Nespresso (Nestlé) - Creatista Plus (BNE800)

Sage Nespresso Creatista Plus if you’re looking for handy one with Nespresso pods. Makes all different types of coffees, foams the milk itself (foamy for cappuccino, milky for latte etc) we love it it’s been used multiple times a day for over a year now and no issues

I had exactly the same Nespresso machine (Creatista Plus) and was absolutely caning it with the amount of coffee I was drinking and then spending around £60 per month on pods too. I bought a Sage Barista Express and now spend around £20 per month on 1kg of LuCaffe Classic beans per month. The coffee (although I appreciate won't be to everyone's tastes) makes a decent cup of milk based coffee and is head and shoulders above any Nespresso I ever had. Do it, you won't look back, although warning you may end up going down a rabbit hole. But if you just want a decent coffee, this is one of the ways to do it. You may also find that there may be a Breville/Sage reseller (think in the UK it's Sage, in the US it's Breville) on eBay where you can get a machine albeit refurbed for considerably less than this.

Honestly, it comes down to how much effort you want. If you want simple, consistent coffee with good milk and almost no cleanup, the **Creatista Plus** makes sense. It’s not “espresso geek” level, but it’s a clear step up from moka and instant. The Ninja gives more options but isn’t really traditional espresso, and a used semi-auto only works if you’re okay adding more work. For easy milk drinks, Creatista fits your use case well.

Get a Creatista Plus (OL) or a Creatista Pro if you’re in Europe. It warms up in 3 seconds and gets you a simple lungo, much better than any Keurig coffee, in about same amount of time. But you can still get your latte, cappuccino, flat white, and simple espresso when you want them.

I was on the same boat; go with the original line Nespresso! I have a Creatista plus and it’s the best. Nespresso pods for the OL are cheaper than for Vertuo and you can also find other companies (outside of Nespresso) that make pods compatible with the OL machines at an accessible price. I really enjoy that it’s super easy to make a good coffee and I can still find time to do it even if I’m rushing to get to the lab or in between experiments.

Short answer: I was Nespresso fanboy and thoroughly enjoyed to have and drink over 20 different “flavors” organized in a cool-looking acrylic cube. I’m thankful they made me believe I could appreciate coffee after all since I never liked drip coffee. Months after brewing my first espresso shots in a Breville I couldn’t stand drinking nespressos any longer. Tasted like shit. Be warned though. Pulling an Espresso is nowhere near as easy as a Nespresso. You will spend time and money. You will absolutely fail if you don’t have perseverance in learning what went wrong and how to improve. You will often get bad shots that can taste nearly as bad as the Nespresso. But you will be well rewarded if you endure beyond the point of no return.

Have you tried Nespresso? You can always visit a Nespresso store and try one. We have had it in our house for ages and really like it. We also have a Creatista Plus and it's a high-end Nespresso machine, it doesn't make better Nespresso but it feels premium and it can make milk better than a standalone frother, but it won't be as good as a real espresso machine, both for the coffee and the milk. We also have an espresso machine (Sage Bambino). We use the Bambino for good coffee when we have enough time and the Nespresso for a quick decent coffee. It's important to know Nespresso is in no way close to real espresso, but I wouldn't say it's terrible coffee. Maybe consider an automatic if you don't want to spend too much time brewing the coffee?

Just going to throw out there that you can get a Nespresso creatista plus at that price point. I have one, and it's amazing. For me personally I prefer the Nespresso espresso over ones from my local coffee shops. The Roma pods are just outstanding

I think switching to a Nespresso OriginalLine would be much better coffee than drip, since it makes espresso shots without any extra work.

The Creatista is a great machine, likely the best in the Nespresso range. Setting aside Nestle’s evils (though you shouldn’t, they are uniquely and remarkably evil even by megacorp standards), the question you should ask yourself is whether you want coffee at home as a convenience or as a hobby. A full home espresso setup will produce superior drinks in every way but will also ask substantial money and time of you. You might consider purchasing specialty coffee pods for your Creatista in order to sample some of the benefits of a full espresso setup. The beans in the pods will be much fresher and higher quality than those that Nestle sells and the Creatista will do as well a job as anything could at turning them into delicious drinks.