Review: Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus

Why choose Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus over others?

Though I was excited to try Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus, I was a little bit disappointed when contrasted with its sister version Creatista. There is a huge hype around Nespresso Creatista Plus, but I honestly did not find this machine so much better than Breville Nespresso Creatista.

What differentiates this model from others is its compact size and advanced technology. I feel like the technology significantly contributes to solid coffee flavors. Nespresso Creatista Plus allows me to choose from 8 beverage selections, 11 milk temperature levels, and 8 texture levels for the milk froth. The volume of the pulled coffee is also adjustable.

The differences between Nespresso Creatista and Nespresso Creatista Plus are marginal. The Plus version has a few more milk temperature levels, a few more texture levels, a full stainless steel body (only exterior though), and a 7-second shorter heat up time. Obviously, the Plus version costs substantially more. To be honest, I did not find myself using those additional features so much to pay about $150 more for this model. I doubt a regular user would find those features so good to pay that much more.

Here are some distinct features of Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus:

• Easy and quick to use due to a simple control panel with a start/cancel button and the rotative selection dial
• A modern and fashionable design with an LCD display (the rotative selection dial allowed me to choose specific functions displayed on the LCD)
• Easy, straightforward and quick brewing process + maintenance
• Modern and versatile exterior appearance

Who is Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus perfect for?

Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus is a beautiful espresso maker that allowed me to brew my coffee quickly and efficiently. This machine can be a compelling choice for those who can afford to invest a substantial amount of money into a hassle-free espresso machine.

In my opinion, I sense that Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus can be perfect for those who are looking for an espresso machine that has any or all of the following characteristics:

✓ Individuals or families with a large budget

✓ Enjoy using Nespresso coffee capsules

✓ Easy and convenient to use machine

✓ Rich and creamy coffee

✓ An espresso machine that is both efficient and good looking

✓ A few more features when contrasted with Breville Nespresso Creatista version

Who is Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus NOT perfect for?

As you may know by now, my policy is to always be fair and transparent in my reviews. This will be no different for this Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus review.

At the $500 price point, there are other espresso machines that can allow enormous flexibility and can brew just perfect cups of coffee (espresso, cappuccino, latte and many others). I’d recommend looking into DeLonghi Magnifica, BES870XL, Mr Coffee Cafe Barista Espresso Maker.

With that, I feel like Nespresso Creatista Plus might be an imperfect choice for the following reasons:

✗ Desire to use coffee grounds instead of capsules

✗ Confines a user to use capsules only (other types of coffee grounds are not possible in this machine)

✗ A machine that allows a user to feel like a professional barista

✗ A complex and multi-functional machine that brews a variety of beverages, such as lattes and cappuccinos

✗ Plastic-free appliance

✗ Low budget

Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus Review and Evaluation 🕵️

→ Appearance

Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus is a semi-automatic espresso machine, which comes in an elegant stainless-steel body version. When I placed it in my small kitchen, I felt like I was in a luxurious hotel. It upgraded the look of my kitchen in ways I did not expect.

From what I have seen, Nespresso Creatista Plus machine sells in four colors:

• Brushed Stainless Steel,
• Black Truffle,
• Smoked Hickory, and
• Sea Salt. I absolutely love the Sea Salt!

The high-definition LCD display, located on the top of the machine, brings an extra element of sophistication and technical superiority to the whole look of Nespresso Creatista Plus.

I enjoyed the overall design from the usability perspective. The the control panel was rather minimalist with only two easy-to-use buttons. There was also a 50oz removable water reservoir. It was quite easy to remove it simply by pulling out.

In the front of the machine, there was a coffee spout and milk frothing wand. Also located on the front of the machine, the pop out cup support can be used to bring shorter espresso cups closer to the spout.

→ Features and technical specs

Voltage: Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus is made for 120V, and can be used in Canada and the US only.

Basket size: Unlike regular espresso machines, Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus does not have a portafilter and cannot be used with coffee grounds. Users are limited to Nespresso capsules only.

These Nespresso capsules are aluminium, and I am not entirely comfortable with their long-term use. The capsules come in different flavors. They typically sell in a pack of 50 for about $35, which means they are about 80¢ per cup of coffee.

Beverage size: Beverage size largely depends on the capsule used for brewing. The size of the beverage can be adjusted before brewing. The default quantities are 0.84 oz for a Ristretto, 1.35 oz for a Rspresso and 3.72 oz for a Lungo. The milk quantities can also be adjusted from the machine settings.

