Coffee Tao

So Black Friday is in full swing, and maybe you have a coffee lover on your gift list. Not someone who simply likes coffee, but the kind of coffee lover who grinds their own, or always looks for the latest coffee gadget, or who can tell the difference between Colombian Supremo and Colombian Excelso. In several posts between now and Christmas, I’ll suggest some gifts for various profiles of coffee lovers, from newbies to the home roaster.

Gifts for The Coffee Newbie

Perhaps you know someone who has recently fallen in love with coffee and would like to know more about it–maybe with the intent of improving the brew they make at home, or of knowing what to ask when they buy beans at their local shop. Here are some gifts to help them get the most out of their newfound love of specialty coffee without getting overly technical or intimidating.

1. Coffee, A Guide to Buying, Brewing, and Enjoying–This book by coffee guru Kenneth Davids is, 30 years later, still considered to be the ABCs book for coffee lovers. There is no better single source for basic but thorough understanding of the bean from the casual drinker’s perspective. Learn the fundamentals of what happens to the bean from plant to cup, and what to look for when you shop for your next pound of coffee.

2. The Coffee Trader–David Liss’s fictional account of the birth of the stock exchange and the rise of coffee in Europe, told as a caper/thriller, isn’t just a gripping read; it’s also filled with interesting historical facts about the crucial turning point of coffee as a Western beverage and how dangerous bringing it into the market could actually be.

3. Cuisinart DCC-1200 Brew Central Coffeemaker–With a gold-tone filter, charcoal water filtration, decalcification indicator, and adjustable-temp heating plate, this is a reasonably-priced introduction to better coffee equipment, and probably the very least you should spend for a truly serious coffeemaker.

4. Bodum French Press–If you really want to taste the subtle flavors in fresh coffee, there’s no better way (short of building your own cupping lab) to get the full flavor than a French press, and Bodum’s polycarbonate beakers are shatterproof without absorbing odors or tainting your coffee.

5. Hamilton Beach Custom Coffee Grinder–When you start getting serious about coffee, one of the best first steps you can take is to start grinding your own beans. This grinder is dishwasher-safe (not common for grinders), and has steel blades and custom presets for precise grinding for your autodrip maker, French press, etc. Conical burr grinders are better, but this is a great, affordable introductory piece to learn why buying fresh and grinding only what you need will yield better coffee.

6. Travel Mug with 12v and USB Temperature Control–There are countless travel mugs out there, but this is perfect for the traveling coffee lover; not only is it more attractive than other, more clunky plug-in mugs, but it also has a USB plug so you can plug it into your car or your laptop while on the go.