13 Piping-Hot Gift Ideas for Coffee Lovers
I love coffee. I spend more time making coffee each morning than most people do making breakfast. For those of us who've become obsessed, it's no longer a habit. It's a ritual. It's a ceremony. It involves fire, water, air, earth, and—dare I say—spirit.
If you know someone like me (or you are someone like me), I'm here to help you find the perfect gift. It's a tricky thing finding the right gift for the highly opinionated coffee lover. Chances are they already have their ceremony the way they like it, but that doesn't mean it can't be improved with a thoughtful gift. Here's my guide to buying the perfect gift for the coffee lover in your life.
Be sure to check out our many other buying guides. We have a few coffee-related guides, including our favorite cold brew coffee makers, portable espresso makers, and cappuccino machines.
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Photograph: Trade CoffeeA Coffee Subscription
Trade Coffee SubscriptionNothing makes a coffee lover happier than good fresh beans. Which ones? Well, that's tricky. If there's a good local roaster near you, give them a call and ask for recommendations. If you want to give your coffee lover some variety, a subscription services make a wonderful gift. These services deliver fresh, delicious coffee right to your door. There's a lot of options out there, each with its own twist. Be sure to read our full guide to the best coffee subscription boxes.
Our suggestions: Several of us on staff have and enjoy Trade Coffee, which works with small roasters. Trade offers gift subscriptions ($60 for three bags of coffee). Another fun one is Angel's Cup, which sends samples in unmarked bags for unbiased, blind taste testing.
Photograph: AeropressCoffee on the Go
AeroPress Go Portable Coffee MakerThe AeroPress Go (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is barely bigger than a coffee mug, is incredibly lightweight, and makes one of the best cups of coffee you'll get on the go. It's as good as the standard AeroPress—easy to use, good at minimizing bitterness, capable of an excellent cup of coffee—just smaller.
The AeroPress is very forgiving. While it can take a bit of experimenting to get it to make coffee exactly the way you want, it's difficult to make a bad cup of coffee. That makes it a great gift for someone who isn't necessarily a coffee fanatic, yet.
Photograph: JEFFREY MICHAEL WALCOTT/FlairArtful Espresso
Flair Signature PlusThe Flair Signature series espresso makers seem to harken from another era, like something you'd find on the counter of a tiny coffeehouse in prewar Italy. Its design feels timeless, and it produces hands-down the best extraction of any device I've tested, portable or otherwise. If you're wondering, yes, this does pack up into a small suitcase so you can bring it with you while traveling, whenever we get back to traveling.
If you want to class up your coffee lover's kitchen, the Flair is the way to do it. If you're feeling generous, the Signature Pro 2 ($309) is the even nicer, solid stainless steel version.
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Photograph: PrimulaOur Favorite Cold Brewer
Primula Burke Cold Brew Coffee MakerEven seasoned coffee lovers like me don't always think of cold brewing coffee, which is a shame because a good cold brew is a great, refreshing afternoon pick-me-up. Try it with some macadamia nut milk. Just trust me on this one.
Our favorite cold brewer is the Primula Burke, which topped our guide to the best cold brew coffee makers. It's simple to use and brews 32 ounces of smooth, flavorful cold coffee. The mesh basket filter is fine enough that you won't get the heavy sediment that taints some cold brewers.
When you're done, cleanup is a breeze. The bottom of the Burke's filter screws off, allowing you to easily eject used grounds.
Photograph: AmazonThe Perfect Travel Mug
Contigo Luxe AutosealI've had an earlier version of this Contigo mug for nearly 10 years and it has never once leaked or spilled, which is basically all I ask of a travel mug. As an added bonus, it will keep your hot items hot for about five hours and cold things cold all day. Not bad for 18 bucks. The updated version here is a favorite of Gear team writer Matt Jancer, who says this version has also never leaked on him. Seriously, these are great, and they're cheap. Grab one for yourself while you're at it.
If you're not content with this very nice mug, we recently updated our guide to travel mugs, which has some of our other favorites from Yeti, Snow Peak, and others.
Photograph: AmazonA Manual Burr Grinder
Hario Skerton ProYou know those swirling blade grinders you can get at any home store for less than 10 bucks? Those are fine for grinding spices, but they're terrible at grinding coffee. Getting the kind of even grind you need to brew a good cup of coffee is much easier with a burr grinder. If your coffee lover doesn't have one of these, you're about to change their whole game.