Weight: With a weight of 11 pounds, this machine is quite light and easy to handle, when compared with other full blown espresso machines.

Unit size: Nespresso Creatista Plus measures about 16.1 inches in depth, 6.7 inches in width, and 12.2 inches in height. With that, the machine is fairly compact and it sat well on my countertop. Though the removable water reservoir needs to be pulled up, I still had plenty of space under my otherwise low-hanging top cabinet.

Water reservoir: This coffee machine has a sizeable 50oz removable water reservoir. As I mentioned earlier, I was able to easily detach it from the machine by pulling it up. The water reservoir has its place on the back of the machine and has an elegant, transparent design.

Additional perks: Though Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus machine brews coffee primarily (and solely) from capsules, I was very impressed with how technologically advanced this machine was. Breville did not disappoint me with BES840XL and BES870XL. And, it did not disappoint me this time. Compared with other machines, I feel that there are several really awesome features that I would like to mention:

Among some of the most important features, I feel like to highlight the following:

✓ A 19-bar pump system allowed me to brew deliciously creamy coffee. Though 19-bar pump system is way more than is needed or used in an espresso machine, Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus has enough power to begin brewing at higher pressure. This allows to reach richer and more creamy coffee, though will make the unit more expensive.

✓ A super-quick water heating (in about 3 seconds) was possible due to the ThermoJet heating system. I am used to slow coffee brewing, and I mean it, slow. Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus comes with a new technology that heats up water to the ideal temperatures of about 195 F degrees really quickly.

✓ An automatic, integrated milk frother with auto-purge function: The Creatista has an automatic milk frothing wand that can be programmed to deliver 8 different froth texture levels at 11 different milk temperatures. The milk frothing wand goes through an automatic purging cycle after every use. What this means is that, once the wand has been cleaned and set back into place, the machine will automatically run clean water through the wand.

✓ A high definition TFT LCD display made it easy to operate the machine. The LCD screen made it easy for me to navigate the several functions this machine has to offer. The LCD display contains setting information, as well as maintenance and user tutorials. I love the LCD display as it makes the machine so much more functional and easy to use. It also adds an extra modern touch to the look of the machine.

✓ Quick auto-off. It takes about 10 minutes for the machine to turn off, when on idle.

Besides those main features, there’s several others that I would like to mention and list out. First, there’s a removable water reservoir. It’s 50oz, modern and transparent. It was very easy to remove it and put it back in place.

Second, the machine comes with energy saving features. Though I did not see a huge difference in my electric bill (for a variety of reasons), I am happy that I can mitigate environmental imprint. Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus minimizes power consumption when I am not making a drink. The LCD display dims after 2 minutes of no use and turns off after 10 minutes.

Third, the machine allowed me to set specific hardness of water. This allowed me to better maintain the machine (increasing its durability), and brew better and tastier coffee. I found that softer water yielded much better and flavorful coffee. Coffee brewed with soft water felt more like coffee, and this is due to fewer minerals and fewer soluble materials.

Fourth, there was a pop out cup shelf. I was able to use small espresso cups thanks to this additional drip tray, which offered an elevated support and brings the coffee cup closer to the spout. However, I can also enjoy a larger coffee mug, as tall as 6 inches.

Last but not least, there was a plenty of additional accessories. One of them was a stainless steel barista milk jug. The machine comes with a high quality frothing milk jug made entirely of stainless steel. The jug has a pour spout designed specifically for latte art. During frothing, the jug has to be placed on the milk jug temperature sensor located under the frothing wand. Due to the proven responsiveness of the included jug to the temperature sensor, the manufacturers recommend the use of this jug for better frothing results.

→ Performance

Brewing time: Nespresso Creatista Plus works on a super fast-heating system that heats up in mere 3 seconds. Once started, the preparation process takes no longer than 1.5 minutes, depending on the beverage I have selected (it will take longer for milk-based drinks).

Flavor: Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus has settings for 8 different beverages, including the following:

• Ristretto
• Espresso
• Lungo
• Caffe Latte
• Cappuccino, and
• Latte Macchiato.

I could customize these beverages by adjusting the coffee volume, as well as the texture and the temperature of the milk froth.

Though I was initially suspicious about drinking coffee brewed from capsules, I was very positively surprised. Flavors were so diverse and mesmerizing. I definitely enjoyed experimenting with my coffee drinks, adding some cinnamon in the fall.

