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The Ultimate Coffee Gift Guide For Every Budget [2021 Holiday Edition]
Written by: Garrett Oden
Coffee gifts are beloved, relatively safe, and high-value gifts to give your special friends and loved ones. The problem is, everyone has different coffee tastes, habits, and equipment - and that makes buying the best coffee gifts a little stressful.
Let’s make this fun. Forget the cliches. Forget the gift cards.
We created this Ultimate Coffee Gift Guide to help you—no matter your budget—find meaningful ways to demonstrate love and care to the coffee lovers in your life.
Because coffee isn’t just brown liquid in a mug. It’s a moment to experience mindfulness, peace, and stellar flavors. And any gift that helps someone transform their daily coffee into an extraordinary daily experience is a gift that’ll keep giving.
You can skip to your budget level here:
- Gifts Under $30
- Gifts Under $75
- Gifts Under $150
- Gifts Beyond $150
- And If You Gift Coffee Beans, Just Don’t Do This…
Just wait till you see their faces!
(Oh, and if Aunt Debra keeps asking you what you want, just send them this guide!)
Coffee Gifts Under $30: Small Somethings, Big Smiles
Third Wave Water ($15)
Most people struggle to make their coffee at home taste as good as it does in their favorite cafe, and it’s not because they have bad technique—it’s because they have bad water.
Water that’s too hard (the reality for most places in the US) leads to a dull flavor where the sugars don’t taste as sweet. And that’s sad!
Third Wave Water’s mineral packs bring a jug of distilled water to the perfect mineral content to bring out the BEST flavors your coffee has to offer, and they’re super easy to use.
The World Atlas Of Coffee ($27)
This is among the best coffee books out there, and a surefire way to make the coffee lover in your life squeal with delight. They’ll learn all about coffee history (which has been unfortunately dark and violent), modern origin countries, and ways people brew coffee all over the world.
For a true coffee fan, it’s a fascinating read!
Also Read: How To Put Together The Perfect Coffee Gift Basket
JavaPresse Manual Coffee Grinder ($39)
It’s impossible to overstate the importance of a reliable coffee grinder.
It’s the #1 most important tool a coffee lover can have because it…
- Allows you to grind fresh to preserve all the flavors and aromas of each bean
- Enables you to use any coffee maker because you can grind to any size
- Enhances the coffee experience with rich aromas that are released as you grind
And the JavaPresse grinder is great because it’s perfect for travel, too (not to mention, the #1 rated grinder on Amazon.com!).
👉 Check out what thousands of customers have to say about our grinder.
CoffeeSock DIY ColdBrew Coffee Kit ($24)
There are tons of cold brew coffee makers out there for $40-100, but those high price tags are unnecessary. All you need is a vessel and a filter to make cold brew because it’s so easy!
And this CoffeeSock kit does the trick nicely.
No fluff or frills—just a glass jar and a fine cloth filter for steeping your coffee grounds for 12+ hours.
Also Read: 7 Common Cold Brew Coffee Questions Answered
Sustainable Pour Over Coffee Dripper ($20)
We love a good cup of french press, but there’s nothing quite like a hand-crafted cup of pour over coffee—it’s meditative, it’s fun, and it makes a killer cup of coffee.
And this dripper, since it doesn't need paper filters, is 100% sustainable and travel-friendly!
Bonavita Electric Travel Kettle ($24)
The hardest part about making coffee in the office (or the dorm room) is heating up water - most people don't want to bring a huge water kettle to the office - but this Bonavita Travel Kettle does away with that issue altogether.
Compact and affordable, it’s the best way to ensure you have access to coffee-brewing water anywhere you spend a lot of time.
Coffee Gifts Under $75: Surprise Them With Something Nice
Airscape Ceramic Coffee Storage ($35)
Fresh coffee is the best coffee, and when it only takes two weeks for beans to start losing their best flavors, great storage is KEY!
Airscape is a best-in-category coffee storage canister, because it pushes out all the excess oxygen from the beans every time you close the container. It's also completely opaque, so no light can get to your beans and cause photodegredation (light-based decay).
There's a reason Airscape is even used by pro coffee shops and roasters.
Wacaco Nanopresso Portable Espresso Maker ($60)
Very few portable espresso makers have captured the attention of high-end coffee lovers, but the Nanopresso has made a huge name for itself. It’s known around the world as a travel espresso maker that actually works—and not just a gimmick.
For the espresso lover who never seems to stop traveling, the Nanopresso's a godsend.
Read More: The Best Travel Espresso Makers For Shots On The Go
Ember Heat-Retaining Mug ($72)
Not everyone likes cold coffee (can you blame them?), which makes it a bummer when your rich, flavorful mug gets lukewarm. Yuck!
The Ember Mug uses next-gen technology to keep your coffee at a precise temperature you set. Think 140 degrees is the perfect temperature? Great, the Ember will keep your coffee there. Prefer closer to 122 degrees? No problem.
