The best thing about using an espresso maker at home is that you have plenty of options to pick from. Such as the Nespresso Creatista Plus vs Breville Barista Express espresso makers. If you’re looking for a faster and user-friendly pick, go for the Nespresso Creatista Plus. Its ease of use beats the hands-on espresso brewing experience of the Breville Barista Express.
The Breville Barista Express is known for its intuitive programmability. It’s ideal for brewers who love a bit more control over temperature, shot volume, and time. So if you enjoy experimenting with coffee, I would recommend the Barista Express.
But for better versatility and exciting features like pre-programmed coffee drinks, faster performance, and precision, the Nespresso Creatista Plus is the best.
Nespresso Creatista Plus vs Breville Barista Express: Comparison Chart
Last update on 2024-12-14 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Nespresso Creatista Plus vs Breville Barista Express: Differences
The Nespresso Creatista Plus is a better pick for its user-friendly, pre-programmed performance. The quality of its espresso is perfect. And while the Breville Barista Express also does produce rich espresso, it takes a different, slightly more time-consuming route to brew a great cup.
In this comparison review, the Creatista Plus has a higher rating of 3 – 2 for its automated programmability and fast performance. Not to forget, it’s relatively easier to use because the Barista Express offers a hands-on experience of making delicious espressos at home.
1. Espresso Taste
The Winner: It’s A Tie!
Coffee Quality / Coffee Grinder
You can only use coffee pods in the Nespresso Creatista Plus. And only Nespresso pods which are more expensive than buying standard coffee beans. But since Nespresso is gaining more and more loyal customers, there are many third-party coffee pod companies that make Nespresso-compatible pods. However, they are still a bit wasteful as most of them use plastic and are expensive.
You can also buy refillable metal pods for brewing espresso in a Nespresso machine. The downside to this is that you have to wash and refill them every time – this takes some time to do per shot.
You can buy all types of roasts and blends with a refillable metal pod. BUT you do need a grinder or else to buy pre-ground coffee. So it’s not the most convenient option for a faster brewing experience!
The Breville Barista Express in this way is simple, intuitive, and straightforward. Just add the coffee beans to the bean hopper and the machine takes care of the rest.
It produces a consistent grind each time. Thanks to the superior and durable burr grinder. Manual dose control with 4 different filter baskets is a breeze to use. The portafilter also feels sturdy and heavy-duty so there’s no concern of it breaking apart after regular use.
The overall flow rate and crema on the Barista Express are perfect. But since it’s semi-automatic, most of it depends on how you tweak the settings. While the Creatista Plus is more automated and doesn’t require such intricate tweaking to produce rich and professional results.
Brewing Technology
The main difference between the Nespresso Creatista Plus and the Breville Barista Express lies in their brewing technology. The Creatista Plus is a single-serve coffee maker. It produces rich and delicious espresso with the help of coffee pods.
The Breville Barista Express is a semi-automatic espresso maker that produces espresso with coffee beans. It features a built-in grinder so it is a direct bean-to-cup coffee maker for daily home brewing.
The Nespresso Creatista Plus has no bells and whistles. You can brew tasty espresso with the press of a button. With the Barista Express, however, you need to work hard to get good at pulling espresso shots.
The Creatista Plus does deliver creamy and rich lattes or cappuccinos or flat whites. It is quick to heat up, less than 5 seconds. You can also adjust certain important variables such as the volume, milk temperature, and coffee blend using the LCD display on top of the machine.
While the Barista Express does feature intricate programmability, it’s more hands-on than the Creatista Plus. If you do get it wrong, the grind size, temperature, or shot timing, the espresso will not taste good consistently.
2. Dose Control
The Winner: Nespresso Creatista Plus
The Creatista Plus LCD display offers automatic and manual adjustments. It features pre-programmed coffee drinks for a latte, Americano, cappuccino, and a few more.
You can select a different brew directly each time you want to make coffee. Select your brew size, even for a single-serve, from ristretto, espresso, and lungo sizes.
The high-resolution display of the Creatista Plus makes programmability easy and straightforward. It takes the guesswork away because you can select the settings you want and the machine does the rest for you.
On the other hand, Barista Express features a button analogue interface with manual controls and a pressure gauge. You have to select the grind size, filter, and temperature of the brewing.
The burr grinder grinds the coffee and delivers it straight to the portafilter. The pressure gauge on the control panel lets you know exactly how much pressure you’re applying which can make the process a bit more complex.
But it is through trial and error that you’ll learn the best espresso recipe for brewing daily. This step can be frustrating for someone who wants espresso without the learning curve. That’s why the Creatista Plus is a better pick for most people since both machines fall within the same price range!
