ALDI Lumina Espresso Machine (2009-2012)

These little machines make excellent coffee and are simply great value for money – I was given one of these Lumina machines by a friend who hated it but I absolutely love it. I am experienced with high end Rancillio espresso "Silvia" one group machines and honestly, my tiny little Lumina does a very good job. Not so much the frothing as you can't expect a small machine to produce steam like one of its big brother counterparts… Read more

but coffee extraction itself is excellent.

So impressed, I want to know more about the mechanism that creates the pressure and the steam so quickly Does it have a boiler and why are the filter cups in the groups designed the way they are.

My only criticism is you can't bang the spent coffee grinds out like you can with a Rancillio as the Lumina's filter cups are only loosely held into the group head, so instead, you find yourself using a spoon or butter knife to dig it out over the sink. A small price to pay.

In sum, the Lumina Espresso Machines are excellent value for money.

Cheers Ian Brown

Nothing to lose – Just got one of these used at a garage sale for $5...I am inexperienced at using coffee machines, only ones I have cut my teeth on recently are Nespresso and Cafitaly capsule machines.Nice and easy, but not that economical or environmentally friendly with all those spent plastic capsules. Have made a couple of cups with this using some old tim… Read more

Hortons satchels I got as a gift years back...the water does not seem very hot even compared to my capsule machines, and taste is a bit groundsy. Anyway, I'm looking for a manual to figure out how to work it properly, including the frother and cleaner-fuse things . General question...Why do those manual-download companies such as manuals online and kitchenmanuals online bother inserting links into these reviews and ALDI help pages etc, when the link it takes you to has NOTHING to do with the item manual you are requesting? They do not seem to have a manual for this unit, so why waste your time linking you to their site...when you click on the link, you get a manual for a Poulan yard machine, for example? When you put in a search on the site., there is nothing in results there to remotely match this machine..Stop click-baiting and messing people about..

Interested in review by Mazzi – If Mazzi is interested I have a brand new Expresso Machine never used. It was purchased from Aldi some years ago and put away. It is Product code: 5223. Model No: 32801. I was most impressed with the content of her review and happened to be having a clearing out when I decided to look up the Aldi web site on this product.  Show details

Best coffee machine we've ever owned – We purchased this machine around three years ago for around $80 and it has produced day after day of brilliant coffee with excellent crema. All parts are still working including group head seals and collar etc. It has been used at least twice a day, every day. We threw away our $800 Sunbeam Cafe series machine in favour of this Lumina one. My only… Read more

complaint is that I can't find another one to buy for a friend and as a back up when this one eventually dies. We've stopped having coffee out because coffee at home is so good. Please Aldi, bring it back again!

A $69 steal – This little unit I purchased over two, possibly three years ago. I was fed up with my Euro auto espresso machine breaking down and costing a fortune to repair each time, so I went to the most basic Aldi espresso machine, like the picture above. It has been wonderful. What do you expect for a $69 machine? It makes good coffee and relatively… Read more

simply. Both espresso and latte or cappucino etc. For me, It has more than paid for itself over the years.

The only detraction is that as it has aged, it sheds more and more water, water leakage, in the process of making a cup of decent coffee. For its age and its price, I can put up with this.

Now I am waiting to buy the next generation Aldi machine and hope it will be as well used and enjoyed as much as this one.

Great Coffee maker – Works great for the price ! ALDI coffee taste great too. Used the ALDI ground coffee off the shelf, found it was great tasting coffee. This machine would be great for an office of camper van etc great compact size and easy to use.........................Well done ALDI........Great price, great Coffee, YAH ! Ease of use Small size, only one cup per scoop

Surprisingly impressed! – I was hesitant about purchasing the Lumina coffee machine,fearing it couldn't be a decent machine at that price.I know my coffee and eventually decided to give it a go when the price dropped to $69 It's the best investment ever! My daughter agrees with her chai lattes.Who would go to all the expense,not to mention waste,from an environmental… Read more

point of view,to using pods? Very simple and straightforward to use and clean.It 'doesn't use pods'.Yeah! And cafe latte is great and creamy.

Excellent Value – My wife bought a DeLonghi Iconia espresso machine for our main kitchen, so I bought an Aldi's Lumina espresso machine for our ancillary kitchen. Thus I've been able to directly compare the two. The Delonghi unit typically sells for over three to over four times the price of the Lumina. Both units state that one should run a cup of clear hot… Read more ·  6

water through them before making the cup of coffee.

