The Best Gifts for Coffee Lovers, According to Baristas and Coffee Roasters

If your coffee lover prefers cold brew, MochaBox Coffee co-owners Harlin Thomas II and Floyd Sartin suggest giving them this “affordable, easy to use” cold-brew-maker. For $30, you get a handsome device made with glass and steel, two materials that are much easier to clean and last far longer than similarly priced contraptions made of plastic. They note this would be particularly thoughtful for a coffee drinker who dabbles in tea (or lives with a tea lover) because it “doubles as a nice iced-tea-maker.”

Michael Phillips, global director of education and engagement at Blue Bottle Coffee, likes this model from Hario. He calls it a go-to gift for coffee lovers in his life because “it lands squarely in the middle of the Venn diagram of coffee function, ease of use, and good design.” He also says it produces a clean-tasting cup of cold brew with no dilution needed.

Connie Blumhardt, the publisher of Roast magazine, recommends Hay’s Sowden Coffee Pot, which is made of colorful porcelain and features a “micro-thin” stainless-steel filter to infuse coffee grounds into hot water, similar to how you would make tea in a teapot. “It’s simple to use and produces a balanced brew,” she says. “I love the sleek design and neutral color schemes. Makes me feel like I’m in Europe.” Joe Palozzi of City of Saints Roasters is another fan of this coffee pot, and not just because of its brew quality. “While it’s similar in mouthfeel to a French press, it’s vastly easier to clean with its removable micro-filter,” he told us, adding that the pot “looks pretty good on the counter with tulips in it, too, just in case you ever stop making coffee at home.”

Strategist contributor Matthew Kassel says the best brew he’s ever had at home comes from this playful stovetop coffee maker. It works by boiling water in the bottom chamber, then flipping the whole thing over so it filters through. When you remove the emptied part, you have a small pot of hot coffee, the perfect amount for one person, Kassel says. He also appreciates the consistency it creates: “The texture doesn’t get as muddy as French-press coffee, and it’s a little less intense than Moka coffee, which can sometimes get overwhelmingly strong.”

The Bonavita is the go-to coffee maker for industry folks. Ken Nye, the owner of Ninth Street Espresso, says it maintains the industry-standard temperature for brewing, which many other machines don’t. George Howell, owner and founder of George Howell Coffee, explains that it also creates a very smooth cup due to its flat-bottomed basket (where the grounds go) and showerlike spout, both of which ensure consistent water distribution and extraction.

More affordable is the Wacaco Picopresso, recommended to us by Suyog Mody and James McCarthy, the founder and the coffee educator, respectively, at Brooklyn’s Driftaway Coffee. While it’s marketed as a portable espresso-maker that’s good for travel (a fantastic gift for the person in your life who already has a fancy setup), there’s no reason it can’t be employed at home too. Its super-compact size may even be essential for people with small kitchens.

Another gift for the coffee lover on the go: this foldable brewer. It’s a suggestion from Mody, who says other options people tend to take with them when traveling (like the Aeropress below) are somewhat bulky. The Pourigami, however, is made of three thin panels that flatten for packability’s sake and expand into a triangle shape when you are ready to make coffee. “It’s super-easy to assemble and disassemble,” he says. “I’ve been traveling for the past ten days and have used it twice every day.”

“This is a supercool piece of equipment,” Shaw says. “You can get hot coffee and cold brew in one device, which is super rare.” In both cases, it makes your drink in a matter of minutes (especially impressive in the case of cold brew, which usually takes at least half a day) because of a vacuum that pulls the water through your grounds with more force than a standard machine.

Cxffee Black is an organization that seeks to “Make Coffee Black Again” by amplifying the work of African American members of the U.S. coffee community and bringing them closer together. Plus, Williams says, it “makes some of the best coffee I’ve tasted.” That’s why she recommends gifting Cxffee Black’s monthly subscription, which includes a bag of its Guji Mane blend each month along with a poster, exclusive music playlists, and “first dibs on exclusive coffees,” according to the organization.

If a gooseneck spout isn’t a requirement, Strategist senior writer Liza Corsillo recommends the Chantal Oslo. She was originally drawn to its stylish design but also notes that it is “blissfully uncomplicated” to use. You simply fill it with water, press the one button, and wait.

In the early 1980s, Italian brand Alessi commissioned world-renowned architect Michael Graves to design a kettle. It has since become a timeless, highly recognizable piece that’s sure to be appreciated by anyone who prefers a stovetop model with a larger spout.

