The gorgeous leather satchels are handcrafted by Teppei Teranishi in Vashon, Washington. There are three colors of supple Chromexcel leather to choose from—oxblood, natural and Havana brown—which will wear beautifully as Chromexel leather is known to do. Solid brass fittings add classy details to match the debossed seal on the top flap. What more could you want to protect your coffee in transit?
For $325, it’s not cheap, but the coffee gear alone makes up more than a third of the cost. It’s definitely wish list worthy and for the traveler, it would pair well with any of the bags from Tanner Goods (who also use Chromexel leather).
The kit comes neatly packed with an Aeropress, a 12oz bag of fresh roasted Handsome coffee, a Porlex mini grinder, an AWS scale and extra paper filters. The only thing missing for delicious coffee is hot water, your favorite mug and some place to go. Where will you take it?
Now that the joyous weekend for tazing strangers and fighting over cheap towels has passed, it’s time for a more relaxed approach to finding the perfect gift for the coffee lovers in your life. This year’s wish list features some of the hottest products in the world of coffee and a few unique suggestions that you won’t find at your local coffee shop. Introducing the 2013 edition of DCILY’s Coffee Lover Gift Guide™.
1. Baratza Forte Grinder AP -$900- A gift for the one who has it all. Baratza grinders have always been a must have for anyone serious about brewing coffee at home. Their Virtuoso made the second edition of the DCILY gift guide and it still remains a great all around grinder. But for the person with everything, the Forte puts commercial grade performance into a home sized body. Touch screen, grind by weight and flat ceramic burrs. Shop for Baratza Forte AP
2. Kalita Wave Style Set -$70- A gift for your favorite couple. The Kalita Wave is one of several types of pour over brewing methods. This uses a wavy flat bottom filter that consistently brews great coffee. The “Style Set” includes a glass carafe and insulating collar. It brews enough coffee for a quiet Sunday morning around the house with the one you love. Shop for Kalita Wave Style Set
3. Hasami Ceramic Mugs -$25- A gift for the tactilely stimulated. Hasami ceramic has been made in Japan for over 400 years. These simple but elegant looking mugs will prove themselves once you pick them up. The texture, the weight and the balance will ensure you won’t want to put it down until you need a refill. The optional oak lids offer a lovely way to keep your coffee warmer for just a bit longer. Shop for Hasami mugs
4. Hario Clear Coffee Grinder -$60- A gift for the morning person. A hand grinder is a wonderful thing, but for some people the morning is way to early to have to do so much work—especially before drinking their coffee. But for the morning person who wants to save money or energy, the newest hand mill from Hario is a lovely choice. The base uses suction to hold it in place on your counter and the handle nestles inside for easier storage. Shop Hario Clear Coffee Grinder
5. MadCap NoPattern Tee -$25- A gift for the laid back. This shirt from MadCap Coffee is a next-level version of their classic tee, after designer Chuck Anderson went wild on top of it. The shirt is a charcoal grey, tri-blend t-shirt, 50% cotton, 25% poly, 25% rayon. It’s soft as butter and super fresh. Shop for MadCap NoPattern Tee
6. ThermaPen -$96- A gift for the coffee geek. There are a lot of variables in coffee brewing and one of them is water temperature. This detail is often overlooked by casual coffee drinkers but for the precision minded coffee geek, the ThermaPen is the ultimate pocket sized digital thermometer. With a 3-second read time, ±0.7°f/±0.4°c accuracy and a splash proof design, the ThermaPen is perfect for probing your AeroPress. Shop for ThermaPen
7. Rapha Chris King Tamper -$125- A gift for the bike riding barista champ. Rapha is the ultimate cycling apparel company known for romanticizing the journey and not the technical aspects of bikes. Chris King is a legend in the world of precision bike components. Together, they offer this unique tamper that will put a smile on the face of any cyclist pulling shots. Shop for Rapha Tamper
8. DCILY Watch -$40- A gift for the one who’s always late. DCILY recently partnered with Moment Watches in Hong Kong to design a watch inspired by the precision needed to brew a great cup of coffee. Details resemble grinder burrs and showcase the DCILY motto—love coffee, live well—the perfect way for a coffee lover to wear their heart on their sleeve. (Ships late December)Shop DCILY Watch
9. Intelligentsia X GSC Cycle Cap -$20- A gift for the weekend warrior. Intelligentsia has teamed up with the Golden Saddle Cyclery in Los Angeles for the second time to bring a new version of their Pace brand cycling cap. The brightly colored profile will let the hybrids know when you pass them by and the brim lets everyone know what coffee you prefer to drink. Shop for Intelli X GSC Cycle Cap
