Nespresso Creatista Plus Espresso Machine by Breville Brushed Stainless Steel

So I have owned a lot of machines from a Nuova Simonelli Aurelia (world barista championship machine) which required a 20amp circuit installed at my house to a lot of the lower end machines like the Brevilles and Delonghi (not a fan of Delonghi). You never buy a pod machine to save money - you buy it to save time. I think they figured if you bought Nespresso brand coffee pods you're essentially paying around $50 or so dollars a pound which is crazy expensive. Yet when you compare the convenience of a good latte that costs you near a dollar with a $5-7 with tip coffee at starbucks, you're doing ok. So what do I think of this machine? I actually really like it. I can make a latte in the time it takes my other machine to warm up. This machine takes 3 seconds to go and my other machine - I need to grind, tamp and then it still takes my other machine roughly 30 seconds to heat up. It could probably make a few cups before my professional machine even warms up. I love doing things myself and enjoy the art of the grind, the tamp, adjusting for weather and knowing my skills but honestly sometimes I just want a quick, consistently good latte or flat white. The machine definitely delivers there. I love how hot it makes the shot, I love how adjustable everything is, and I love that I can make a coffee two minutes before a meeting. (I can't even get my other machines warmed up) I bought one for my work and brought it home and my wife loved it so much she asked me to leave it. I ordered another for my Dad because he loved mine so much I had to get him one. The settings that work for me are flat white - milk level 2, latte milk level 5, and cappuccino milk level 8. They closer to the real deal with those settings. Please don't judge my poor latte art - I was just trying a few with the machine and thought I would post them to show how close to the real thing you can come with this machine on the first go... I'm sure if I gave it a few tries - I could probably get them a bit more symmetrical. The point is - you can still have fun with it. So maybe you're wondering - does it match a full professional machine? First off - of course not - I can do a better shot, have more options, and can do a lot more with latte art and milk texture on a real machine. I can get a lot better and more authentic crema on a professional machine. On a professional machine I can choose exotic beans and experience crazy weird taste and half the fun of coffee is making it. (nespresso has quite a variety though which is worth trying - including some good third parties like Pete's, ect) That being said - It's not supposed to compete with a professional machine. It's a home machine under $500. We're talking a HUGE price difference to a professional machine which can range in the 10-15k range for a good one like the Aurelia. (And you still need to buy your Mazzer grinder for 1-2k!) it's a lot of work and expensive to own a professional machine. I also find I can waste more on a coffee machine - you need to drink enough to get through a bag of beans before they get past the first month of roast. So if you want a good machine, that makes decent espresso, and can do it consistently well, and extremely fast. I think this is an excellent addition to any home. Read more

Used Nespresso Citiz machine for decade. This machine is far better. Milk frother is fantastic. Makes wonderful milk based espresso drinks. Great retro look (imho). Get it on sale as it is a little pricey. Read more

Good quality machine, has a variety of barista features. Well designed and compact. Milk steamer wand is very useful. Read more

I have had to return 2 of these poorly performing machines within a month, thank you to Amazon for standing behind your products! They quickly replaced the first machine at no extra charge even though the price had gone up $200 in only 10 days since I bought it. They issued a return for the 2nd machine today. I hesitated to write this review but since I relied on the 80% 5-star reviews here when I chose this machine, I felt I needed to report my experience with it. The good: milk frothing is wonderful and the Creatista is beautiful. The bad: both Creatistas produced very little crema and weak, flat flavor from Nespresso capsules (tested many varieties). I have an 11 year old Citiz with Milk and a 2 yr old Breville Pixie. Both produce wonderful rich espresso. I compared the Creatista Plus espressos with those from my cheaper machines and there is a huge quality and taste difference. The replacement Creatista also came with a defective drip tray that didn’t fit the machine. I’m so disappointed because the milk frothing steam feature is great, but doesn’t make up for weak coffee from expensive capsules. Read more

I was not a coffee my entire life...until I had a latte and discovered the deliciousness that is espresso mixed with frothed (oat) milk. After a few weeks of buying them near work, I quickly surmised that not learning to make lattes and doing it at home would become a very expensive habit, very fast. So I set out to figure out how to make a latte. The problem? Espresso machines require quite a bit of effort to learn, and even more effort to maintain. I also didn't like the idea of dealing with all the grinds. Remember, I don't drink any other coffee so it's not like I have all the gear to begin with. Enter the Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus. I spent hours doing deep dives on reviews and comparing features, and kept coming back to this unit. It seemed expensive at $450-500. But then I did the math (living in a HCOL city) and at $5-7 per latte, I would easily cover the cost of the machine itself in 75-90 lattes. And with pods costing <$1 per, the ongoing cost was still significantly less than the alternative. Is it more expensive than making fresh beans rather than using the pods? Sure. But the convenience makes the delta a no-brainer for me and I'm sure for many of you. Note: Depending on the hardness of your water this will need to be descaled every once in a while. At 2 lattes/per day, it took me a couple minutes to hit my first descaling service. It's a pretty straightforward process but you'll want to buy the Nespresso Descaling Kit (comes w/ 2 uses). I would recommend buying it directly from Nespresso, as well as the pods, because you'll actually save money compared to buying it through Amazon. And the best part about this unit, it's so digital that it will tell you when these things need to be done rather than you needing to keep reminders in the calendar. Read more