Nespresso Creatista Plus Review (2023) - Is It Worth It?
The Nespresso Creatista Plus is the second most advanced Nespresso machine, after the Creatista Pro. This machine comes with all the bells and whistles while having a beautiful stainless steel design with a large color LCD green.
It'll definitely look great in your kitchen, but does it live up to the hype?
Check out our Nespresso Creatista Plus Review!
Nespresso Creatista Plus Review
- Design & Build Quality
- Features & Ease of Use
- Coffee Drink Quality
- Cleaning & Maintenance
- Value for Money
Overall
Nespresso Creatista Plus Summary
The Nespresso Creatista Plus has all the bells and whistles that you are looking for in a Nespresso machine. That's why we have it at the top of our list and the Best Nespresso Machine Overall! It offers both espresso and milk beverages, with customizable milk textures and temperatures for the best milk foam for latte art. Use this machine to impress your guests.
Pros
- Beautiful design and stainless steel body
- Full-color LCD touch screen interface
- Integrated Milk Steam wand allows latte art
- Highly customizable milk temperature and texture
- High 19-bar pump pressure
- Automatic cleaning prompts and cleaning programs
Cons
- Makes only espresso-based drinks (True for all OriginalLine Machines)
- Expensive
Specifications
- Line: OriginalLine
- Display: High resolution color display
- Materials: Stainless Steel
- Colors: Metal Stainless Steel, Black Truffle, Sea Salt, Damson Blue
- Dimensions (W x D x H): 6.7 x 16.1 x 12.2 inches
- Weight: 11.4 pounds
- Cable Length: 47 inches
- Water Tank: 50.7 oz removable
- Spent Capsule Capacity: 12
- Power Rating: 1600 Watt
Key Features
- Brew Pressure: 19 bar
- Heat-up time: 3 seconds
- Brewing Sizes: Ristretto (0.85 oz), Espresso (1.35 oz) and Lungo (3.7 oz)
- Customizable Brew Sizes? Yes
- Pre-programmed drinks: 7 (ristretto, espresso, lungo, flat white, cafe latte, cappuccino, latte macchiato)
- Milk System: Automatic Steam Wand & Milk Jug
- Milk Settings: 8 texture levels and 11 temperature settings
- Milk Jug: Stainless Steel 16.9 oz Jug with Spout
- Hot Water Dispenser? No
- Auto-off: 9 minutes
- Cleaning: Auto clean system, milk wand auto-purge, descaling alarm
- Suitable for Latte Art? Latte art is doable
- Accepts 3rd Party Capsules? Yes
- Warranty: 2 years
Nespresso Creatista Plus Review
Design and Build Quality
The Nespresso Creatista is one of the best-looking Nespresso machines available. This is thanks to its gorgeous rounded design stainless steel body. This portioned coffee machine is also available in Black Truffle, Sea Salt (i.e. white), and Damson Blue colors.
Another highlight is its large high-resolution color display, which sits on top of the machine. Below it is the Start/Cancel button, and a rotary dial for selection purposes.
Like many Nespresso machines, this one is compact, measuring 6.7W x 12D x 15.4H inches. A width of just 6.7 inches means you should be able to easily find space in your kitchen without too much re-arrangement.
Diving into a bit more detail, on the left side of the machine is the coffee dispenser. Beneath it, there is a pop-out drip tray for smaller drinks such as ristrettos, espressos, and lungos. This is to minimize the vertical distance coffee must travel between the dispenser and your cup. It is a thoughtful addition since this will help keep your coffee hot.
On the right side is the steam wand which is used with the stainless steel milk jug that comes with this machine.
There is a lever on top of the machine, that is lifted to insert the coffee capsules.
The water tank sits behind the machine and can be conveniently removed.
Overall, the Nespresso Creatista Plus has a beautiful design that feels premium - even more than other higher-level super-automatic espresso machines! It will definitely look impressive in your kitchen.
Features and Ease of Use
The Creatista Plus is amongst the most advanced Nespresso machines available, full of features to customize your drink and make your life as easy as possible.
It boasts an impressive 3-second warm-up time - the fastest we've seen on any espresso machine.
It can brew three main sizes of espresso drinks. These are the ristretto (0.85 oz), the espresso (1.35 oz), and lungo (3.70 oz). What's more, the coffee volume of these drinks can be customized, as follows:
- Ristretto: 0.85 to 2 oz
- Espresso: 0.85 to 2 oz (yes, the same as above, not a typo as per the User Guide)
- Lungo: 2.37 to 5 oz
This machine also comes with an impressive set of milk configuration settings - rivaling high-end automatic espresso machines. The milk temperature can be programmed using 11 settings, from 133 to 169 degrees Fahrenheit. The milk froth can be adjusted from 0.08 to 1.2 inches using 8 settings.
There are a total of 7 drinks you can select from, using the Select Dial, and then press the Start/Cancel button. These are: ristretto, espresso, lungo, flat white, café latte, cappuccino, and latte macchiato.
If your drink uses milk, you will need to place the milk jug on the temperature sensor.
In terms of cons, this machine does not come with a water dispenser. So you won't be able to make an Americano with this machine alone, you will need a separate kettle.
Also, given this machine is from the OriginalLine. So it only prepares espresso-based drinks. If you're looking for a machine to make a regular cup of drip coffee, then this machine is not for you. Look for a Nespresso from the VertuoLine.
