coffee-geek-gift-guide

coffee geek gift guide – something for coffee lovers of all levels!

Coffee Better Brewing, drinking, review

This coffee geek gift guide will only be helpful to you if you know what kind of coffee drinker you’re buying for.

Lucky for you, you’re in the right spot.

Grabbing the perfect gift for that coffee geek in your life might be a little confusing. The options seem endless. From grinders to brewers to what seems like a never ending amount of small-batch coffee roasters. 

On this list, you will find something for any type of coffee drinker.

The only thing that you need to know is which kind you are buying for.

The coffee geek/ snob? The newbie homebrewer? The seasoned home barista? The pot a day kinda guy?

hipster-sam-drinking-coffee

Each type of drinker will appreciate different types of gifts.

Knowing the drinker you are buying for will help you give the perfect gift to that coffee geek in your life.

Grinders

A coffee grinder is arguably the most important tool you can have in your toolkit as a home brewer.

A huge price range on grinders may leave some people wondering what the difference between them are.

If you’re buying for somebody just getting into coffee as a hobby a cheap burr grinder will do the trick.

Terrible Blade Coffee Grinder Results

It’s my advice that you avoid blade grinders. The picture above shows you the results you can expect with a blade grinder. Some large pieces mixed in there with some coffee dust.

Even the cheapest burr grinder will give you better results than any blade grinder you can buy.

Medium Coffee Grind Type

Ground with the Cuisinart

Even with eliminating blade grinders there are a ton of burr grinders out there. I have personal experience with a few popular ones.

The Javapresse, which was my first burr grinder experience, the Cuisinart, and finally the Baratza Encore.

Out of all of these, the Baratza is by far the best. It’s around $140 bucks which is also more expensive than the other two on the list.

But the lifespan and quality make the price tag more than reasonable. The Baratza will produce grinds fine enough for any brew method, including espresso.

Baratza also has cheap replacement parts and great customer service just in case anything does go wrong with your grinder.

To pair with their great customer service they have a great youtube channel where they discuss each grinder they offer and how to use them and repair them if need be.

The Javapress hand grinder was the first burr grinder I purchased. Coming from a blade grinder before that I was thrilled with the results. At under $30 bucks it’s not a bad buy.

Fine Coffee Grind Type Javapresse

Ground with the Javapresse hand grinder

But I do want you to know that with many hand grinders there is a flaw in the design that causes inconsistent grinds that I have found, get worse with age.

Gif of burr wobble

The flaw with these cheaper grinders is what’s called burr wobble. This means the two burrs that grind the coffee together begin to move a little bit while grinding. which means larger chunks of coffee can squeeze through easily while other pieces are being ground more finely.

However, there are more expensive hand grinders that take care of this problem like the Hand ground model.  

For the newer home brewer that doesn’t want to grind coffee by hand. The Cuisinart provides you with similar results for a few extra dollars.The convenience of just hitting a button is nice on some mornings. 

The biggest knock I have on this machine is that it produces “fines” which stick to the side of the container.

You can see them at the top of the picture below.

fines-produced-by-cuisnart

Fines are exactly what they sound like, superfine grounds of coffee. Having too many of these in your brewer will produce a bitter tasting cup of coffee.

You can take care of the ones that are stuck to the collector easily by scooping them out.

But there is no doubt that some fines will sneak into your filter, not all of them are going to be stuck to the side.

If you have the budget get the Baratza.

It’s the best grinder for the cheapest cost when you compare it to other high-level grinders.

If you don’t have the budget, the Javapresse and the Cuisinart are great gifts for somebody who has never had a burr grinder before. If you get the cheaper grinders for your newbie coffee lover they will still see a major improvement in coffee flavor. fresh ground beans kill pre-ground beans all day, every day.


Scale

A decent coffee scale is second on the list because using a scale allows you to get repeatable results, which is great for any coffee drinker. A scale also helps you make small adjustments and really dial in a great tasting cup of coffee.

When brewing coffee with a scale it is really easy to weigh everything in grams. This makes the process of figuring out what ratio you are brewing with easier.

