You can tell a lot about a hotel room by its coffee maker. If it's a kettle and sachets of Nescafe, then fine, but I'll probably not be taking my coffee in my room unless things get desperate. Recently, I stayed at the fanciest hotel I've ever stayed at, and looking for my morning coffee fix, came across the Nespresso Creatista Plus by Sage (available here from Amazon) in the small pantry. It looked great within the space, and having never used it before, it felt like the perfect time to put to the Livingetc test.
Of course, it makes total sense for a hotel room, even one on this scale, to opt for a Nespresso machine like this over a traditional espresso maker. You don't always want the hassle of calling for room service each time you want a caffeine fix, and these machines are easy to use, even for the uninitiated, producing very good coffee with very little work. Having used Nespresso machines before with a varying success rate, I'd say the Nespresso Creatista Plus by Sage is easier to use than most. It veritably holds your hand through making the coffee in a way that only a much more expensive machine would usually, so there's little guesswork in getting the type of coffee you want.
Of course, it's a Nespresso maker, so it's a little limited in what you're able to achieve outside these parameters, but if you're not a mega coffee nerd and just want an upgrade to your standard morning coffee with a maker that actually looks good on your counter, then this machine is still a great option. Newer models have more mod-cons, but if you're happy to keep it simple, this one's for you.
But before you decide, let's dig into it a bit further with our coffee test.
First launched in 2016, this coffee maker isn't a new machine, but it is still an attractive prospect. Newer Nespresso machines, include the Creatista Pro (which is more expensive, and not as chic in my opinion), as well as the Nespresso Vertua Next (which design-wise isn't for me), and the Nespresso Vertua Creatista, which is a lot larger. This machine uses the Original Line of capsules, which are a little cheaper, too.
First Impressions
The big trend in coffee makers right now is the 'coffee shop' aesthetic. That means stainless steel, steam wands, various dials that make your machine look more complicated (often more complicated than it actually is). On this front, the Sage Nespresso Creatista Plus definitely delivers. I like the all-stainless steel version, and though it's not as big as another popular machine like the Sage The Barista Pro, it still commands a presence. While it looks a little complicated, it's actually not at all. There's one dial with a digital screen, one place to put the Nespresso pod in, one place where the coffee comes out, and your milk wand.
It bears repeating, it's not as big. That means if you've only got a small kitchen, this is a better option for you than one of the large espresso makers. Unlike a lot of pod coffee machines, this one incorporates the milk wand, meaning you don't need an extra appliance, without being as large as something like the Nespresso Vertuo Creatista.
Testing
To test the Nespresso Creatista Plus by Sage, I made three coffees of different styles: a lungo (which is basically a slightly longer espresso, ie. it has more water in it), a cafe latte, and a flat white, to get a taste of each of these coffee types, and a sense of how to operate the machine.
The lungo is the simplest, as you just pop your capsule in, put your cup under and press the start button. The cafe latte and flat white the first step is the same, then it moves onto the milk steaming or frothing. Once the Nespresso pod has been expressed, it will wait for you to press start again on the milk function. You lift the steaming wand, put the milk jug underneath, and it does your milk in about 10 seconds. The one thing I couldn't quite figure out was how much milk to put in the jug, perfectly, so that you get the nice mix of hot milk and frothed top out of the jug, but I think I'd get there with practice.
After you've removed the milk jug, the wand will self-clean inside with a jet of steam and hot water — something important to keep it running smoothly, but you'll need to clean up the tip of the wand itself. The machine will need descaling at least once a year, maybe more depending on your water hardness, but it's always a good idea to use filtered water to make Nespresso coffee taste better.
Quality of Coffee
I made my coffees using Nespresso's Volluto pods, to suit my tastes. 'Crema' and Nespresso aren't really words that go together. The top of the coffee, that looks somewhat like a traditional crema, is created by the Nespresso's brewing process, but isn't necessarily a real one. Regardless, the coffee delivered was light and creamy, and the warmed milk enriched the brew.
Its possible to manually set the milk temperature, but I was happily guided by the machine, and was impressed by how silky the milk turned out. I didn't test the machine with plant-based milks, but there wasn't an option to adjust when making a cafe latte, for example, so you might need to freestyle the temperature if you're using anything other than dairy.
This machine is limited to the Original Line Nespresso pods, not the more luxe Vertua ones, but you could also use any Nespresso-compatible ones, too.
Value
Though it's an older machine, it's still retailing for around the original price of £529 on the official Nespresso website. It's, still, a lot of money for a Nespresso machine, especially when there's a Sage bean-to-cup machine in The Barista Express that only costs £100 more, full price. However, when it's on sale, as it is on Amazon right now, it's only around £360, which feels like a very good price for what you're getting.
Should you buy it? If you're a budding barista with a discerning nose for coffee, then maybe not. If you want something quick and easy to use, but that's going to uplift your basic coffee offering, this machine is something of a wonder. It's the sort of machine you can work without ever having to pick up the manual, which for some people, is what's going to happen regardless of which coffee maker you pick.