Electric grinders are expensive and loud. Instead, give your coffee lover the gift of fresh-ground beans and everyone else in their house the gift of silence. My favorite grinder is the Hario Skerton Pro ($53). It can handle everything from espresso to pour overs, though it really can't do courser grinds like what you need for French press brewing. Have a read through our guide to the best coffee grinders for more gift ideas.
Photograph: DriftawayVirtual Tasting Party
Driftaway Virtual Tasting PartyIt's the year everything went Zoom, why should coffee be any different? Driftaway Coffee, a Brooklyn-based roaster has created the virtual tasting party. For $100 per screen you can taste coffee live on Zoom with your friends and family. The tastings are hosted by 2013 World Brewer's Champion James McCarthy.
Before your tasting Driftaway will send out a very cool coffee kit with glasses, coffee in unmarked bags, a tasting wheel and form for noting your impressions, plus some extra coffee you can enjoy later.
I have not had time to do the actual virtual tasting, but just the kit would make any coffee lover happy, throw in the virtual tasting and you can't go wrong.
Photograph: AmazonA Digital Weight Scale
Coffee Scale with TimerA digital scale is not necessary to make good coffee, but it's nice to have. It helps you reproduce your favorite cup accurately, and it's great for trying other people's brewing recommendations. If you, or your favorite coffee-loving friend, brew using the pour-over method, the timer on this scale will make results more reproducible, since you'll know the amount of water and how much time it spent moving through the grounds.
Photograph: PowerlixThe Gift of Milk Foam
PowerLix Handheld Milk FrotherI'm a purist. I never add anything to my coffee. But I am in the minority. Most people enjoy milk or cream in their coffee, and even I know that it's better when it's hot and frothy.
With a little practice, this affordable handheld battery-powered frother can turn out cappuccino-quality foam. Even I keep one around for guests. For an even better gift set, pair it with the milk pitcher below.
Photograph: AmazonA Milk Pitcher With Measurements
Star Coffee Stainless Steel Milk Frothing PitcherIf the coffee lover in your life does enjoy a cappuccino or latte, grab them a stainless steel milk pitcher. Whether you pair it with the handheld frother above or use it with a cappuccino machine (check out our guide to the best latte and cappuccino machines for more gift ideas), the pitcher will help keep the temperature of your milk consistent as you steam or froth.
Photograph: AmazonHome Bean Roasting
Nuvo Eco Ceramic Bean RoasterIf you want to send your coffee lover down a rabbit hole, give them this ceramic bean roaster. Once you roast your own beans, you never go back. (Unless you try to roast them in an ordinary cast iron pan, like I did. Technically it works, but it's messy and difficult.) Help your loved one transition to home roasting in style with the Nuvo Eco ceramic roaster.
Be sure to grab some fresh green beans as well. These Nicaraguan beans get high marks from home roasters.
Photograph: WacacoEspresso Everywhere
Wacaco Nanopresso Portable Espresso MakerIf your coffee lover is suffering through drip coffee at the office, hook them up with one of these. The Nanopresso tops our guide to the best portable espresso makers. It strikes the best balance between ease of use, portability, and taste. It extracts a nice espresso from almost any beans and the compact, all-in-one design also means you can shove it in the smallest of bags and have excellent espresso anywhere you go.
There's also an expansion kit called the Barista Kit with a larger water tank and grounds basket for making a double espresso. The overall size of the device becomes larger, which means it doesn't fit in the carrying case, but I'd trade the case for a double shot any day.
Not every coffee fanatic loves espresso, so it's worth asking before you buy.
Photograph: The Tea SpotExpand Their Horizons With Tea
The Tea Spot Tea SamplerAll coffee all the time can get boring. Help your coffee lover explore a new kind of delicious with a tea sampler. Tea is every bit as deep a rabbit hole as coffee, so it helps to have a guide. That's why I like these samplers from The Tea Spot, which come with 6 mini tins, each filled with a different variety of tea. There's a green tea sampler as well.
I've also had great tea from Good Life Tea, which has a variety of samplers and gift boxes.
I get most of my tea from Meplustea, a local tea producer in my hometown of Athens, Georgia. The Holiday Gift Set, is a nice sampler of black and herbal teas.
