Okay... right off the bat, this is a cheat on my part. This is actually an $850 item, but for Christmas, it will cost you $250; you pay the rest once the grinder is built, so I'm including it here.

Every super nerd in the world of coffee and espresso is talking about these grinders. For espresso enthusiasts, the bane of espresso making is waste, heat, particle size, and adjustability. Waste as in ground coffee left over inside the grinder that you have to somehow get rid of the next shot. Heat is in the grinds getting too hot during grinding which can lead to a variety of preparation issues in packing your tamper. Particle size comes from too-small burrs trying to do the job of a giant burr in ensuring your ground coffee's particle size is uniform. And adjustability means sometimes you have to really fine tune how fine your grind is, and most grinders don't let you do that.

This grinder attempts to address all these issues. The coffee falls straight down into your portafilter with no way for stray grounds to stick around. The burrs are huge (I'm linking to the 83mm version) which help with particle size uniformity. Since it is hand cranked, the fastest you can get is about 100rpm which means no heat issues. And it is infinitely adjustable.

I'm probably getting one. Because I'm a geek.

Product Link (Manufacturer direct)

If you have a hankering for donating some money to a worthy cause, but also like getting beautiful illy collector cups, this is the item for you, or even better, as a Christmas Gift you can give to two - one to the foundation, the other to your gift recipient.

These are the Ernesto Illy Foundation espresso cups. The idea for these cups came from Ernesto Illy himself, who said that coffee should never be drunk alone, always in company. Coffee is a beverage that encourages conviviality and conversation: enjoyed in the company of others it can lead to the kind of encounters and discussions from which great ideas are born.

This is why the Ernesto Illy Foundation has used the metaphor of a bird’s eye view of two coffee cups with a logo created by a Dutch designer for illycaffè during the1960s. The limited-edition, numbered pack contains two espresso cups and a single saucer. You get the cups by making a minimum 100 Euro donation to the Ernest Illy Foundation, donations that go to:

• Research, preservation and development project of the native coffee plant in Ethiopia;
  
• Pilot project in Colombia, dedicated to adverse communities, to introduce beekeeping and honey production in coffee plantations, as a new source of income and environmental sustainability;
  
• Scholarships for the Masters degree in Coffee Economics and Science, that will give qualified students coming from coffee producing countries the opportunity to study in Italy, to improve their knowledge and to transfer this experience to their families and community of origin.
  
  

Product Link

With a fantastically successful Kickstarter Project, Able Brewing launched their most ambitious project yet - a full brewing system designed around their Kone filter. The Kone Brewing System is so ambitious that Keith Gehrke actually went back to the drawing board late in pre-production to further fine tune the design and ceramics used for this brewer.

Gehrke is very passionate about making his products 100% in the US, and as such, the quality, materials (and price) of the new Kone Brewer reflect this. Attention to every detail, from how the filter sits inside, to how the pour spout works, has been looked into.

You can buy the brewer on its own for $120, and it should work with all Kone filters. Or you can buy it with a Kone V3 for $160, saving $20 off the Kone's standalone price. You can also buy it with 2 Able Brewing ceramic mugs Gehrke also designed, for $200. And if you want it with the crazy cool gold plated Kone filter, I'm sure they can work out a price for you.

Able says the brewer is now complete and manufacturing has started - Kickstarter supporters may be getting theirs before Christmas, but delivery should begin in earnest at the start of the new year. This is going to be a high-demand product, so order now to get a January or February lock in delivery date.

Product Link (Able Brewing)

Incredible! After kind of disappearing for a few years, we've managed to find a balance brewer for easy purchasing (ie, it's not overseas), and it's actually under $150!

Balance brewers were based on the siphon coffee brewing method, and came out within a decade of the siphon brewer's invention (1840 for siphon brewers, 1850 for balance brewers). These were also the world's first "automatic coffee makers" in that they would automatically shut off through the elevated balance of the hot water kettle on the right side: as the kettle emptied of water (which moves over to the left side to brew), the kettle would rise, and a cap would then flip closed on the cloth wick heater below, stopping the heat.

With no more heat, the steam inside the kettle would revert back to water, create a vacuum, and suck all the brewed coffee back over from the brewing vessel. All this was done hands off - as the operator, all you had to do was add ground coffee to the left side, add water to the right side kettle, put a flame to the cloth wick, and let the device do the rest!

