Nespresso Creatista Pro Review (2023) - Is It Worth It?
Summary
Pros
Cons
Nespresso Creatista Pro Summary
The Nespresso Creatista Pro is the most expensive Nespresso machine on the market today. Don't let that turn you off though, because it is well worth the price. This machine comes with all the cool technologies a coffee geek would want, such as an LCD touchscreen and a ThermoJet feature that heats up the machine in 3 seconds. The dual Thermojet feature, which is only available on 220V - 240V models, allows for brewing coffee and milk steaming at the same time! It is sleek and will be the centerpiece of your kitchen.
The Nespresso Creatista Pro is the best Nespresso machine money can buy. It is chockful of features to customize your coffee drinks and conveniently make delicious coffee. It can even brew coffee and steam milk at the same time.
It's also a gorgeous machine made of premium materials, and has a large HD color touchscreen.
It'll certainly look impressive on your kitchen counter.
However, is the cost justifiable?
Read our Nespresso Creatista Pro review to find out!
Specifications
- Line: OriginalLine
- Display: High resolution Touch Screen
- Materials: Stainless Steel
- Colors: Brushed Stainless Steel
- Dimensions (W x D x H): 9.8 x 19.6 x 16.5 inches
- Weight: 14.7 pounds
- Cable Length: 47 inches
- Water Tank: 68 oz removable
- Spent Capsule Capacity: 12
- Power Rating: 1500 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? Yes
- 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 Pro Review
Design and Build Quality
In our opinion, the Creatista Pro is the best looking Nespresso machine.
It is made of brushed stainless steel and has an even larger color HD screen than the Creatista Plus, and it's a touch screen at that.
This coffee machine is slightly larger than the Creatista Plus, measuring 7.7W x 12.9D x 16.9H. It's still considered a compact machine, specially since it only measures 7.7 inches in width. It should thus be fairly easy to fit this machine on your kitchen counter.
This machine has a "hump" on the left top of this machine, likely to fit the water dispenser components. We actually like this look as it breaks symmetry and gives this Nespresso model a unique look.
The water and coffee dispenser are located on the left side of the machine. There is a pop-out tray for smaller drinks. This is good design since it minimizes the distance the espresso has to full before reaching your cup, helping keep your coffee hot.
On the right side you will find the steam wand, and underneath it a heat sensor which is where the stainless steel jug goes when steaming milk.
On top of the machine is a lever reveals the cavity where you'd insert the coffee pods.
We are impressed by the looks of this machine, its large touchscreen and the premium materials used.
Features and Ease of Use
As we noted above, this is the most advanced amongst all Nespresso machines.
Let's start by talking about its crazy fast 3-second warm-up time. Talk about convenience!
A unique feature from the Creatista Pro is its ability to brew coffee while steaming milk at the same time. As such, this machine is the analogue of the Breville Oracle Touch within the world automatic espresso machines world.
It brews three main drink sizes. These are the ristretto (0.85 oz), the espresso (1.35 oz) and lungo (3.70 oz).
You can even customize the coffee volume for each of these drinks:
- Ristretto: 0.35 to 1 oz
- Espresso: 1 to 2.3 oz
- Lungo: 2.3 to 4.4 oz
The adjustable coffee volume can be found by tapping "coffee settings". You can then adjust the slider - there are 7 levels spanning the above coffee volumes.
The 7 drinks menu consists of ristretto, espresso, lungo, flat white, cafe latte, cappuccino, and latte macchiato.
You can of course customize the milk settings by tapping the Milk Settings Icon. There are 11 milk temperature settings to choose from (temperature range: 122 to 169 degrees Fahrenheit). You can also choose from 8 milk frothing levels, encompassing a froth thickness from 0.08 to 1.2 inches.
Another great feature unique the Creatista Pro is the hot water dispenser, allowing you to make Americanos! So it can prepare something similar to regular coffee.
However, note that this is an OriginalLine Nespresso machine so it'll only make espresso based drinks.
Coffee Drink Quality
This machine prepares the best coffee drinks of all the Nespresso machines.
This portioned coffee machine achieves 19 bars which is perfect for bold espresso drinks. As we've seen, you have lots of freedom to customize your coffee volume and milk temperature, and milk froth level.
In addition, the stainless steel milk jug allows you to create beautiful latte art, provided you use the correct settings for the hot frothed milk.
The Creatista Pro has a slight advantage over the Creatista Plus in terms of drink quality since it can brew coffee and froth milk at the same time. This means the espresso shot won't have to sit and wait for the milk frothing to finish. You'll get a fresh hot cup of coffee every time.
The Nespresso Creatista Pro also can prepare Americanos thanks to its hot water dispenser, even though it's not a pre-programmed drink. It can even prepare hot cocoa if you purchase Nespresso hot chocolate pods!
