40 Tested and Reviewed Coffee Gifts That Say ‘I Love Brew’

I consider myself the gift whisperer. I can find the perfect gifts for friends, loved ones, and acquaintances—the sort of gift that they didn’t know existed but can’t believe they lived without. On those rare occasions that I am at a loss for ideas, I know food items or kitchen gifts are always appreciated.

But my ace-in-the-hole for gift giving is coffee. If the person you love has even an inkling of interest in coffee, that’s the route you should take. Coffee, and by extension, coffee gear, is appreciated by the casual drinker and the hardcore fanatic. Here are 40 different coffee gifts, tested and reviewed by Serious Eats editors and writers, including myself.

After testing coffee subscription plans, Trade Coffee was the only one I stuck with. Thanks to Trade’s excellent selection, your favorite person will find their next favorite coffee roast after just a few clicks. After I notified the company that I received beans that were darker than I expected, Trade’s customer service team reached out and offered to send me a replacement bag with a lighter roast. Trade is like Spotify for coffee in that the more you rate beans, the better it is at sending you options you will like. And yes, if your giftee falls in love with a specific bean, they can order more through Trade.

Coffee beans need a place to be stored. For folks who buy larger batches of beans or who love trying different beans at the same time, an airtight canister is best. The electric Atmos is my favorite coffee canister. (I own numerous Atmos canisters, both manual and electric.) The electric canister seals at the touch of a button and keeps a tight vacuum until you open it.

The OXO 8-cup coffee maker is likely going to be an upgrade for most coffee drinkers. Its showerhead is designed for even water dispersion, which results in better extraction. A stainless steel insulated coffee carafe keeps brewed coffee hot without the need for a warming plate. In addition to large batches, it can also brew one to two cups of coffee at a time directly into a mug.

For something more upscale, the sleek Ratio Six brews a beautiful cup of coffee, closer to a classic pour-over in terms of flavor and clarity. The showerhead has more holes than the average brewer for even better water distribution and no tunneling. It’s a no-frills coffee maker and my go-to coffee machine. Plus, it’s the reigning champion of our coffee maker review.

If your gift recipient likes to tinker with their coffee, the Fellow Aiden is the ideal machine for them. With the Aiden, they can program different coffee-to-water ratios and brewing styles, including water temperature, length of bloom time, and the number of pulses of water used in the brewing process. Like the OXO, it has two different baskets (a bucket-style and a V-shaped one). The Aiden also saves brewing profiles, so one user can program the machine for a stronger cup of medium roast, while another can brew a lighter bean with a higher water ratio, all with the same automatic machine and simple knob turn.

The Polaris coffee scale offers the option to save your preferred ratio of water to coffee, so you don’t have to do math before you’re caffeinated. Just set the ratio (typically 1:15 to 1:18), add your coffee grounds, and press the button. A timer automatically starts when you pour water over the grounds. As you brew the coffee, the scale will tell you how much water you’ve poured, as well as the percentage of water added. Once you’ve reached your target amount of water, the scale beeps. It’s the easiest coffee scale I’ve worked with.

The Baratza Encore Coffee Grinder is an excellent burr grinder and a significant upgrade from a blade grinder. Consistently recommended by baristas, this grinder has 40 different settings that range in coarseness, from very coarse for cold brew down to ultra-fine powder for espresso. Baratza always stocks spare parts, so if a component wears down or breaks, it’s easy to replace—meaning this gift will last. I love my Encore grinder so much that I’ve been known to take my spare Baratza Encore on road trips. (I am not a light packer.)

The Fellow Gen 2 Ode Brew Grinder is an excellent upgrade. It’s a flat burr grinder that quickly and consistently grinds coffee beans, automatically turning off once all the beans are ground. It does all of this fairly quietly and looks nice, too.

Haand makes three different styles of mugs, including a diner mug and a taller tapered mug, but its 10-ounce short mug is my favorite. It holds a generous amount of beverage, and the angular handle is surprisingly comfortable, with an excellent balance between it and the squat body. It also comfortably sits under the portafilter in my espresso machine.

A great travel mug always comes in handy for busy folk. The Fellow Carter Move Mug retains heat, doesn’t leak, and actually improves the coffee-drinking experience. Despite my large collection of travel mugs, this is the one I reach for. It comes in a wide range of fun colors, and the splash guard means the coffee goes down my throat, not all over my shirt. I personally like the version with the slide lid, while my husband prefers the original move mug with the splash guard.

