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Coffee and Croissants

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coffee-and-croissants-headerI love any excuse to have a couple of friends over. Coffee and croissants paired with good company make me one happy California girl.

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Though I spent most of my life in Canada, I’m a sunshine girl at heart, and with the Indian summer we’ve had, I was longing for warm cozy scarves and a pair of socks. It’s finally cooled down enough for us to sip on belly-warming drinks and dress in layers. To celebrate the crisp cool autumn, I wanted my friends over for some coffee and croissants. It’s always fun to entertain now that we have a larger space here in California. While we were living in Canada we had an apartment with not much room to move about.

The true star of the show was the new Nescafé Dolce Gusto we were sent to try out. I’m not a coffee connoisseur by any means, but I do know a good vanilla macchiato when I taste one, am I right? Along with the warm fresh croissants I had a big bowl out, of the sweetest strawberries that has ever been on your tastebuds. They’re grown locally, about an hour away in Salinas. The produce here in California is unreal. I can’t get enough fruits and veggies, everything is delicious.

We sat around the kitchen while we all caught up on everyone’s lives. Spending time with my husband and our friends makes me appreciate the little moments. We’re expecting three sets of visitors between now and Christmas, and we can impress them with fancy warm drinks. Layered vanilla macchiato, coming right up. Instant gratification. I am talking fast — it takes no time to heat up the machine. First time testing that flavour out, I had no idea that it required two pods to make the one beverage, thinking I had poured myself an espresso sized drink. Depending on which coffee drink you want, you will use one or two of the capsules.

Our Dolce Gusto Genio is perfect for our family, simply for the fact that we drink coffee as a special treat, and making a huge pot of it would only go to waste. You can see it doesn’t take up much counter space, it’s stylish, makes great coffee, and the pods are easily stored inside a drawer or up in the cabinet. For the health nuts like ourselves, we’re pleased to see that hydrogenated oil isn’t used in the pods.The only drawback to the machine is that when you take the pods out, they’re piping hot and trail liquid out the bottom; especially if you have a drink that requires two pods — you have to drop them into the garbage quickly in order to get your second pod brewing.

What is your favourite type of warm drink to have during the cooler months?

I was sent the Nescafe Dolce Gusto in exchange for my review. Opinions are my own.

PHOTOGRAPHY by my friend Jessica Doll.

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103 Comments

  1. I have a Nescafé Dolce Gusto and I love that I can make fancy schmancy drinks at home and save a ton of money by doing so :)

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  3. The coffee looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it! And those hydrangeas are absolutely beautiful! I need to invite some friends over for coffee talk really soon.

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  7. I love the idea of having people over “just because.” I try to do that when I can, but it usually gets bumped out by some kind of other function….birthdays, church, holiday’s family, etc. Thanks for reminding me that I need to set aside some time to have over some of my favorites :)
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  41. This is an awesome post indeed. I love to drink black coffee and hot chocolate during the cold months. Thanks for sharing.

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  49. Fun! I love having coffee parties! My favorite hot drink is obviously coffee (like 5 or 6 cups in the winter) but when I’m craving something special I always go for a Chai Tea Latte or Spiced Apple Cider :)

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      1. @Nancy:
        Haha True enough- can’t argue with that. We’re heading into winter already, with it having snowed a bit this past weekend. I’m not looking forward to falling ass over tea kettle down the icy stairs, which I know I’ll do at least once or twice this coming season lol
        Ottawa eh? We go for the Leafs or the Canucks in this house but, meh, at least you didn’t say Montreal!!! :P
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  81. There used to be an Irish Creme version of Stephen’s Hot Cocoa that was to die for. Sadly… they discontinued it. Why?? I’ll never know. So I love to put the irish creme creamer in my hot cocoa. Hazelnut hot cocoa is amazing as well! And freshly made apple cider smells so amazing, I can’t contain myself.
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  85. Have you ever tried an Aeropress or French Press? You can make just enough coffee without brewing a full pot, and without all the waste that machines like these use. Sure, Nescafe pods might be recyclable, but I’d bet hardly anyone actually does it. Convenience over coffee quality makes me sad. :( You’re so lucky to be living in one of the greatest coffee culture spots in the world—you should check out some more locally owned cafes instead of Sbux! Super jealous! So many places near you are on my bucket list! :)

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    1. @Geri: Hey Geri! I have found a couple of one-off coffee shops near me. Maybe I should take pictures and blog about them next time. I’m more of a fan of either flavoured coffees, or iced coffees – not so much a regular coffee drinker. So this lil’ machine will serve the purpose of visitors or the husband using it 1-2x/week. I don’t go to the starbucks chain regularly (even though one opened up directly across the street from our house!!!). I go literally 4x a year – so that’s why my gift cards last an entire year when I receive them as gifts. Plus, I LOVE their Peppermint White Mocha’s.
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      1. @Nancy: Hah! I try really hard not to buy anything from Starbucks anymore, but I’ll admit that their Peppermint Mochas are the best thing on the menu ;) I used to only drink flavoured coffees too, but I’ve finally made it toward black (but a good flat white is my absolute fave). I definitely drink coffee at least twice a day though so… I have opinions! You should def blog about the local shops. Check out Blue Bottle if it’s nearby!

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