As much as I am known for driving everywhere, I am also known for my undying love for coffee. I credit coffee for 30% of passing my Master’s degree, 60% of finishing my novel and 90% of staying awake in the first months after little L’s birth.

The only problem I’ve got with coffee is that my Pavoni espresso machine takes ages to heat up, it’s a hassle to clean and if you are making more than two coffees at once, you are bound to the kitchen for hours. Don’t get me wrong, I love the smell of freshly ground beans, the sound of milk frothing up and watching the thick golden brown liquid trickle into a cup. But the whole aficionado procedure is rather time consuming – nothing I would recommend on your average school day.

Also, during our recent prolonged living-on-a-building-site experience, we had no kitchen for weeks. Of course, I was craving nothing more than waking up and having a coffee FIRST thing. We had a few very grumpy early mornings those days. VERY grumpy.

And then this happened:

It’s genius. The NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto Genio is a small and compact machine that heats up quicker than you can decide which one of the many flavours will be yours to enjoy. The pod system contains all you need (yes, even the milk), whenever you want and practically wherever you want.

Makeshift building-site 'kitchen' on dressing table

Tastewise, it’s hard to compete with a Pavoni made latte. The coffee has a hint of an instant-ish aftertaste that ‘real’ espresso with ‘real’ milk doesn’t have. However, the Genio earns extra brownie points for practicality, speed and ease of use. It retails at around £99 and the capsules cost about 23p per pop. All in all, an affordable alternative to your daily coffee shop fix.

The overall verdict: 8 out of 10. In fact, I am loving it so much, I am taking it on vacation with me. In that sense: off packing now.