Starbucks Nescafe Dolce Gusto Pumpkin Spice Latte, 12 Capsules 129g
People who like a spiced biscuit will get on with this; anyone expecting something vegetable will not. There is no pumpkin in it and there never was. The name borrows the spice mix from a pumpkin pie, which is cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and clove, and that mix is the whole character of the drink. These are Nescafe Dolce Gusto capsules; a Nespresso or a Tassimo will not take them. The milk is a powder inside the capsule, so it is not a dairy-free drink.
Starbucks Nescafe Dolce Gusto Pumpkin Spice Latte, in brief.
Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte by Nescafe Dolce Gusto is the autumn coffee-shop drink in capsule form for a Dolce Gusto machine, picked into the Teas.co.uk curator selection as the seasonal box worth stocking before it sells out rather than after.
Twelve capsules make six drinks, not twelve: each serving takes a coffee capsule and a spiced milk capsule. Nescafe Dolce Gusto machines only, so these will not fit a Nespresso or a Tassimo. The milk is in the capsule, so no fridge is needed and the drink is not dairy-free. Sweet and spice-led rather than coffee-led.
The name describes a spice mix rather than a vegetable. Pumpkin spice is the cinnamon-and-warm-spice character associated with pumpkin pie, and whether any pumpkin appears in the ingredient list is a question for the current UK pack rather than for this page. What the drink actually delivers is a sweet, spiced, milky coffee with the spice sitting on top of the milk and the coffee holding the middle. It is a seasonal box, it is made under licence by Nestle rather than by Starbucks itself, and it is unapologetically a treat rather than a morning coffee.
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. Common questions are answered in the detailed Q and A tab below.
Curator’s notes
Read the full write-up
The Story Behind Starbucks at Home
The Starbucks at-home range is produced under licence by Nestle, which is why a Starbucks name sits on a Nescafe Dolce Gusto box. The arrangement puts recognisable coffee-shop drinks into kitchens nowhere near a Starbucks, and it puts a set of famous names into Nestle's pod system. Pumpkin spice is the most famous of all of them: it is the drink that marks the start of autumn for a large number of people, and it is the one that sells out.
That seasonality is worth knowing about before you buy: limited-run boxes appear, sell and disappear.
Packaging: Follow the current UK pack and local-authority guidance; components can require different disposal routes.
What You Are Actually Buying
- Count: twelve capsules making six drinks. Two capsules per serving, so the box empties twice as fast as the capsule count suggests.
- Machine required: Nescafe Dolce Gusto only. These will not fit a Nespresso machine or a Tassimo machine, and no adapter makes them.
- Weight: You are paying for the flavour work, not the tonnage.
- Milk included: the milk is inside the spiced capsule in powder form, so the box needs no fridge and no frother. It also means this is not a dairy-free drink.
- Seasonal: a limited autumn line. When it goes, it goes, and it is worth buying the second box at the same time as the first if you know you want it.
Ideal Serving Conditions
A pod machine removes most of the ways a coffee can go wrong, which leaves a short list of things still worth getting right. Capsule order, volume on the slider and the state of the machine account for almost every disappointing cup that comes out of one.
The Proper Cup
- Order: milk capsule first, then the coffee, unless the box tells you otherwise. Building the milk underneath is what gives the drink its layered look and lets the coffee settle a crema on top.
- Volume: stop each capsule at the level marked on it rather than when the cup looks full. Overshooting is the commonest fault with a pod machine and here it thins the spice and the coffee at once.
- Cup: a wide cup rather than a tall mug. The machine is dosing for a coffee-shop serving and a big mug simply looks half empty.
- Rinse: run a short water-only cycle afterwards. Milk powder and sugar left in the head is what makes the next coffee taste faintly of cinnamon.
Getting More Out of the Box
- Make it less sweet: pull the coffee capsule slightly past its mark to put more coffee under the same amount of milk. This is the only real lever you have on the sugar.
