Whether you’re shopping for someone who’s just dipping their toes into the world of coffee or getting something for a seasoned obsessive who already has their own coffee YouTube channel, this guide has a bunch of great gift ideas. It’s broken into three sections based on the experience levels of potential gift recipients, with unique items across a range of price points. From self-heating mugs to latte art stencils, you’ll find something worth giving here (maybe even to yourself).
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Tier 1: For The Person Who Only Just Started Making Their Own Coffee
Coffee Explorer Kit
For someone who’s just making their way into the world of coffee, a variety pack of beans offers the chance to experience various flavors and blends from across the globe. Whether it helps your friend understand their personal flavor preferences or steers them toward their new favorite bean, this Coffee Explorer Kit is a great introduction to small lot, sustainable coffees.
Nguyen Coffee Supply Vietnamese Coffee Trio
If your friend or loved one is just starting to expand their coffee palette, Nguyen Coffee Supply’s variety pack will let them explore both robusta and arabica beans that are sustainably sourced and pack a caffeinated punch.
The Mug by East Fork
Sitting at a kitchen table and wrapping your hands around a warm mug might just be the best part of drinking coffee, and here’s how you can gift that experience. Asheville, North Carolina-based brand East Fork has developed a cult following for their beautiful, durable pottery over the past few years, and their mugs are especially weighty and comforting. (They’ll also last for decades.)
Baratza Encore Burr Grinder
A coffee grinder is one of the easiest ways to improve a budding barista’s brewing setup and make them feel like a pro. If you want the grinder the real pros use, meet Baratza’s Encore burr grinder. While the friction in a blade grinder will cause the beans to heat and (and thereby affect their flavor), a burr grinder creates less friction and helps maintain the integrity of the beans. All of this is to say that the Encore is not only one of the cleanest grinds you’ll get, but also offers the best bang for your buck.
Le Creuset French Press
A quality French Press is an essential piece of brewing equipment for anyone getting into coffee, and Le Crueset’s French Press is about as solid as they come. It also looks pretty damn elegant on a kitchen counter. Simple and attractive, this press is available in a lot of different colors.
Yield Design Glass French Press
Another attractive brewing option, Yield’s modern glass take on the French Press will stand out on anyone’s counter or coffee station (and it’s dishwasher safe). The green and amber options are backordered until February, but the cobalt one should arrive in time for the holidays.
Ember Temperature Control Smart Mug 2
Ah, technology. It’s gotten us to the moon and allows us to watch TikTok videos of dogs in panda costumes halfway around the world as we’re falling asleep in bed. And now, it’ll keep a hot beverage at the exact temperature of your choice for over an hour. This is a great gift for someone who drinks their coffee slowly over the course of the morning.
Trade Gift Coffee Subscription
There are two types of coffee people: enthusiasts who want to explore and try different roasts and blends, and people who only like their coffee one way, every time. For the former, Trade offers a diverse array of expertly curated beans from local roasters throughout the United States. You can gift a starter pack of anywhere from 2 to 24 bags, and the recipient can decide how frequently they receive their beans.
Tier 2: For The Person Who Got Kind Of Serious About Making Coffee While Working From Home
Phin Filter Coffee Kit
If you’re buying for someone who’s been exploring different methods of coffee brewing, check out this Phin filter/coffee bean combo kit from Nguyen Coffee Supply. In addition to the compact brewing setup that’s great for travel, it comes with a bag of Nguyen Coffee Supply’s beans, which are grown in Vietnam and roasted in Brooklyn. For a proper Vietnamese coffee, be sure to send some sweetened condensed milk too.
Mokha Monthly Subscription
Yemeni coffee beans are some of the rarest and most coveted in the world ($16 a cup when it was offered at Blue Bottle) because getting the beans out of Yemen is no easy task. The journey of Mokhtar Al-Khanshali, Port of Mokha’s founder, was written about in a recent bestselling book. With this subscription, you can have a bag of these special beans every month.