Plainly, the Delonghi unit is the superior unit - it always makes a good very hot cup of coffee regardless of quantity of water and of filter used - although it didn't come with the frothing mug that did come with the Lumina unit, nor with the pin gadget for cleaning the filters. It also makes more of a racket than the Lumina unit.

By comparison, the Lumina unit is a bit erratic when making small cups of coffee (40ml to 100ml)using the medium filter. Sometimes they come out relatively hot (but not as hot as the DeLonghi), sometimes barely acceptable, and sometimes luke warm and I then have to microwave the cup to get it acceptably hot. But the "crema" on top was always fantastic, same as that from the DeLonghi unit. I tried numerous variations to consistently get the small cups to be hotter - leaving the machine on longer, being very quick changing between the hot cup of water and then attaching the coffee and filter, making two cups in a row etc - but I still haven't fathomed how to get them consistently hot.

However, when I make a big cup of coffee (160 to 180ml), using the deepest filter, the coffee is nice and hot all the time - and the crema is a marvel to behold.

Curiously, the Lumina runs a lot of hot water into the bottom tray during (or after) the operation - anywhere from half to two thirds of a cup - which the DeLonghi unit doesn't do. So that by the time you've run the cup of hot water for preparation, made your cup of coffee, and another two thirds cup has run into the tray, the water in the container can have dropped pretty low.

I'm not into making cappucinos so I only tested the frother unit on a mug of hot water. It seemed to work fine, making the water hot pretty quickly.

The heating tray on top of the Lumina unit does get warm after about 20 minutes.

Clearly, if there is only one of you in the house, and you like small cups of coffee, you may not be too pleased with this unit. If there are two of you, well you could make a big cup and pour it into two smaller heated cups. Also, if you like lip-burning hot cups of coffee that you have to sip for a few minutes, you may not be too pleased with this unit.

But if you like big cups of relatively hot, ready to drink, frothy coffee, this machine is great value. Very inexpensive. Great for making big cups of coffee. Compact and relatively quiet operation. Extra accessories. Erratic temperature when making small cups of coffee. Uses a lot of water.

Cheap and effective but – Cheap on price but the water heater is rubbish and I end up boiling a keetle to fill it up. The frother isn't great either. it takes ages to warm the milk. Other than that it is easy to use and looks nice. I can't seem to find the pods in Aldi? Looks nice, easy to use Cant find the pods

Lumina (Aldi) Coffee machine, – My daughter bought the pod and separate frother machine from Aldi and it seemed a messy way to make coffee. Also the pods are reasonably expensive per pack. So I was happy and surprised to see the Lumina Espresso machine on sale at Aldi a month or so ago. As I have done some Barista work I know how to use the frother etc so went for it. At $69.00… Read more

there is really not much to lose as bigger and hopefully better machines run into the $1000's...too much to pay for a homemade cuppa I feel.

I am still learning as to how to get the beans ground just right,. I like the idea of being able to use my beans of choice, grind my own if I want etc.

So far the machine has perormed well, certainly for the price and we are enjoying our coffees in the warm winter sunshine on our patio.

Go Aldi. inexpensive, can use our choice of bean and grind, has a good strong frother, comes with all the bits and pieces you need including milk jug. nothing so far...maybe could heat up to a hotter temp

Cheap, but you can do better – After nearly two years Iam onto my third machine as the previous ones had to be replaced after about 12 months, thankfully they come with a 2 year warranty to cover this. Apart from the reliability issues after a few months, the machine does work quite nicely and produces quality coffee from your preferred coffee beans. The machine can be noisy… Read more

and is not the quickest, but this are only minor issues as the results are quite impressive. If the reliability issues can be resolved, this could be an outstanding cheap alternative to the major brands. Unfortunately, it is really annoying having this machine replaced all the time and therefore I cannot fully recommend this product. Very good coffee making ability, cheap price. Unreliable

I am happy with mine – As above. If you compare the Aldi one with other very expensive models it will always loose. It is unfair to do it. It is simple, makes good coffee, and has a small footprint. Did I mention that is cheap? It payed for itself after a few coffees. The price of coffee in Canberra is outrageous by the way! cheap, simple, small footprint  Show 2 replies

Good – My first ever espresso coffee machine and only really bought it because it looked damned good and was cheap. Working really well so far and has got me hooked on strong tasty coffee. Good idea to preheat the cup and the thingy that screws into the machine with the ground coffee in it first. Very good, cheap price. The creme on the coffee very… Read more

good - thick and smooth. Heats up quickly. Allows you to change the sieve to make different strength brews. Can't really fit a mug under it - but suppose its only built for espresso cups. Don't really use the steamer so can't comment on that.

