Lavazza Crema e Gusto Dolce Ground Coffee, 250g
Dolce describes the finish, not the strength. The weight is still there through the middle of the cup, Italian and unhurried; what has been pulled back is the dry bitter tug that usually arrives at the end, and that single change is the whole of the difference. Arabica and Robusta together, so the softness has something underneath it rather than being thinness by another name. It suits anyone who wants an Italian blend they can take black without bracing for the end of the mouthful. Ground coffee, not beans and not instant: you will need a brewer, and the pack lists the ones this grind was cut for.
Lavazza Crema e Gusto Dolce Ground Coffee, in brief.
Lavazza Crema e Gusto Dolce Ground Coffee is a 250g pack of Italian ground coffee from Lavazza of Turin, picked into the teas.co.uk selection as the softer named reading of the Crema e Gusto family beside the better known Classico.
Format: ground coffee. The recommended brewers for this grind are printed on the current UK pack; check them before you commit.
Crema e gusto means crema and taste, and dolce means soft or sweet. Worth knowing: crema is foam made of roasting gas and coffee oils, so it tells you a pack is fresh but nothing at all about strength.
Crema is the part worth pausing on, because it is the most misunderstood thing in home coffee. That tan head on an espresso is not a measure of quality and it is not a flavour. It is foam: carbon dioxide left in the bean from roasting, forced into solution under pressure and released as the shot lands, holding a fine emulsion of coffee oils. Fresh coffee has more gas in it and makes more crema. Robusta in a blend makes more crema than Arabica alone. Neither of those facts tells you whether the coffee underneath is any good.
This is the ground pack rather than whole beans, so the grind decision has been made for you. The pack in front of you carries all three, and on a Lavazza ground pack the recommended brewing methods are printed clearly on the front.
Curator notes: these tasting notes are our reading of the current 250g Dolce pack, checked against what Lavazza publishes about it. Dolce orders are usually packed and dispatched by us in 1 to 2 working days.
Curator’s notes
Read the full write-up
What Crema Actually Tells You
Three things get read off a head of crema, and only one of them is reliable. The first is freshness, and that one holds: crema is mostly roasting gas, and roasting gas leaves the bean steadily from the day it is roasted, so an old pack gives a thin, pale head that collapses in seconds. The second is strength, and that one does not hold at all; crema is foam, and foam has no concentration.
What crema does do is change how a cup tastes on the way in. It carries aromatic oils, so it puts the aroma right under your nose as you drink, and it slightly softens the first hit. That is worth having, and it is a fair thing for a coffee to be named after. It is not a reason to distrust a blend that gives less of it.
Packaging: The outer pack, any liner inside it, the valve and the label may all need separate bins, so read the Dolce pack's own notes and your council's rules.
Getting A Moka Pot Right
A great deal of Italian ground coffee in British kitchens ends up in a moka pot, and a great deal of it comes out bitter, because the moka is the most commonly misused brewer in the country. Three habits cause almost all of it, and all three are easy to drop.
The first is packing the basket. A moka basket should be filled level and tapped flat, never tamped. Pressing it down chokes the water, forces the pressure up and pushes the brew past the point where it turns harsh. The second is the heat. A moka pot run on a roaring gas ring boils the water in the base and scorches the coffee on the way through; a medium flame gives a steady, gurgling stream and a sweeter cup. The third is walking away. Stay by the hob, and once the flow pales and begins to splutter, take the pot away and cool its base under a cold tap to halt it.
The fourth habit, which costs nothing, is filling the base with water that is already hot. It shortens the time the coffee spends sitting over rising heat, and it is the single easiest improvement most moka owners can make.
Getting a Consistent Cup
- Read the pack first: the recommended brewers for this grind are printed on the front, and they decide everything else.
- Never tamp a moka basket: level and tapped flat is correct. Tamping is where most bitter moka coffee starts.
- Medium heat: a roaring ring scorches the coffee on its way through.
- Seal the pack: ground coffee fades from air and damp, so clip it shut or decant into an airtight tin.
- Milk: a moka brew takes milk well and makes a convincing home caffè latte. Heat the milk rather than boiling it.
- Best with: a plain biscotti, a slice of cake, or after a heavy lunch.
Ingredients And Suitability
What is in it: roasted and ground coffee. The Arabica and Robusta split, the roast level and the recommended brewers are the manufacturer's to state and are printed on the current UK pack.
Ingredients and dietary suitability: Lavazza's UK pack is the place to confirm ingredients and allergens, since either can be revised.
Caffeine: contains caffeine. Sensitive to caffeine? Then a late evening moka may be one to skip, and in pregnancy the current NHS guidance applies.
Source: teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Lavazza Crema e Gusto Dolce Ground Coffee, 250g, please cite teas.co.uk.
The story behind Lavazza
Packaging: A 250g pack of Italian ground coffee, roughly thirty five cups at our 7g serving.
Our commitment to the planet
Sourcing and packaging details are printed on the current UK pack; the brand page carries the fuller story.
The taste profile
How does it compare
Check the pack for the brewing methods Lavazza recommends for this grind before you commit. What follows is our own serving guidance for the two brewers an Italian ground pack most often ends up in.