This is a great reproduction of those 19th century coffee brewers. Grab one while you can! The polished metal one is linked below, but there's also a Brass model available for the same price!

Product Link (Amazon)

This is the first of several Baratza products we're listing. This makes the list because it is the least-expensive electric grinder I feel confident to recommend: Baratza's entry level Encore grinder.

This is the re-engineered and redesigned "Maestro" Grinder from Baratza to fix one of the Maestro's biggest drawbacks - it could not grind fine enough for espresso. The Encore fixes that with a completely redesigned burr group assembly that brings the 40-click selection of other Baratza models, giving you the ability to grind coffee between 200 and 1200 microns, the range needed for espresso on up to press pot coffee.

This grinder is also fully compatible with Baratza's Esatto attachment, which can turn it into a weight-dosing grinder. It does not come with a Portaholder, but one can be bought separately and used with the Encore.The 40mm burrs are the same found in the Virtuoso grinder. The construction of the grinder is also upgraded from the old Maestro, and the front "pulse" button makes a return for one handed operation while using a portafilter.

Product Link (1st in Coffee)
Product Link (Transcend Coffee, Canada, $149)

Everytime I post of photo brewing with a Hario Halogen Beam heater and a siphon, people ask a) what I am using, and b) where can they buy one. I tell them what it is, how Hario discontinued it, and that it was over $400. Still, many are more disappointed at it no longer being available, than shocked at the price.

Well now, two importers in North America are bringing in a better, lower priced, more powerful, and most importantly -- wired for N. American power (110V) halogen beam heater from another manufacturer: Akira. Where the Hario Beam Heater was 100V (Japan) only and $425 from N. American sources when it was available, this model from Akira is only $310 from the US vendor, and $328 from the Canadian source.

With this heater, you can brew siphon coffee using light: light from a powerful 350W halogen bulb. The bulb is so bright, if you didn't have the red quartz filter in place on the heater, you'd probably go blind from the brightness. The lamp is also infinitely adjustable, allowing you to jack up or tone down the light (and resulting heat). I put the bulb to max to heat up water, then lower it to maybe 60% power to maintain the brew for 1 or 2 minutes. Unlike Hario's model, the front of this unit is slanted. And did I mention it is 110V powered?

For many, this is the ultimate heating source for siphon brewed coffee. It is designed to work with most stand-equipped siphon brewers, and will also work with stovetop models. For more detailed photos, check out this (Korean) blog.

Product Link (Northwest Glass, US, $310)
Product Link (Avenue18, Canada, $328)

This is possibly one of the most beautiful manual drip coffee maker stands you will ever find. It is the "Clive Stand", designed and manufactured in Portland, Oregon.

The stand is made from salvaged Oregon walnut wood, and each one is completely unique in its wood grain pattern. Clive Coffee designed the shape and style in conjunction with their partner in this project, Carthagh Craft and Design. It is available in a 1 and 3 cup model and can be ordered with or without the Hario glass V60 holder and beaker.

I fell in love with this stand the first time I saw it - so much so, I actually commissioned a one-off two brewer model, which I proudly use at least once a week (and will be using again in the new CoffeeGeek Lab eventually). Though it is not normally available, you too can commission a two brewer stand as well, now that they have the plans.

Our price listed here also includes one Hario V60 glass filter holder and one Hario Beaker.

Product Listing (Clive Coffee)

Most siphons these days look like the oldschool tall pillar style that Hario, Yama and others are creating facsimiles of in good numbers at decent prices.

How about a siphon that looks radically different? One still made by hand in England by a century-old company? One that is still more or less the same siphon this company has been making for decades and decades? Let me present to you a siphon not much talked about: The Cona siphon.

With sweeping, art deco lines, wide bowl, narrow spout and an all glass brewing system (even the filter is glass), the Cona certainly stands out amongst the crowd. It is notoriously difficult to clean (hint - get a decanter brush), and won't work with any of the modern butane burners, but who cares - it is a gorgeous work of art and still brews fantastic coffee.

It may be over $200, but what the heck - it's Christmas.

Product Link (Espresso Zone)
Product Link (bonus for UK folk - 96£ incl vat!)

There's a few Baratza Grinders on this list because of one simple fact: they are the best grinders in their price range for home use.

