Our Favorite Coffee Gear

Good coffee tastes amazing, can be a great comfort, and is fun and easy to make well with the right tools. Coffee is also , having been shown to make you smarter, help you , and . Today we're going to knock down coffee's barrier to entry by telling you exactly which gear you need to get your hands on for a great brew.



Keurigs , and certainly don't help the environment, and hitting up Starbucks every day definitely isn't helping out your wallet. Beyond just having better coffee, there's in brewing it yourself.




If you're inspired by our recommendations and enthusiasm and want to learn more, Lifehacker has a to everything coffee.



THE GRINDER



| $129



| $229



If you're coming into this article uninitiated and decaffeinated, then you might be balking at the cost of . I've been there. It's expensive, and intuition is telling you that you can just grab a junk grinder and save your cash for a great coffee machine. It turns out the grind is actually the most important part of the coffee making process. You can make great coffee with a cheap machine, but nothing will save you from a bad grind. Here's a for what your grind should look like. The is also (and everyone else's).



You can get by and save money by picking up a , which is also a good portable option, but how long are you really going to want to put in that extra effort? We will however take the opportunity to recommend this as our portable choice. Gizmodo is .



*| $35THE KETTLE



| $90



You don't need this attractive, ridiculously convenient , but once it's on your kitchen counter you'll wish you had picked it up years ago. It's actually intended for tea (and brilliant for that task), but the single button press operation will work perfectly for the zero effort achievement of your desired coffee temperature. Maintains heat for 30 minutes and shuts off automatically so you don't burn the place down. Also Gizmodo's recommendation.



THE MANUAL METHOD



| $26



The costs $26, is easily the most idiot proof (and arguably the best) way to make coffee, is the #1 bestseller in coffee presses on and has , took , and has been consistently recommended by Lifehacker, Gizmodo, and countless other publications. Hell, there's a world AeroPress championship. As an added bonus, it's also the best way to , and you can even .



I can't recommend enough that you also pick up the . It's ridiculous that this filter is more than half the price of the AeroPress itself, but it's a buy once have forever purchase, and I hate paper filters.



*| $15



you also pick up the app for your iDevice if you're serious about getting those coffee to water ratios and your AeroPress timing exactly right. Gotta start training for that championship.



*[iOS] | $2



TIPS: When AeroPressing, set your to 175 degrees and your to setting 18. See? It's all coming together.



THE AUTOMATIC METHOD



| $166



When the won it retailed for around $100 more than it does now. That was a barrier to entry that knocked it off many a radar in favor of the competing model that goes for between $130-$170, depending on whether you get the thermal carafe (you should). Now the Bodum is for slightly cheaper than the , thermal carafe in tow.



Temperature and water distribution are where auto drips all fail, but the has no trouble jumping both those hurdles. Water is run through borosilicate glass and sprayed out shower head style, the filter is permanent and easily washable, the carafe keeps your coffee hot for hours with no electric heating element, it's a fun machine to watch do its thing, and it will probably be the most attractive gadget in your kitchen. It's thoughtfully, beautifully designed, and makes 1.2 liters of great coffee.



UPGRADE? Is the better than either of these machines? Maybe. It also starts at $300 and you're going to have pay up for a better model to get something you like looking at.



*| $300THE BEANS



We're going to be adding a lot more about beans in the future, and we're really excited to get your opinions in that department, but for now I'm going to recommend you get out there and try as many varieties as possible, because while some beans are definitely better than others, taste is a subjective thing. and are two subscription services that deliver fresh beans right to your door.



DEATH WISH COFFEE



| $20



What would you say if I told you there was an organic, fair trade, that contained six times the caffeine of McDonald's and three times the caffeine of Starbucks? Gizmodo on the subject.



ACCESSORIES



| $33



You can put a price on great coffee, but not peace of mind. The will protect the (potentially) thousands of dollars worth of electronics in your bag from total destruction by your beverage. It's minimal and minimalist, and will keep its contents hot (or cold) for an insane amount of time. Also .



| $50



If you're planning to strive toward the ideal cup, you're going to have to get precise, and you're going to need a scale for that, and this is the best one.



COMING SOON



* Lots more about beans

* Espresso

* TeaFollow on Twitter to never miss a deal. Get in touch with Shane Roberts on or by e-mailing Shane@Gawker



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