Nespresso Creatista Plus Coffee Machine by Sage Review

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Nespresso are marketing experts when it comes to creating an experience which makes you fall in love with their products. 

If you have ever been to one of their boutique retail outlets you kind of the coffee version of an Apple store.

There are only a handful of products in a large space and all of them make the same quality of coffee but you feel as though you are transported into an Italian coffee shop with surroundings that inspire you to buy something

They hire George Clooney to promote their coffee on TV but does the hype live up to the reality?

Overall Score 10/10

Design 10/10

If you like your kitchen appliances modern and stylish then this is going to be an instant hit with you from a design perspective

All Nespresso products except for the bottom end have great care and thought invested in the design of the product to ensure that their coffee machines are not something that you want to hide away in the corner of the kitchen but instead want to show off and have as the pride of place on the worktop

The Creatista Plus is one of Nespresso’s top-end coffee machines and the design is certainly reflective of that.

This POD coffee machine has been designed and manufactured by Sage who have their own line of top-end Espresso machines

This machine is beautifully finished in a combination of Matt and Gloss stainless steel with a black base which seamlessly melds into the main body.

This is simply a stunning looking appliance which exudes class and has a wow factor about it. Full marks here.

It measures in at 17.1cm wide, 39.3cm deep and 30.8cm high.

It’s certainly not a big coffee machine but the depth is greater than the average so make sure that your kitchen worktop can accommodate it

Functionality 10/10

Producing your coffee is controlled by a digital display which sits on top of the coffee machine. One dial does everything.

There are 3 elements to producing a coffee with this Nespresso machine (or two if you don’t want milk)

Firstly, there is the type of coffee you would like. You get 8 choices here which will correlate to the type of capsule that you insert into the machine. All of the expected options such as Flat white, Cappuccino, Latte and Lungo are all there plus more.

You simply twist the dial to select the drink of your choice and then press down on the knob which moves you to the next element.

Secondly, coffee volume which is the amount of water you would like delivered into the cup. It is important not to over or under extract the coffee going into the cup so cleverly Nespresso has placed a line visually on a cup with the digital display showing you the optimum amount of water delivery but you can override this if you want for more or less water. Very straightforward and simple. Once you are happy with that press the dial again to take you to the milk settings.

Thirdly, you can choose the exact temperature of the milk which suits you best by selecting from one of 11 temperature settings and also the amount of froth you desire. Again, very easy. Make sure you place the milk jug on the temperature sensor so it knows when to stop at just the right time.

Press start to begin coffee delivery and once done press start again to start milk heating and frothing. Everything starts and stops automatically. Brilliant.

There is a neat little cup holder which pops out to hold smaller espresso cups or larger cups can be placed directly onto the drip tray.

Nespresso also throw in a stainless steel milk jug which shows maximum and minimum milk levels to be used.

Ease of use 10/10

Convenience is the number one reason that you should be influencing you towards purchasing a Nespresso coffee machine. If you want great coffee but you don’t want the hassle of dealing with ground coffee beans then this is the route you should be going down.

This model provides the ultimate in convenience. With a 3 second heat up time there is no waiting around for the machine to be ready once you turn it on. By the time you have reached for the capsule and inserted it into the machine you are good to go.

Stick the milk jug into the steam wand and place it on the temperature sensor. By the time you put your shoes on the milk will be ready for you to pour straight into the coffee.

We are not big fans of having a milk carafe attached to the machine for fully automatic preparation as the milk tends to go off quickly even if placed pretty quickly into the fridge after preparation and also you are not in full control of the amount of milk that goes into the coffee so you end up with a coffee which is weaker or stronger than you want.

The Creatista Plus gives you full control over exactly how much milk you add to your coffee but without having to stand there and heat and froth the milk.

It gives you the best of both worlds.

3 seconds to heat the machine up. Another 3 seconds to insert the capsule and press the start button. 10 seconds to insert the milk into the steam wand. You are looking at about 20 seconds to prepare a close to coffee shop coffee experience.

That’s as good as it gets so 10/10 for ease of use.

Quality of coffee 10/10

There is no point in producing a great coffee machine if the coffee doesn’t match.

It does and it is the reason that they have risen to be one of the market leaders alongside Delonghi.

They rate their coffee so highly that they have named it “grand cru” which is the name given to fine wines

The selection of around 25 different types will ensure that whatever your taste you will find something to suit.

Be aware though that they don’t come cheap and the cost of a Nespresso coffee will be at least double what you would pay for an alternative method of making your coffee with freshly ground coffee beans.

It’s worth knowing that you do not need to buy Nespresso’s original coffee POD’s if you don’t want to. There are numerous alternatives such as these compatible capsules which are much cheaper than the originals. Only you can decide how the flavour stacks up and if you are compromising on quality for price.

As the owner of a Nespresso machine for a number of years I can personally vouch for the fact that Nespresso does produce excellent quality coffee.

Value For Money 10/10

This is not a cheap machine but the astonishing level of automation and speed of this machine to produce a great cup of coffee means we have to give it 10/10 despite its higher price point.

This coffee machine is great value for money despite it’s more expensive pricepoint.

An almost perfect score for this coffee machine with just 1 mark out of 50 deducted for quality of coffee, not because it is bad but strictly speaking it is not freshly ground.

Altogether a fantastic coffee machine which provides great coffee and impossible to beat for convenience.

Here is a short video

Last update on 2024-04-14 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API