Our Holiday Gift Lists for 2023 are fully underway, and now it’s time to present espresso related gear under $50.
Our goal with this list is to provide you the perfect suggestions for the espresso nerd in your life: it could be finding the perfect gift for that office gift swap, one or two stocking stuffers guaranteed to please, or a nice budget-friendly piece of uniquery to place under the tree.
Our lists have three priorities. First and foremost is we will only recommend products that one or more members of our team have tried and tested first hand, or products we know have a rock solid, and time tested level of quality. Second, we want to present unique products that are actually useful. No AI-generated listoids here.
Third and lowest priority, (this is our transparency bit): of course we hope to generate some revenue based on these recommendations. Literally every single holiday gift list you find online, no matter the hobby or interest, has the exact same goal, often the only goal. For us, if one of our site advertisers sells a product we want to add to the list, we’ll point to them. We also point to the only affiliate program we use on CoffeeGeek: Amazon links. When you buy through those, we get a tiny kickback (pennies in many cases) from your purchase.
If you missed any of the others, here they all are:
- Coffee Gear and Gadgets Under $50
- Espresso Gear and Gifts Under $50
- Coffee Gear Under $100
- Espresso Gear Under $100
- Coffee Gear Under $300
- Espresso Gear Under $600
If you appreciate these lists and want to help our website further, please consider using our general affiliate link for Amazon when you do your holiday shopping there. We get a tiny micro percentage kickback on anything you buy, as long as you visit Amazon with this link.
With that out of the way, let’s get to the list!
In CoffeeGeek’s main lab testing space, there are four of these things next to the current machines being tested. Why? Because the Breville Knock Box Mini is nearly perfect. Very small yet maximizes the space it occupies. Nice brushed steel finish. A good sound-absorbing rubber bar that can be locked into place but also easily removed for cleaning. It’s also the perfect companion for any Breville espresso machine, but looks just as good next to any machine.
We like that the branding is minimal, (even more so for the black model, which is very hard to find), and for $20, it’s an excellent investment and a tool every espresso machine owner really does need.
It’s not often the brand name of something is cheaper than the anonymous knock offs from China, but in this case, the Breville mini knockbox is often the cheapest “mini knockbox” option out there.
We’re currently working on an article about the Breville Barista Express (BBE), finding cool upgrades you can do to this popular espresso machine. We started using this tamper and WDT device, and were sold on its use. One downside to the BBE is the clumpy grind output and this device helps to correct that.
The five needle spines are fairly flexible, and in about 3 months of use so far, they’re still intact, even though it’s been inserted into the handle incorrectly a few times. It’s held in place in the tamper by 3 tiny rare earth magnets, which do an okay job of securing the WDT device.
The tamper has a convex base, creating a bit of an inverted dome in your prepared puck of coffee.
If you buy this for the BBE owner you know for Christmas, you might also want to get a dosing collar that works with the Barista Express’ 53mm portafilter (see below).
As mentioned in the previous item, we’re working on a Breville Barista Express (BBE) upgrade guide. One of the upgrades we’ll be writing about are dosing collars to go with WDT devices.
The Express’ grind output is pretty clumpy, and you can improve its shot ability with a well distributed grind. Dosing collars are a tool to help with that, and we tested a half dozen of them. Some were better, some were worse.
We liked this design because it works nicely with the BBE’s portafilter mating point in the espresso machine, and can be used to start the grinder just like the Portafilter on its own can be. It’s lightweight, has a nice bevel, and is easy to connect to the main portafilter. Unlike other dosing collars, you can use your tamper directly with this collar in place, as it doesn’t insert anything inside the filter basket like other collars do.
The only issue we had with it is it can leave a tiny bit of ground coffee on the lip of the filter basket when removed from the Breville portafilter. At $15, this is a great companion to the WDT tamper above, for the Breville Barista Express owner you know.
We see double wall cups for coffee and espresso a lot today, but you know who the first main market company was to introduce double walled glass cups? Bodum. They introduced the Pavina lineup over 15 years ago, and entirely hit it out of the park with them.
The glassware not only looks gorgeous, but they are dishwasher safe (not all doubewall glass is; ditto with a lot of double wall ceramic), and they hold heat exceptionally well. It’s a bit amusing that many of the YT Influencers like using oversized, weirdly shaped $45 double wall glass espresso cups in their demos, when these beauties, at literally the perfect size, have existed for over a decade, and cost just $15 (or less) for a pair.
These would make an ideal stocking stuffer gift for the espresso nerd in your life. They look great, and work even better at what they’re supposed to do.
We just got one of these (note, there’s two sizes, and two colours available) scales, the 1.75cm tall, 10.5cm square (4.1” by 0.7”) smaller version, and it’s quite a feature packed scale that is similar in size to the Acaia Lunar, but at a price 85% cheaper.
It is designed primarily for espresso use but has a bevy of features that suit pour over as well. The Bomber scale comes with a reversible silicone matt that includes a “shelf” for your portafilter handle. It has a nifty auto on feature: place 100g+ weight on the scale, and it will automatically turn on.
For both brewing coffee and espresso, this scale has some auto calculation features, alternatively displaying time, liquid capacity, coffee weight, and liquid to ground coffee ratios once the brew is done. It also has various auto start features depending on the mode you put it in. Definitely a “read the manual” device that’s feature packed.
We’re doing a long term test on this scale, but early tests are good – scale is accurate at all four corners, has good build quality, is USB-C charged, and a pretty fast response time.
Our Senior Blog Contributor has been using these cups since last year and swears by them as her perfect kind of espresso cup. A handle-less design, it features two different textures on the exterior and a smooth rounded bowl shape inside.