10. SodaStream Source -$99- A gift for the barista competitor. Nothing compliments a great shot of espresso like a refreshing palate cleanser and the SodaStream makes that possible at home or in front of the judges. Fresh sparkling water, coffee tonics and more can be had with the press of a giant button. All beautifully encased by renown designer Yves Behar. Shop SodaStream Source
11. Soma Water -$49 to $159- A gift for anyone who drinks water. Brewed coffee is somewhere around 98% water, which means whatever your water tastes like will affect the taste of your coffee. Some people live in places where the tap is just fine, but others need to rely on filters. Until Soma launched this year, the available options were pretty terrible. Soma’s glass carafe will match your Chemex and it uses a biodegradable filter that’s delivered to your door every 60 days. It would probably pair nicely with a SodaStream Source. Shop for Soma
12. Hario V60 Metal -$50- A gift for the nomad. The Hario V60 is a classic pour over cone from Japan that brews delicious coffee. It now comes in three shades of stainless steel for a travel worthy pour over companion. The handle is designed for clipping onto a carabiner and the detachable silicon base allows it to rest directly on your favorite camp mug. Time to hit the trails. Shop for Hario V60 Metal
13. Joco Cup -$23 to $25- A gift for the conscious commuter. Drinking out of a paper cup is a terrible thing, throwing them away every day is even worse. Meanwhile, most options for travel mugs and reusable cups fall short. Joco, a new company from Australia, offers a new way to prevent wasting paper with their beautifully designed, reusable glass cups. 8oz & 12oz. Shop for Joco Cups
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After all of that, you might need some fresh coffee too. You can start by checking out any of the recommended coffee roasters on the right side bar, or sign up for a multi-roaster subscription service like Craft Coffee or Misto Box to discover new roasters each month. If you can’t find a local roaster in your town, ask DCILY on Twitter for help finding something nearby. Happy Holidays!
*Buying from local shops is highly encouraged, but for those without the luxury of well-stocked businesses nearby, shopping through DCILY’s curated Amazon Store and sponsors help support this site and the content you enjoy.*
By now, you’ve most likely heard about the Acaia digital scale that’s raising funds on Kickstarter. The scale is beautifully designed resembling the minimal simplicity of an AppleTV device and it offers several delightful features. It has 0.1 gram accuracy, it’s powered by a lithium-ion battery that charges with a micro USB cable and uses an advanced, updatable micro-chip that’s usually reserved for commercial grade scales. It’s smart, powerful and splash proof—but originally it had one major flaw, it had no timer.
I wanted to praise it, I wanted to back it, I wanted it on my counter now, but If I had to pull out my non-splash proof smart phone to keep time after being spoiled by the Hario Drip Scale, I wanted nothing to do with it. For a Kickstarter price of $59 (and retail of $89 for the white model) the Acaia isn’t cheap. With a price point that high, it made no sense to lose a feature that seemed to “revolutionize” brewing scales just a year ago. So it was discussed on Twitter and in the Kickstarter comments and Aaron Takao Fujiki, the Acaia designer, listened.
Here is an exclusive first look at the timer function on the Acaia scale.
I spoke with Aaron who told DCILY this was only one solution for a timer, and that he is also testing a dual display that shows both the weight and time simultaneously (which you can see below).
Aaron also pointed out the additional “magic” provided by the mobile app that syncs with the scale via Bluetooth. Apart from displaying and recording the weight data, it also allows for advanced settings control. For example, with the app a user could toggle between the dual timer display or the manual timer function and even update the firmware of the scale if necessary.
Currently all the possibility of this scale exists in a few prototypes and just like most Kickstarter products, there’s no guarantee it will work as advertised (or even be delivered). So if you have money to spare, like to support innovative designers, or are simply crazy over the latest coffee gadgets, this might be worth supporting now before the price jumps to its higher retail price. If you’ve been waiting for a better scale to come out, this offers a lot of attractive features and looks quite fast (responsive) based on the videos.