The Preciso is the middle of the road offering from Baratza, but one that kicks the pants off a Rocky or even a Mazzer Mini. Why? Because of two things: super fine tuning ability for your grind fineness level, and it is faster than either grinder doing an espresso grind.

The Preciso is the company's Virtuoso grinder with the addition of a new collar system that allows for both macro grind adjustments (40), and micro adjustments (11), giving you over 400 different grind settings to choose from. It is also very fast - as fast as the higher priced Vario, and then some. It is twice as fast grinding for espresso than a Mazzer Mini is.

This is a multi purpose grinder, meaning it can do espresso and turkish grind, but also easily handle drip and press pot grinds. The Preciso also comes complete with Baratza's portaholder accessory, allowing you to use your portafilter (up to 58mm commercial size) right in the grinder directly.

Product Link (Amazon)
Product Link (Creative Coffee - Canada $320)

Want to get serious into home manual coffee brewing for results that will rival the coffee from any cafe? Prima has a very nice package deal going on that saves a substantial amount of money.

This package includes a Baratza Encore grinder; a 8 cup Chemex brewer, a box of Chemex filter papers, and the expensive (but cool looking and functional) Hario Buono Kettle which works on all stove types, including induction stoves.

Together, this package gives you a great grinder, a beautiful and functional brewer, and a dedicated pouring kettle for getting the most out of your drip coffee. A perfect gift for a serious CoffeeGeek.

Product Link (Prima Coffee)

We wanted to feature the Gene Cafe Roaster this year because the CoffeeGeek Lab unit we have is still going strong after five years, giving us a nice profile-tuning roast of up to 10oz of green coffee. The problem was, most units available are over $500.

But we found this limited edition Red model with all the latest upgrades (including the improved exhaust / chaff chamber) for just a buck under $500, and that means it can make our list!

The usual batch is half a pound (8oz) and the roasting chamber features a unique multi-oscilating pattern that really goes the extra yard to doing an even roast. The roaster is very ambient-temperature susceptible, so use it in a warm area for best results (NB this smokes like crazy!). A great roaster with profile controls and at under $500, a good buy!

Product Link (Amazon)

We had a chance to test this brewer last year in an informal private test, and were quite impressed with the results. This is Bunn's new Phase Brewer auto drip coffee machine.

What makes it special? When it comes to drip brewers, the most important thing that many manufacturers miss is the water temperature - namely, the temperatures are not hot enough for proper extraction. Bunn fixes this problem with a dual stage heating / brewing cycle on this machine. It takes about 10 minutes to complete a pot: 6 minutes to properly heat up all the water, and 4 minutes to actually brew.

This is also one of the few machines from Bunn to have all the bells and whistles normal consumer drip autos have: namely, digital controls and timers. We're not fans of timers on auto drip coffee makers - it means stale ground coffee - but for some this is a very important feature. It also uses Bunn's flat filter, which some believe can lead to a better brew in auto drip machines.

Lastly, Bunn's warranty is awesome - a full 3 years (most machines are 1 year or less).

Product Link (Amazon)

This fantastic, modern appeal coffee brewer is all you need (besides hot water and coffee) to brew a great cup. Made by the Walkure porcelain specialists in Germany, even the filter is porcelain, and as such, the brewer requires no other filtration - no paper, no metal, no nothing.

Filtration is achieved by a dual-layer stack of porcelain grids that criss-cross each other. It does a decent job, holding back as much sludge as a typical press pot does.

This is a pass-through filtration system (as opposed to a immersion brew filtration system) but one of the porcelain pieces is a water-spreader that does a really good job of evenly spreading your hot water over the bed of coffee - as I observed it, water cascades through the spreader's side holes, but also adheres to the bottom of the spreader to provide a fairly chaotic water fall pattern (a good thing). In addition, the spreader is pretty shallow, forcing you to control your water pouring for a more even brew.

I've included some photos of the innards, since this is a pretty unique device. At under $100, it'd make a great gift for a CoffeeGeek!

Pouring Vessel Filter + Pour Vessels Water Spreader Ceramic Filter Base

Product Link (Prima Coffee)

We haven't tested a lot of auto drip coffee makers in the past few years, but this is one we have, and the results are very impressive. This is only the second auto drip coffee maker to pass SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) certification. It is the Bonavita BV1800TH auto drip coffee maker.

