ALDI Stirling Designer Collection Premium Espresso Machine (May 2019, Mar 2020, Mar 2021)

ALDI Stirling Designer Collection Premium Espresso Machine – I encountered the same problem ie. leaking steam wand and inability to get seals. I note from Dean's review that the solution is to remove the seals from the HW wand and install them in the steam wand. It worked first go. I have not had any other issues to date. Thanks for the suggestion. In regard to how I decalcified my machine. Every 3… Read more

months I rinse it out with SCALEX it is meant for dishwashers but works on coffee machines as well. Mix a solution of 2 level t/spns per litre and do a cold water rinse of 3 cycles of the machine. On the 4th cycle just use cold water to get rid of the scaled residue. It works well. You could use other products but this one works well.

Grinder failed after 1 day- Tempo service lacking – I purchased the espresso machine and used it once, second time I used it the grinder made noise and failed to grind/drop the coffee. I called Tempo who told me to watch the YouTube video. I cleaned the bean hopper out and found a small piece of plastic, so obviously a mechanical fault. Aldi did not have any stock, so option was repair. After… Read more

several calls to Tempo I got a job number and I was told a service person would call. Two weeks later still nothing and when I called they informed me that I needed my proof of purchase, which I provided. Then I was told I had to take the machine to a service centre over an hour away. Leave it there, wait for parts that may or may not be available and then drive back 1 hour to collect it (4hrs driving), left without a machine for weeks and not sure if it can be repaired. Never buying a product that is associated to Tempo every again. I have to say though that the Espresso machine does make a good cuppa.

Great for 6 months, but now Grouphead gasket leaks – We have a good grinder and I did replace the double wall coffee basket with a single wall unit and the coffee has been great. We started having leaks at the Grouphead and contacted Tempo to get a replacement gasket. Despite promise of a response from their service team within 2 days - I had to contact Tempo again after several weeks. Turns out -no… Read more

parts available , only option is to ship unit back for a refund = rediculous. Problem my wife cannot find our receipt so we have a $299 unit for the tip???

Brilliant machine: failed for a 1 cent part – Worked for 18 months brilliantly...the tray fills up with water over time...of course! Not sure what other reviewers expected??? BUT The steamer started losing pressure and noticed it was leaking. Removed wand to find plastic seal was broken, no problem...a 1c part right? So i contacted warranty...well what do you know, the serviceable part is… Read more

not available!!? So you then return the unit fir a refund and its thrown in bin. All this societal pseudo moralistic stance is just crap...when you treat manufacture like this...at least 1/2 ton raw mqterials in these...in the bin for a 1c part. Shame on you tempo (warranty providers)...aldi should have checked...and its only like this in Australia...grun punkt policy in germany makes endpoint responsible

600 coffees later and going great – Graduated from Pod to Espresso machine 5 months ago. 600 coffees later: the machine is reliable, easy to maintain and the coffees are as good as the coffee shop equivalent. Milk frother still works perfectly, (takes a while to get the hang of the whirlpool technique). To sum up, at such an affordable price, this is the perfect first espresso… Read more

machine. A tip: get or watch a demo from a barista at the beginning of your espresso machine journey. It does take practice to perfect a coffee to your tastes.

Great value and specifications, shamed it stopped working – Purchased March 2020. Great machine and value, worked really well until it stopped November 2nd. Had the same problem as others, with the tray filling up with water. Visited maintenance manual and commenced descaling it. Followed the process to the letter of the law and at the end only had an occasional small trickle of water. Purchased some… Read more

professional decaling fluid and repeated the process, no improvement. Returning it for a refund. Shame as there is nothing in its price range that matches its specifications.

Surprisingly good! But make sure you do two thing first – As a coffee enthusiast after a reasonably priced machine, this one stuck out to me. Premium design, fully weighted group handle, proper weighted tamp, and a design with an uncanny similarity to a certain Brand with a large range of espresso machines. Honestly, out of the box and with my cheap grinder, this thing made terrible coffee. The taste… Read more

was bitter, washed out and muddy and the crema absurdly foamy. After some research I narrowed this down to two causes: Firstly, the included portafilter basket is double walled (also known as a pressure basket). This enables you to use any grind of coffee coarse or fine and get some sort of an espresso shot at the expense of taste. Secondly, the grind that my cheap grinder was putting out was inconsistent and not fine enough.

The secret to getting good, cafe quality, espresso from this machine was to: 1. Replace the double walled filter (pressure basket) with a single walled 2. Purchase a good quality grinder! (I use the Breville Smart grinder Pro, set to level 7 which is on the very fine end)

After doing both of these things I have been able to achieve consistent results and often will make coffee that is better than some I can buy in town at a cafe. The crema is rich, taste is great with regular adjustment to grind size. The milk frothing on the machine is perfectly acceptable and the pressure and temperature perfectly adequate once allowed to warm up (5 minutes is fine). Milk temperature is purely up to the user, if you want a hotter coffee then steam for longer. The shot times are also programmable which was very useful!

To sum up, after switching from the pressure basket to the single wall basket and using a quality grinder, I found this machine to be dependable and great value for money. It makes a good shot and is very simple to use.

**Group head will fit any generic 58mm filter basket that can be purchased online, eBay or espresso parts stores. Make sure you use a good grinder! You will not get good results without it.

High hopes – It made five great coffees then it died. I really like it - solid, decent water storage, good solid S/S tamper the handle came with interchangeable cups - single or double. As far as I was concerned good quality for the $299 price tag. I was really disappointed as I had purchased it North Richmond, NSW to take back to remote WA. I sent it back and… Read more

was given a refund straight away as there were no more coffee machines available. Now I'm looking for a replacement and there is not much out there I like - maybe a 2nd hand pro Expobar two station - had one before and it was great value for $1300.