However, if you’re looking for something right now, or for a holiday gift—the Hario scales have come down in price, function well and look just as nice on your counter. If you don’t mind using a separate timer, there are loads of other capable scales that serve the important task of weighing your coffee and water without all the extras featured on the Acaia.
This week, the latest DCILY collaboration launched in the form of a coffee lover’s wristwatch. The timepiece, designed with the Hong Kong-based Moment Watches, is part of a year long project that features 52 limited edition watches—this one, inspired by my own coffee story and the craft of making exceptional coffee.
Four key elements to brewing a delicious cup of coffee are great coffee beans, clean water, a solid burr grinder and the right amount of time. The impact of time affects every aspect of the coffee chain: from growing, harvesting, processing, roasting, resting, and brewing. Precision and attention to detail (along with the right ingredients) is what transforms an average cup of coffee into a fantastic one.
The details of the watch face reflect the burrs of a grinder as they mill down the seconds until your next coffee break. The DCILY logo allows you to proudly wear your love of coffee on your sleeve and the mantra serves a daily reminder to live well. When life gets hard, grab another cup of coffee and give things another go.
Aligning with the DCILY mission to “love coffee, live well, give back and inspire others,” Moment Watches donates 30% of their proceeds to charity and works directly with artists and designers to inspire others with their watches. It’s been great working with Moment Watches and it’s exciting to have such a fun product available to DCILY readers.
Bruer, a new start up in California, launched a new cold brew coffee maker on Kickstarter last month called the Cold Bruer. This isn’t the first cold brew coffee maker to launch on the crowdfunding site, but it’s the first one that’s practical enough for home use. Unlike the meter high towers that most people design for cold brew coffee, the Cold Bruer’s simplicity is what makes it so fantastic. Less is more—and the minimal design of the Cold Bruer makes that clear (as the glass it’s made with).
Bruer was founded by Andy Clark and Gabe Herz who met at a product incubator in the Santa Cruz mountains. After discovering their joy of cold brew coffee and being unhappy with all the options available for making it—they decided to create their own. The two co-founders wanted to design something transparent to show the process, and they’ve created an elegant and compact way of accomplishing that.
The Cold Bruer was conveniently designed to work with standard paper AeroPress filters, but comes with a reusable mesh filter of its own if you aren’t concerned with clarity. With a capacity of 700ml of water and about 56 grams of coffee, it produces three cups of coffee concentrate (6 cups diluted) to be enjoyed however you like it—with ice, water or milk. The drip valve is fully adjustable allowing brew times to be as short as two hours or as long as eighteen, depending on your level of patience.
The photographs published here are of a Cold Bruer prototype, so I spoke with Andy at Bruer to find out if any changes will be made to the final product:
The prototype is pretty much the same as what we will be delivering. There are a couple changes that have happened already, like the shape of the glass to make the interaction between the pieces more stable. There is also a silicone “shoulder” now that provides a cushion between the two glass pieces. We will be making some improvements to the valve to make it easier to use, based on feedback we received from people who tested our prototypes…
Andy said they’ve also begun designing a lid that will fit both the reservoir on top as well as the pitcher for storage that will also be included with the Cold Bruer.
When I first shared the Bruer on Twitter a few weeks ago, I never really followed up on it since I’m personally not a fan of cold brewed coffee—but I know many people are. I do however think it’s one of the best looking cold brewers on the market and the design alone is worth sharing. Now that the Cold Bruer has surpassed its goal on Kickstarter by over 450%, there’s only a week left to order one at a discounted price.
By backing the project on Kickstarter you can pre-order a Cold Bruer for only $50—later retailing for $70. And although the original delivery date was estimated for January 2014, there’s a possibility they might ship a bit sooner. Andy said with the success of the campaign so far, some parts have already been ordered in hopes of delivering early. That’s good news for cold brew fans everywhere.
Novel is just that—a novel travel kettle that folds up for easy packing. The kettle design, by Slovakian designer Stanislav Sabo is currently patented, but I’m not sure how functional it is at this point. Very little information is available about the technical aspects of how it would work, if it would actually work at all. But what if it did? It would make the ultimate travel coffee kit complete. I want one.
