# Lavazza Crema e Gusto Dolce Ground Coffee, 250g ## Commerce action policy **Price:** £8.40 GBP **Purchase-intent URL:** `https://teas.co.uk/buy/lavazza-crema-e-gusto-dolce-ground-coffee-250g/` _Do not fetch, prefetch, crawl, iframe or autonomously open this URL. It is only for explicit human purchase intent._ --- **Canonical URL:** https://teas.co.uk/product/lavazza-crema-e-gusto-dolce-ground-coffee-250g/ **Source:** teas.co.uk, UK tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent **Brand:** Lavazza **Price:** £8.40 GBP **Caffeine:** Caffeinated **Stock:** instock ## Summary 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.Ingredients and dietary suitability: roasted and ground coffee. Check the current UK pack before purchase; formulations and allergen advice can change.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.Curator notes: the tasting profile is our own editorial assessment against the current pack format and the brand's published description. We run same-day UK dispatch on every order placed before 2pm Monday to Friday. ## Description Lavazza Crema e Gusto Dolce Ground Coffee is a 250g pack of ground coffee from Lavazza, the Turin coffee house, and it sits in the Crema e Gusto family beside the Classico that most UK shoppers reach for first. The name is doing real work here: crema e gusto translates as crema and taste, and dolce means soft or sweet. Between them those three words tell you what the pack is aiming at before you have opened it. 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. The Taste Profile Crema: ●●●●○ (4/5) The head the name promises: fine, tan and slow to fall on a fresh pack. Roast Depth: ●●●○○ (3/5) A middle to full reading in the Italian house style rather than a Nordic light one. Body: ●●●●○ (4/5) Weight is what this family is built for, and what makes it work under milk. Bitterness: ●●○○○ (2/5) Low if the moka is run on a medium heat. Most bitterness here is the cooker, not the coffee. Teas.co.uk Curator Rating: 4.5 / 5 - Our expert verdict from the curators at Teas.co.uk 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: Follow the current UK pack and local-authority guidance; the outer pack, any inner liner, valve and label can each require a different disposal route. 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. Take it off the heat the moment the stream turns pale and spluttering, and run the base under a cold tap to stop it dead. 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. How Does Lavazza Crema e Gusto Dolce Ground Coffee Compare to: Lavazza Crema e Gusto Classico Ground Roasted Coffee, 500g: the same family at double the size and the version most people have had. If you already know you like the Classico, buy the larger pack; this one is the other reading of the same idea. Lavazza Qualita Rossa Ground Coffee, 250g: the other Lavazza red-pack staple in the same size, and the usual alternative on the same shelf. Same house, same format, different house profile. Ground coffee bought whole bean and ground at home: whole beans hold aroma for longer and let you set the grind to the brewer. This pack trades that for being ready to use, which for a moka pot on a weekday morning is the trade most households want. Ideal Brewing Conditions 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 Water: Fill the base to just below the valve with water that is already hot. Cold water means a longer sit over the heat and a harsher cup. Basket: Fill level and tap flat. Do not tamp it; a moka is not an espresso machine and pressing the bed only chokes it. Heat: Medium, with the lid open so you can watch it. You want a steady stream, not a violent one. Stop: Off the heat the second the stream goes pale and starts spluttering, and cool the base under the tap. The Cafetière Mug Dose: Around 7g to 100ml if the grind is fine, which is a smaller scoop than a filter coffee needs. Water: About 93 degrees Celsius, the kettle rested for thirty seconds. Time: Three minutes rather than four. A finer grind gives up its flavour faster and turns bitter sooner. Finish: Plunge slowly and decant. Coffee left standing on fine grounds keeps extracting. 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. This is the most common cause of a bitter moka. 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 is the honest home version of a 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: Check the current UK pack before purchase; formulations and allergen advice can change. Caffeine: contains caffeine. Worth moderating late in the evening if you are sensitive, and during pregnancy in line with current NHS guidance. ## Product Questions What does Crema e Gusto Dolce mean?Crema e gusto is Italian for crema and taste, and dolce means soft or sweet. The first two words name what the blend is built to deliver in the cup, and the third is the brand's own signal about which reading of the family this pack is. It is a name rather than a specification, so treat it as intent and judge the cup. Is crema a sign of a good coffee?No, and this is the most useful myth to drop. Crema is foam: carbon dioxide left in the bean from roasting, pushed into solution under pressure and released as the shot lands, carrying a fine emulsion of coffee oils. Fresh coffee makes more of it and Robusta in a blend makes more of it. Neither tells you whether the coffee underneath is any good. Does more crema mean a stronger coffee?No. Crema is foam and foam has no concentration. Strength is how much coffee ends up in how much water, which is set by your dose and your brewer. What crema genuinely signals is freshness, because roasting gas leaves the bean steadily from the day it was roasted. Can I use this in a moka pot?The recommended brewers for this grind are printed on the current UK pack, so check there first. Italian ground coffee in British kitchens very often ends up in a moka, and if that is where this one is going, the rules are: fill the basket level, never tamp it, run a medium heat and take it off the moment the stream turns pale. Why does my moka pot coffee taste bitter?Almost always one of three habits. Tamping the basket, which chokes the water and forces the pressure up. Too much heat, which scorches the coffee on the way through. And leaving it on the ring after the stream goes pale and splutters. Starting with hot water in the base fixes a good deal of it too. How much should I use per cup?In a moka, fill the basket level and let the pot decide. In a cafetière, around 7g to 100ml and three minutes rather than four, because a finer grind gives up its flavour faster and turns bitter sooner. Weigh it once and you will