Gift Guide: Christmas Gifts For The Coffee Lover
We all have one: the friend who always wants to meet up for a coffee. The friend who, when she suggests meeting up for a coffee, we know is probably less interested in the gossip we’re going to provide her with and more in the actual coffee over which said gossiping will be done. She may be nodding along to your story but her mind will be on what angle her #latteart will look best from on Instagram. You may even live with her; she may be the housemate who tries so very hard but fails to mask her disappointment in you when you return from the supermarket with the wrong type of coffee. Again. So, to help you buy for the americano aficionado, the cappuccino connoisseur, and the flat white fanatic in your life this Christmas, we’ve put together the ultimate coffee-lovers gift guide.
Rijo42 Gift Pack
Rijo42’s Uno Coffee Machine is seriously slick and stylish, making it the ideal gift for a self-proclaimed espresso expert. Its patented extraction brewing system ensures a perfect full-bodied espresso every single time, whilst its manual free flow switch allows Little Miss Coffee Lover to be in complete control of her espresso.
Just in time for Christmas, Rijo42 have launched a gift pack that, along with the coffee machine, includes a milk frother (we don’t know why but extra froth always makes a coffee feel so much more indulgent), coffee capsules, two espresso cups and saucers, as well as two cappuccino cups and saucers. Hey, with two sets of crockery maybe you’ll be invited round for a fancy coffee as a thank you for buying such a thoughtful gift…
Sage Duo Temp
Recent statistics from Sage by Heston Blumenthal have shown that nearly a quarter of Brits consider themselves to be coffee connoisseurs. There’s no shame in being a bit of a coffee snob, but if you’re getting tired of your friend picking holes in every single coffee she ever has, why not give her the greatest gift of all by allowing her to become a barista in her own home? Enter the Duo Temp pro.
The Sage by Heston Blumenthal range of coffee appliances has been designed precisely to create café quality coffee from the home. Apparently Sage’s secret to ensuring a better tasting coffee is creating even more extraction through a steady-low pressure pre-infusion rather than short bursts of high pressure, as well as increased temperature stability and 1700W power for high pressure steam and faster heat up. The machine itself might cost £349.95, but we’ll give you Heston’s home coffee tips for free:
1. Make sure your beans are fresh:
The optimum time to use your beans is between 10 and 30 days after roasting, so always check the ‘roasted on’ date on the bag.
2. Get your milk frothing just right:
When frothing, start with the bottom of the steam wand just below the surface of the milk so you introduce air and create small bubbles on the surface, then as the jug starts to feel warm, lower the steam wand all the way into the milk on a slight angle to circulate the froth into the body of the milk.
3. Store your frothing jug in the fridge:
The colder the milk, the better the froth! Store the your jug next to your milk in the fridge – simple!
Coffee made by Harrods and Liberty
Both Harrods and Liberty scream tradition and quality. For the discerning coffee drinker put the Harrods coffee set under the Christmas tree. Comprising the stores’ sublime signature blend coffee and Founder Choice coffee, it also comes with a gorgeous set of coffee cups and matching saucers. Opening Liberty’s 6 Cups Espresso Maker would brighten up anyone’s day; in festive red it’s easy to use and a perfect gift if you’re on a budget.
Coffee table books
Having settled in to a sumptuously soft sofa, no truly luxurious coffee break is complete without a coffee table book to pore over. We love W: Stories for its elaborate, enchanting and never seen before fashion photos, Rolling Stones for taking us through an incredible history of music, and Novel Interiors for getting lost in the stylish worlds of Sense and Sensibility, Age of Innocence and Wuthering Heights.
Novelty coffee mugs
The mug out of which a person drinks their coffee says a lot about their personality. Let your friend know how you think of them by wrapping up one of these this Christmas: a slogan mug for the straight talker, stackable, novelty mugs for the cheeky chappy, and a handmade mug for your stylish sister.