Acaia Pearl Coffee Scale
Anyone who’s been getting serious about home coffee brewing probably already knows the benefits of using a scale. But sometimes a scale is not just a scale. This one from Acaia has a timer, various weight modes, and a proprietary app to help track coffee input, water amounts, and more. It’s perfect for anyone who gets excited about the science of coffee.
Fellow Stagg EKG Pour-Over Kettle
Along the same lines, sometimes a kettle is more than just a kettle. Fellow’s Stagg EKG kettle has a 60-minute hold feature, as well as precise temperature control. The Stagg kettle also integrates with Acaia’s Brewbar app for even more control. Kendall Jenner has one in her house for tea, if that means something to you.
Get Fellow Stagg EKG Electric Pour-Over Kettle ($159-$189) →
Royal Brew Nitro Cold Brew Coffee Maker Home Keg System
The smooth flavor of nitro cold brew is no longer exclusive to coffee shops. Now, you can use this home keg system to tap a few glasses of the good stuff right in your kitchen. Combine some cold brew concentrate with the nitrogen cartridges, and voila. Go ahead, make every morning feel like summer. We’re not jealous. Really.
Get Royal Brew Nitro Cold Brew Coffee Maker Home Keg Kit System ($150) →
Ratio Six Automatic Pour Over Coffee Maker
If you’re shopping for someone who cares a lot about good coffee and is also more of a “pre-orders a Tesla” than “restore a classic motorcycle” type, this is the do-it-all gift they’ll be psyched about. This automatic brewer pours straight into a double-walled carafe to keep your coffee warm, plus incorporates a bloom cycle into the brew (anyone who’s pretty into coffee will know what this means).
Fellow Carter Travel Mug
Chances are, your gift recipient already has a go-to coffee mug for working from home but could use an upgrade in the to-go department. The Fellow Carter travel mug fully optimizes your coffee drinking experience, thanks to the wide mouth and top-tier insulation — and it has a leak-proof seal, so you can toss it into a tote bag when you have to make the trek to the office.
Tier 3: For The Person Whose Coffee-Making Skills Intimidate You, A Little
Uncommon Grounds by Mark Pendergrast
For someone who’s already very confident in their brewing technique, Mark Pendergrast’s extensively researched history of coffee will be a nice foray into a different side of things. Pendergrast examines coffee’s colonial impact around the world and explains how Starbucks changed America’s relationship to the beverage and its culture. If you know someone who’s serious about coffee, this history will be a fascinating read.
Get Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World ($23) →
Aerolatte Cappuccino Artist Decorative Stencils
Know someone who’s trying to become a competition-level barista? A set of decorative foam art stencils will take their cappuccino or latte game to a new level. Make sure they send you photos of their creations. We have a feeling they will.
Third Wave Water
Coffee is mostly water. Like, 98% water. So, the better the H20, the better the coffee. Third Wave Water’s mineral supplement packs will allow a coffee obsessive to get a very balanced water and flavor no matter the source. Translation: a more delicious cup.
Chemex Handblown Water Kettle
Will this hand-blown kettle improve the quality of a pot of coffee? Probably not. Will it look great on anyone’s stove? Absolutely. After all, it’s part of MoMA’s permanent collection.
Coffee Pro Certification
World-renowned coffee pro Willem Boot has created a full coffee training curriculum that teaches everything from Q Grading (quality grading of coffee) to advanced roasting techniques. All of the courses are certified by the Specialty Coffee Association, and they’re available through online videos. Your recipient can take the full curriculum or choose specific classes to round out their knowledge.
Versailles Coffee Maker
Even if someone really has it all when it comes to coffee, they probably don’t have this 24-karat gold vacuum-brewer. Made to replicate the device Emperor Franz Josef used in the 1850s, this handcrafted work of art is a thing that indeed exists, if you’re looking for something ridiculously extravagant.