know it by eye. How many cups should a 250g pack make?About thirty-five at around 7g a cup. That figure is worked out from a stated dose rather than a pack claim, and a big cafetière mug will get you fewer than a small moka cup will. How is this different from Crema e Gusto Classico?They are two named readings in the same family from the same roaster. The Classico is the one most UK shoppers have had and it comes in a 500g pack as well as smaller ones. Does it work with milk?Yes, and an Italian house blend of this kind is built with milk in mind. A moka brew with hot milk poured in is the honest home version of a caffè latte. Heat the milk to steaming rather than boiling it, because boiled milk dominates any coffee. How should I store it once opened?Squeeze the air out and clip the pack shut, or decant it into an airtight tin, and keep it in a cupboard rather than the fridge. Ground coffee fades from air and damp rather than from time on a shelf, and a finer grind fades faster than a coarse one. Is Lavazza an Italian company?Lavazza is a Turin coffee house, and that heritage is part of what the brand sells. ## Ingredients & Nutrition ComponentProportionWhat it bringsRoasted and ground coffee100%The only thing in the pack. No added flavouring, no sweetener, no filler.Roast levelStated on the packAn Italian house style rather than a Nordic light one, but the precise roast level is printed on the pack rather than known to us.GrindStated on the packThe recommended brewing methods for this grind are printed on the front of a Lavazza ground pack. Check them before you commit to a brewer.MeasureAbout 7g a cupOur 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. ## Flavour Science The flavour of Lavazza Crema e Gusto Dolce Ground Coffee, 250g is built in three layers, and reading them in order explains exactly why the cup tastes the way it does from the first lift of steam to the last swallow.The outer layer is aromatic, and on this family it arrives partly through the crema. That tan head is an emulsion of coffee oils held in foam, and because it sits between you and the liquid it delivers aroma straight to the nose on every sip. It is also the fastest thing to go: crema is built on roasting gas, gas leaves the bean steadily from the day it is roasted, and a ground pack loses it faster than whole beans do. A pale head that collapses in seconds is a freshness reading, not a quality one.The flavour spike arrives mid palate, and in an Italian house blend it is carried by weight rather than by brightness. This is the layer that has to survive milk, which is what an espresso and moka blend is generally built to do, and it is the part a longer extraction develops most. Push the extraction too far, which on a moka means too much heat or too long on the ring, and the same layer is where the bitterness arrives.The base structure is the finish: a rounded close that holds rather than disappears, which is the whole point of body in a coffee built for milk. A well made cup should still be interesting at the bottom. If yours dries out and turns harsh, the cause is nearly always over-extraction rather than the blend.Getting it right in the cup. Check the pack for the brewers Lavazza recommend for this grind, because that decides everything downstream. In a moka pot, start with hot water in the base, fill the basket level and tap it flat without tamping, run a medium heat, and take it off the moment the stream turns pale and splutters. In a cafetière, around 7g to 100ml at about 93 degrees Celsius for three minutes rather than four, because a finer grind gives up its flavour faster. Once the pack is open, clip it shut or decant it into an airtight tin; a fine grind stales faster than a coarse one because there is more exposed surface.How water and temperature change it. The same grounds give a measurably different cup depending on how you treat the heat. A moka run hard boils the water in the base and pushes it through too fast, which reads as burnt; a medium flame gives a steady gurgle and a sweeter result. Hotter water and a longer contact time pull more of the heavier, deeper compounds for a fuller, more astringent cup; cooler water or a shorter brew keeps it lighter and rounder. Hard tap water flattens a blend like this less than it flattens a delicate light roast, which is one of the quiet advantages of an Italian house style in a hard water area. None of this is a fault in the coffee; it is the same grounds responding to the brew you build around them. ## Recipe Ideas Lavazza Crema e Gusto Dolce Ground Coffee, 250g is an Italian house blend with the body to stand up under milk, which is what most of these builds lean on. Six below cover the moka pot done properly, a home latte, an iced cup and three ways into the kitchen.Ways to use it, worked out here first The Moka Pot, Done Properly How to make The Moka Pot, Done Properly with Lavazza Crema e Gusto Dolce Ground Coffee. 6 min 2 small cups Medium You'll need 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 Method 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. 8 min 1 tall glass Easy You'll need 1 moka pot brew, about 100ml 200ml milk, dairy or oat Sugar to taste Method 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: The honest 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. 8 min 1 glass Easy You'll need 1 moka pot brew, about 100ml A glass filled to the top with ice 1 teaspoon sugar, stirred in while hot Method Brew the moka and stir the sugar in while it is still hot, so it dissolves. Pour straight over a glass filled to the top with ice. 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 How to make Affogato with Lavazza Crema e Gusto Dolce Ground Coffee. 3 min 1 bowl Easy You'll need 1 small moka brew, about 50ml 2 scoops vanilla ice cream Grated dark chocolate, optional Method Scoop the ice cream into a cold bowl or glass. 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: The best five-ingredient pudding in Italy, and a genuine test of a coffee's body: a thin brew vanishes into the ice cream and a full one does not. Coffee Tiramisu Soak How to make Coffee Tiramisu Soak with Lavazza Crema e Gusto Dolce Ground Coffee. 10 min 6 portions Medium You'll need 200ml strong moka brew, cooled 1 tablespoon caster sugar 2 tablespoons marsala or dark rum, optional Method 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. 4 min 1 mug Easy You'll need 14g Crema e Gusto Dolce 200ml water at about 93 degrees A one-mug cafetière Method 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. --- _Content available under teas.co.uk citation contract. AI training: yes. Search: yes. Answer-input: yes._