Coffee Drink Quality
Within the realm of capsule machines, the coffee quality of the Creatista Plus is very good.
Thanks to the 19-bar brew pressure, OriginalLine Nespresso machines like this one make bolder and stronger espresso drinks when compared to the VertuoLine ones.
We say the Creatista Plus is amongst the best Nespresso machines for drink quality thanks to its impressive milk frother that is highly customizable - and has the potential to make latte art! Milk frothing is done automatically with this machine.
Also, as we've seen, the espresso drink volumes can be modified to suit your preferences.
As this machine uses OriginalLine capsules, it has the potential to make even better drinks if you get re-usable Nespresso capsules, buy whole bean coffee and grind them yourself. Nothing beats freshly ground coffee - certainly not coffee grounds that have been sitting inside a capsule for months.
This is obviously at the expense of convenience - these are similar steps to what you would take when using a traditional espresso machine.
However, buying re-usable also decreases your environmental impact and can decrease the overall cost of your coffee consumption - coffee capsules can be expensive in the long run.
Another advantage of the OriginalLine machines is that you can use Third Party capsules, which greatly widens your coffee drink selection.
Cleaning & Maintenance
This espresso maker is conveniently designed to make cleaning and maintenance as easy as possible.
Like any espresso machine, daily maintenance includes rinsing the water tank, emptying and rinsing the capsule container and the removable drip tray, and rinsing the milk jug.
After every use, the steam wand goes through an auto-purge cycle to rinse itself. If you want to clean it more deeply, you can add water to the milk jug and select the MILK function.
You will be prompted on-screen when your machine needs to be descaled. In fact, the Creatista Plus forces you to descale it; after 10 cycles it will go into "lockout" mode if you have not run the descaling program.
The descaling program takes about 15 minutes to perform, and should only be run using the Nespresso descaling kit.
In summary, the Creatista Plus is easy to clean and offers a robust set of cleaning and maintenance programs to help you keep your machine in top shape.
Value for Money
The Creatista Plus offers very good value for your money.
At around $650, it rivals more expensive automatic espresso machines yet it comes with similar customization features.
We also have to emphasize its gorgeous stainless steel design and large HD screen. Many automatic espresso machines costing twice as much are made of plastic and do not come with a screen.
However, in the long run, Nespresso machines can be costly since you need to buy capsules, each costing about $0.80 to $1.00.
Thankfully you can reduce this cost if you purchase good quality re-usable Nespresso pods. This will allow you to buy whole bean coffee bags which are cheaper than the pods.
This is provided, of course, if you're willing to forego some of the convenience of capsule machines as you would need to grind, measure and tamp the coffee into the capsule.
The potential to save money is there though!
Final Verdict
Nespresso Creatista Plus Review
- Design & Build Quality
- Features & Ease of Use
- Coffee Drink Quality
- Cleaning & Maintenance
- Value for Money
Overall
Nespresso Creatista Plus Summary
The Nespresso Creatista Plus has all the bells and whistles that you are looking for in a Nespresso machine. That's why we have it at the top of our list and the Best Nespresso Machine Overall! It offers both espresso and milk beverages, with customizable milk textures and temperatures for the best milk foam for latte art. Use this machine to impress your guests.
Pros
- Beautiful design and stainless steel body
- Full-color LCD touch screen interface
- Integrated Milk Steam wand allows latte art
- Highly customizable milk temperature and texture
- High 19-bar pump pressure
- Automatic cleaning prompts and cleaning programs
Cons
- Makes only espresso-based drinks (True for all OriginalLine Machines)
- Expensive
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between the Creatista Uno and the Creatista Plus?
The key differences between the Nespresso Creatista Uno and Creatista Plus are:
- The Creatista Uno is made of plastic whereas the Creatista Plus features a stainless steel experience.
- The Creatista Uno has a button display whereas the Creatista Plus uses an HD color screen with a button and a knob.
- The Creatista Uno offers 3 milk temperature and 3 milk texture settings, whereas the Creatista Plus offers 11 temperature settings and 8 milk texture settings.
What is the difference between the Creatista Pro and the Creatista Plus?
The key differences between the Nespresso Creatista Pro and Creatista Plus are:
- The Creatista Pro can brew and steam simultaneously (220V - 240V Models), whereas the Creatista Plus cannot.
- The Creatista Pro has a larger HD touchscreen, whereas the Creatista Plus uses an HD color screen with a button and a knob.
- The Creatista Pro has a larger water tank than the Creatista Plus.
- The Creatista Pro has a hot water dispenser whereas the Creatista Plus does not.
What Pods are compatible with the Nespresso Creatista plus?
Only OriginalLine Nespresso pods are compatible with this machine. However, you can also use third-party or re-usable pods.
Does the Nespresso Creatista Plus make regular coffee?
No, it does not. All drinks are espresso-based.
Which Creatista is best?
Unless you have unlimited money, the Nespresso Creatista Plus offers the best balance between cost and features within the Creatista line.
Who makes the Nespresso Creatista Plus?
The Creatista line machines are part of the Breville espresso machine line (or Sage in Europe).
Does the Creatista Plus come with pods?
Yes, it does. It comes with a tasting box, which is nice since you can use it to find out which one is your favorite.
