

The body, although being made of a glossy, wipe clean plastic doesn’t look cheap and it will hold its own next to far more expensive machines from the Dolce Gusto range.

Performance and Usage

The Dolce Gusto Jovia’s powerful 1500w element means you’ll never be waiting long for your drink to dispense and the pressure rating of 15 bar ensures you’ll be getting the best out of the Dolce Gusto pods. While you’ll never get the genuine barista experience from a budget coffee machine, you’ll get pretty close with the Jovia.

The Jovia does have a few quirks of operation but these are shared with most of the Dolce Gusto range. When dispensing drinks the water flow is entirely manual, which is in stark contrast to the Tassimo range for example.

While in everyday operation this doesn’t make much of a difference, it does mean that you really need to familiarise yourself with the drink you want to make.

Each Dolce Gusto drink has a recommended water level to make the best tasting drink but it is up to you to follow those instructions. For example, to make a latte, its recommended that you fill the glass up to the 3/4 level using the milk pod, then fill the remainder with the coffee pod. While this does give you the flexibility to alter the drinks to suit your tastes on the fly, you do need to keep an eye on the process – its far from “set it and forget it”.

Capsule machine

If the Jovia is the first pod/capsule/disc style coffee machine you’ve ever used then this won’t be an issue, however, if you are already a Tassimo user then you’ll need to be aware of the differences in everyday use.

In normal operation, the Jovia can be a little noisy and I think this is mainly down to its low price point. When competing at the cheaper end of the market, there’s not much money left in the budget for soundproofing. This is by no means a deal breaker, but it may be noisier than you expect.

Capacity can also be a consideration, and at just 800ml you might finding yourself refilling more often than you’d think. This will never be a consideration if you are only producing the occasional drink. You will definitely want to consider one of the more expensive offerings if you entertain guests more regularly.

Whats in the box?

The Dolce Gusto Jovia ships with all the hardware you need to make some fantastic drinks, all you need to provide is your choice of a pod and a tank of water.

The package contains:

• Nescafe Dolce Gusto Jovia
• Drip Tray and Insert
• Water Tank
• Instruction Manual

With any new kitchen appliance, I always recommend giving everything a wash or a sponge down prior to first use. It is worth running the unit through a couple of cleaning cycles first to improve your initial drinks experience. The plastics may have traces of the release agents left over from the manufacturing process – and while these aren’t harmful, they can leave a funny tang unless cleaned.

This is the same advice I give in my Bosch Vivy Review.

Cleaning the Dolce Gusto Jovia

Cleaning the Dolce Gusto Jovia is simple and straightforward. A rinse cycle of the boiler can be run simply by inserting the empty capsule holder, placing a cup or jug on the drip tray and switching on. Once the machine reaches temperature, push selection lever to hot and allow the water to run for about 10 seconds. Turn the flow off and empty the jug.

Like with all capsule-based coffee machines I’d always recommend rinsing the drip tray and capsule bin once a day and give them a proper scrub weekly. This way you can make sure you avoid any funky flavours being added to your drink, spoiling the whole experience.

Compatibility

As the Jovia is built around the Nescafe Dolce Gusto pod ecosystem. It is fully compatible with the entire range of pods. Other 3rd party compatible pods are available should you wish to try those. Please make sure you read the small print as the use of off-brand pods may affect your warranty.

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Pros and Cons

Pros

• Compact Size
• Simple to use
• Price

Cons

• Capacity
• No auto water off
• Noisy

Dolce Gusto Jovia Gallery

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Conclusion

Overall the Delonghi Dolce Gusto Jovia is a great little coffee machine that offers a solid route into the Dolce Gusto ecosystem. While it does suffer the same limitations as other budget machines (the Tassimo Vivy for example) in its small capacity – as an occasional use machine you can’t fault it.

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