Here's what to like about the brewer. First, it gets up to the proper brewing temperatures as prescribed by the SCAA - around 200F. Second, there's a good water dispersion pattern created over the bed of ground coffee (better than the other SCAA certified brewers - Technivorms). This results in better saturation of the grounds. Third, it is a thermal carafe, so no re-heating or baking of the brewed coffee.

There's plenty other things to like - it is a good looking appliance, is relatively small for your countertop, and I've always preferred the side style of these brewers over the forward designs of many modern auto drip coffee makers. Lastly, there is no digital timer stuff going on - this is a simple on/off switch brewing device, which I personally like: it means you have to use fresh ground coffee each time - no coffee going stale overnight in the brewer.

This is my top recommended auto drip machine under $200 this year.

Product Link (Amazon)
Product Link (I Drink Coffee, Canada)

The Mypressi Twist V2 portable espresso machine was a great innovation when it was introduced a few years ago. It won a best product award from the SCAA, and has proven to be popular amongst many of the world's top baristas.

The Mypressi lets you brew a true double shot without the need for any electricity (if you heat your water with flame and hand grind your espresso). You can get as much as 16g or more coffee into the basket. It also uses those little NO2 cartridges you normally use for making whipped cream, and one cartridge gives you up to 4 doubles of espresso. The Mypressi comes complete with a pressurized filter basket, a non pressurized basket and an ESE pod adapter. This makes the Mypressi much more versatile in how it can be used.

This is a continually developing product; Mypressi has recently done some major upgrades to the valve systems and overall machine to make it work even better than in the past. Look for new upgrades in the future, many that should be compatible with the Mypressi you buy today.

Product Link (Mypressi)

Long ago, we had a love affair with the Mazzer Mini grinder - but a lot of of that had to do with a lack of choices for a dedicated espresso grinder. Not any longer. We'll recommend Compak's offerings anyday over Mazzer, and this K3 Touch grinder is an easy recommendation to make.

The grinder is just under $500 which is actually cheaper than a few years ago. It has beefy 58mm flat burrs, super solid construction (it weighs 20 pounds!) and has a lot of thought out engineering, including a mounted motor for easy service and repair should it ever need that. Mind you, this is a commercial grinder, so for use in the home, it should last for decades.

Compak has been working extremely hard to make great grinders that last a long time. Our primary lab grinder is the Compak K10 WBC model, and we've extensively tested a Compak K3 doser grinder with great results. If you want a dedicated espresso grinder that is built for commercial use, and one that is under $500, this is the unit to have.

Product Link (Whole Latte Love)

A very elegant 3 cup siphon complete with painted artwork from Yama. And as a bonus, it includes a butane burner (usually a $50 upgrade!).

Siphons produce some of the best non-espresso coffee you can drink today - the brewing method just lends itself to proper extraction and quick brewing times. The bonus is, it's a fantastic visual way to make coffee too! This is true table-service coffee, and a fantastic show to end your dinner party with.

This particular Yama model features a painted ceramic base, and a very stable stand system for holding the brewer in place during the brew phase. It uses a cloth filter system (extra cloth filters are easy to find and buy and are cheap), and the butane burner reduces heat up times by almost 75% when compared to cloth wick burners.

Ever since Hario "dumbed down" the (formerly) beautiful Nouveau siphons, this is one of our favourite siphons available today. I own two of these - the black model, and also a white one.

Product Link (Amazon)

Wine folks have the Nez du Vin sets in a variety of sizes, and we in the world of coffee have the Nez du Cafe set made by the same people. Many folks in the world of specialty coffee consider this kit de rigeur in their training of palates and sensory skills for the tasting and testing of coffee. We consider it essential in the CoffeeGeek Lab.

Designed in conjunction with the Specialty Coffee Association of America, this kit consists of an amazing 36 aromas comprising the most common (and uncommon) scents found in coffees.  All thirty-six aromas in a wooden presentation box complete with descriptive cards, the set of four 'Art of Aroma' posters, and Jean Lenoir's bound book which contains a tasting sheet and coffee classification chart.

This kit will help you train your sense of taste with flavors that mimic the specific nuances found in coffee. You'll be a rock star of the coffee cupping world in no time - watch out Ken Davids!

