Review: Nespresso Creatista Plus

Capsule coffee machines are dime-a-dozen these days, but when it comes to the leader of the pack, it’s hard to look past the Nestlé’s Nespresso brand. The Swiss company has been evolving their machines, and one of their highly-sought after additions is the Creatista Plus, which looks and sounds the part, but is it the differentiator between a normal capsule coffee and a really good cappuccino?

So what it makes the Nespresso Creatista Plus so different? From an aesthetic perspective, it’s easily the sexiest (yes, I called a coffee machine “sexy”) machine I’ve seen. The light and rather compact body is encased in stainless steel, with some well-finished plastic accents which blend well with the metallic look. This is something that will catch the eye when sitting on your kitchen counter.

One of the standout features on the Creatista Plus is a decent-sized LCD screen, which sits on the top of the machine along with a control knob. This gives you a breakdown of what the machine is doing, allowing you to choose what coffee you’d like to make, instructions on when and how to clean, and even recipes for the drinks it’s making. It’s a small touch that may seem unnecessary, but having the option to change on-the-fly and know when it’s time to clean your machine is a huge benefit.

While some other capsule machines can take a while to heat up, the Creatista Plus does so in just 3 seconds, allowing you to make a coffee quickly so you don’t have to stand around the kitchen twiddling your thumbs.

The real star of the show, though, is the milk frothing wand, which has 8 texture levels and 11 temperature settings for frothing your milk. It really does make the difference, as the secret to a good coffee is bean quality and well-frothed milk, and the Creatista Plus managed to deliver both of those.

There’s no doubt that Nespresso’s capsules are in a league of their own in regards to quality and taste, but there’s always the concern of them being bad for the environment. Thankfully, Nespresso have a new recycling initiative to help with the waste situation, too.

Together with Oricol, a local environmental services company, Nespresso aim to divert waste from landfills, turning it rather into a resource. Nespresso’s machines come with a recycling bag (but you can also grab them at any Nespresso store), which holds about 100 capsules. After you’ve filled your bag, you can drop it off at any Nespresso boutique or store. The little capsules are then transported from the drop off locations, by road, to Oricol’s Spartan facility in Johannesburg. Nespresso have developed a customised aluminium separation machine which Oricol put to use at the facility in Johannesburg. Here, sorting for separation, storage and recycling can begin.

The Nespresso stores are located:

Cape Town – V & A Waterfront, Canal Walk
Johannesburg – Sandton City, Hyde Park
Pretoria – Menlyn Shopping Centre
Durban – Gateway

The Nespresso Creatista Plus is a superb option for those looking to upgrade their current capsule machine (or looking for a solid first-time choice) that’ll give you all the bells and whistles to feel like a barista, but without any of the heavy lifting.

The Nespresso Creatista Plus retails for R7,499.