At Cannon Coffee, we like to think that we're above all this "black friday" and "christmas offers" nonsense. We just want to source great coffee, roast it to enhance its natural flavours and aromas and help people who want to enjoy great coffee find it and enjoy it all year round, not just on a randomly picked Friday before Christmas. If we can do that and pay our bills that's good for us. We're not trying to be the next Starbucks here.
However, like everyone else, we do need to pay those bills and so if we can help a few more people, our people, to enjoy great coffee we might be able to pay a few more bills. With that in mind - we thought we'd get something out there that pointed our people in the right direction when it comes to coffee and all things coffee related - just in case, some of those people might be looking for ideas for this, the season of giving and receiving.
So, in ascending order of - shall we say, "financial commitment"? - here are some ideas that you may want to think about for gifting to the coffee freak in your life; or that office secret Santa present that you've been landed with; or indeed if you are thinking of asking for, if indeed you ARE a coffee nerd and you just don't have enough "coffee stuff" in your life yet.
Ideas for Secret Santa gifts - up to £20
You're on a budget - you just want something easy to order and yet, feel the recipient is getting something more than a pair of "novelty fun socks" ... Why not look at the
Coffee Taster packs? These packs have a number of different coffees. Each one is different - each coffee has its own unique origin, blend and flavour profile. Perfect for coffee lovers who have yet to take the plunge into the world of artisanal, speciality coffee. Warning - you may be creating a coffee monster and who will sneer at your instant decaf for ever more!
Beyond the standard taster pack above - we have variations on that theme - with our Christmas blend - and why not throw a Hario V60 dripper into it, if your budget can be stretched a few more quid. Our Taster Pack with the Hario V60 dripper is always the sign of a coffee aficionado. Comes with unbleached filter papers. Anyone seen using a V60 is instantly awesome and the centre of attention. Watch, and breathe in deeply, as the coffee dripper does its thing. You'll never want a machine cup of Mellow Birds again. (Do Mellow Birds still exist? .. apparently yes.)
Ideas for those that want/need/are told to spend a little more - £50 tops!
So, you drew the short straw and you have to spend a bit more for a "bean fiend". Or you'd like to .. ahem, demonstrate your commitment and investment in their friendship - with a few more quid and a bit more thought about what they would like. Well, there are a couple of things that you could add to their stocking that proves that you have thought long and hard about your gift to them. The Hario V60 dripper also comes as a "
Clever Dripper". Think of it as a hybrid between the normal V60 and a cafetiere. Either way, its funky, its chic AND its .. er ... cleverer. Or ... you could do no better than one of the Aeropress coffee brewers. Now we're talking. The Aeropress is a bit of kit that really does demonstrate someone's commitment to coffee. There are two types - the
standard Aeropress which is awesome enough .. but then there is the
Aeropress Go. There are World Championships held every year for the best Aeropress coffee, for goodness sake! What a present! - not only does your recipient get to make great coffee, they get to impress their friends and influence people while doing so, AND they can enter into the Aeropress World Championships!!
Below is the Aeropress Go ..
Ideas for those that deserve a little bit more ... or are hoping to get one of these in their stocking. You can only ask right?
Here we move into the world of serious coffee aficionados. Here is where we look at things that remind us of science lessons when we were in year 12. Here is where you will find "weapon-grade coffee kit" that should stand proudly in any kitchen and sends a message to all those who enter that they are in the realm of the serious coffee nerd.
Just check out the
Hario Syphon Brewer - we had one of these, donated kindly by a supplier who was grateful for our custom AND WE GAVE IT AWAY! We decided that we should offer it up to one of our customers who did some social media things AND WE GAVE IT TO THEM! From memory we should have actually asked for the rights to their first-born but we didn't and WE GAVE IT AWAY! Well, the customer was super pleased with it and we did the right thing. But, blimey, it was touch and go as to whether we pretended that it was damaged so we could keep it ... we're still not over the trauma this caused us. But back to the product - this really is a super thing - it will take you about a week to learn how to use it, but once you have, it creates super-smooth coffee, removing all bitterness - and let's face it - fire this up after the pudding has been eaten and you'll never have to think of another conversation topic again. I mean just look at it! We were in a coffee shop in California once and they had this on the menu. We ordered a syphon brewed coffee - it took 15 minutes, and by the time we were served there was a crowd around us and we were almost carried shoulder high around the place. Good times come as standard with the Hario Syphon Brewer!
OK, so money really is no object? You mean that? You want to really get into coffee brewing and spend hours working out your perfect brew? Well, you (sorry, your recipient) needs a home grinder. We cannot stress enough how important a home grinder is for anyone who really appreciates good coffee. Yep, you can order your coffee in various grind levels for your brew method or machine. But different coffees taste differently depending on whether you put them through an espresso machine, or a filter, or the syphon. An espresso needs a espresso grind and a robust Brazilian. A V60 dripper needs filter grade ground coffee and leans towards favouring the East African fruity, lighter roasts. Only you will know how your brew methods and grinds respond best. And for that you need a
Eureka Mignon Specialita. We have deliberately posted it below in a rather fetching .. er .. yellow? .... it comes in black, white and more conforming colours too. But if you have one of these you really want it stand out in your kitchen so people notice it, love it, and then despair that they haven't got one. Imagine it sat next to a Hario Syphon Brewer!
So, there you go - some ideas for those will smaller budgets, medium budgets and then those who want to receive, sorry give, the best coffee kit money can buy. Or at least within reason. There are plenty more things about there - just don't get us started on coffee machines themselves .. we've blogged about the best ones here if you want to check that out.
Meanwhile, we hope you all get what you want - sorry, that should say "receive great appreciation for all the thought you put into your coffee gift giving this year". There is plenty more over at our Christmas shop ...
From all of us at Cannon!
