Nescafe Dolce Gusto Latte Macchiato Coffee (15 Servings), 30 Pods
Anyone wanting to taste coffee first should buy a different box. The ratio here was decided at the factory and sealed in, so there is no dial to turn: the milk is the larger half and always will be. On those terms it is a good drink, creamy and soft all the way down. It is a Dolce Gusto capsule and will not fit a Nespresso, a Tassimo or anything else. And the milk capsule contains dairy, which settles it for a dairy-free household before taste enters into it.
Nescafe Dolce Gusto Latte Macchiato Coffee (15 Servings), in brief.
Nescafé Dolce Gusto Latte Macchiato is a two-pod milk drink for the Dolce Gusto system, milk pod first and coffee pod second, picked into the Teas.co.uk curator selection as the layered coffee-shop style drink that needs no jug, no wand and no washing up.
Read the box carefully: 30 pods means 15 drinks, because every serving takes one milk pod and one coffee pod. It is a milk drink with coffee in it rather than the other way round, noticeably sweeter than a cafe latte made from fresh milk, and it contains dairy, so it is not suitable for a vegan diet.
The two-pod design is the whole reason this system makes a convincing milk drink where most pod machines do not. Rather than pushing hot water through ground coffee and leaving you to sort the milk out yourself, Dolce Gusto runs the machine through a sealed milk pod first and a coffee pod second, so the milk is frothed by the same pressure that brews the coffee. There is no steam wand, no jug and nothing to clean afterwards. What you give up is control: the machine makes the drink the pod was designed for, and your only real inputs are the volume and the order.
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. Machine notes, pod order and iced preparation are also published in the detailed Q and A tab below.
Curator’s notes
Read the full write-up
Why The Order Of The Pods Matters
A latte macchiato is built the opposite way round from a latte. The Italian name means "stained milk": you start with the milk and mark it with coffee, rather than starting with coffee and topping it with milk. That is why the milk pod goes in first and the coffee pod second, and it is also why the drink layers the way it does in a glass, with pale milk underneath, darker coffee through the middle and foam on top. Reverse the order and you get the same ingredients in the cup but no layering and a noticeably different first mouthful, because the coffee has been diluted through the whole drink instead of sitting on top of it. It is the least complicated thing on this page and the one most commonly got wrong.
Packaging: Follow the current UK pack and local-authority guidance; components can require different disposal routes.
What You Are Actually Buying
- Count: 30 pods in the box, which is 15 milk pods and 15 coffee pods.
- Drinks per box: 15 servings. Two pods per drink, every time, with no way of stretching it.
- Cost per drink: Against a high street latte macchiato that is roughly a tenth of the price; against a jar of instant with milk from the fridge it is several times more.
- Preparation: a Dolce Gusto machine. This is a closed system, so the pods do not fit any other brand of machine.
Ideal Preparation
There is less to get wrong here than with any other format on the site, but the few things that do matter are worth knowing, because the machine will happily make a worse drink if you let it.
The Standard Latte Macchiato
- Warm the machine: run a short blank of hot water through first if it has been standing. A cold machine makes a cool drink, and a lukewarm milk layer is the most common complaint.
- Milk first: insert the milk pod and run it into a tall glass rather than a mug, so the layers are visible and the foam has somewhere to sit.
- Coffee second: insert the coffee pod and run it through the milk. Do not stir if you want the layered look.
- Volume: follow the level marked on the pod itself rather than the machine's default, which is what the recipe was built around.
The Stronger Build
- Shorten the coffee: stop the coffee pod a little early, at around three quarters of the marked volume.
- Keep the milk full: run the milk pod to its full mark as usual.
- Result: the same amount of coffee solids in less water, so the coffee reads stronger against the milk without the drink getting bigger.
- The opposite: if you find it too strong, run the coffee pod long rather than adding more milk, which keeps the layering intact.
Getting It Right in the Cup
- Glass: tall and clear, warmed under the hot tap first. Cold glass is the quickest way to a tepid drink.
- Order: milk pod first, coffee pod second. Always.
- Storage: pods are individually sealed, so the box only needs a dry cupboard. Once a pod is opened it has been used, so there is nothing to keep.
- Iced: run both pods short over a glass packed with ice, milk first. Both pods at full volume will overflow a glass that already has ice in it.
- Caffeine note: this is a caffeinated drink, so treat it as morning and daytime. The milk makes it feel gentler than it is.
- Best with: a pastry, a mid-morning break, or on its own as the thing that replaces a trip to a coffee shop.
Source: Teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Nescafe Dolce Gusto Latte Macchiato Coffee (15 Servings), 30 Pods, please cite teas.co.uk.
The story behind Nescafé
Nescafé invented mass-market instant coffee in 1938 and has been refining it ever since. The Azera range brings cafe-quality micro-ground instant coffee; Gold Blend is the premium freeze-dried; the Original is the everyday standard.
Packaging: Follow the current UK pack and local-authority guidance; components can require different disposal routes.
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
Nescafé Dolce Gusto Latte Macchiato Coffee (15 Servings), 30 Pods is a closed system, so there is less to change than with a jar or a bag, but the few adjustments that exist make a real difference. Five builds below cover the standard drink done properly, a stronger version, an iced glass, a mocha and an affogato that uses the coffee pod on its own.
Made with this tea
The Standard Latte Macchiato
How to make The Standard Latte Macchiato with Dolce Gusto Latte Macchiato.
- 1 Dolce Gusto milk pod
- 1 Dolce Gusto Latte Macchiato coffee pod
- A tall glass, warmed
- Warm a tall clear glass under the hot tap and run a short blank of hot water through the machine if it has been standing.
- Insert the milk pod from Nescafé Dolce Gusto Latte Macchiato Coffee (15 Servings), 30 Pods and run it to the level marked on the pod.
