Terminal Two at London Heathrow offers several airline lounges. All serve coffee. But the coffee in one lounge stands out amongst others.
Lounge Coffee Guide – London Heathrow Terminal 2
Let’s set the scene. It’s an early morning and you’ve just arrived at the airport. You have Star Alliance Gold status or are flying in a premium cabin, so you have lounge access in Heathrow. But the question is which lounge to use…because there are four.
I’ve reviewed the four Star Alliance lounges in Heathrow Terminal 2:
While each lounge has pros and cons, let’s review the coffee situation in each one.
The Lufthansa Lounge has an automatic machine that dispenses fairly bland and weak coffee (the source of the beans are not identified). Not recommended.
Singapore Airlines has one of the better automatic machines on the market, which foams milk nicely for espresso drinks. However, the coffee itself was on the bitter side and seemed stale (even though the machine freshly grinds it for each cup dispensed).
United Airlines has a very old machine. The cappuccino was far too milky (worse than even a latte), though it tasted like fresh milk instead of the UHT milk in the Lufthansa and Singapore lounges (frankly, I don’t know how anyone can drink that “milk”).
Finally the Air Canada lounge features a large La Cimbali machine with a barista and Lavazza coffee. While a real barista and nice machine often lead to good coffee, the key is the coffee itself. Lavazza is also not my favorite coffee, but much better overall than the other lounge choices. Ask for a double shot of espresso for a stronger drinker. Yes, this is the best lounge coffee in the terminal.
A warning, though. I’ve had bad coffee here too once. The barista must also have skill…
And if you want to do it yourself, there’s a self-serve machine with similar functions.
And we mustn’t forget the Plaza Premium Lounge, also located in T2. It also offers a barista, though I found the coffee scalding hot and lacking flavor. I’d give it another try next time.
CONCLUSION
Yes, you can find Pret A Manger, Costa, and Caffé Nero in the terminal, but I think the coffee at the Air Canada lounge is even better. And by the way, I don’t think the Aer Lingus Lounge has good coffee (a fifth lounge in T2 I did not mention above). I’ve never been inside, but from the pictures I have seen there is not even an espresso machine.
What is your favorite lounge coffee in London Heathrow Terminal 2?
Typo alert: pret à manger ( not manager). As in ‘to eat’ and something I’m sure you say ( or think) quite often “ Je veux à manger”
Personally I’d go for Costa when electing to pay rather than in a lounge. But I only drink black, short or long, never with milk.
Apple is so odd. I distinctly typed Manger and it auto-corrected.
I also left off the Plaza Premium Lounge, which also has a barista. I’d still pick AC as better.
Yes, Apple does it all the time. I’m not convinced that the vigilance required to avoid the inevitable mistakes is worth the convenience of the function.
In these times I’d go for barista coffee, even if it’s bad , rather than machine…on the assumption that the barista is likely to be better trained in COVID-safe procedures rather than the rest of us pushing buttons on a machine.
What’s the lounge situation in T2 these days? Surely a 5 lounge coffee crawl isn’t possible at the moment… Or is it?