3. Milk System
The Winner: Nespresso Creatista Plus
The milk system of the Nespresso Creatista Plus is automated and has self-cleaning functions like the auto-purge setting. The steam wand on the Barista Express is more hands-on which means it’s manual and YOU have to master the art of steaming milk.
With the Nespresso, that is not the case. It handles maintaining the ideal texture and temperature of the milk. You can also adjust the milk temperature if you like your drink hotter or warmer.
But based on the drink you select, the Nespresso Creatista Plus will automatically adjust the density of foam on the milk. Taking all the guesswork away. And I’m talking about the milk texture for a variety of specialty drinks such as cappuccinos, latte macchiatos, flat whites, etc.
With the Barista Express, there is a learning curve involved. You have to “hand-texture” the foam because you’re in control of how long you want the milk to heat up and froth. So if you don’t know about how a steam wand produces air bubbles in the milk to increase its volume and how that impacts the texture, you will have to introduce yourself to these concepts to use the Barista Express successfully.
4. Utilities
The Winner: Breville Barista Express
All things aside, the Barista Express offers everything a home barista needs to make coffee. You don’t have to buy a separate grinder or a milk frother or a tamper. So far as utilities go, the Barista Express is a complete package for home brewers.
It features a spacious bean hopper, a built-in grinder, a magnetic tamper, a portafilter, and a steam wand.
In the Nespresso machine, though it’s a single-serve espresso maker, you need to keep buying Nespresso pods to use in the machine. It does not have a bean hopper or a built-in grinder. Like I already said, even if you use a refillable pod, you have to buy a coffee grinder to grind fresh coffee and add it to the refillable pod. But that can get messy quickly and it takes more time.
Nespresso Creatista Plus vs Breville Barista Express: Similarities
1. Stainless Steel Construction
Stainless steel coffee makers are sturdier and last longer. The Creatista Plus comes with stainless steel construction with black plastic. It looks great and feels sturdy. Especially the pod drawer, that even though it’s built out of plastic, is not prone to premature wear and tear.
The water tank, cord, the hook-steam wand, and the drip tray. All these are excellent features that make the Creatista Plus powerful and sturdy.
The quality of the Barista Express is much the same. Built of stainless steel, it doesn’t feel cheap or flimsy. It also features a few plastic parts such as the top and bottom of the machine. The water tank is also made up of thick plastic. But it’s stronger and easier to refill than many other plastic water reservoirs on the market.
2. Cleaning & Maintenance
The Nespresso Creatista Plus features an automatic self-cleaning wand nozzle. And you have to just wipe the drip and steam wand after using it. The steam wand auto-purges automatically to get rid of tough stains.
The Barista Express, too, features an adjustable and automatic self-cleaning functionality. It cleans the important parts like the inside of the group head easily.
It also features certain cleaning tools to keep the filters and steam wand clean. The indicator on the machine lets you know when it needs to be cleaned to premature wear and tear is not a worry with the Breville Barista Express.
Quick Rundown Of Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus BNE800
- Please refer to user guide or user manual or user guide (provided below in PDF) before first use
Last update on 2024-12-14 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Quick Rundown Of Breville Barista Express BES870
- The Breville Barista Express delivers third wave specialty coffee at home using the 4 keys formula and is part of the Barista Series that offers all in one espresso machines with integrated grinder to go from beans to espresso in under one minute
- DOSE CONTROL GRINDING: Integrated precision conical burr grinder grinds on demand to deliver the right amount of freshly ground coffee directly into the portafilter for your preferred taste with any roast of bean
- OPTIMAL WATER PRESSURE: Low pressure pre-infusion gradually increases pressure at the start and helps ensure all the flavors are drawn out evenly during the extraction for a balanced tasting cup
- PRECISE ESPRESSO EXTRACTION: Digital temperature control (PID) delivers water at precisely the right temperature, ensuring optimal espresso extraction
- MANUAL MICROFOAM MILK TEXTURING: The powerful steam wand performance allows you to hand texture microfoam milk that enhances flavor and enables creation of latte art
Last update on 2024-12-14 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Product Videos
References
- Breville Nespresso Creatista Plus BNE800BSS from Breville https://www.breville.com/us/en/products/nespresso/bne800.html
- Breville Barista Express BES870 from Breville https://www.breville.com/us/en/products/espresso/bes870.html
See also:
- Breville Barista Express Vs Bambino Plus: Best Review
- Barista Express Vs Barista Touch: Best Comparison
I’m Floyd J. Alcock, an experienced barista with a deep love for coffee. I curate personalized coffee experiences, guiding customers through diverse flavor profiles and suggesting ideal brewing methods. My extensive knowledge of espresso machines enables me to recommend the best equipment to match specific needs and budgets. Sharing my expertise and passion with coffee enthusiasts brings immense satisfaction. I look forward to continuing my journey of coffee discovery with every customer I serve, fostering connections over a shared love for this magical beverage.