Lakeland Barista Espresso Coffee Machine review: “Proper coffee without the premium price”

RRP at time of testing: £120 | Check price at Lakeland

Our verdict

The Lakeland Barista Espresso Coffee Machine makes rich, aromatic espresso, looks considerably more expensive than it’s £170 price and offers exceptionally great value for money now it’s reduced to £120.  It is slim enough for a busy kitchen worktop, makes coffee fast and genuinely tastes better than the coffee in my local Costa.

There is a learning curve, though. It took me 10 minutes and a YouTube video to work out how to insert and lock the portafilter into place. My first two espressos were little more than brown water because I hadn’t tamped the coffee firmly enough. Once I understood the technique, both jobs became second nature, so I would recommend persevering. Once I’d mastered it, the flavour was a massive improvement on my Nespresso coffee machine, which I never had a problem with until I tried this coffee machine from Lakeland.

My barista skills need work but it tasted better than it looks

If you want to wake up and drink coffee immediately, this might not be the machine for you. With my Nespresso coffee pod machine, all I had to do was fill up the water tank, pop in a pod and push a button. For this barista machine, Lakeland recommends running hot water through it before brewing, so cold internal parts don’t lower the temperature and affect the flavour. Mine took around 55 seconds to switch on and for the flashing lines to turn solid, followed by another 20 seconds for the hot-water rinse.then I had to measure grounds into the portafiler and tamp it down, which added another 45 seconds. Once everything was ready, the espresso itself took about 30 seconds. It’s not a huge amount of time, but in the mornings ever second counts.

Popping in an ESE espresso pod saved a little time over using ground coffee, though. These are flat paper pods made for traditional espresso machines, not Nespresso capsules. They keep the coffee neatly contained, create less mess and are generally individually wrapped, helping each portion stay fresh until it is used. I thought fresh ground coffee tasted better, but the pods were welcome on rushed mornings.

Frothing milk was the biggest challenge. The machine doesn’t include a built-in milk frother or even a milk jug to use with the steam wand, so I initially tried using a Thermos mug without measuring the milk particularly carefully. On my first attempt, it expanded over the top and covered the machine, my worktop and burned my thumb. I had to switch everything off to stop what looked like a small dairy explosion.

You need to release steam for around 10 seconds first, use roughly 100ml of milk in a container holding at least 200ml and move the milk up and down while swirling it to create the right texture. I found that much harder than making the espresso. After three messy attempts, I returned to the ProCook milk frother I had previously tested for Mumsnet, which produced creamy milk with far less effort.

A proper stainless-steel milk jug would almost certainly make the steam wand easier to control, and I think Lakeland should include one. However, the quality of the espresso, compact design and low noise still make this machine excellent value. 

If you want every stage completed at the touch of one button, this isn’t the machine for you. If you’re willing to learn a simple technique in return for much better coffee, the Lakeland makes premium-tasting drinks without the usual premium price.

How we've tested the Lakeland Barista Espresso Coffee Machine

I used the Lakeland as my main coffee machine for more than four weeks, making coffee most days rather than saving it for a leisurely weekend experiment.

I began with single and double espressos using ground coffee. To start, I adjusted the amount of coffee and how firmly I tamped it. I paid attention to the extraction time, strength, aroma and consistency of each drink.

I had fun learning how to make better coffee at home with the Lakeland Barista Espresso Coffee Machine

I followed Lakeland’s recommendation to preheat the machine by running hot water through it before brewing. I timed it at around 55 seconds to switch on, with another 20 seconds needed for the hot-water rinse.

Once I could produce a decent espresso, I moved on to cappuccinos and lattes. I tested the steam wand with approximately 100ml of milk, although my first attempt involved far more guesswork and ended with milk across the worktop. I tried moving and swirling the cup to create a smooth texture before comparing the results with those from my ProCook milk frother.

By the end of week three, I made a cortado: espresso softened with roughly the same amount of warm, lightly textured milk.

I also tested ESE espresso pods for espressos and Americanos. I compared their flavour, freshness, convenience and mess with loose ground coffee.

Alongside the drinks, I assessed how quickly the Lakeland heated up, how much noise it made, how often the 1.5-litre tank needed refilling and whether its slim design worked in my busy kitchen.

What's in the box?

The box contains the espresso machine, portafilter, single/ESE and double filter baskets, a combined measuring scoop and tamper, cleaning brushes, removable water tank and removable drip tray.

