When shopping for coffee gifts, do you like malls, only with 500% more people in them?
Perhaps you’re a fan of surly, overworked shop owners and til attendants.
Do you get excited at the prospect of jamming several large bags full of boxes into people’s legs on the SkyTrain?
You DO?
…
Good Lord, what the hell is wrong with you?
If, however, you’re like the rest of us, you’ll know that shopping anywhere in December is a horrible, bone-chilling experience.
Whatever, Bah Humbug.
So I thought I’d give you an early Christmas present.
A list of all the best coffee gifts you can buy online, for that person in your life that is a true coffee snob.
Well I mean, technically I’m the real snob, what with my URL and all, but you get what I mean.
NOTE: there are affiliate links below, which help me pay to run this site, but don’t feel you have to use them… you grinch.
NOTE 2: This is a “Christmas” list, but it’s really a “Holiday” list too, for those of you that don’t believe in Santa. And if that’s you then I definitely feel sorry for you. He’s real, I assure you. Not like that Jesus fella.
How Does This List Work?
I’ve broken this whole post into sections so you can choose your own adventure.
Contents
Table of Contents
The Best Pour Over Coffee Gifts
This is simple: Filter Coffee = Coffee + water + some sort of a dripper.
Best for: People who like to spend time focusing on their coffee brewing and changing up variables.
The Espro Bloom – For The Actual Vancouver Coffee Snob
Perfect for: Someone that wants amazing quality coffee in only 2 minutes.
I use this dripper every single day of my life.
Why? Because it’s so ridiculously easy to use and the results are truly incredible.
It’s great for the newbie all the way to the advanced coffee snob.
Click here to buy (Canada)
Click here to buy (US)
Chemex – For the Visually Stunning Snob
Perfect for: Someone who loves to show off at dinner parties.
The Chemex is great at two things; brewing large batches of great coffee and wowing your audience with its visual aesthetics.
The coffee quality is high and you can even find great metal filters for this.
Click here to buy (Canada)
Click here to buy (US)
Hario V60 Dripper – For The Masochistic Pour-Over Snob
Perfect for: A true, flexing, coffee geek.
The v60 is the absolute workhorse of the coffee industry.
There’s no other pour-over device out there that gives you as much control over your brewing.
But my GOD this thing is responsible for more coffee-based snob meltdowns than anything else I’ve ever brewed with.
Long story short – you can make amazing coffee with this, but its learning curve is frustrating.
Click here to buy (Canada)
Click here to buy (US)
The Best Immersion Brewing Gifts
Immersion brewing is coffee and water this is left to steep for a certain amount of time. Then you filter out the coffee grinds.
Espro French Press – The Snob with No Time
Perfect for: Someone that wants to make coffee while doing 8 other things.
Chances are you’ve used a French Press, as they’re very common.
Espro took the traditional design and supercharged it with extra filters and better heat insulation.
It’s a solid device if you want to pour hot water in and forget about it until you’re ready.
Click here to buy (Canada)
Click here to buy (US)
The Hario Switch – For The Snob Who Wants The Best of Both Worlds
Perfect for: Someone that wants truly magnificent immersion coffee, but also the occasional pour over moment.
I love this brewer as it’s a hybrid of the v60 and the Clever Dripper (below).
This means you can get snobby and make a pour over with it, or just go straight immersion.
And the results are amazing.
Click here to buy (Canada)
Click here to buy (US)
The Clever Dripper – For The Snob That Wants an Indestructible Immersion Dripper
Perfect for: People who are looking for a slightly more hands-off coffee brewing approach they can abuse.
It’s tried, it’s tested and it’s a solid little brewer.
You’ll get a fairly clean cup out of it each time (not as good as pour over IMO) and you could throw it down a flight of stairs and it’ll still work.
Click here to buy (Canada)
Click here to buy (US)
NOTE: I know some of you are going to be mad at me for not including an Aeropress in this list, but don’t worry, it’s in the below travel section.
The Best Grinders For Coffee Gifts
This section takes you through what I think are the best grinders to give as gifts.
They’re in price order.
Hario Slim Ceramic Burr Grinder – For The Basic Coffee Snob
Perfect for: The coffee lover that wants to take their first step into grinding.
I used this for a long time.
It’s great value and nigh-on indestructible.
However, it’s slow and the grind consistency is average.
Click here to buy (Canada)
Click here to buy (US)
Timemore C2 – For the Home Grinding Snob
Perfect for: Someone that’s outgrown the basic grinders out there.
The price hike is quite high but honestly it’s so very worth it.
The coffee you brew will be cleaner and brighter, by virtue of the fact that the grind consistency in this thing is off the charts.