When it came out a few years ago, Fellow’s Ode grinder was all the rage among professional and amateur baristas alike — and it has stayed a consistent favorite over time. “They really thought about every detail,” Morrison says. “The dial that adjusts the grind size is very intuitive. The cup that catches the grind is magnetic, so it clicks into position tightly and easily.” The machine even has a button that shakes out any chaff — the leftover coffee skins that mostly come off during roasting but usually not all the way — “into the cup instead of blowing them out onto your counter, which happens with other grinders.”

For a more affordable hand grinder, Caroline Bell, the owner of Cafe Grumpy in New York City, says the Porlex is a solid choice. Just like the Comandante and other high-quality electric models on the market, it has burr blades, which means the grind size is really consistent. She also thinks it’s great to travel with “or to gift someone if you don’t want to assume anything about the setup of their kitchen,” she says.

While Elbourne agrees the Acaia Pearl is both a worthy scale and gift, he told us he knows many folks who swear by this slightly smaller one, which “costs a fraction of the price” and comes from a coffee-minded company. The only noticeable difference between the two, he says, is this scale “doesn’t count quite as fast, so you’ll have to stop slightly sooner if you’re aiming for a super-exact number.”

Even cheaper is the Escali Primo, a scale so reliable that we named it our best-overall pick. The design is simple, the buttons are intuitive to use, and it will last a very long time. Best of all, you can choose from nine colors to coordinate with your recipient’s kitchen.

“Aeropress fans are fanatics and always experimenting with different ways to play with their brews,” Elbourne says. For the Aeropress user in your life, Williams recommends this nifty attachment that ingeniously converts any Aeropress into a pressurized coffee maker that can pull an espresso shot. “It means the user is able to have an espresso shot on the go,” Williams says.

Coffee-loving Strategist contributor Dinah Lenney wrote about her obsession with coffee spoons a couple of years ago. The best of the best, she concludes, is this set of two egg-shaped spoons. Beyond the pretty metallic color options, she praises their weight and heft, noting that the bend of the handle was satisfying to hold, just slightly curved to accommodate her thumb.

Before coffee beans reach consumers, they go through a testing process called “cupping,” where they’re sipped from special spoons for quality control. Serious coffee drinkers such as Vonie like to practice cupping at home as they perfect their brews and grinds, and if you’re shopping for someone who cups or wants to start cupping, she recommends gifting them a cupping spoon from Umeko Motoyoshi’s Umeshiso. “These spoons are staples throughout the entire coffee world, and come in various sizes and colors to suit your personality and cupping style,” Vonie explains. Her favorite is the Little Dipper in goth black.

For an affordable but still thoughtful gift, Cary Wong, a member of the Partners Coffee Education Team, recommends this brew stick, which you can use both to agitate the grounds in a pour-over and measure in or out grounds if you’re off by a gram or two. “Plus, it’s nice-looking and well packaged,” he says. He notes that Kruve makes a lot of cool coffee gear in general that is worth browsing.

“If you are someone who finds themselves buying pre-ground coffee, then this coffee-storage canister is a relatively inexpensive way to store it well,” Bomford says. The seal is supertight so the canister is resistant to temperature changes, and the bottom part of the lid moves down as you make your way through your grounds, keeping out oxygen and light and therefore ensuring a fresher cup.

Bomford says the difference between brewing with tap versus filtered water will be “eye-opening for anyone.” These mineral supplements are a super-accessible way to achieve that — you just drop one packet into a gallon of water, use that to brew your coffee, and you’ll immediately notice a better-tasting cup. It makes sense, given that water is the primary ingredient in both coffee and espresso. “These are a great place to start if you don’t want to change your equipment but you just want to improve your coffee today,” he says.

For a ceramic option, try these handcrafted mugs from Masienda, which are a pleasure to drink from. They have a smooth, thick rim; a sturdy base; and a handle that’s satisfying to hold. Just like with its masa, the company sources these earth-tone beauties from Mexico.

These handblown glass mugs are a favorite of Bomford, who owns several sets himself, because they feel much more expensive than they are. “One of the main appeals of a good cocktail would have to be the nice glassware,” he says. “Likewise, coffee just tastes better when it is served in an elegant glass. It’s not just about the way it looks, but about how your drink opens up, how you get your nose into it.”

These cappuccino cups, designed for professional baristas, first became popular about two decades ago when “third-wave coffee was still just a few main companies, like Stumptown and Intelligentsia,” says Mody. “But I’ve started using them after a long hiatus.” He loves the feel, with the handle at the perfect height, as well as the thickness of the walls, which provides great heat retention. “It gives you the feeling of being in an Italian café,” he says, “one of those where you stand at the bar and drink an espresso shot and walk away. I think they’d be great as a simple, classic choice to add to someone’s mug collection.”

The KeepCup also came up multiple times among our experts. It’s made of glass, so it’s easy to clean, and it has an ecofriendly cork ring so you can comfortably hold it while on the go.