There isn’t a milk jug, which seems an odd omission for a machine with a steam wand. You’ll need to buy one separately if you want to make cappuccinos, lattes or cortados properly.

The Lakeland Barista Espresso Machine arrived in one-piece, ready to plug in and power on

Performance: How easy is the Lakeland Barista Espresso Coffee Machine to set-up and use?

The Lakeland has a welcome lack of buttons. There aren’t dozens of drinks or menus to scroll through when I’ve only just opened my eyes.

Preparing the machine was simple. I washed the removable parts, filled the 1.5-litre tank and ran water through the system.

Attaching the portafilter was more frustrating. This is the handled dish part that holds the filter basket and coffee, and it has to be lined up at the correct angle before being twisted firmly into place. I spent around 10 minutes wrestling with it before finding a YouTube video that demonstrated the movement.

The instruction manual (and a YouTube video) helped me attach the portafilter for the first time

Once I had seen somebody do it on screen, I was able to insert it myself and soon forgot I’d struggled at first. Thankfully, learning how to operate this machine isn’t something that takes weeks of effort. It’s harder to set up than a Nespresso pod machine but it also produces better coffee.

The Lakeland instruction booklet was super helpful, explaining how to make espresso step by step. After filling the water tank and preheating the machine, I filled the portafilter, then levelled and tamped the grounds. Next, I locked it into place and pressed a button for a single or double shot. Then all I had to do was wait while the aromas of fresh coffee filled my kitchen.

As I became more confident, making coffee started to feel enjoyable rather than technical. I liked that there is so much more flavour choice with ground coffee than there is pods, when I was shopping in the supermarket, with many more websites specifically dedicated to fresh coffee. Although some bags can be around £6 each, I’ll get around 20 coffees from that which means premium coffee for about a tenth of what it would cost in a cafe.

How easy is it to tamp coffee properly?

Tamping turned out to be the difference between thin brown water and a proper espresso. I was so eager to use the machine that I initially missed the page dedicated to tamping in the instruction manual. That meant my “coffee” ended up being more like brown water as the grounds were not condensed enough to flow through the machine properly.

The technique is to add the ground coffee, then press it down with the flat base of the supplied tamper. The top of the tamper should align with the rim of the portafilter basket. This helps show that you have added the correct quantity.

The instruction manual showed me how to tamp coffee step-by-step

Lakeland also suggests gently tapping the portafilter to check your work. If the grounds stay in place, they’re compressed and ready for brewing. If they move around, they need tamping more firmly.

What is the coffee like from the Lakeland Barista Espresso Machine?

Once I had learnt to tamp properly, the Lakeland produced rich, aromatic espresso with much more depth than my pod machine.

Making coffee became a treat for all the senses. The rich smell filled the kitchen, the machine gave a gentle hum and I could hear the espresso trickling into the cup below. The process felt far more of a special ritual than pressing a button on my pod machine. 

I preferred coffee from the Lakeland Barista Espresso Machine to coffee from my Nespresso machine

The result changed depending on which ground coffee I used, too. Instead of automatically putting the same capsules into my trolley, I added a couple of different single origin bags of grounds to my weekly shop over the four week testing period. Some tasted darker and more bitter, while others were smoother or slightly sweeter. I’m not claiming professional barista status after four weeks, but the Lakeland has made me pay much more attention to what is actually in my cup.

What I hadn’t initially considered was how quickly ground coffee can lose its freshness after opening. Grinding exposes more of the coffee to oxygen, so its aroma and flavour deteriorate faster than they do in whole beans. This is not just me being subjective. The Specialty Coffee Association says the carbon dioxide that escapes from whole beans over weeks can be lost from ground coffee in minutes. 

I’ve already decided to look for a coffee grinder in the Black Friday sales and spotted one for £20 in Lakeland’s early offers. That would let me buy whole beans, keep them fresher and grind only what I need for each espresso. It is slightly annoying that such a slim machine may end up with another appliance sitting beside it, but together they’ll still take up less room than most barista machines I’ve seen. Even after spending the extra £20, the set-up remains considerably more affordable too. 

How good is the milk frother on the Lakeland Barista Espresso Machine?

The milk frother on the Lakeland Barista Espresso Coffee Machine takes some getting used to

The steam wand works, but learning to control it was harder than making the espresso, in my experience.