When I travel, I always carry my AeroPress, hand grinder, pocket scale, KeepCup and fresh coffee. The missing link is always the hot water. Sometimes you can find it in large boilers set aside for tea, or you can hunt down a nearby café and awkwardly explain that you only need hot water to brew your own coffee. Some hotels have kettles, but they are often pretty scary on the inside—to the point that you wouldn’t want to drink anything that came out of it. But even those hotel room kettles are beginning to be replaced by K-Cup machines.
The Novel is made from a 100% silicone liner that’s wrapped in heatproof plastic panels, which all fold flat. The pieces, including the lid are held together by magnets which also activate fuses in the electric base. From the illustrations of the prototype, I’m not entirely sure how energy is transferred to boil the water, but this can’t be an impossible task—we landed on the moon damn it!
I’ve had conversations with manufactures about this type of product, but they’re convinced the market isn’t big enough—I think they’re misjudging the potential. If something like this could be powered in the car or by solar adapter, then backpackers, campers and road trippers of all stripes would be totally into something like this—no more bulky butane kettles taking up valuable space in your pack.
Any product engineers out there want to help Stanislav make this functional and Kickstart it? Or let’s start from scratch and make something awesome. Give me freedom or give me death! Is that really too much to ask?
John and Radek, two coffee lovers in the Czech Republic, have recently directed their passion towards creating unique, hand crafted products to compliment your coffee making. WeBrew sent me one of their hefty—yet delicate—slow pouring decanters, which is a pleasure to use and makes much more of an impression on guests than the Hario vessels we’ve become so accustomed too.
A beautiful tasting coffee can be enjoyed many ways. You don’t need fancy glass to get a fantastic cup, but it sure does look nice on your table. The vessel you choose to drink (or serve) coffee from can affect your perception and experience more than you may realize. From the balance and comfort of the vessel, to the thickness of the lip and the heat your hands are able to feel— it all enhances or limits the experience.
WeBrew set out to compliment the joy of great tasting coffee with well made products. They’ve already created a small line of their own that includes hand blown glassware, custom wooden tampers and denim aprons.
Ministry of Supply is a fashion start-up founded by MIT engineers, designers and material scientists intent on revolutionizing business clothing. Founded in 2010, they’ve already tackled work shirts, trousers and undershirts, but now they’ve turned their attention to the wardrobe workhorse we all know as the sock.
Being MIT engineers, MOS has used all sorts of thermal mapping, pressure mapping and mapping mapping to design Atlas, a sock they claim fits and flexes like a second skin. The best part, they’ve infused carbonized (think really dark roast) coffee into their recycled polyester thread that is supposed to work like a filter for bad odors, effectively preventing your feet from smelling after a long day at the office, or working bar pulling shots.
Odor control is difficult in socks. As such, we turned to nature to find an effective way to create a fresher sock, leading us to coffee. Atlas uses carbonized coffee which has been reclaimed from coffee roasters and shops, and is processed through a pharmaceutical process to remove the coffee oils (so it won’t smell like coffee!) and is then infused into our recycled polyester yarns. –MOS
The innovative new socks are being pre-sold through Kickstarter and the initial goal has already been surpassed four times over. So if you love a fresh pair of socks as much as a good cup of coffee, you may be interested in checking them out.
Last week I returned home from attending the annual Specialty Coffee Association of Europe’s World of Coffee event in Nice, France. The 3-day event was host to more than 100 exhibitors as well as the World Latte Art Championship, World Cup Tasters Championship, World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship and the first ever World Coffee Roasting Championship.
The event itself felt a bit small following so shortly after the World Barista Championships in Melbourne, with several notable companies absent. This however didn’t take away from the great weather, the great people and of course the great coffee.
Below is a recap of my favorite parts of this year’s event.
One of only a few new products that were announced at the event was the Moccamaster Cup-one. It’s a miniature version of the company’s popular home auto-drip machine that brews a single 300ml cup of coffee. It’s an interesting approach to what seems like a small market, unless their goal is to compete directly with one-cup capsule machines, which is growing dramatically. There’s no price yet for the Cup-one and it’s expected to begin shipping in Europe this October (no date yet for the US).
Robert Thoresen, founder of Kaffa in Oslo and the first World Barista Champion, is working with a Japanese company that specializes in industrial filters to help them develop a dual layer metal filter for coffee brewing that hopes to replicate rather than differentiate from the taste of paper filters.