20 grams of coffee to 320 grams of water is a 1:16 ratio of coffee to water.

essential-coffee-tools-scale

weighing your coffee and water in grams and converting those weights to ratios is the absolute best way to get repeatable results and make calculated adjustments.

You can pick up a cheap kitchen scale almost anywhere but having one with a built-in timer is definitely helpful when brewing coffee.

The cheapest scale specifically built for brewing coffee by a coffee company is the Hario. Double check the price, but at the time of writing this, it is at around 40 bucks.

However, I don’t see a difference between what the Hario scale gives you and other cheap kitchen scales with built-in timers do like a few listed below.


For the true coffee nerd though there is another level of scales that will have their heart pounding like they just threw back a quad shot.

Acai is a company crafting specialty coffee scales that measure down to the tenth of a gram with a built-in timer that also has the ability to communicate to your phone

A post shared by Acaia (@acaiacoffee) on


The Acaia works with a custom-built app and allows you to hit the same brewing marks that expert baristas do.

Not only that but the scale can also log your past brews. This way you always have a log of your best and worst cups. You can see exactly how you poured that bomb ass cup!


Get your Acaia scale now

Pour over brewers

brewing-pour-over-coffee

The Kalita wave and the Hario V60 are by far the two most popular pour over brewers on the market. If the coffee lover in your life is new to pour overs get them the wave, it’s a little more beginner friendly due to the design. But if they like a challenge grab the V60.

This is just my opinion, others might tell you different.

Both brewers can make awesome cups though, that’s for sure.

It’s also important for you to pay attention to the size of the brewers. The v60 comes in the 01 or the 02. The wave comes in the 155 and the 185. The V60 01 and the Kalite wave 155 are for brewing 1-2 cups at a time. The V60 02 and the wave 185 are for 2-4 cups at a time.

Get the one that matches their brew style.

Don’t forget the filters for them!

Gooseneck Kettle

Not just any old kettle will do when it comes to making a good pour over. You must be able to control the flow of water easily.The kettles with the most control are gooseneck kettles. Their long necks make pouring water where you want it at a lot easier.


The major benefit you get from a pour over is flavor, this benefit of flavor comes from the way that you control the water flow.

A gooseneck kettle is an essential tool if your coffee geek loves pour overs.

There is no shortage of options when it comes to kettles either.

The electric Bonavita is probably the coffee nerds go to kettle.

This thing allows you to dial in your water temperature to the exact degree. This type of kettle is for the true lover of brewing. The type of person who loves to tinker with their brews to try and get the most out of their coffee.

However, if the coffee brewer you’re buying for is not into making micro adjustments and tinkering with their brew, there are tons of standard gooseneck kettles that will do the trick.

There is some evidence out there that says if you have your water in a kettle and take it right off of boil and brew

OR

let it set for up to 1 minute and then brew

that the flavor difference is hardly noticeable by coffee professionals.

Take a look at this video.

A Variety of coffee

Trying lots and lots of coffee is something that coffee lovers are proud of.

Each different and new coffee is like a badge or a check off of a list.

KInda like your world of beer rewards card. You want to try all that the world has to offer.

It’s a super cool experience to realize that coffee can taste so different.

Every little detail from seed, to process, to roasting and brewing can alter the flavor of coffee.

The easiest way to give this pride and awesome experience to the coffee lover in your life that I have found is angels cup. With their coffee subscription, you can try up to 208 different coffees in a year.

Another cool benefit you get with angels cup is that you can blind taste the samples and record your results in their custom built app.


This way you don’t go in with any judgments about what the coffee is supposed to taste like.

Blind tasting enhances your flavor palate, giving you the ability to start distinguishing certain characteristics of coffee regions.  I have so much fun with their coffee subscription.

Cold Brew maker

Cold brew coffee has been booming in the recent years. People can’t seem to get enough. Is it the warming climate? Or maybe it’s that the caffeine content is three times as high as a normal cup of coffee. There is no denying it cold brew coffee is a cool, refreshing, energy boost. It’s also super simple to make at home.