- Make it iced: brew both capsules short into a jug, stir, then pour over a full glass of ice. Brewing straight onto ice waters the drink down as it lands.
- Make it go further: use one spiced milk capsule with two coffee capsules across two small cups if you want the spice spread thinner. It is not the intended build, but it works.
- Make it a pudding: pour a short, strong version over a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The spice reads far more clearly against cold cream than against hot milk.
Getting It Right in the Cup
- Machine: Nescafe Dolce Gusto only. Check which system you own before ordering.
- Capsules per drink: two, so twelve capsules is six servings.
- Volume: stop at the mark on the capsule, not when the cup looks full.
- Storage: a cool dry cupboard, sealed capsules, away from the kettle. The capsules protect the contents; the carton does not.
- Best with: a cold afternoon, a slice of something baked, or the first genuinely dark evening of the year.
Source: Teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Starbucks Nescafe Dolce Gusto Pumpkin Spice Latte, 12 Capsules 129g, please cite teas.co.uk.
The story behind Starbucks
Starbucks needs no introduction. Their at-home retail range covers the cafe-style favourites: Toffee Nut Latte sachets, instant coffee, and the wider iced and hot drink format. Particularly strong on flavoured latte sachets.
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
Starbucks Nescafe Dolce Gusto Pumpkin Spice Latte, 12 Capsules 129g is a finished drink the machine builds for you, so the useful ideas are the ones that change its balance or stretch a seasonal box further. Five builds below cover the proper cup, a longer coffee pull, an iced version, a pudding and a way of splitting the spiced capsules.
Made with this tea
The Proper Pumpkin Spice Latte
How to make The Proper Pumpkin Spice Latte with Starbucks Dolce Gusto capsules.
- 1 spiced milk capsule
- 1 coffee capsule
- A wide cup rather than a tall mug
- Load the milk capsule first and run it to the level marked on the capsule.
- Follow with the coffee capsule, again stopping at its mark rather than when the cup looks full.
- Leave the crema alone for a moment before you drink. Breaking it with a spoon loses part of the aroma, and with a spiced drink the aroma is most of it.
- Rinse the machine with a short water-only cycle so the next coffee does not taste of cinnamon.
What you'll end up with: A layered, spiced milk coffee with a fine crema on top. If it looks pale and tastes thin, you ran past the mark.
The Long Coffee Pull, For Less Sweetness
How to make The Long Coffee Pull, For Less Sweetness with Starbucks Dolce Gusto capsules.
- 1 spiced milk capsule
- 1 coffee capsule
- Run the milk capsule to its normal mark.
- Push the coffee capsule a little past its mark, adding roughly a third again in volume.
- Stir once before drinking so the extra coffee is distributed rather than sitting on top.
What you'll end up with: The same drink with the sugar held further back. This is the only real lever the format gives you on sweetness.
Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte
How to make Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte with Starbucks Dolce Gusto capsules.
- 1 spiced milk capsule
- 1 coffee capsule
- A full glass of ice
- A small jug
- Brew both capsules short into a jug rather than straight into the glass.
- Stir the two together while still warm so the spice distributes evenly.
- Pour over a full glass of ice. A half-filled glass melts faster and waters the drink down.
What you'll end up with: A colder, noticeably less sweet version of the same drink. Cold suppresses the perception of sugar, which is why this build suits people who find the hot cup too much.
Spiced Affogato
How to make Spiced Affogato with Starbucks Dolce Gusto capsules.
- 1 spiced milk capsule
- 1 coffee capsule
- 2 scoops vanilla ice cream
- Put two scoops of vanilla ice cream into a cold bowl or a short glass.
- Brew both capsules short, so the total volume is about half a normal cup.
- Pour the hot drink over the ice cream at the table and eat it immediately.
What you'll end up with: The spice reads far more clearly against cold cream than against hot milk. This is the best use of the box if you have people to feed.
