Lakeland One-Cup coffee and tea maker June 2010
Tea or coffee at the touch of a button
This tabletop gadget from Lakeland costs less than £20 and lets you brew fresh coffee and tea for one. We gave it a go to see if it's a worthy addition to your kitchen and found that while it's certainly a handy option for those who enjoy freshly-ground coffee, it does get a bit messy.
Lakeland One-Cup review
This compact tea and coffee maker from Lakeland promises to brew a single cup of your favourite hot drink in minutes.
You can use tea bags, ground coffee and coffee pods with this gadget and it costs a reasonable £15.99. It’s certainly a handy appliance, but we found it quite messy to use.
Using the One-Cup
Setting up the One-Cup is a doddle using the easy-to-follow instructions provided. It’s also quite compact so doesn’t take up too much space on your worktop.
The idea is simple – place a tea bag or ground coffee into the removable filter, fill your chosen cup or mug with water and add it to the water tank. Close the lid, place your cup or mug below the dispenser, and press start. The start button lights up when in use and clicks off when your brew is ready.
The advantage of the One-Cup is that you’ll get the perfect amount of tea or coffee for your cup size, up to a maximum of 340ml. It also comes with a funnel which is suitable for using with most coffee pods. You simply remove the filter and pop in the funnel which holds the coffee pod in place.
One-cup brewing
But when you actually start using the One-Cup things gets a little more difficult. We found pouring water from a mug or cup into the One-Cup’s water reservoir impossible to do without spilling it – the opening is too small. So you’ll need a cloth handy to mop up.
Despite the mess, the One-Cup means you can have freshly ground coffee for one without needing a cafetiere or coffee maker. There’s plenty of space in the filter to add the amount of coffee you want to to suit your taste.
The removable filter makes disposing of used tea bags or coffee easy - it just needs a quick clean and it’s ready to use again. There’s also a handy splash guard that should be placed over your cup while the One-Cup maker is in use. It’s easy to wipe clean using a damp cloth if some drips do escape.
It took about three minutes to brew a mug of tea with the One-Cup. This was a little longer than it took our researcher to boil the minimum amount of water in their kettle (enough for two mugs). But when brewing time is accounted for, it’s no quicker in practise. Plus you’re not wasting any hot water by using the One-Cup.
Pros: Flexible, easy to clean, no wasted hot water
Cons: Hard to fill the tank without spilling water