Lakeland recommends releasing steam for around 10 seconds before putting the nozzle into the milk. This clears water from the system and ensures the wand is producing proper steam.

You then need around 100ml of milk in a container holding at least 200ml. Milk expands much more than I expected as air is introduced, which I discovered when my first attempt overflowed across the worktop and machine. I had to switch the machine off to bring the situation under control.

The correct technique involves keeping the nozzle close to the milk’s surface, then moving the container up and down while swirling it to develop a smooth texture. There’s definitely an art to it.

My first three attempts were messy. Not having a proper milk jug made the job harder because the cup I used didn’t give me much room or control. A stainless-steel jug with a pouring spout would help you judge the quantity, position the wand and pour the finished milk.

In the end, I have to admit that I preferred to use the ProCook milk frother and hot chocolate maker that I already had in my kitchen. It heated and frothed the milk without covering the counter with a one-button press.

The Lakeland steam wand still did the job, and with a proper milk jug I’d probably get quicker and less messy with practice. But first thing in the morning, I’d rather press a button on my separate frother than spend time swirling milk around and wiping splashes off the worktop. 

Can you make cappuccinos, lattes and cortados easily?

Once I could make a reasonable espresso and texture milk, the drinks themselves were simple to put together.

For a cappuccino, I brewed the espresso and added hot milk with a thicker top layer of foam. My lattes used more milk and a smoother texture, while the cortado combined a double shot with a much smaller quantity.

The Lakeland doesn’t give you a dedicated button for each drink. That means you need to learn the basic proportions yourself, but it also lets you prepare them exactly how you like them.

Even better is that you don’t need latte-art skills to get a good drink. Mine were never going to be displayed on a café’s Instagram feed, but they tasted creamy and balanced, and everyone I served one to during testing was impressed.

Can you use coffee pods in the Lakeland Barista Espresso Machine?

The Lakeland accepts ESE paper pods as well as loose ground coffee. These are flat, pre-measured paper pods rather than the plastic or aluminium capsules used by Nespresso machines.

You place one into the supplied single-cup filter, attach the portafilter and brew in the usual way. There is no measuring or tamping, and very little loose coffee to wipe up afterwards.

Using ESE coffee pods produced less mess than ground coffee

I used the pods to make both espressos and Americanos. They were convenient, particularly when I wanted coffee quickly or couldn’t face finding grounds underneath my fingernails again.

The results were perfectly drinkable but lacked the richness of my ground-coffee drinks. The pod espresso tasted flatter and slightly thinner, with less of the freshly brewed aroma that had become one of my favourite things about the machine.

Adding hot water made a reasonable Americano, but I could still taste the difference. Ground coffee produced the fuller drink and gave me much more choice over the flavour.

I like having the pod option for particularly rushed mornings or guests who don’t want a lesson in tamping. I wouldn’t buy the Lakeland solely to use ESE pods, because its best coffee came from loose grounds.

Lakeland Barista Espresso Coffee Machine: how fast and noisy is it?

Once the machine had warmed up, extracting an espresso took around 30 seconds. Preparing the portafilter added another minute or two, depending on how carefully I was measuring and tamping.

That makes it slower than pressing a button on a pod machine but considerably quicker than walking to a coffee shop. After the first week, the preparation had become part of the routine rather than something holding me up.

I expected the noise to be one of the drawbacks. My SIL has a barista machine from another brand that sounds as if it is preparing for rocket take-off whenever she makes a drink.

The Lakeland was much quieter. The pump makes a low mechanical sound while the espresso is extracting and the steam wand hisses while frothing, but neither seemed excessively loud.

I could still talk over it, and it didn’t make me worry about waking the whole house if I used it early. The sound also only lasts while the coffee is brewing or milk is steaming, rather than continuing throughout the morning.

The steam from the frothing can be loud, especially if you factor in a little swear noise when you accidentally burn yourself. But when I used my separate milk frother, that part was silent. For a manual espresso machine with a 15-bar pump, it was more discreet than I expected.

How easy is the Lakeland Barista Espresso Coffee Machine to clean?

The removable drip tray and detachable frothing nozzle make the actual machine fairly easy to look after.

The drip tray was no more trouble than the one on my Nespresso. I slid it out, tipped away the water and rinsed it before replacing it. The frothing nozzle detached so I could remove any milk residue properly.

