There’s only so many times you can gift him a pair of socks.
I get it, it’s hard buying gifts for men sometimes. I personally am a nightmare to buy for.
However, if the man in question is a coffee lover then I have a few tricks up my sleeve.
After working in the coffee industry for many years I have tried and tested many products.
Not to mention the amount of coffee related gear I receive as gifts for certain occasions, as soon as I declared I was ‘into’ coffee pretty much everything was coffee themed (yes even underpants).
Last Birthday’s Coffee Gifts
So sit tight and let us talk you through a few of our ideas and inspo as a coffee gift for him plus one to avoid.
I’m Tom and I have been working in the coffee industry for over 10 years, starting my journey as a barista in Australia, working on coffee farms in South America and roasting coffee in The UK. Today I review and write about speciality coffee and everything coffee related (like coffee gifts). I am the founder of Batch Coffee Club, which showcases the very best coffee from around the world.
There is no better coffee gift for him than buying him some of the best coffee he will ever drink.
The rise of the subscription box saw brands sprout up in all sorts of wonderful niches offering monthly deliveries of goodies.
Coffee subscription services have always managed to stick around though and seem to have stood the test of time while other more fleeting sub boxes have disappeared.
If you are looking for a unique coffee gift for him then a coffee subscription could certainly be your ticket.
Batch coffee showcase the very best independent coffee roasters throughout the UK in each subscription box.
A handheld grinder is one of the most unique coffee gifts for men.
If he loves his morning coffee and enjoys the process of making the brew then freshly ground coffee is going to blow his mind.
A great start to freshly ground coffee is purchasing a handheld grinder.
You can pick up an electric grinder for the same price however the majority of electric grinders at this price point are blade grinders which essentially blend the coffee beans.
This isn’t great for speciality coffee as the ground coffee is of various different sizes and results in a cup of coffee that can be over and under-extracted.
Handheld grinders use burrs, typically ceramic that grind the coffee to a consistent coarseness so the coffee can brew to perfection.
They are also great for travelling with and fit inside his backpack.
Five-morning coffees a week, around 46 working weeks a year, that’s 230 disposable coffee cups.
A great coffee gift for men who usually grab a coffee on the way into work is a reusable cup.
Now there are many on the market at the moment and I’m sure you haven’t just come across the idea of a reusable coffee cup, however, there are only a few brands that I think have nailed the reusable cup in terms of practicality and style.
There’s nothing worse than spilling half your flat white down your coat because your cup doesn’t seal or your latte just tasting like plastic.
You also want to this thing you’re carrying round to look half decent, after all, you never know who you will meet on that Tuesday morning coffee run.
The best reusable coffee cup that we have come across are KeepCup, Kambukka and Frank Green. They have seemingly nailed each aspect.
The lids screw or clip on, so you can put your coffee in your bag and drink it when you get to the office. There is no plastic taste when you drink the coffee and it looks bloody cool coming in various sizes and colours.
If you think that a reusable cup is the coffee gift you’re looking for…
A really unique coffee lover gift for him is a coffee flavour wheel poster.
The iconic coffee flavour wheel was invented to aid anybody who wanted to categorize the delicious flavour notes in their cup of speciality coffee.
It was invented in 1995 and has become the industry standard coffee tasting resource.
Besides the fact that it makes a great piece of coffee artwork it has become the cornerstone of assistance for anyone that wants to talk about the many flavours in specialty coffee.
We taste new coffee everyday to review and potentially showcase in our subscription box.
Our coffee flavour wheel is used to help us better define the complex and subtle notes of certain coffees.
If your man is super interested in speciality coffee then check out
For a man who is now beyond just lobbing a couple of heaped teaspoons into a cafetiere and wants to nail his morning brew, coffee scales make a great coffee gift for him.
Coffee scales are a necessity in any speciality coffee shop, whether it’s espresso, stovetop, Aeropress, V60, Chemex or Cafetiere he brews to really create the best cup of coffee the brew ratio needs to be consistent.
A few features that coffee scales have that are different from normal kitchen scales is they are normally accurate to 0.1 gram which is super accurate and can really make a difference with certain brew methods.
There is also usually a timer for pour over methods so you don’t have to keep getting your phone out and can be used for taking selfies of you weighing your coffee.
Or check the price of our favourite coffee scales on:
A Chemex is something that is often found stacked next to various other coffee paraphernalia on the retail shelves of speciality coffee shops.
A filter method that not only produces a super clean and bright tasting coffee but also looks interesting and oozes quality.
Another coffee lover gift for him, you can be sure that there aren’t many better methods than this on the market.
A Chemex uses a fairly thick paper filter compared to other methods. This means that most of the oils are drawn out of the coffee resulting in a seriously bright cup of coffee (it looks almost like a cup of black tea).