You can always just share the idea of a DIY cold brew maker with them if that sounds like a fun project the two of you could do together.

You could buy one that fits in the fridge nicely. Or get them a cold brew maker that is straight out of a science lab. That one is for the extra fancy coffee geek.

Aeropress

The Aeropress is a relatively new brewer on the block. It’s been around for roughly 10 years but it is super versatile. The Aeropress doesn’t require any power to brew a cup of coffee and its small.

Aeropress

These qualities make it great for brewing coffee while camping or hiking, all you need is warm water. The Aeropress makes a unique cup of coffee because it is a hybrid brewer. The Aeropress mixes full immersion brewing with drip brewing.

If you’ve never heard of the Aeropress before and want to know more, take a look at this quick guide.

Prismo


The Prismo is an Aeropress accessory.  It replaces the stock filter that comes with the Aeropress and let’s you gain the ability to make something closer to true espresso. It works by letting the Aeropress build up more pressure. Now, does it give you true espresso that will fool any coffee nerd? That remains to be seen since you can still only pre-order it but I threw 20 bucks at it to find out. The thought of getting true espresso that cheaply is really exciting

Kruve

The Kruve is a grinding accessory. To put it simply the Kruve is a sifter for your coffee grounds. It helps you make sure that all of the grounds you are using to brew with are as close to the same size as possible. With this thing, you simply dump your grounds in and shake. It sifts your coffee grinds and divides them into different chambers. You can eliminate the bitter taste producing fines that make their way into your filter this way. This tool will help produce a repeatable cup every single time by giving you, even more, control and consistency.

The average coffee drinker probably won’t have the patience to use this thing every time though, this would be a gift for the real coffee geek that enjoys controlling every variable.

Books

There are a number of great books on the market that will help you brew a better cup of coffee.

Some books might be too simple while others to complex. Knowing where your coffee lover falls is important. Does your coffee lover have a vision of becoming a world barista champion? If so, Scott Rao’s barista handbook is a pretty good choice.


If the coffee lover in your life is on the quest to brew a perfect cup of coffee at home then the book how to brew coffee is a really good choice that goes into the science behind brewing as well as other complex brewing theories. If your loved one is just now getting into coffee starting with a pretty basic book might be a better option that won’t be overwhelming. Something like brewing better coffee at home or the art and craft of coffee.Both beginner friendly with plenty of good knowledge in them too.

Moka Pot

moka-pot-parts

If the coffee brewer in your life is a millennial, chances are they aren’t familiar with a moka pot. Moka pots are a nostalgic brewer that precedes the espresso machine. In fact, it’s referred to as the stove top espresso machine. Although this brewer won’t give you true espresso it will give you a bold tasting cup of coffee that pairs well with milk. This old time brewer is a perfect gift to add to your coffee enthusiasts toolbox.

For a detailed guide on using the moka pot and making a stove top cappuccino click here.

Mugs

Finally, no coffee lovers gift list is complete without an awesome mug or travel thermos. It’s my opinion that you can never have too many mugs. Buying a good drinking tool is also a way of helping out the environment, most coffee shops will fill your mug up if you bring it into them.

Doing the smart thing for the environment is a no brainer, especially when it’s something easy like reusing an awesome looking cup. A brand called Keep cup is making super cool looking reusable cups. These cups come in different shapes and sizes have a cool cork grip on them that also protects your hand from the scorching heat.

Using this coffee geek gift guide

Find out what kind of coffee drinker your loved one is.

There is something that will match them on this list. Do they love exploring the coffee scene? Get them mystery coffee and help them explore the flavors of the world. Do they slam back cold brews? Get them a cold brew coffee maker. Are they a coffee nerd and love to go into theory? Get a book!

You get the idea, I hope this list helped anybody out there looking for a gift to get that coffee lover in your life. If you know of other awesome gifts that should be shared with the coffee world, please send us an email in the form below. We love to talk coffee things!

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