Cheap price, poor quality – We bought this expresso maker from Aldi in September 2011, and use it once or twice each day to make either one or two coffees at a time. When it was brand new, it made expressos which were quite reasonable in terms of quality - given the price range of the machine. After about 6 months of use it started leaking from the bottom of the… Read more

machine, and after about 7 or 8 months the leaking became so bad that it is unusable.

We haven't used the steamer much as the volume of steam you can get from it is not great.

When the machine was last used about a month ago it left a large pool of water on the benchtop after the first coffee was made. It also seems to have lost pressure. When new it produced a passable crema on top of the expresso (helped I know by the fact these machine - and most others in the sub-$1000 range - use a double skinned porta filter - which means that the crema is probably mainly bubbles). But it still was reasonable taste. Once the leaking started the quality of the coffee declined quickly. No matter how I grind the coffee or how I tamp it down in the portafilter it won't produce any sort of crema now.

As it is less than 12 months old and within warranty I have called Aldi about it. Aldi have been very disappointing as regards the warranty. Despite the fact that I kept the (now faded) receipt, they refuse to do anything with regard to the warranty unless I supply the exact model number. I've long since thrown away the manual, and the machine doesn't have a product number anywhere on it. The part of the receipt which might have the product number on it has faded away.

I know you get what you pay for, and this was a cheap machine, but you expect it to last more than 6 month of light use. Cheap, Initially produced ok coffee Lasted only 6 months. Aldi not being helpful with warranty

Bad – My husband got this for me for a surprise for my birthday. I have always wanted a 'big' automatic machine (big price as well!) but at $1500. plus thought this is the better option. But I am a big believer in you get what you pay for.Will take it back and try again. It is small and compact. Not taking up a lot of bench space. Very cheap. Like the… Read more

little clip that holds the used coffee grounds in till you get to the bin. Is hard to make more than one cup of coffee, as takes a while to heat and so on. The first one we bought would not work at all, so rang the Aldi helpline. They said just to take it back to the store. They still had some so we got a refund and then bought another. It worked fine twice, but not frothing milk now. Does not automatically measure the coffee into the cup. You have to stop it brewing manually when you think you have enough.

Bad – I am not very impressed with this machine at all but I guess you can only expect to get what you pay for nowdays!!!... I really like the milk frother or steamer attatchment on this machine the best & will probably use this machine to make nice frothy hot chocolates more often than the cappuccinos that I was originally planning on using this… Read more

machine for, due to the machine being so slow at making the coffee & not yeilding a very pleasing result for all the time & effort I put into it!!!...

I would definently recomend that you look for a better machine & be prepared to spend a bit more money on it if you are really serious about making quality expresso or cappuccino coffee!!!, & especially if you are planning to use it more often or on a regular basis, but if you don't mind spending lots of time for an avarage or medicore-style result then this machine could do the job!!!...

I have rated it at 2 stars & to be quite frank, & honestly would not highly recomend this machine to others who would ask me for my opinion on it & I really hope my review helps you to consider the pros & cons, as well as to have a realistic expectation of it before deciding to purchase it -Good Luck!!!... The milk frother or steamer attatchment works fairly well & the stainless steel body of the machine is attractive-looking & is also fairly easy to wipe clean, so long as you are careful not to scratch the surface by using a soft sponge or cloth and making sure not to use harsh scourers or chemicals to clean it!!!... The motor on this particular model does not seem to be very powerful at all & it takes quite a long time for enough to get through the included filters, for you to get just 2 small cups of expresso coffee from it & the supposed cup warmer hardly works at all no matter how long I leave my cups upon it making this advertised or mentioned feature a total waste of time and effort!!!...

Excellent – I have never had a coffee machine as my husband has always said we will get a really good one that wold be totally automatic installed when we renovate our kitchen .Well i've been waiting 20 years. I am so over my cafetera Bialett. So I came home armed with my new espresso machine Great price. Heats up really quickly . The Crema is fantastic!!!… Read more

its that sweet cream looking layer of thick effervescent bubbles on the top of the coffee its a good indicator of really good espresso machine. Nothing .Ah well ive been up for days as I cant stop making coffee is so much fun !