The subtle and delicate notes are easier to identify and is one of the best methods to use if you are drinking really high-quality coffee. You can even opt for a drip coffee machine that will automatically pour water on your Chemex.
If he has a manual grinder already and it looks as though his arms are going to drop off or you’re not sure whether he will take that well to the morning exercise that a manual grinder requires then maybe an electric grinder is a great coffee gift for men who like to take it easy in the morning.
There are a couple of great domestic grinders on the market at the moment.
Make sure that you lookout for a burr grinder rather than a blade as this means the coffee will be ground instead of blended.
It is perfect for people who use either a stovetop, Aeropress, Pour over, Chemex or Cafteiere. Basically anything other than an espresso machine as the grind size doesn’t get fine rough. It is small and fairly quiet for the early morning grinding.
Nothing is better to enjoy your coffee in than a beautiful coffee cup.
Now, there are hundreds and thousands of coffee mugs out there in pretty much any shape and size you can imagine and actually the chalice in which you consume your coffee is – much like speciality coffee, down to preference.
However, for us, I don’t think you can get better than a hand-thrown ceramic cup (they make great coffee gifts for Valentines day).
If the coffee you are brewing is of high quality then the vessel surely has to match (you wouldn’t drink a good scotch out of a plastic glass).
The coffee that is used in many of these neatly presented coffee gift boxes is usually pretty crap commodity grade coffee.
Although this may be a fitting coffee gift for some, my advice would be to steer clear of any bag of coffee that has had anything added to it.
The flavour profile of speciality coffee has been expertly highlighted by the coffee roaster after the coffee has been expertly grown and processed by the talented coffee farmers at origin.
Instead of flavoured coffee try asking your local coffee roaster for a coffee with your preferred flavour profile.
FAQs
Coffee gifts for espresso machines.
If you’re looking to buy a coffee gift for a man with an espresso machine then there are a few options, however it probably is important to just check what he already owns.
The first thing that I would look at is a coffee grinder. Many domestic espresso machines come with built-in coffee grinders; however if he has a stand alone espresso machine and doesn’t already grind his own coffee then a coffee grinder is a game changer.
He will not look back once he grinds his own coffee and I assure you the quality of coffee will dramatically increase.
A second espresso machine gift idea for him could be a new coffee tamper.
This is the device that presses the ground coffee into the portafilter basket. Most espresso machines come with a generic tamper but there are many handmade more ergonomic, stylish tampers on the market today that make great gifts for coffee lovers.
Lastly, why not gift him some specialty espresso coffee beans. You know for sure that coffee will be enjoyed if he has an espresso machine.
Personalised coffee gifts.
The best personalised coffee gift that I have seen was something that was gifted to me a couple of years ago.
These are the plastic disks that you occasionally see in cafes that have a stencil cut out where chocolate powder is dusted over the top to reveal the stencil on the below steamed milk.
You can now purchase these with a photo stencil so your recipient can serve coffee with his face on the top.
Quirky coffee gifts
If you are looking to buy a quirky coffee gift for him then you’ll need to think outside the box.
One of the quirkiest coffee gifts that I have come across is a coffee plant.
They are sometimes hard to come by in the UK but there are a few online sellers where you can purchase a seedling which will one day grow into a tree bearing coffee cherries.
What to include in a coffee gift basket?
If you are preparing a gift basket or a coffee gift set there are a number of fairly inexpensive items that you can include that can also go alongside a larger gift.
The first thing to include is coffee. Take a look at our one off coffee boxes or pop down to your local coffee roaster (make sure you know if they would prefer whole beans or ground).
A filter method of some sort can be relatively inexpensive. There are plenty of Pour over methods that you can pick up for less than £10. You will also need to pick up some filter papers (something else to include).
By throwing in a coffee book there will be something to do while enjoying the delicious coffee.
What’s the best coffee gift for Dad?
If your Dad is a coffee drinker then there are heaps of great coffee gifts that you can buy for him. If he is the sort that enjoys a milky coffee like a cappuccino or latte then why not buy him a Milk Frother.
If he is a black coffee drinker then a Chemex or Cafetiere is a great gift.
Is your Father an espresso drinker? Take a look at our espresso machine buying guide. Don’t be put off by some of the prices as there are some amazing manual espresso machines at a fraction of the price.
Where can I find coffee gift experiences?
A coffee experience is definitely one of the more unique coffee gifts for him. Although you can no doubt find guided tours of large commercial coffee roasters. I would recommend firstly approaching your local coffee roaster to see if they not only do tours but evern better hold public cuppings.
Cuppings are basically coffee tatsing events that coffee roasters hold to showcase their newest coffees. They are a great place to experience the fantastic flavours of specuialty coffee and roasters are always eager to talk coffee.
Coffee Gift Ideas?
Some of the best coffee gift ideas for him are listed above. If you are looking for something else or he has seemingly got everything already then take a look at some of our buying guides here.
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