The Best Gifts For Coffee Lovers

Finding the perfect gift for the coffee lover in your life shouldn’t be difficult. If anything, the issue is that there are simply too many options out there and you don’t know where to begin.

Whether you’re looking for a complete coffee gift box, a subscription to some of the best coffee beans being roasted today, or trying to find the best tools for making top notch quality at home, this article will lay it out there for you so that everyone goes home happy.

We know there are a lot of similar articles out there, so we wanted to lay this out in a slightly different manner than we usually see. We’re going to lay it out based on where your loved one sits on the coffee spectrum. In our experience, speaking directly with customers while frothing cappuccinos, this is the best way to think about gifts fo coffee lovers.

So, feel free to read through this full article, or just skip down to where you think your friend sits on the spectrum so that you can get them the perfect gift.

For That Person Who Loves A Great Coffee Shop, But Doesn’t Have The Gear At Home

This is where everyone starts. Maybe your friend has a classic drip coffee brewer or even a french press, but that’s where it ends. They are probably buying ground coffee beans at the grocery store or that evil green coffee shop ruled over by a mermaid and her burnt coffee beans. 

But at some point in time that same friend started going to their local third wave coffee shop. That’s where they discovered just how incredible coffee could be and now they talk your ear off about how great it is to enjoy a pour over at such and such shop made with Ethiopian Natural coffee beans. You might be sick of their stories, but you want to guide them along their coffee journey. Here’s what you should consider:

Grinders For The Beginner Coffee Lover

Any coffee addict knows that you should be buying whole bean, unground coffee. That’s why the first thing you should consider for your friend who’s just starting to make good coffee at home is a grinder. Even if they want to stick with their drip coffee machine or a simple French Press, being able to grind their own beans is going to up their flavor game by about 8x. 

Being able to purchase whole bean coffee not only keeps the flavor fresher, but it’s going to open their options for what coffee they can purchase as most quality roasters (like, yours truly) don’t offer ground beans.

So, how much do you love your friend?

For a beginner, there is no need to go insane. There are some grinders out there that will cost over $1,000. In our humble opinion, should you want to hear it, you don’t ever need a grinder that costs that much. If money is burning holes in your pockets, just start buying coffee beans for your friends and upping their game.

For a beginner, we recommend making one decision: do you want them to really work for their coffee or just push a button for coffee deliciousness? 

If you want them to work a bit for a well ground coffee, go for the hand grinder like this Kalita Ceramic Coffee Mill. Hand grinders can make a well ground coffee bean and also make a great gift for a coffee lover, but you should make sure that the person you are purchasing it for is brewing 1-2 cups at a time as it does take some work to grind by hand. If they are brewing up a full pot in their drip brewer for the family or roommates, you’ll definitely want to splurge on an electric coffee grinder.

As the perfect gift for a coffee lover who is still figuring things out, you really can’t do much better than the OXO Conical Burr Grinder. At just shy of $100, it’s at a really outstanding price point for the quality. It won’t break the bank, but you’ll be setting someone up for a lifetime of absolute quality coffee.

Kettles For The Beginner Coffee Lover

Whether the coffee lover who you’re buying a gift for is looking to brew with a French Press, a pour over system, or an Aeropress, they’re going to want a legit, gooseneck kettle that’s made for coffee. Like with grinders, there are some pricey ones out there, but you can make someone very happy with the OXO gooseneck kettle. It’s slick, it heats water to whatever temp you want, and it pours just right. If they are currently pouring from a tea kettle, it’s time to up their game.

Brew Systems for The Beginner Coffee Lover

Here is a big decision. This is how they are going to make their coffee.

If you reaallllllly love this person and they are a die hard fan of espresso drinks, try to find a deal on the Breville Espresso Touch. This bad little baby can turn anyone into a barista, but it’s going to cost you somewhere north of $1,000 and that doesn’t include latte art classes.

If you’re thinking about something a bit more reasonable that’s a perfect gift for the coffee lover, consider one of these three options: Aeropress, French Press, or a pour over setup.

The Aeropress is so simple and so perfect that it’s sort of incredible that it isn’t the number one way that people make coffee. This is a great option for someone who wants good coffee, likes a unique experience, and perhaps travels around and wants something they can use while camping or even staying at a hotel. Just don’t forget to hook them up with their first pack of filters as well

Everyone knows the French Press. It’s a classic and it makes for a really nice coffee ritual as you wait for the coffee grounds to marinate in the hot water. This is a fabulous option for a coffee lover who really hasn’t ever made coffee outside of an old school drip machine as it tends to connect the brewer with the coffee. Cons...well, a French Press tends to leave quite a bit of silt in the final blend and it’s also quite a nuisance to clean. That said, this is a really nice French Press.

Finally, there is the pour over. This takes a few pieces of equipment, but it instantly turns you from coffee beginner to coffee nerd. And we all over a good coffee nerd. If you’re purchasing a gift for someone who wants to fast track their way to being a coffee badass, this is the way to go. What you’ll want is a dripper, some filters, a coffee server, and a scale. It’s a lot, but it’s pretty cool if you get this all for somebody. They would probably think you were a nice person. Probably.

Coffee For The Beginner Coffee Lover

The best thing that you can do for a beginner is set them off on a journey of discovery, but then let them find their own path. We’d recommend either a couple of bags of Creature Coffee, maybe one from the Easy collection and one from the Playful collection, or, a nice little 3 month subscription. Either way, its enough to get them started, but then they can take the reins from there on.

Not sure what your friend already has at home when it comes to brewing coffee? You can never lose with coffee beans.

Gifts For Coffee Lovers Who Already Have A Decent SetUp, But Would Love An Upgrade

Are you looking for something for your friend or family member who already has a decent setup at home, but would be stoked about an upgrade? Maybe some of their equipment is a bit old or it’s just time for them to get a bit more swaggy with their gear? Well, here are some ideas.

Sexy, Top Notch Coffee Gear

Can coffee gear be sexy? If you had asked us a couple of years ago, we’d say, “no.” For a long time, most coffee brewing items looks fairly similar. A lot of stainless steel and glass. A lot of old world designs. Then, along came a brand called Fellow. 

Fellow’s Stagg kettle is a work of art. Sleek, matte black, and curvy as a Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet on an F1 track. This is a kettle that belongs in a modern art museum gift shop. Want to make someone’s day? This kettle will do the trick.

Following up on the kettle, Fellow went nuts when they put together their Ode Grinder. It’ll cost you a bit more than something like the OXO, but as they say, you get what you pay for. This grinder is as stunning as it is efficient. It’s a single dose hopper so no space is wasted. It’s so quiet that you might not realize it’s actually grinding the beans. And the final result is just spectacular. You might not realize how much a good grinder matters, but we’ll tell you, it does. 

Coffee Gifts For The Coffee Lover Who Has Everything

What do you buy for the person who has everything? A little bit more.

If money doesn’t mean much, and this person is really that into their coffee, you can consider a home roaster like the Ikawa (around $1400) or a grinder like the Niche Zero that will cost you around $750. You can even get them a top quality espresso maker like the Linea Mini from La Marzocco ($5,400).

OR, you can just get them a year of coffee from an incredible, small batch, single origin, fair trade, super duper delicious coffee roaster like Creature Coffee.