Coffee fanatics love pour-over drippers because they can control the temperature and speed of brewing, adjusting those variables to suit their palates. The Hario V60 is Serious Eats’ pick for the best pour-over device. It comes in a variety of options, including glass, ceramic, metal, plastic, and even a fun decorative ceramic edition. But I especially like the Hario immersion dripper, which comes with a switch base, allowing you to turn a filtration-style brewer into an immersion-style brewer, then back again. The versatility of the switch lets you experiment with how long the water stays in contact with the grounds, leading to a stronger and richer cup. The entire set comes with a glass V60 dripper, the switch base, a starter pack of paper filters, and a beaker-style carafe. It’s super giftable.

My husband loves using a pour-over on top of the Hario V60 clear coffee carafe because he can monitor how fast the coffee is brewing. Hario’s signature carafe comes in the standard clear glass and in some fun colors like pink, green, and smoky grey.

For a beautiful giftable pour-over device, I recommend an Origami dripper, which comes in a range of vivid and striking colors. The sharp, folded edge encourages experienced coffee lovers to experiment with both cone-shaped filters and scalloped edged filters meant for the Kalita wave. This makes the Instagram-worthy Origami dripper a super versatile brewer that is fun to play around with.

The MiiR Pouragami is a clever gift for people who camp or travel often. It collapses into three flat metal pieces that can be stored in a folding wallet. The latest version has been redesigned and is slightly taller, making it even easier to use with less mess as you make coffee on the go.

The Fellow EKG electric kettle can be found in upscale coffee shops across the nation and has a proud place on my countertop. It’s also the winner of our gooseneck kettle review. It allows coffee brewers to adjust the temperatures of the water and has a built-in timer. The long gooseneck spout also means pour-over fans can control how fast the water comes out and direct the water over the grounds easily.

Some coffee enthusiasts insist that manual grinders are the best way to grind beans. True or not, there’s something satisfying about using a manual coffee grinder like the 1Zpresso J Manual. It works quickly and efficiently and doesn’t take up a lot of space in storage.

If you want to gift someone a beautiful piece of kitchen equipment that belongs in a museum, the Chemex 8-Cup Coffee Maker is it. The Chemex is part of the Museum of Modern Art’s (MoMA) collection, and it comes in 10-cup, six-cups, three-cup, and glass-handled versions. Its classic hourglass shape looks beautiful sitting on a kitchen counter, and it makes fantastic pour-over coffee. While you’re at it, pick up some Chemex filters for a nice stocking stuffer or bonus gift.

The Breville Bambino Plus is a tried-and-true entry-level, compact espresso machine that pulls well-balanced shots, steams milk nicely, and isn’t a countertop space hog. It’s also reasonably priced and the winner of our espresso makers review.

The Breville Barista Express Impress is my go-to espresso machine with a grinder, and a Serious Eats-favorite, too. It includes a tamper that levels the grinds and senses whether you need more or less for your next shot, which streamlines the espresso-making experience.

The De’Longhi LS Touch Espresso Machine has a full-color touch screen that walks you through the entire process of pulling shots, as well as making different drinks like cappuccinos, flat whites, and cold brew. This programmable espresso machine helps you adjust crucial variables, such as water temperature, and gives recommendations on how to improve your shots.

This is an editor-loved grinder for people who enjoy espresso and coffee. The Baratza Encore ESP Pro switches back and forth between the two, macro-adjusting for coarser grinding necessary for pour-overs and French presses, and microadjusting on the finer end so you can really dial in your espresso shots.

These Le Creuset espresso mugs are an adorable set that comes in a rainbow of colors. They have a handle that’s big enough for two fingers to fit through, which makes them comfortable to drink from. Their thick walls keep espresso hot, too.

With a small footprint and low height, the Acaia Lunar is the best espresso scale. It fits under all portafilters and still leaves enough space for a short mug. The various modes, including an auto tare and auto timer function, mean you can pay more attention to how the shot is being pulled and less attention to pressing buttons.

The Breville Temp Control Milk Jug lets you bring milk to the right temperature and monitor it with a built-in temperature strip on the base of the pitcher. This way, you can focus on making the microfoam without an extra thermometer getting in the way.

Normcore makes a beautiful WDT distribution tool (WDT is short for “Weiss Distribution Technique”) with a walnut handle and a stand, so you can properly distribute coffee grounds in the portafilter. It’s not a necessary tool, but it is something that will make true enthusiasts’ eyes light up.

Pair the WDT distributor tool with the Normcore magnetic dosing ring so the espresso grounds don’t go all over the place when breaking them up with the WDT tool. Wrapping these two tools together makes a smart stocking stuffer.