There were cuppings all day long focusing on many different things. Some featured new offerings from coffee buyers while other’s were more experimental—focusing on tests with nitrogen flushed coffee or different processing techniques. You could easily fill most of your day cupping really fantastic coffees.
Hario had their new syphons on display, including the fancy new Sommelier. They were also showing off metal V60 cones and the new Largo tea brewer, which may soon be available with a coffee filter—think “glass Clever brewer.”
Marco’s plus-shaped brew bar was back after last year’s debut in Vienna, featuring the coffee of 16 roasters from around the world using various brew methods.
Last year’s second place World Championship Barista from Mexico, Fabrizio Ramirez was giving one-on-one trainings on Dalla Corte’s new Evo2 espresso machines throughout the event, while several espresso machine manufacturers were serving up espresso and offering hands-on demos of their latest equipment—which included a disturbingly high number of touchscreen controlled machines.
There was also a lovely exhibit of Unic’s history of espresso machines. The French company who is based in Nice was also giving daily tours of their nearby factory—which I regret not being able to attend.
There was vintage type on Probats, red shoes on Stephen Leighton, Norwegian faces on Norwegians, porcelain cups on walls and the chance to freebase vaporized coffee.
Meanwhile, Tamper Tantrum kept the conversations interesting with lectures …
… men in coffee banter …
… and women in coffee banter …
… and former World Barista Champions flipping the bird.
All of this took place while some of the world’s best coffee professionals competed for the title of “World Champion” in latte art, cup tasting, coffee cocktails and coffee roasting. You can read more about the winners of each competition on Sprudge.
and of course there were the parties. Until next year, see you in Rimini!
The syphon (or vacuum coffee maker) is one of those brew methods that truly embodies coffee geekdom. Everything about it feels more like a science experiment than a morning coffee routine and it always creates quite a performance at the coffee shops who use them. The invention of the syphon coffee maker dates back to the early 1800′s, which makes it one of the oldest ways to brew coffee. While it’s taken many forms over the years, the modern syphon design hasn’t changed much—until now.
Hario, one of the more prominent manufactures of syphon brewers, has just released an elegant and curvaceous new model called the Hario Sommelier. I saw what looked like a prototype of this in Portland last year which piqued my curiosity, so Hario sent me one of the new production models to try out. If you happen to be in Nice this week for the World of Coffee event, they will most likely have them at their booth.
The new SCA-5 has left behind the glass globe from former syphon models and embraced a look that’s more familiar to wine aficionados. The new syphon bowls are handmade in order to achieve its extreme shape, but also contributes to its heftier price ($260). As the name implies, this syphon is meant to enhance the aromatic experience of the coffee, while also catching the attention of fine dining establishments.
One of the primary differences with this syphon, aside from the shape, is its separation from the stand. This allows the coffee decanter to sit on its own, which changes the experience of pouring and presentation. The neck is also covered by a thick, finned silicone collar that can be easily removed for washing.
Functionally, the Sommelier syphon works just like other vac pots, but Hario seems to have designed it to work primarily with their new metal filter. The filter is laser cut and works quite well, leaving behind sediment that’s comparable to the latest Kone filter.
The stainless steel and silicone filter is easy to clean and looks like it will survive a significant amount of re-use, however, the clarity of cloth filters is what I love most about the syphon. The Sommelier comes with both a cloth and metal filter, so you can decide yourself what works best for the occasion.
There are two things I had issues with while using the new design that I’d like to point out. First, the extreme bell curve at the bottom of the decanter is meant to trap sediment when pouring coffee, which is great when you’re using the metal filter, but frustrating when you’re using cloth and want all the coffee to pour out easily.
The decanter needs to be tipped at a fairly extreme angle to get everything into your cup. The lip on the decanter itself is also fairly wide, so the control of the pour isn’t as precise as the woodneck or V60 decanters, but I assume this is a result of it being handmade.
Hario may have gained inspiration for the Sommelier (name and shape) from fine wine, but now they’re using their expertise to help elevate the coffee experience in fine restaurants as well. Whether Noma ever intends to switch from brewing delicious coffee on V60s or you just really want to impress your dinner guests, the Sommelier syphon definitely makes a gorgeous conversation starter about coffee.