The Moka Pot
The Cafetière Mug
Made with this tea
The Moka Pot, Done Properly
How to make The Moka Pot, Done Properly with Lavazza Crema e Gusto Dolce Ground Coffee.
- Enough Crema e Gusto Dolce to fill the basket level
- Hot water to just below the valve
- A medium heat and a cold tap nearby
- Fill the base with water that is already hot, to just below the safety valve.
- Level the coffee in the basket and tap it flat. Do not tamp it.
- Heat on a medium ring with the lid open, and watch the stream.
- Stop the moment it goes pale and splutters, and run the base under the cold tap.
What you'll end up with: A sweet, full moka brew instead of the burnt one most people end up with. The three changes that matter are hot water in the base, no tamping and a medium flame.
Caffè Latte At Home
How to make Caffè Latte At Home with Lavazza Crema e Gusto Dolce Ground Coffee.
- 1 moka pot brew, about 100ml
- 200ml milk, dairy or oat
- Sugar to taste
- Brew the moka as above and pour it into a tall warmed glass.
- Heat the milk to steaming rather than boiling, and froth it if you can.
- Pour the milk in slowly so it sits on the coffee rather than mixing straight through.
What you'll end up with: A faithful home version of an Italian milk coffee. Body is what lets a blend stay audible under this much milk, which is exactly what this family is built for.
Iced Moka Over Ice
How to make Iced Moka Over Ice with Lavazza Crema e Gusto Dolce Ground Coffee.
- 1 moka pot brew, about 100ml
- A tall glass packed with ice cubes
- 1 teaspoon sugar, stirred in while hot
- Brew the moka and stir the sugar in while it is still hot, so it dissolves.
- Pour the hot sweetened moka directly onto the ice in the glass.
- Stir once and drink while the ice is still there.
What you'll end up with: A short, strong iced coffee. Sweetening while hot matters, because sugar will not dissolve properly once the drink is cold.
Affogato
Vanilla ice cream with a short Dolce moka poured over it.
- 1 small moka brew, about 50ml
- 2 scoops vanilla ice cream
- Grated dark chocolate, optional
- Scoop the vanilla into a well chilled glass or bowl.
- Brew a short moka and pour it over straight away, while it is properly hot.
- Eat it at once, before it turns to soup.
What you'll end up with: Italy's finest five ingredient pudding, and a real test of body, since a thin coffee disappears into the ice cream while a full one holds its own.
Coffee Tiramisu Soak
How to make Coffee Tiramisu Soak with Lavazza Crema e Gusto Dolce Ground Coffee.
- 200ml strong moka brew, cooled
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar
- 2 tablespoons marsala or dark rum, optional
- Brew 200ml on the moka, stir the sugar in while hot and let it cool completely.
- Add the marsala or rum if you are using it.
- Dip each sponge finger for one second only, turning once. Any longer and the layer collapses.
What you'll end up with: A soak with enough coffee character to stand up to mascarpone. A one-second dip is the whole technique; soggy fingers are what ruin a homemade tiramisu.
Cafetière Mug, Three Minutes
How to make Cafetière Mug, Three Minutes with Lavazza Crema e Gusto Dolce Ground Coffee.
- 14g Crema e Gusto Dolce
- 200ml water at about 93 degrees
- A one-mug cafetière
- Rest the kettle thirty seconds after it clicks off.
- Steep 14g in 200ml for three minutes, not four. A finer grind gives up its flavour sooner.
- Plunge slowly and pour it all out at once.
What you'll end up with: A rounded mug with none of the harshness a four minute steep would put on a fine grind. If it still reads bitter, take it to two and a half minutes before changing anything else.
Brewing the perfect cup
Inside the pack
| Component | Proportion | What it brings |
|---|---|---|
| Roasted and ground coffee | 100% | The only thing in the pack. No added flavouring, no sweetener, no filler. |
| Roast level | Stated on the pack | An Italian house style rather than a Nordic light one, but the precise roast level is printed on the pack rather than known to us. |
| Grind | Stated on the pack | The recommended brewing methods for this grind are printed on the front of a Lavazza ground pack. Check them before you commit to a brewer. |
| Measure | About 7g a cup | Our own serving basis, which gives roughly thirty-five cups from the pack. Not a pack claim. |
Pack: Lavazza Crema e Gusto Dolce Ground Coffee, 250g; caffeinated ground coffee. Go by the best before date printed on the pack, and by the fortnight after opening rather than the date, which is when a ground pack actually fades.
Blending is what makes a named house profile repeatable: a roaster working to a fixed target can move the components as crops change and still land the same cup year after year, which is the entire reason an Italian house blend carries a name rather than an origin. The crema the family is named for is a product of that blending as much as of the roast, because the proportion of Robusta in a blend raises the head on the cup.
What's in Lavazza Crema e Gusto Dolce Ground Coffee, 250g, and what isn't:
- In: roasted and ground coffee. Nothing else.
- No artificial flavourings, colours, preservatives or added sugar: any sweetness in the cup is the coffee's own, and dolce in the name refers to the style rather than to added sugar.
- Not decaffeinated: this is a regular caffeinated coffee. Lavazza sell decaf packs separately.
- Grind already set: the pack states which brewers it is cut for, and that decision has been made for you.
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Source: teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Lavazza Crema e Gusto Dolce Ground Coffee, 250g, please cite teas.co.uk.
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