Festive season: 9 gift ideas for the coffee lovers

We all have that one person in our lives that is so obsessed with coffee that they wear a t-shirt with a line like, ‘I only need coffee on days ending in ‘y’ printed on it. They’re not just in love with the drink, but they’re also in love with the craft of making coffee in all its glorious variations. Coffee is part of who they are.

With the festive season coming up involving lots of gift giving, we thought we’d give you a little guide on how to buy for those constantly caffeinated coffee nerds.

We asked baristas what they would buy for a friend that mutters things like ‘light roast’ in their sleep – here’s what they came up with.

1. A brewing gooseneck kettle for pour over coffee

One of the gloriously simple, and increasingly popular, brewing methods amongst the diehard coffee crowds is the pour over.

While we could write essays on the intricacies of this coffee craft, pour over essentially involves pouring (go figure) water over freshly ground coffee and extracting the coffee flavours into a cup, or serving vessel.

While many say a gooseneck kettle is just paraphernalia that completes a coffee hipster’s get-up, baristas and those who seriously know good coffee consider it a crucial instrument to pull off the pour over method properly.

Using these quirky looking kettles ensure you have pour control throughout the process.

You’ll catch most baristas using an electric pour-over kettle, however, if you’re thinking of a more budget-friendly present (we’re not judging) than your coffee nerd will equally appreciate a stainless steel stove top kettle.

2. Aeropress coffee maker

Most coffee nerds are fans of the Aeropress as it delivers coffee with a clean taste that possesses clearly defined flavours.

By giving them an Aeropress, you’ll be saying, ‘I get you and your coffee obsession, and I’m here to support you in your wild and brew-tiful journey.’

A little bit of research online will lead you to the latest trending Aeropress on the market.

4. A digital coffee scale

This one's for the diehard coffee nerds, the ones that spend hours in Youtube rabbit holes watching coffee making videos.

The craft of coffee requires the use of a scale surprisingly often. You’ll see top notch baristas measuring coffee like a baker measures a cup of flour.

When you’re deep into the coffee game, accuracy, consistency and experimentation are important, and all require the use of a scale.

That’s why your coffee nerd will get excited by what may seem to you a boring present.

5. A portable espresso maker

Nobody wants to encounter a coffee nerd that is away from home – and therefore away from all of their coffee making gear – and good quality coffee is nowhere to be found. There should be support groups for those who have witnessed such a scenario.

So, by buying your coffee nerd a portable espresso maker – yep, thankfully there’s such a thing – you won’t only be making them happy, you’ll also be saving others from experiencing the horror of the scenario described above.

7. Coffee Liqueur

With the revival of interest in cocktail mixology and the popping up of hip cocktail bars all over the world, liqueur – similar to coffee – is going through a renaissance.

A number of coffee liqueurs have sprung up all over the place in recent years with most of them being poured from bottles sporting some very pretty aesthetics and branding.

Considering your coffee nerds' palate preferences, gifting them a craft coffee liqueur makes a lot of sense.

This is a thoughtful and unexpected gift option for those coffee nerds that already have most of the coffee gear in this list.

9. Coffee cupping voucher

Coffee nerds like to be around their own tribe. They come alive when they’re chatting with people that get what they’re talking about when they mention words like ‘batch brewing,’ and ‘red eye’ etc.

One place where your coffee nerd will feel like they’re amongst their people is at a coffee cupping session (If you’re not aware, this is like a wine tasting, but with coffee).

Check out online where coffee cupping sessions are happening in your city and get your coffee nerd a ticket to the next one.