The outside has a kind of terracotta finish, slightly gritty lower half, and a smooth ceramic top portion. They are slightly oversized for espresso, maxing out at 90ml to the rim, but that’s perfect if you like to “nose” your espresso somewhat, or build macchiatos in the cup.
They are available in three colours, but Zuzanna prefers the white and light grey, and has four of each (for a total of eight) on her espresso machine. A very comfort-driven cup design that’s highly functional.
As part of a forthcoming guide on getting the most out of your Breville Barista Express or Infuser machine, we’ve tested a lot of tampers. One we really liked was the WDT/Tamper combo tool, listed earlier. Another that we gravitated a lot towards was this tool – a combination distribution and tamping tool, with both sides fully adjustable.
As WDT kind of gains momentum, distribution tools (which do an initial compaction and distributed levelling of the bed of coffee) might be falling a bit out of vogue, but there is a place for them and they work very well in conjunction with a quick WDT method, especially if you’re just using a paper clip (or a dedicated WDT tool).
This one has a nice heavy weight, a good finish and it is fully adjustable. We have it sitting on top of the lab Barista Express as this is being typed.
We are currently in the process of reviewing a series of Monty cups from Fellow and while we like the cappuccino cup, and really like the espresso cup, the cortado cup stands out the most.
It’s the size. There aren’t many cups with this kind of volume (around 150ml) and they just work perfectly for a cortado or a short black espresso based coffee. The double wall ceramic, tied in with the taller, narrower shape (compared to the cappuccino and latte cups in the Monty line) mean they retain drink heat well.
If I had to choose, I think I’d go with the white ones, with the copper base, but the black with the graphite look pretty good too. They stack well, and can also stack with the Monty espresso cups. The only bummer is they aren’t dishwasher safe.
If the espresso lover in your life takes their home espresso setup seriously (or wants to) this is a very excellent addition: a beautifully finished wood tamping stand with two areas for a tamper and distribution tool.
The finish of the American Oak wood is excellent (our senior blog editor owns the 58mm version) and the stand has very grippy feet so it won’t slide around. The main tamper area has an adjustable knob rest height to accommodate different portafilter designs including aftermarket models, but this stand works best with Breville 54mm triple bayonet portafilters.
This would look excellent in a home coffee bar setup, realling taking the prep and presentation to the next level.
There are plenty of WDT tools out there, but not many that have highly adjustable needle patterns, and can be mounted to the side of your espresso machine.
Why WDT? Our own Natia wrote an excellent guide on the whys and hows. Long story short: it is a very easy and effective way to improve your espresso.
This is the more premium tool from Introvert Makes (an Etsy seller), and they do have a $17 tool that works almost identical to this one); we picked this one because it does have a premium feel to it (even though it is all plastic) and you can mount it to the side of your espresso machine.
It also ships with extra needles, which is quite nice, and you’re supporting an independent maker by buying this.
One of the best little weird products our Senior Editor bought this year for himself is the Hario Stick Bottle, a little 150ml stick thermos that he constantly uses for americanos on the go. It’s so small it easily slips into a pocket, and disappears into a briefcase or backpack. Keeps the americano (or cappuccino) toasty hot for hours.
Well the Hario Stick Bottle isn’t sold in the US or Canada. But the identical product (Hario just rebrands it) is available in several colour options. This makes an excellent stocking stuffer and its perfect for taking that traditional 5oz americano on the road when you’re in a hurry.
Another tool every home barista needs: a proper tamping mat to handle the pressure of portafilters, spouts, coffee dosing and more.
One of our favourite all time tamping mats, the Cafelat Splat, is hard to come by these days, and also a bit expensive. This large sized one by Watchget (an up and coming coffee and espresso gadgets company) also does the job and should work for years, protecting your counter and giving you a stable and secure area to do all your espresso-fying feats.
One of the best upgrades you can do to a Breville Espresso Machine, especially the Bambino or Bambino Plus with their super budget stock portafilters, is buy a chopped portafilter to use on your machine. Not only will this help you evaluate and analyse your espresso production better, but it also makes for better espresso (in the opinion of some, including our Senior Editor).
There’s a lot of choices out there for chopped PFs. Even Breville offers an official one (for $80), but this is the one we’ve bought a few times now (with different handle colour options), and it works great. The main portafilter is stainless steel and strongly made, and the handle is a nicely finished wood with good heft.
As a bonus, these always come with a double filter basket, saving you $5-9.
Want to own and use the same steaming pitcher we use at CoffeeGeek? This is the one: the Revolution pitcher, which is available in both 12oz and 20oz sizes. Don’t get the 20. Get the 12!
This pitcher is nearly perfect for pouring latte art – the spout design really facilitates that “tip over point” to get the milk foam to start flowing. We especially like that, unlike the Fellow Eddy pitcher, this one has markings inside on both sides, so left handed people aren’t left without this feature.
These are very heavyweight 18/8 steel pitchers and really stand up to abuse. We’ve probably run ours through the dishwasher a thousand times at minimum, and they still look nearly new (the mirror outside finish will get a bit scratched up with lots of use.
Our senior blog contributor chimes in: “yeah, that looks fine, but I think the matt black Apexstone 12oz pitcher is an even better choice, and is just $12. I love mine.”
One of the worst things about the Gaggia Classic Pro and Evo Pro is the low cup clearance between spouts and drip trays. As such, a few Etsy folks have been 3D printing replacements, to lower the tray.
Problem is, the 3D printed ones are kind of meh, and hard to clean. This one is not 3D printed, it is proper textured plastic, and looks and works way better. You can easily use your espresso scale on this and still have clearance to the Gaggia’s portafilter spouts with most espresso cups.
You do lose some water volume in the tray itself and need to empty it more often. But it’s a good tradeoff. This is a great gift idea for any Gaggia Classic owner.