The included aromas are: earth, potato, garden peas, cucumber, straw, cedar, clove-like, pepper, coriander seeds, vanilla, tea-rose/redcurrant jelly, coffee blossom, coffee pulp, blackcurrant-like, lemon, apricot, apple, butter, honeyed, leather, basmati rice, toast, malt, maple syrup, caramel, dark chocolate, roasted almonds, roasted peanuts, roasted hazelnuts, walnuts, cooked beef, smoke, pipe tobacco, roasted coffee, medicinal, rubber.

Price is $350, or $275 if you're an SCAA member.
Product Link (SCAA site - they have a horrible url system at their site; visit the "store" navigation buton, and search for Nez du Cafe)

The ultimate upgrade for a wide lineup of Baratza grinders, including the Maestro Plus, the Encore, the Virtuoso, and the Preciso models. What is it?

The Esatto attachment converts your existing Baratza grinder into a very accurate weight based dosing grinder, complete with a new bin to use. You can dial in up to 3 presets, or manually choose the weight you want to grind. Fill the hopper up, pick your grind weight and press one button. The grinder will accurately grind the amount you set, in .1g increments and automatically stop.

In our testing, we found the Esatto to be accurate within .5g under most circumstances. This is fantastic for moka, drip, siphon, pourover, and press pot - you really don't need anything more accurate than that. When grinding for espresso, we've found the finer grind (which means slower grinding time) brings the accuracy down to about .3 grams, which is also extremely good for most espresso situations.

A very worthy upgrade to your Baratza grinder, and a definite choice gift for a true CoffeeGeek. And it's $20 cheaper this year than it was last year!

Product Link (Amazon)

This is one of the few items on this list that I have not yet been able to test. But the Behmor 1600 roaster is a huge favourite with the folks who participate in our home roasting forums, and that is reason enough to include it in the holiday gift list. (apologies for the lack of photo - we couldn't find a suitable one to use)

Quoting from our chosen vendor, "This roaster makes perfect sense for those who want to roast their own coffee once a week, or those who roast coffee for the office, for family, or for gift-giving. It has pre-programmed roast times, heat curves, and an automatic cooling cycle."

The smoke removal system keeps the smoke out of your roasting but the aroma of fresh roasted coffee is still strong in your roasting area. The unit will set off most smoke detectors so keep that in mind.

The Behmor can roast up to a pound of coffee at a time, and has five preprogrammed "profiles", but you can also adjust and control the roasting profile on the fly. It's a nice, quiet roaster with legions of fans. It does have some quirks, but Sweet Marias has you covered in that aspect - read their guide to the roaster.

Product Link (Sweet Marias)

Do you like your coffee in XL size portions? Then this is the ultimate for you. This is Chemex' largest coffee brewer - the massive 13 cup handblown glass coffee maker. And it's even cheaper than it was last year!

It works with Chemex's paper filters filled to the brim, and barely works with the Kone V2 filters (watch out for overflow). But if size does matter, you won't find any manual pourover options that are bigger. Great for larger parties, for people who REALLY want a lot of morning coffee, and especially ideal for cafes looking to do larger volume manual brews.

Every Chemex handblown glass coffee maker is unique - they are hand made in the US, and each one has subtly different shapes. The design is a classic icon, featured in the MoMA Museum's permanent collection.

Product Link (Amazon)

What do you get the espresso nerd who has everything? Has a Speedster on the counter? A Compak K10 Touch grinder as his primary grinder (see what I did there?)? Makes coffee the old school way in a balance brewer that is older than his grandma?

You get him something he doesn't have but trust me, will use - a complete set of Scottie Callaghan dosing tools. The 40 pack is crazy detailed. It features 40 differently calibrated sweeps to use in levelling the bed of coffee before tamping. Scottie is a former Australian barista champion and has popularized these tools all around Australia, and now in North America, at least one vendor is importing and selling these - 49th Parallel in Vancouver.

I own a set and trust me, I use them every friggin day, since they work especially well with the VST calibrated filter baskets. I generally use the #18 or #16 sweeps, but since I have the full set, I could, if I wanted to, use the #17 to really mix things up (heheh). Find out more about these tools direct from Scottie.

If the full set is just a tad too much, 49th also sells a 3 piece set for $40.