Loose ground coffee caused most of the mess. It landed on the counter while I filled and levelled the portafilter, stuck to my hands and occasionally found its way underneath the machine.

My technique improved, but I never achieved the neatness of dropping a sealed capsule into a Nespresso. This is the price of working with actual ground coffee rather than something safely contained inside a pod.

After brewing, I emptied and rinsed the portafilter, cleaned the steam wand and wiped the surrounding surface. The polished exterior also shows coffee splashes and fingerprints, so I gave it a quick wipe to keep it looking smart.

None of the cleaning was difficult, and I didn’t have to scrub at awkward fixed components. It simply involved more small jobs than using a pod machine.

In the instruction booklet, Lakeland recommends a deep clean once a month. This involves soaking the portafilter and removable parts in warm water for longer and running a special coffee machine descaler liquid through the water tank for one cycle.

Is the Lakeland Barista Espresso Coffee Machine good value for money?

At its regular £170 listing price, the Lakeland costs more than a pod machine but considerably less than many barista-style models. Reduced to around £120, I think it offers excellent value.

The Lakeland Barista Espresso Coffee Machine looks stylish and produces sensational coffee

The lower price becomes comes with a couple of compromises. There’s no grinder, automatic tamping or one-touch milk system. Lakeland doesn’t include a milk jug either, which feels particularly mean when the steam wand already requires some practice.

However, the machine gets the most important job right. Once I had learnt to tamp properly, it produced rich, aromatic espresso that tasted considerably better than coffee from my Nespresso machine.

The ESE pod option adds convenience without locking you into a capsule system, while the slim design and three-year guarantee strengthen the value further.

At around £120, I’d definitely buy one. I also think it would also make an impressive Christmas present for somebody who loves coffee and wants to move beyond pods. I’d include a stainless-steel milk jug and a bag of good ground coffee so they have everything needed to start.

Who is the Lakeland Barista Espresso Coffee Machine best suited to?

The Lakeland is a good choice for somebody who wants fresher, better-tasting coffee but isn’t ready to spend £500 or more on a bean-to-cup machine.

It works particularly well as a first manual espresso machine. The single- and double-shot buttons keep the controls simple, while the pressure gauge gives you something to work with as your technique improves.

Its slim design also makes it suitable for smaller kitchens. It fitted neatly on my counter without forcing me to move the other appliances we use every day.

It won’t suit somebody who wants a cappuccino at the touch of one button. You need to measure and tamp the coffee, froth the milk and clean the loose grounds afterwards.

I can also see it making a great Christmas present for a coffee lover who enjoys learning new skills.

How does the Lakeland Barista Espresso Coffee Machine compare?

Final verdict: is the Lakeland Barista Espresso Coffee Machine right for you?

The Lakeland took me from serving brown water to making espressos, cappuccinos, lattes and my first cortado in four weeks. Getting there involved reading the instructions, watching a few YouTube videos and drinking some fairly disgusting early attempts. But learning a new skill after 40 felt surprisingly satisfying, especially when the coffee finally started tasting as good as it smelled. 

 Once I learnt to tamp the coffee properly, it produced rich, aromatic drinks that tasted considerably better than the ones from my pod machine.

There is more mess. Loose grounds end up on my fingers and worktop, the steam wand needs cleaning and the shiny finish shows splashes. You also need a milk jug and either ground coffee or a separate grinder.

None of that has made me want to return to capsules. Instead, I’ve started trying different ground coffees and noticing how much the flavour changes. I have enough on my daily to-do list without adding “coffee connoisseur” to it, but apparently that’s what this machine has done to me.

At around £120, the lower price doesn’t translate into weak coffee or a machine that feels flimsy. It means fewer automatic features and a little more work from you. If you’re happy to learn how to tamp and froth milk, the Lakeland is a great first step into making barista-style coffee at home.

About the author

Zoe Griffin is a mum of four and Mumsnet content writer specialising in home essentials and appliances. She has 15 years’ journalism experience and has written for The Daily Telegraph, Mail Online, the Sunday Mirror and The Independent. When she's not on a laptop, she enjoys long-distance running, karate and cheering on Brentford FC.

About Mumsnet reviews

All Mumsnet product reviews are written by real parents after extensive research and testing. We work hard to provide honest, independent advice you can trust. We sometimes earn revenue through affiliate links, but this never influences our coverage.

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