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I bought this machine last month from Aldi and regret my choice. No real crema, coffee comes out cold. I think the heating element has broken. Have resorted to pouring boiling water in the reservoir to make drinkable coffee. Also didnt keep the receipt. My Breville cafe roma cheap machine that ive had for years is better.
Just joined because I saw the Chinese made ("Italian pump") Aldi Lumina "dual boiler" at the mall tonight and wanted to know more about it so came here and found a lot of rather defensive knee-jerkism. Wanted to say just "Well, let us know how it goes."
I myself would never gamble on such a dark horse (Ive just taken possesion of an Oscar after years of trying to get a decent shot out of a Saeco Via Veneto, and that was after a lot of research) but I would not automatically sneeze at the possibility that it (the Aldi) might be the tits. Never underestimate the Chinese.
I was asked how long this machine would last and I thought I would just give an update. Mine is still going strong (purchased Sept 09) and as a first machine it has done the job. It helped with my education of coffee and I have since used other machines at friends and realize its limitations. Im kinda hoping that the machine will conk out soon so I can update but I still get by on the coffee I get from it.
Ive also started bike riding - first bike a Malvern Star Oppy A4. A good beginners bike but now Im looking at an Italian beauty - Colnago CLX 2. I will go the same way with my next coffee machine and go Italian. Coffee like bike riding has a certain snob value attached to it. If I can make a decent coffee from two machines, a Sunbeam or an Italian - I would prefer a Italian, and spend some time talking about the beauty of the machine.
This machine is no beauty but for me, it has been good start. Ready to step up now though.
Although this is an old thread, I thought I would make my first post on my experience with this machine.
First here is my coffee journey...
I started by getting into filtered coffee, then progressed to a single shot stove top espresso pot. From there my first coffee machine was a small De Longhi manual machine I bought from RetraVision for between $80 - $90 - and I was very happy with the quality of coffee it produced. Sorry I dont have the model number. But the bang for buck (at least for me) was undeniable. I was very happy with it for about 5 years before the boiler started leaking, and my attempts to fix made it unusable.
So I was in the market for a new machine when this Aldi Lumina Signature machine become was advertised.
It looked like a reasonable machine and was high in features for the dollars, so I bought one.
I may have tampered the grinds to hard because the first shot I tried to pour gave it a hernia - water pouring out from beneath.
I should have returned it for a refund, but I exchanged it.
The coffees it makes are ok, but not as nice as what I was used to with the De Longhi.
Almost a year after purchase the exchange unit also had a hernia (I find I have to tamper pretty hard to get the flavour).
Unfortunately my wife had thrown out the receipt in one of her cleaning frenzies, so I could not exchange nor get a refund.
I had the remains of the De Longhi and I was able to transplant one of the plastic/vinyl tubes that had slipped out of its fitting. So Frankensteins moster lived.
Since then a metal clip holding one of those tubes in place snapped, which I made a makeshift replacement out of a wiper blade clip. It lived again, and has been working (although less regularly) since.
So the moral to my story is that I would not recommend these units. Mine has only made it this far (1 and a 1/2 years) with some dubios makeshift repairs.
I would like to upgrade to something a little more serious soon. I dont have the funds to go with the new Breville BES900. My sister has a EM6910 that I have had some good experiences with. My brother just bought himself a 2nd hand Rancilio S24 that I have yet to sample.
The new machine will mostly be a weekender, however if I can make a quick(ish) good latte, it may be used for morning coffees before heading to work.
So I am keeping an eye out for EM6910s at a decent price, but am happy to take other recommendations on board.
Anyway, I stumbled across these forums recently, and have done a little readin of them before now. I am looking forward to getting to know some of you.
I bought one of these going on about 12 months ago, Ive cleaned it up once and it now needs a descaling and proper clean up i think including removing the baskets to thoroughly get rid of the build up of oils etc. This is normal for most machines tho and apart from the diminished steam - id say about 80 or 90 percent of when i first got it - it is still going well.
I simply got one of these to begin with because under 300 bucks was so tempting and Andy Freemans post was convincing enough that it would produce enough steam to get good milk and that I wouldnt have to stand around for 5 mins waiting for the milk to warm up like i did with the previous cafe roma.
It has done everything id hoped, Ive just got myself a Breville smartgrinder BCG800 yesterday and is in transit so it is going to be interesting to see if i can choke the pour and work back the grind in the hope that i can get a better shot out of it. Im currently doing a double shot of about 15ml to 20ml each for every cup on grinder setting 1 and max dose.
Im doing everything I can to save my pennies but the lure of the Breville BES900 may be too strong and it sounds like the exact thing i was looking for when i had to make do with this thing. This machine was simply 250 bucks I wasnt excited to spend but has turned out to be money well spent. Im just hoping now the clean up i give it doesnt extend its life too long so that my hand will be forced to bag myself a Breville 900 and drag myself out into a new dawn ;D
Unless someone wants to buy a used superauto espresso machine from Canberra that gets used about half a dozen times a week... make me an offer b*#ches.
Originally posted by 50727575767A7D7267767757667078130 link=1230621062/65#65 date=1305463865
Although this is an old thread, I thought I would make my first post on my experience with this machine.
I would like to upgrade to something a little more serious soon. I dont have the funds to go with the new Breville BES900. My sister has a EM6910 that I have had some good experiences with.
Anyway, I stumbled across these forums recently, and have done a little readin of them before now. I am looking forward to getting to know some of you.
Well after 2 years of ownership my Aldi is still going strong making at least 2 cups of coffee a day. No dramas, steam still good, coffee average. So I was tempted by the Breville BES900 and using my credit card points got one for $710. Great machine which blows the Aldi out of the water.
Im happy to say that for $179 the Lumina has been a great machine but its time for a new owner and is now up for sale on Gumtree for $90 with original box, manual and receipt.
Like CaffeinatedDuck I am also looking forward to getting to know u guys.
Hi all, not sure how active this forum is as I have just joined. I found this forum doing a Google search for Aldi Lumina coffee machine, the reason being that I love mine so much that I don't know what I am going to do when it finally dies! That being said it is actually still going strong after 4 years! I can't fault any of the functions (the first thing I did was remove the cappuccino frother as I prefer to have more control over my froth) SOOO I am hoping someone who has had this machine for some time can help me to chose another that has all the same functions AND is a reasonably comparable price? long shot I know (I even got the Aldi one on special for $140) Cheers!
help me to chose another that has all the same functions AND is a reasonably comparable price?
Unfortunately whilst some of us may have started out enjoying Aldi quality coffee, I for one would never be comfortable recommending anyone associate the brown liquid expelled from an Aldi machine with the word "coffee", even though I'm only a couple of stones' throws further down the road than you. I started out with my wife's Breville Cafe Roma that she got free with a credit card, and now have a second hand Breville BES800 that I got from eBay for $50, although within a few months of owning that I am now dreaming of a Breville Dual Boiler which a lot of the old hands on this forum would probably turn their noses up at. Beware the road ahead!
I would recommend you look at something like the Breville Cafe Roma, or if you're happy with second hand look at something like a Sunbeam EM6910, but you'll really need a grinder if you want to move above about 4/10 coffee. If you can increase your budget a bit you can pick up a new Sunbeam EM6910 + EM0440 grinder for under $500.
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