Something worth noting though is that pod coffee can never be as good as freshly ground coffee beans. Thankfully, since this is an OriginalLine Nespresso machine, it is compatible with third-party pods and reusable pods.
This gives you greater choice in terms of the available Nespresso coffee types you can brew with this machine.
And if you're a coffee lover and dedicated, you could buy reusable pods, so that you can grind whole coffee beans and use fresh coffee! It would be a similar process to what's needed for traditional espresso machines.
Your wallet and the environment will thank you as well!
Cleaning & Maintenance
The Nespresso Creatista Pro is easy to maintain thanks to its thoughtful design and various prompts advising you when it's time to take care of your baby.
Daily maintenance includes emptying the spent capsule container (it can fit up to 12 capsules) and rinsing and cleaning the removable drip tray. If you use the milk jug, you should of course clean it with a damp soft cloth. Nobody wants to find stale milk gunk in their drink.
The 68 oz water tank is quite large, so you won't have to refill it as often as other Nespresso machines. It is easily removable though; we recommend it reasoning every few days to avoid calcifications.
The fully automatic steam wand has an auto-purge which is triggered after every use, which is quite neat. If you need a deeper clean, you can submerge it in water using the milk jug and activate the milk function.
The Nespresso Creatista Pro will also make sure you descale it. At first, it will indicate when it's time to do so, but if you ignore it for too long, it'll lock and refuse to make any more coffee until you run the descaling cycle. It takes about 15 minutes to descale though so no biggie.
In short, this Nespresso is easy to clean and maintain, even for the most forgetful ones (like me!)
Value for Money
At the time of writing the Nespresso Creatista Pro costs about $850. This is $200 more than the Creatista Plus, and you get a touch screen, a hot water dispenser, a larger water tank, and the ability to brew coffee while steaming milk.
This is a pod machine. So you also have to account for the cost of Nespresso pods; each costs about $0.80 to $1.00. This translates to an additional $292 to $365 per year if you drink coffee once per day. This additional cost is typical of capsule coffee machines.
These costs can be mitigated by either purchasing third-party or reusable Nespresso pods.
So does this machine offer good value? Yes, if you value compactness and the convenience of pod coffee machines and you want the best of the best Nespresso can offer.
However, note there are many full-blown automatic espresso machines under $1,000 that rival or are better than the Creatista Pro. And have the potential to prepare better coffee since they grind whole beans before brewing coffee.
Our Verdict
Nespresso Creatista Pro
- Design & Build Quality - 90
- Features & Ease of Use - 92
- Coffee Drink Quality - 82
- Cleaning & Maintenance - 90
- Value for Money - 75
Overall
Bottom Line
The Nespresso Creatista Pro is the most expensive Nespresso machine on the market today. Don't let that turn you off though, because it is well worth the price. This machine comes with all the cool technologies a coffee geek would want, such as an LCD touch screen and a ThermoJet feature that heats up the machine in 3 seconds. The dual Thermojet feature, which is only available on 220V - 240V models, allows for brewing coffee and milk steaming at the same time! It is sleek and will be the centerpiece of your kitchen.
Pros
- Beautiful design with a stainless steel body
- A large LCD touch screen to easily choose various pre-programmed drinks
- Integrated Milk Steam wand for latte art
- Highly customizable milk temperature and texture
- Double ThermoJet Feature allows simultaneous coffee extraction and milk texturing (220V - 240V Models)
- High 19-bar pump pressure
- Separate water dispenser
- Automatic cleaning prompts and cleaning programs
Cons
- Makes only espresso-based drinks (True for all OriginalLine Machines)
- Most expensive Nespresso machine
Frequently Asked Questions
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 color HD touchscreen, whereas the Creatista Plus uses a monochromatic HD 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 is the difference between the Creatista Pro and the Creatista Uno?
The key differences between the Nespresso Creatista Pro and the Creatista Uno are:
- The Creatista Uno is made of plastic whereas the Creatista Pro features a stainless steel experience.
- The Creatista Uno has a button display whereas the Creatista Pro uses an HD color touchscreen.
- The Creatista Uno offers 3 milk temperature and 3 milk texture settings, whereas the Creatista Pro offers 11 temperature settings and 8 milk texture settings.
- The Creatista Pro has a larger water tank than the Creatista Uno.
- The Creatista Pro has a hot water dispenser whereas the Creatista Uno does not.
- The Creatista Pro can brew and steam simultaneously (220V - 240V Models), whereas the Creatista Uno cannot.
What pods does the Nespresso Creatista Pro use?
The Nespresso Creatista Pro uses OriginalLine pods. It also accepts third-party and re-usable pods.
Who makes the Creatista Pro?
The Creatista Pro is part of the Breville espresso machine line.
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.
Does the Nespresso Creatista Pro make regular coffee?
No it does not, it only makes espresso-based drinks. However, you can make an Americano using the hot water dispenser.