JavaPresse Coffee Gift Subscription ($56)
There are a ton of coffee subscriptions out there, but here’s why we love ours: we equip you with everything you need to turn your morning mug into an extraordinary daily experience. And that means our Coffee Club is like none other…
- Beans are shipped just TWO HOURS after being roasted (for unrivaled freshness)
- Only organically grown, ethically traded coffee (no pesticides or icky stuff)
- Small-batch farmers—never mass-produced and lower-grade flavors
Check out the JavaPresse Coffee Club here.
Or buy a gift card instead to give the coffee lover in your life the ultimate level of flexibility to choose their favorite roast.
Coffee Gifts Under $150: For The Above And Beyond Gifter
Espro Tasting Cups — Set Of 4 ($80)
Espro’s unique tasting cups were designed like fancy beer, wine, and spirit glasses—with a lot of science. They’re specially shaped to emphasize certain flavors and aromas in your coffee, and their independent studies have shown they work!
Try a coffee in each cup to emphasize different flavors, or pair your favorite coffee with the corresponding cup. This is a fantastic gift for the high-end coffee taster in your life who always seems to pick up on the most subtle of flavors.
Stagg Pour-Over Kettle ($79)
This beloved next-gen kettle balances comfort with function and is great for daily pour over coffee brewing.
And yes—the special “gooseneck” spout actually helps a lot with controlling the flow of water as you brew, which helps you brew a more balanced cup.
Read: How To Master The Water Pouring Technique For Pour Over Coffee
It’s American Press ($80)
I traveled around the world for 15 months using this unique coffee maker. It’s light, it’s compact, and it brews up to 15 ounces of GREAT coffee in under two minutes—my #1 recommendation for a travel coffee maker!
Also Read: The 5 Best Coffee Brewers For Travelers
Bellman Stovetop Milk Steamer ($130)
Steaming milk like the pros for cappuccinos and lattes is basically impossible unless you have a fancy (read: expensive) espresso machine—but now it doesn’t have to be.
The Bellman stovetop milk steamer actually works really well! As someone who worked in a specialty coffee shop for 3+ years, I can honestly say the Bellman is more capable of amazing microfoam and latte art than any other “frother” I’ve used.
Also Read: A Basic Guide To Common Espresso And Milk Drinks
Acaia Pearl Smart Coffee Scale ($140)
There’s no scale like this one from Acaia. It’s sleek, minimal, and easy to use. AND it’s the most commonly-used scale in the specialty coffee industry because it’s so reliable.
It also syncs to your phone so you can see real-time stats on how well you’re making coffee, and so you can follow along with recipes from other baristas around the world.
Also Read: 3 Reasons You Need A Coffee Scale To Brew Coffee
Coffee Gifts Beyond $150: Go Big Or Go Home, Right?
KitchenAid Electric Siphon Coffee Brewer ($200)
Siphon coffee makers are truly stunning to use. And despite looking like something that belongs in the lab of a mad scientist, they’re beloved as one of the world’s best kinds of coffee makers.
The only thing is… they’re hard to use. That’s why this one from KitchenAid is so great. It’s electronically controlled to make the whole process easier, more hands-off, and much tastier.
Goat Story Gina Smart Coffee Maker ($245)
Now this is a next-level coffee maker for the next-level coffee lover! The single device makes pour over coffee, cold brew coffee, and immersion (french press) coffee.
It’s crisp, clean, and looks like something Apple would make if they got into coffee. The scale on the bottom of the brewer connects to your phone so you’re always up-to-date on your coffee brewing process.
Breville Barista Express Espresso Machine ($500)
If you really want to go all-out, you can’t beat the value of the Breville Barista Express Espresso Machine. Though it’s not the fanciest home espresso maker out there—it’s absolutely the best for your money.
And since most coffee lovers are hesitant to spend this much money on a piece of gear for a hobby, the coffee lover in your life (soon to be espresso lover) will be SHOCKED to open up this one.
And If You Gift Coffee Beans, Just Don’t Do This…
Most people buy gift coffee bags weeks in advance.
Please, please don’t do this.
Coffee is only fresh for TWO weeks after it’s roasted—and only twenty minutes after it’s ground. If you buy a bag of coffee two weeks before the gifting date, you’ll be giving away coffee that’s already beyond its prime (which means the flavors aren’t nearly as vibrant).h
Read: Gifting Coffee Beans: 3 Things To Do (And 3 To Avoid)
Here’s what we suggest to maximize freshness.
We ship JavaPresse coffee beans just TWO HOURS after they’re roasted, so when they arrive at your door 1-2 days later, they’re literally the freshest coffee beans you could enjoy.
- This is great for sending the beans right to your coffee lover’s home
- But since it’s so fresh, you can even have it delivered to you for a personal hand-off!
Discover how the JavaPresse Coffee Club transforms a morning mug of coffee into an extraordinary daily experience (a perfect gift!) right here.