Most espresso machines come with tampers, but serious espresso drinkers will love this special upgrade. CREMA makes a dual-sided tamper and coffee distributor, with one side for leveling out your grinds, and the other for tamping to a precise density and height.

When you're done pulling your shot, knock the espresso puck out of your portafilter with the CREMA The Arc Knock Box, which looks beautiful sitting next to your espresso machine. It’s a longtime winner in our review of knockboxes, thanks to its durable build and good looks.

French press coffee has loyal fans. The Fellow Clara French press is one of the best (in our review, the best) French presses you can buy. With its beautiful matte black finish, micromesh filter, nonstick ceramic interior, and a double-walled insulated body, the Clara French press is also less fragile than the typical glass-bodied French presses.

If your giftee loves the idea of French press coffee, but hates the silt that comes in the final sip, the P7 by ESPRO is an excellent gift. It’s not quite as sleek-looking as the Fellow Clara, although it does come in a few different colors, like blue and red. It’s my other favorite French press because it features a double-locking filter inside a double-walled insulated body, making each cup virtually silt-free.

AeroPress has a strong following, with folks developing endless techniques and a global competition on crowning the best cup of AeroPress coffee. But at its core, it’s a simple-to-use portable coffee maker that brews an impressive cup. The original AeroPress now comes in fun colors like purple, red, blue and green. And if you want to splurge, you can even gift the premium version made of borosilicate glass, stainless steel, and aluminum.

Moka pots are synonymous with old school coffee, and the original Bialetti Moka Express stands up to the test of time, brewing up strong cups of coffee on the stove. Like the Chemex, the iconic original Bialetti Moka Express is in the MoMA collection, though you can also buy special editions of the moka pot, such as collaborations with fashion house Dolce & Gabbana or popular Netflix shows like Stranger Things, Squid Game, or Bridgerton.

If your loved one doesn’t want to go all-in on an espresso machine, they can pair the moka pot with the Instant Pot MagicFroth to make easy lattes and mochas. In our tests, it made silky-smooth microfoam and was easy to customize, thanks to nine temperature settings. It’s also a nice gift for people who like hot cocoa, chai, and café au lait.

For the coffee fanatic who thinks they have every brewing device, a Hario “Technica” Coffee Syphon is one of those gifts that will impress. My brother gave me one a few years ago, and it looks amazing on my countertop. Every time my husband and I bust out this siphon coffee maker, we feel like mad scientists, watching the coffee move up the stem, into the grounds, and then back down again once we remove the heat source. I never get tired of watching the brewing process, and it produces a clean and balanced cup with a surprisingly full body, combining the best aspects of pour-over and French press.

The Subminimal Subscale dosing cup is a small cup that functions as a scale. Turn it on and the digits light up. I love this gift for people who are obsessed with making coffee and like trying new things. Despite having several kitchen scales in my apartment, I use the Subscale frequently when brewing coffee.

The DiFluid R2 extract coffee refractometer will help hardcore coffee people get super geeky about coffee. The DiFluid R2 measures the total dissolved solids (TDS) in each cup, which gives more information on how to tweak their technique and achieve near-perfect extraction.

The Nespresso Vertuo line won our review thanks to its simple, efficient design. It uses a spinning capsule, which forces the water through the grinds using centripetal force and has a nice aesthetic. Pick up some Nespresso pods to go along with the machine.

Finally, there’s the Keurig K-Supreme Coffee Brewer, which handily won our review of Keurig machines. It’s a versatile single-serve coffee maker with hundreds of compatible K-Cups, as well as reusable cups that can be filled with the coffee of your choice. Add a package of your giftee’s favorite K-cup pods for a stocking stuffer or side gift.

"Since becoming a mom, I have to use this temperature control mug every day or else my coffee will go cold," says associate editorial director Riddley Gemperlein-Schirm. "This one keeps coffee hot for 80 minutes or longer if it's on its charger."

Is the Cumulus Machine expensive? Undoubtedly, but it makes incredibly smooth, instant cold brew, nitro coffee, and cold espresso. "My husband, who is an iced coffee fiend, uses ours almost daily," Riddley says.

Why We're the Experts 

• Irvin Lin is a cookbook author, recipe developer, food writer, photographer, and former barista. 
• He’s tested and reviewed hundreds of kitchen items, including pour-over drippers and stovetop kettles. 
• He owns a significant amount of coffee equipment and still continues to collect more.