It’s safe to say that 2020 hasn’t turned out how anyone imagined. Coffee shops, as well as other eateries and hospitality businesses, were forced to close their doors or pivot their business offering in a way never imagined in order to survive.
Due to these closures, the pandemic will likely have had a major impact on your coffee-loving friends in particular, with their daily coffee routine being put on hold for the majority of the year.
Luckily, Christmas is around the corner. A time of cheer, joy, and festivity. It’s also the perfect time to sneak some coffee-related gifts into your coffee lover’s stocking, in an attempt to rekindle their love for all things coffee.
However, present shopping is hard at the best of times. Least for a coffee lover during a global pandemic. To make the yearly shopping ideal easier on you, we at Nationwide Coffee have cobbled together our favourite coffee gifts for the year 2020 to surprise your friends, family, and loved ones with! These gifts range from the inexpensive and affordable, all the way through to a splurge! But hey, after the year we’ve had, I think some splurging is deserved…
Coffee Subscription
A coffee subscription has to be one of the best gifts to consider buying any coffee lover this Christmas.
There are a number of coffee subscription companies out there, all with their unique selling points and in-house blends. For instance, Blue Coffee Box, Origin Coffee, Union Hand-Roasted, Pact Coffee, Dog & Hat, and Perky Blenders, to name but a few.
The beauty of a coffee subscription is far more than keeping your friend stocked up with quality coffee. It’s in the discovery of new coffee roasts from regions all over the world, imprinted with their very own unique flavour. This process will broaden the horizons of your coffee lover recipient, exposing them to new coffee roasts, regions, processes, and types - perhaps you’ll even introduce them to their new favourite coffee?
The majority of these coffee subscription companies will offer a flexible subscription service, allowing you to purchase a set number of deliveries over a particular period, removing the need for a recurring subscription. This flexibility means that you’re able to supply your coffee lover with a month's worth of coffee, or three months, without the burden of a subscription contract tying you in for 6 months, for instance. It also means that your Christmas gift lasts longer than just December, something any recipient will be appreciative of!
Reusable Cup
Many coffee lovers may be surprised to know that many of the ‘takeaway’ cups they receive from their favourite coffee shop, despite being a ‘paper cup’, aren’t actually recyclable.
A staggering 1 in 400 cups is recycled. 7 million cups are used daily. 2.5bn a year. This obviously creates an awfully lot of environmentally damaging landfill. We published our own article, highlighting the damaging environmental impacts disposable takeaway cups are causing.
Many coffee shops are becoming increasingly aware of this problem and have begun introducing initiatives, designed to promote the use of reusable coffee cups by their regular customers. For example, some coffee shops have begun to offer discounts to those customers that arrive with their own reusable cup.
By buying a reusable coffee cup for the coffee lover in your life, you’re not only reducing their impact on the environment, but you could also be saving them money in the long run as well!
Freshly Roasted Coffee Beans
This may be the obvious choice, perhaps making you wary of choosing it for fear of it being perceived as a ‘thoughtless’ gift. However, there isn’t a better choice out there for an inexpensive gift for coffee lovers, and they’ll love you for them nonetheless!
Coffee lovers love freshly roasted coffee beans, as, if ground right before brewing, provide the key component for a perfect cup of coffee.
Before buying beans though, it’s best to find out if they have a coffee grinder or not. If they don’t have a coffee grinder, either consider creating a bundle gift (coffee grinder + freshly roasted coffee beans) or find out their favourite brewing method and purchase them some suitable freshly ground coffee instead.
You can expect to pay anywhere between £6 to £12 for a quality bag of coffee beans - well worth it in our opinion!
Coffee Grinder
You can’t make good fresh coffee without a coffee grinder. A decent coffee grinder will allow your coffee lover to gain greater control over their coffee brewing at home. Coffee grinders are becoming an increasingly popular kitchen icon, as their prices have become more and more affordable over recent years.
There are a number of grinder options out there, both manual burr and electric burr and blade grinders. For the best precision:price ratio, you can’t get better than a manual, conical burr grinder. However, if you want to offer greatest convenience to your recipient, an electric burr grinder will be more than precise enough for home use, without the physical exertion of the manual grinder! Keep in mind, electric grinders can get very expensive depending on the features. Try to match the features with your gift-receivers average requirements.
To ensure your coffee lover gains the best experience from your gift, refer them to our top tips on getting the most out of your grinder.
Stove Top Espresso Maker
The classic Italian stove-top espresso maker. You know the ones – usually an angular stainless steel jug-like design. There are all sorts of designs, though, so you can choose traditional or something a little more contemporary for variety.
Using these is enough to give instant flashbacks to holidays spent in Sicily, and is a whole lot more romantic than the French press.
Also known as a Moka Pot, a stove-top espresso maker produces a lovely and rich coffee. It is ideal if you like your coffee short (Espresso style) or rich with plenty of flavour. The characteristic coffee aroma that spreads in the kitchen during brewing makes us love it even more, and will be sure to make your gift recipient fall in love!
Medium or Dark roast is recommended for use in Italian stove-top espresso makers, so perhaps include a tester bag as an additional touch.
Latte Stencils
Another relatively inexpensive gift for a coffee lover.
Bring the magic of the coffeeshop into the home with the gift of a coffee stencil. A stencil can allow the gift-receiver to transform their coffee into a canvas, creating an image atop the drink – whether that be a leaf, heart, or festive design!
Use of their own stencils will allow your gift-receiver to reminisce about their daily routine coffee’s pre-coronavirus, providing them the tools to recreate it in their very home.
Coffee Liqueur
Coffee is a versatile ingredient, being used in a host of other delicacies such as cakes, chocolate-covered coffee beans, and alcohol.
Get your coffee lover into the festive spirit with the combination of coffee and alcohol. Espresso liqueur is a simple gift that provides indulgence and potential for fun and games - why not try making your own cocktails at home with the family?
Gooseneck Kettle
A staple of any coffee enthusiast's kitchen is a gooseneck kettle, so if your coffee lover doesn’t already have one, it makes for a perfect gift this Christmas.
A gooseneck kettle is for the barista what a fine-tipped brush is for the painter: a perfectionist’s tool. It offers greater control over the flow of water, allowing for more precision in the pour. Gooseneck kettles are particularly important for pour-over coffee, as it creates greater control over where hot water falls on the ground coffee, allowing you to more easily achieve a balanced saturation and better extraction of the coffee itself.
Worthy Gifts this Christmas
With the year that we’ve had, it’s more important than ever to make Christmas as cheerful, joyful, and festive as ever!
With our gift suggestions above, you can be sure that you’re treating your loved one to something special this Christmas.
If you have any other great gift ideas for coffee lovers, then why not tag us on social media to share the inspiration @nationwidecoffee!