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Giving someone the gift of quality coffee is a very special act in my biased opinion. You are introducing a person to a new world of culinary delights.
These gifts can encompass a lot of things. It can be in the form of a bag of high end, seasonal specialty coffee from a top roaster. It may be a new gooseneck kettle for doing advanced pour overs. It can be a shiny new espresso machine with all the bells and whistles. Perhaps a book on coffee techniques and history. Or it could be a high end coffee grinder, which is arguably the best way to improve the coffee that people brew.
On CoffeeGeek each year, we put up suggested lists of unique coffee items, and this year is no different. We have one list of gift suggestions under $50, and another for coffee gifts under $100.
If you are the go-to coffee person in your circle of friends and family, I’d like to suggest one more gift idea you can present to your loved ones: the gift of your expertise.
You know the phrase “Give a person a fish, feed them for a day. Teach a person to fish, feed them for a lifetime.”? Consider doing that this year with those you know who might love the idea and taste of great coffee, but just don’t seem to have the means or ability to produce it.
Drop a hand made coupon inside a big gift box, offering personal lessons in making better espresso, pour over coffee, or siphon brews. If you know how to roast coffee, perhaps offer to show someone how they can roast too, with something as simple as a popcorn popper!
If you need to research educational tools before becoming a coffee sensei, CoffeeGeek is here for you. We have all sorts of guides, including the most basic (like our espresso and latte how tos, our press pot guide and V60 pour over guide), to more complex or rare methods, (including Japanese iced coffee brewing, beginner and advanced siphon coffee, and turkish coffee).
I have some advice as a person who’s done this for many years: check any snobbery and “coffee elitism” at the door if you offer this gift.
Be positive. Be enthusiastic. No question is too naive. Make the process about discovery. Make the process fun and engaging. Find different ways to present the coffee so your gift recipient has their own “ah HAH!” moment.
Here’s one example I do often. At the start of a lesson, I’ll grind up some coffee for espresso and put it aside. I’ll engage my friend on the basics of their new espresso machine and grinder, help them visualize the turbulence and activity that goes on inside the portafilter during a brew, walk them through the process of making a shot, and even show some basic milk steaming techniques. After a half hour has passed, I’ll pull a shot with fresh ground coffee, then pull another with that coffee that was ground a half hour before, and let them taste both.
Bingo.
That’s when they really get it, and get really hooked. This is the epiphany moment. When someone experiences that, they want to know more.
A new specialty coffee fanatic is born.
Lastly, in the holiday spirit as a coffee lover, please consider supporting Food 4 Farmers, a group working with coffee farming families in Central America. They do some amazing work, including food security, child education, and women's rights in the coffee lands.
Have a fantastic holiday season!
- Mark Prince, Senior Editor
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