ALDI Lumina Coffee Dripolator

Excellent – I received this Lumina Coffee Dripolator for Christmas last year. Following the instructions it was very easy to set up, instructions were easy to understand. The machine will start making coffee at a specified time, so it's great to wake up and find that your coffee is already made and waiting for you. That said, to make just 4 cups (espresso size, or 2 cups for a standard size) doesn't take very long anyway.

The downside to the grinder is that it can only handle a small amount of beans, otherwise they don't come out fine and well-ground. The machine is tricky to clean and after use leaves condensation on the inside of the plastic viewing bubbles. I don't know if this is normal for coffee machines, but it's a minor complaint. I'm not sure of the point of the viewing bubbles anyway. If they weren't there, you wouldn't notice the condensation in the first place and by next use when filling up the water, it would look like new again.

I would recommend using store brought filters instead of the filter that comes with the machine. The filter that it comes with does its job with a small amount of grit left at the bottom of the pot, but wear and tear will eventually happen over time and I don't think it would be easy to get a replacement. When using the store brought filters, no grit is left at the bottom of the pot.

My only big complaint is that when filling up water, the machine will keep beeping until its closed. I think this is a safety feature, but it can get a little irritating for someone having coffee withdrawals. When cleaning the machine, make sure you unplug it first - unless you're a tolerant kind of person.

My favourite feature is that the hotplate will keep the coffee warm for 2 hours, and then the machine will switch itself off. If you need longer than 2 hours you can always switch the machine back on and the hotplate will warm up again without trying to make more coffee. When doing this, the hotplate is very slow to warm up again but once again, not a major problem. The anti drip feature works very well, I've only had problems with drips when I pulled the jug out too soon.

You can even programme it to grind coffee beans before making the coffee, though waking up to a sound like a chainsaw wielding maniac has just broken into your house is a pretty scary experience. I've never owned a coffee machine before, but I don't think it's normal for coffee grinders to come with a silencer anyway.

All in all, it's easy to use, makes coffee fast and is reliable. Apart from the constant beeping when the lid is open, the problems that it has are only minor and in the end doesn't do anything to ruin the quality of the coffee or your life. Easy to use, fast, keeps coffee warm 2 hours after making it, life-giver of coffee Constant beeping when lid is open