Two Lighter Cups From One Milk Capsule
How to make Two Lighter Cups From One Milk Capsule with Starbucks Dolce Gusto capsules.
- 1 spiced milk capsule
- 2 coffee capsules
- 2 small cups
- Run the milk capsule and split the output between two small cups.
- Brew one coffee capsule into each cup on top of the milk.
- Accept that these are lighter and less sweet than the intended drink, which for some people is the point.
What you'll end up with: Two spiced coffees rather than one spiced milk drink. It stretches the spiced capsules across more of the box, which matters when the line is seasonal.
Brewing the perfect cup
What’s in it, what to know
Inside the pack
| Typical values per 100g, as published | Per 100g |
|---|---|
| Energy | 430 kcal |
| Fat | 15,5g |
| of which saturates | 8,5g |
| Carbohydrate | 52,6g |
| of which sugars | 45,2g |
| Fibre | 13,2g |
| Protein | 12,9g |
| Salt | 0,58g |
Ingredients and allergens. Per the published ingredient list for this product it contains milk. Check the current UK pack before purchase; formulations and allergen advice can change.
Ingredients, as published for this product: Whole Milk Powder (56%), Sugar (39,6%), Colour (Carotenes), Starch, Natural Pumpkin and Spice Flavourings with other Natural Flavourings, Salt, Butteroil (Milk), Beetroot Concentrate, Natural Flavouring.
Ingredient and nutrition information for this product, as published on the manufacturer's label. The pack in your hands is the final word.
| Component | Proportion | What it brings |
|---|---|---|
| Coffee capsule | 1 of the 2 capsules per serving | The coffee itself, brewed under pressure rather than dissolved, which is why it reads more clearly here than in a kettle-made sachet. |
| Spiced milk capsule | 1 of the 2 capsules per serving | The milk, the pumpkin spice character and the sweetness, all dosed together. The reason no fridge or frother is needed, and the reason this is not dairy-free. |
| Sugar | in the milk capsule; amount not stated to us | The sweetness, already decided before the box is opened. There is no unsweetened version of this drink. |
| Pack format | 12 capsules, 6 servings, 129g | Two capsules per drink. Sealed until used, no measuring, and the same cup every time because the machine sets the dose. |
Pack: Starbucks Nescafe Dolce Gusto Pumpkin Spice Latte, 12 Capsules 129g; six drinks, two capsules each, for Nescafe Dolce Gusto machines only. The ingredient list, the allergen advice and the best-before date are printed on the current UK box; read them there rather than here.
Characterising components shown.
Sourcing & blend. Starbucks Nescafe Dolce Gusto Pumpkin Spice Latte, 12 Capsules 129g is produced under the licensing arrangement that puts the Starbucks at-home range into Nestle's pod system. The flavour and the naming come from one company and the capsule engineering from the other, so what arrives is a recognisable coffee-shop drink built by a machine that handles the pressure, the dose and the milk for you.
What's in Starbucks Nescafe Dolce Gusto Pumpkin Spice Latte, 12 Capsules 129g, and what isn't:
- In: a coffee capsule and a spiced milk capsule per serving, brewed together in a Nescafe Dolce Gusto machine with water only.
- Sweetened: the sugar is dosed into the milk capsule. There is no unsweetened version of this drink and no way to build one from these capsules.
- Not dairy-free: the milk is in the capsule and is intrinsic to the drink. Not suitable for a vegan or dairy-free diet, and not a drink for anyone with a milk allergy.
- Spice, not vegetable: pumpkin spice names a warm spice character. Whether any pumpkin appears in the pack is printed on the ingredient list.
- Machine specific: Nescafe Dolce Gusto only. Not compatible with Nespresso or Tassimo machines, and no adapter changes that.
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Source: Teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Starbucks Nescafe Dolce Gusto Pumpkin Spice Latte, 12 Capsules 129g, please cite teas.co.uk.
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