Black Friday Deals on Best Buys on High-Rate Coffee Gear: Espresso Machines, Gratings, French Presses, and Cold Brew
Black Friday is a great time to get the best coffee game gear at discounted prices. We’ve sorted through a storm of Cyber Monday and Black Friday deals on espresso machines, grinders, French presses, and cold brew to find the absolute best buys on our highest-rated coffee gear.
Mr. Coffee has been one of our favorites over the years, as well as the Cafe Barista, which costs less than $200. The device’s low price comes with a trade-off: It’s a bit plasticky and lightweight. It makes espressos, cappuccinos and lattes with no fuss and a single button push. Milk comes out quite foamy, which is a plus or a minus depending on what you like.
The WIRED Gear team believes the Breville Barista is the best all in one espresso maker that could be had for less than $1,000, and this weekend it can be found for less than $100. What do we like about the Barista? The machine is made from mostly metal and easy to use, you can froth your milk with it. You can watch the water pressure on its included gauge when it is grinded for you. It’s also durable: It’s lived happily on WIRED reviewer Julian Chokkattu’s shelf for more than five years.
Wacaco’s Picopresso is the best portable espresso maker that the WIRED Gear team has tested because of its compact, lightweight, and solid design. It is a small device that produces delicious results, with very little bitterness and a nice crema. Caveats are that you’ll need to use very fine grinds, and you’ll have to be able to apply quite a bit of manual pressure to get good extraction, making this a difficult device for those with joint pain or repetitive stress injury. We also had good results, though not quite as good, with the previous (and less expensive) Nanopresso.
It is a great deal to have a cold brew maker. The Oxo Compact is the best device to brew cold brew, because it makes it for most of the day. Why? It’s easy to use and elegant of shape, and its combination of mesh and (optional) paper filter makes for clean-tasting and fine-free coffee. The Compact evinces a firm respect for scarce counter and fridge space. The coffee makes it taste delicious. Coffee I’ve made with the Oxo is the closest I can get to the best packaged or café cold brew.
Sometimes it’s the simple things that make you love a product. After weeks or months of daily use, the KitchenAid burr grinder is the sort of thing that will make you appreciate its ease of cleaning. But it’s also a good grinder, if not quite up to the excellent grind execution of our slightly pricier top picks. We liked the guidelines on grind settings and the precise control of dosing. This is the lowest price we’ve monitored on this model.
The French press is an essential and portable tool in any coffee lover’s kitchen, a low-tech default for countertop or camping. The Secura has the biggest sales among French presses because of its sturdy, insulated design. The hot stuff will stay hot while the cool stuff will stay cool. This is the right time to mention that it is WIRED Gear team’s favorite French press to make cold brew.
If you put it in the sweet spot, you will get the thought that this is a nice stocking stuffer for people who are on thecaffeinated side. This mug warmer is not smart because you need an app to use it or because it records your conversations. It’s smart because it’s smart. The device works by sending a warm signal to your phone, so you can choose whether to drink your coffee or top it off. Remove the mug, and the device turns off. Easy is underrated.
The Moccamaster Bean Maker: a low price coffee machine for Aeropress enthusiasts and the Terra kaffe as a cooler, easier to cook, cheaper to buy than Starbucks
Coffee tastes better when there is vacuum bean storage. If you’re using fresh, premium beans from a local roaster, a vacuum storage container will better preserve the investment you’re regularly making in your beans. Drop your bag into this container, then turn the pump. The device will remove all air and thus all oxygen, freezing the sad oxidation process that would turn your once delicately aromatic coffee into acrid cardboard. This is the lowest price we’ve seen this year, and is a great gift for coffee lovers.
It’s possible to be an Aeropress lover even if it’s you: You can swap out the cap for a thicker one, and you’re going to increase the pressure on the brew. WIRED found a cleaner cup, a little aeration, and a bit more satisfying cold brew when they tested it. Science! Though this Black Friday deal isn’t a whopper, it still matches the best discount we’ve seen this year.
The Moccamaster coffee maker was handmade in the Netherlands. It’s big, sturdy, and technically precise drip machine that’ll maintain water at optimal brewing temperature during the entire brewing process. Note that to get this Black Friday deal, you may have to compromise on color. Click around to see if you find one you like at a discount, as some of the colors are already sold out. It’s a good idea to choose wisely because chances are it’s going to stay.
When the Oxo 8-Cup came out, WIRED reviewer Joe Ray assured readers that it was real and that high-quality home brew can be found. It’s still a great coffeemaker. The insert allows you to make just a single cup of coffee, not a whole pot. It is also a great idea.
The Terra kaffe is one of the most expensive coffee machines on the planet and has bugs, but it also has a very nice coffee and is not Americano in disguise. This all arrives in a nifty, easy-to-clean package with a smart screen and all the trimmings. Using a phone app, you can warm the machine up from your bed, just like a remote starter. $500 off until December 15 if you sign up for a coffee subscription and an extra $7 off on top of that. —Matthew Korfhage
OK, I know: A classic AeroPress is already pretty portable. The Go is more travel-friendly. In fact, it’s the WIRED Gear Team’s favorite portable coffemaker of them all. It’s lightweight, just a little bigger than a coffee mug and utterly self-contained. The AeroPress is quite forgiveable, which is a plus for people on the go. Throw in some grounds, stir it up, and plunge away: Chances are it’ll be a pretty good cup of joe. Anyway, Aeropress is discounting 25% off most Aeropress models for Black Friday, so pick your pleasure.
If you don’t buy it as part of Fellow’s Aiden Grinder kit, the Opus is well worth buying all on its own. It’s the WIRED Gear team’s favorite overall grinder (9/10, WIRED Recommends), a quiet device with a consistent grind even at the finest espresso settings. At less than $200, it also manages to compete with grinders that cost much, much more.
Sure, the Tally (9/10, WIRED Recommends) will weigh your coffee, if that’s all you need. But it’ll also start a timer to track the progress of a pour-over, and calculate the weight of water you’ll need to add to it. Consider it a third-wave coffee pour-over aficionado’s true companion. Like most Fellow coffee gear, the Tally is 20 percent off right now.
Best Coffee Subscriptions Guide for Non-Smoking Rooms – A New Look at Some Old Favorites and Their Upcoming Trends
Coffee subscription services are a reliable way to get a fresh bag of coffee at your door and it is the best way to upgrade your coffee. Read our Best Coffee Subscriptions guide for our various recommendations. Some of the favorites have offers if you aren’t a subscriber.