Temperature: Nespresso Creatista Plus delivers espresso at a nearly perfect brewing temperature of about 190 F degrees. This contributes to better and richer flavors. I was not able to control or adjust the temperature of coffee. However, I was able to adjust the temperature of the milk frother. This was adjustable between 133 and 169 F degrees.

Milk Frother: I was quite excited about the automatic frothing wand in this machine. It created a rich micro-foam, which was perfect for making latte art. There were 8 levels of firmness for froth. I could also heat up milk for my coffee.

The settings of the machine allowed me to adjust the texture and the temperature of the froth. The frothing starts automatically after the machine has already delivered coffee (that if I want milk in my coffee) and goes through an auto-purge cycle after every use. What this means is that once the wand is put back into its vertical, neutral position, the machine will automatically run water through the wand, removing any milk residues.

Pressure / pressure gauge: Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus does not have a pressure gauge. But it does have an electric pump that creates about 19 bars of pressure. This amount of of BAR pressure is more than is typically needed or used in an espresso machine, but 19 BARs will allow to initiate brewing at about 15-16 BARs of pressure.

Noise levels: The noise levels are fairly acceptable. There are clicking noises, and it will produce some sound for a shot of coffee.

Cleaning: I found Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus easy to clean. Breville recommends that water should be run through the machine after each use by selecting the Espresso setting on the LCD display.

I cleaned the steam wand after each use. The wand goes through an automatic purging cycle after each frothing. I read in the manual that the wand would benefit from cleaning daily by filling the milk jug with clean water and by then selecting the Milk function.

A Milk System Cleaning Procedure has to be carried out on a monthly basis to keep the machine in perfect working order. The cleaning is easy to do by following the instructions in the Maintenance section on the LCD display.

After each use, the machine drops the empty capsules in a removable container that can be easily taken out, emptied and cleaned out.

Customer-reported technical issues

Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus comes with a 2-year limited warranty from the day of purchase.

From what I have seen, the vast majority of users truly love this machine. I personally have not experienced any issues with the machine.

There were very few buyers who expressed their concerns regarding the machine. Here is what they have said:

• Water reservoir did not hold water (leaking)
• Coffee was watery and bitter
• Sample capsules came expired (please always make sure to buy from an authorized seller, preferably shipped and fulfilled by Amazon, or a branded Nespresso store)

→ Health and safety

Breville claims that all the parts that come into contact with coffee or water are BPA free. Further, the machine comes with aluminium capsules.

The BPA-free status is helpful to know, but it typically does not guarantee that there are no other potentially dangerous substitutes used in the production process.

Reports show that many manufacturers replace BPA with other types of plastic. These types include but are not limited to BHPF (fluorene-9-bisphenol), TPP (triphenyl phosphate), and bisphenol S (BPS). The exact health effects of the BPA substitutes, such as BHPF, TPP and BPS, are unknown at this point.

I was not able to find much detailed information on what kind of materials or chemicals are used, so I am not able to verify. I will be reaching out to Breville so I can include it in the Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus review.

→ Price to value: is Nespresso Creatista Plus worth the money?

Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus sells for about $$$$$ on Amazon (sometimes less, sometimes more, but I found this to be an average price). I have a lot to say about this price, which I think is not very fair.

On the positive side, the machine is technologically advanced and sophisticated. I truly appreciate its design and fine conveniences that allow to brew really nice coffee.

On the negative side, I think that this machine costs too much. It is only marginally better equipped than Nespresso Creatista, which costs about $150 less. Further, this machine severely limits a user to use aluminium capsules. Those capsules cost about 80 cents per a cup of coffee. Because there is not a lot of competition to produce capsules, these capsules can become more expensive overnight.

Though the machine is very strong without any doubt, I think that $$$$$ is too much to pay. I would be more comfortable to pay about $$$ for this machine.

Should I buy Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus? Owly’s verdict! 🔨

Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus coffee and espresso machine brings together Breville’s technical innovations (like an automatic steam wand) with the quality of the Nespresso brand. It is a beautiful machine, compact and reliable, and brings with it an air of modernity and sophistication thanks to the glossy design, the integrated LCD screen and the automated functions.

Despite those amazing features, I don’t find Creatista Plus to be an attractive choice for two reasons:

• egregious retail price, and
• capsule limitations.

In this price point, there are many wonderful espresso machines, including a much cheaper Nespresso Creatista version, which perform similarly, if not better.

What do you think about Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus? What was your experience with Nespresso Creatista Plus machine?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments, under this Nespresso Creatista Plus review!