Plus it’s much quicker than the above Hario Slim.
Click here to buy (Canada)
Click here to buy (US)
Baratza Encore – For the Electric Grinding Snob
Perfect for: Anyone that can’t be bothered with hand grinding.
You’ll read a lot of reviews promoting other electric grinders in the same price range as this, but those reviews are wrong.
There is quite simply nothing you can buy that comes close to the quality of this for the price. Nothing.
I used this for years until I bought a coffee shop grade grinder.
Click here to buy (Canada)
Click here to buy (US)
Great Kettles for Coffee Gifts
When brewing coffee, especially pour overs, it’s very convenient to have a “gooseneck kettle”
Why? Becuase you can control your pour just how you like it.
Plus they look cool and you’re probably Canadian, so you already love Geese.
Hario V60 Buono 1.2L – For The Simple Snob
Perfect for: Literally anyone that wants to brew quality coffee.
OK, it’s not electric, but it is very cheap.
It’ll allow you to control your pour well, plus it’s built like a tank.
Click here to buy (Canada)
Click here to buy (US)
Bonavita Electric Kettle – For The Temperature Control Snob
Perfect for: Someone that drinks different roast levels of coffee (for example dark roast water is usually cooler than light roast).
I use this kettle daily and it’s been bullet proof for me.
Plus, once you dive further down the coffee brewing rabbit hole, you’ll be happy it can change the water temperature.
Click here to buy (Canada)
Click here to buy (US)
Stagg EKG – For The Fancy Pants Snob
Perfect for: Someone that values aesthetics in their kitchen.
Ok there’s not really much difference between this and the Bonavita above.
But hot damn is this thing beautiful.
I’m kind of annoyed my Bonavita is lasting so long, as I really want to buy one of these next.
Click here to buy (Canada)
Click here to buy (US)
The Best Espresso Machines For Gifts
If filter coffee is not your coffee gift jam, then how about espresso?
NOTE: Don’t get suckered into buying anything less than the three below. Sure, you can buy cheap espresso machines but they are without doubt going to be hot garbage. There’s a reason why a shop grade machine can be $30,000.
Gaggia Classic – For the Wannabe Barista Snob
Perfect for: Someone that’s taking their first steps into home espresso.
This is as cheap as you’ll want to go to get decent espresso at home with an electric machine.
It’s a well-respected machine that’s easy to use and creates consistent espresso shots.
Click here to buy (Canada)
Click here to buy (US)
Breville Barista Express – For The Home Barista Snob
Perfect for: Someone that wants to make great espresso at home, while also being able to make latte art.
I had one of these for years at Snob HQ.
I loved it so much I upgraded to the Breville Dual Boiler (below).
This is the best machine/grinder combo you can buy in the $500ish price range. PERIOD.
The grinder is built in, saving you money, plus the results are really quite amazing.
Click here to buy (Canada)
Click here to buy (US)
Breville Dual Boiler – For The Next Level Home Barista Snob
Perfect for: Someone that wants to get very close to coffee shop quality espresso, at a fraction of the price.
I like this machine so much that I bought one for home.
You can pull espresso shots with it while steaming milk at the same time, which is a huge feature at this price.
This will give you coffee shop grade quality, at a steal of a price.
Click here to buy (Canada)
Click here to buy (US)
The Best Coffee Gifts for Travelling
If you’re on the road a lot, you’re not going to want to touch the crap you find in most hotel rooms.
So I’ve picked out three of the best travel brewers I think exist today.
Minipresso – For the Travelling Espresso Snob
Perfect for: Someone that wants straight espresso on the road.
I have one of these and I’ll admit, I expected it to be terrible.
NOPE. It can produce a shockingly decent attempt at espresso given how tiny it is.
Click here to buy (Canada)
Click here to buy (US)
Aeropress – For the Travelling Snob
Perfect for: Someone that wants coffee while camping,
The Aeropress is the ultimate camping companion for any self-respecting coffee snob.
It’s small, light, near on indestructible and produces absolutely incredible coffee.
It’s my personal go-to choice whenever I’m going on vacation.
Click here to buy (Canada)
Click here to buy (US)
Level up your Aeropress game with Aesir Filters, which I describe as a ‘cheat code’ for Aeropress.
The Best Coffee Subscriptions
Ok, so your recipient has all the gear and hopefully some idea.
How about a subscription of monthly coffee then?
House of Funk – For The Adventurous Snob
Perfect for: Anyone that loves very high quality, varied, light roast coffee.
House of Funk has made some of my favourite coffees of all time.
They’re bright, light and often weird as hell.
A truly incredible roastery with an amazing two-pack monthly subscription.
Click here to buy their Omokase subscription.