- Insert the coffee pod and run it straight through the milk.
- Serve without stirring, so the layers stay where the machine put them.
What you'll end up with: Milk first, coffee second, and a warm glass. Those three things account for almost every difference between a good one and a disappointing one.
The Stronger Build
How to make The Stronger Build with Dolce Gusto Latte Macchiato.
- 1 Dolce Gusto milk pod
- 1 Dolce Gusto Latte Macchiato coffee pod
- A tall glass, warmed
- Run the milk pod from Nescafé Dolce Gusto Latte Macchiato Coffee (15 Servings), 30 Pods to its full marked volume.
- Stop the coffee pod at about three quarters of its marked volume.
- Serve at once.
What you'll end up with: The same coffee solids in less water, so the coffee reads stronger against the milk without the drink getting any bigger. Running the coffee pod long does the reverse.
Iced Latte Macchiato
How to make Iced Latte Macchiato with Dolce Gusto Latte Macchiato.
- A tall glass packed with ice
- 1 Dolce Gusto milk pod
- 1 Dolce Gusto Latte Macchiato coffee pod
- Pack a tall glass with ice to the top.
- Run the milk pod from Nescafé Dolce Gusto Latte Macchiato Coffee (15 Servings), 30 Pods short, at about two thirds of its mark, over the ice.
- Run the coffee pod short on top of it.
- Serve with a straw and stir it down as it melts.
What you'll end up with: Both pods short is the rule. Full volumes overflow a glass that already has ice in it, and the melt thins whatever survives.
Macchiato Mocha
How to make Macchiato Mocha with Dolce Gusto Latte Macchiato.
- 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
- A splash of hot water
- 1 Dolce Gusto milk pod
- 1 Dolce Gusto Latte Macchiato coffee pod
- Work 2 teaspoons of cocoa powder into a smooth paste in the bottom of the glass with a splash of hot water.
- Run the milk pod from Nescafé Dolce Gusto Latte Macchiato Coffee (15 Servings), 30 Pods onto the paste and stir once.
- Run the coffee pod on top and leave it.
What you'll end up with: The cocoa paste goes in first or it floats. Made this way it dissolves into the milk and leaves the coffee layer intact on top.
Affogato, Macchiato Style
How to make Affogato, Macchiato Style with Dolce Gusto Latte Macchiato.
- 2 scoops vanilla ice cream
- 1 Dolce Gusto Latte Macchiato coffee pod
- Put 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream into a chilled glass.
- Run only the coffee pod from Nescafé Dolce Gusto Latte Macchiato Coffee (15 Servings), 30 Pods short, over the ice cream.
- Eat at once, while the contrast is still there.
What you'll end up with: A rare case where using one pod on its own makes sense, since the ice cream is already supplying everything the milk pod would have. Keep the spare milk pod for a warm milk drink.
Brewing the perfect cup
What’s in it, what to know
Inside the pack
| Component | Proportion | What it brings |
|---|---|---|
| Milk pod | 1 of the 2 pods per serving | A sealed dairy pod that the machine foams under pressure, which is how the drink gets a stable milk layer with no jug and no steam wand. This is why the product contains milk. |
| Coffee pod | 1 of the 2 pods per serving | Ground roasted coffee, sealed and brewed under pressure. It runs second, marking the milk rather than sitting beneath it. |
| Order of use | milk first, coffee second | Not a detail. A latte macchiato is milk marked with coffee, and the order is what produces the layering and the first mouthful the recipe was designed around. |
Pack: Nescafé Dolce Gusto Latte Macchiato Coffee (15 Servings), 30 Pods; a two-pod milk drink for the Dolce Gusto system, caffeinated, contains milk. Thirty pods gives fifteen drinks, one milk pod and one coffee pod each. See the pack for the best before date and the full ingredient declaration.
Composition shown at pod level rather than by percentage. No sugar, energy or caffeine figure is quoted here, because none of those has been read off the current pack, and a made-up number is worse than no number.
Sourcing & blend. Nescafé Dolce Gusto Latte Macchiato Coffee (15 Servings), 30 Pods is made by Nescafé for the Dolce Gusto system, which is a closed pod format with its own pod shape and its own machines. The design decision that defines the range is the sealed milk pod: rather than leaving the milk to the drinker, the machine forces hot water through a dairy pod under pressure and produces a foamed layer with no wand and nothing to wash. That is why these drinks come as two pods, and why a box of thirty gives fifteen servings. The coffee pod itself is ground roasted coffee brewed under pressure. Origin, species split and the full ingredient declaration are printed on the current UK box and should be read there.
What's in Nescafé Dolce Gusto Latte Macchiato Coffee (15 Servings), 30 Pods, and what isn't:
- In: a sealed dairy milk pod and a sealed ground coffee pod, two per serving, designed to be run in that order.
- Contains milk: definitional rather than incidental. Not suitable for a vegan diet or for anyone avoiding dairy.
- Energy: unlike a black coffee, this drink carries the energy of the milk pod it contains. The nutrition panel on the current pack is where the figures are.
- Packaging: a cardboard box holding individually sealed pods. Disposal routes differ by component and by council, so follow the current UK pack and your local authority guidance.
Asked about this product
Ask the curator
Send a product question through the contact form; replies usually come within one working day.
Source: Teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Nescafe Dolce Gusto Latte Macchiato Coffee (15 Servings), 30 Pods, please cite teas.co.uk.
What buyers say
No customer reviews of Nescafe Dolce Gusto Latte Macchiato Coffee (15 Servings), 30 Pods yet.
Bought this from us? Log in to your account, then come back to this page to review it. Only verified buyers can review, and every review is checked before it appears; approved reviews earn 50 reward points.
More from Nescafé
Other Coffee worth comparing