Product Link (49th Parallel Roasters, Canada)

It's hard to think about ice coffee brewing in the middle of winter, but our article on iced coffee brewing methods was extremely popular last summer, so we're including one choice on our Holiday Gift List, and it is one of the most beautiful (and compact) ice brewers available today.

It is the Hario Pota bronze (or copper) ice slow drip coffee maker. It works like any of the ice tower brewers, but in a much more compact form: the top contains the globe for your ice to slowly melt in; the middle portion contains the drip controller (for drips as slow as 1 every 5 seconds!) and the filter and ground coffee container. The bottom is the collection jar where the ice brew coffee ends up. The appliance is finished off with a nice bronze (or copper) base, and a matching cap.

Product Link (Amazon)

We love this kettle. This is Bonavita's variable temperature electric cordless kettle, newly designed and produced this year.

This kettle lets you precisely control the water temperature to 1F/1C. It has a keep-temperature feature. It is fast (though it is slower than standard kettles, because of the way it slows down heating as it approaches your specified temperature). It will keep water at the temperature you set for an hour.

More features: the gooseneck is ideal for controlled manual brew pouring; the kettle is commercial-use rated and comes with additional spill-proof options (a plastic cover for the base); and when you remove the kettle from the base, you automatically get a count-up timer for your coffee brewing times, activated simply by pressing the plus symbol on the kettle's control panel.

A solid warranty, a killer price and some of the most accurate temperature controls found in any hot water kettle make this a must have for any serious manual-brew coffee lover.

Product Link (Amazon)
Product Link (Transcend Coffee, Canada)

This coffee brewer certainly has developed a lot of buzz, especially in a community of supernerd coffee enthusiasts who normally eschew anything auto drip. It is the Behmor BraZen auto drip coffee machine. And it is not your Dad's Braun auto dripper.

It features PID like controls for the water temperature that allow you precise adjustments in whatever brewing temperature you want. It features a "full soak water dispensing head" that promises to deliver a full-saturation shower to the bed of ground coffee. It has a system called "temperature glide" to control and slow down the heat increase of the brewing water when the machine approaches your set temperature. And it even auto calibrates itself to adjust temperatures depending on your altitude (!!). For instance, water, which boils at 212F at sea level, boils at 202F by the time you get to places like Denver. And it even has an onboard sytem to let you store and recall favourite settings. Capacity is 8 cups (1.2l) and it features a steel thermal carafe and many other super geek features.

While we haven't had a chance to use or test one of these, but it has become a popualr device amongst the coffee enthusiast crowd. At a price that is still cheaper than many of the top line Capressos and Brevilles, this could be your next auto drip machine.

Product Link (Seattle Coffee Gear)
Product Link (I Drink Coffee, Canada, $210)

Another Baratza choice, and one of the best multipurpose grinders available today. This is the Vario grinder, complete with digital controls, timer functions, engineered ceramic burrs made by Mahlkonig, and rated for commercial use.

This was the first grinder designed for home use to feature the concept of a macro and micro adjustment for grind fineness. One side controls the big steps in how fine your grind will be. The other side controls the fine tuning of each of those "macro" grind steps.

This is also a full digital grinder with built in timers and three programmable memory steps for your choice of grind times. The grinder can handle any grind fineness you would want, from turkish to press pot. It also grinds fast - much faster than a Rancilio Rocky or Mazzer Mini. Baratza includes a portaholder for using a portafilter hands-free with the grinder. The power cord is super beefy for commercial-rated use.

And the grinder comes with Baratza's legendary customer support.

Product Link (Amazon)
Product Link (ZCafe, Canada, $469)

If you are gonna go all "make a statement" with your coffee making, here's one way to do it! This is the Yama  Cold Drip Coffee Tower, and man does it put on a show.

This brewer is designed to brew coffee from ice, over a long period (4+ hours. The top bowl contains your ice, which melts slowly. The middle portion is made up of a dripper that allows you to precisely control how many drips per second (or how many seconds between drips) will flow down to the coffee, in a vessel just below.

Below that is where the brewed coffee slowly curves around a curly tube and eventually drips into the beaker at the bottom. This brewer can brew up to 32oz (about a litre) and can take up to 8 hours to do a  brew. Theatre and coffee, together again!

Product Link (Clive Coffee)