There’s nothing quite like walking around in crisp autumn weather with a hot coffee in your hands—unless it’s a coffee you brewed yourself, at home, with shiny new coffee gear. Black Friday coffee deals are here, and it’s a great time to score savings on the tools you need to upgrade your rig, whether that’s an espresso machine or a French press. If you’re overwhelmed by the glut of deals on coffee gear out there, you’re in the right place. Here we’ve curated exceptional sales on coffee gear the WIRED Gear team has tested, vetted, and put through the paces.
We test products year-round and handpicked these deals. Products that are sold out or no longer discounted as of publishing will be crossed out. We’ll update this post throughout the week and be live with updates on Black Friday.
Coffee and Espresso Machine Deals
Check out our Best Espresso Machines and Best Automated Espresso and Cappuccino Machines guides for other recommendations.
The Cafe Affetto is what sold me on fully automated espresso machines. You fill it up with beans and water, and that’s it. It does all the rest. No tamping espresso, no grinding it, though you’ll still have to position your milk pitcher under the steam wand. Everything else is handled by the machine. Having a machine that can dispense a perfect Americano with just one touch is kind of a game changer.
This humble little espresso machine is fully capable of not only pulling great coffee but steaming your milk for you. It’s semi-automated, and to achieve that it has a milk container you fill up and keep in the fridge—not on the counter, unless you want your coffee with a side of funk. During testing, WIRED contributor Jeffrey Van Camp found that you need to keep the container pretty clean, giving it a deep clean at least once a week. But other than that, it’s a pretty solid little machine, especially for anyone who’s in a hurry in the morning.
This is the less expensive version of the Mr. Coffee One-Touch. It’s made of lighter materials, so it’s a bit more plasticky, and you really have to hold it in place when you’re wrenching your portafilter into place. But other than that, it will still steam your milk for you (with a small container you keep in the fridge). It foamed up the milk more than our writer Jeff Van Camp liked, but if you’re a fan of foam (like me), this is a good pick.
Grinder and Kettle Deals
Read our Best Grinders and Best Electric Kettles guides for more.
It’s lightweight for a burr grinder, and it’s small enough for a small side table. In my time with it, the Opus (9/10, WIRED Recommends) has ground hundreds of shots of espresso perfectly. The burrs need to be cleaned a bit more often than other burr grinders I’ve tested, but that’s quick and easy to do. Just twist the hopper and pop it off, pull out the top burr, sweep out the lower burrs, and you’re good to go.
Fellow’s Ode Grinder is a peculiar coffee grinder—one that I have a lot of affection for. It feels like an absolute tank, and its flat burrs grind the most consistent pour-over coffee I’ve ever seen. Flat burr grinders are typically expensive, especially ones that can give you a grind fine enough for an espresso machine. This one doesn’t grind coffee for espresso, but it grinds explicitly for every other coffee brewing method. Drip, pour-over, cold brew, French press, you name it. Because the grounds are so consistent, your coffee will be too, and you’ll get really rich flavors out of your beans that a conical burr grinder might not get you.
Stagg’s EKG Pro is a sleek and gorgeous electric kettle. It features a gooseneck spout for precisely controlling your pour, making it the perfect choice for pour-over fans. There’s an OLED screen that shows the water temperature and a little dial to set the exact temperature you want. (It can keep it at that temperature for up to an hour.) I’ve put this kettle through hell. It was one of a handful of items I took with me during an extended hotel stay this summer as I moved to Seattle. Even plugged into a wall outlet on the floor of my hotel room, it brewed up my water to the perfect temperature for a delightful taste of home while I was between homes. It features all kinds of extras too; you can schedule the kettle to reach a set temperature at a set time, adjust your altitude settings, and it even has a handy guide mode to help you figure out what temperature you should be using for different beverages.
This is the non-Pro model of the Stagg EKG Electric Kettle, but it’s still one of my favorites. It doesn’t have all the features you get on the Pro, but it’s a solid kettle with a long gooseneck that can deliver the precise control you need for a great pour-over.
Coffee, Storage, and Scale Deals
Read our Best Coffee Subscription Services guide for more.
Partners Coffee’s Brooklyn blend is one of my all-time favorites. I’m excited every time it shows up on my doorstep. It has a rich, full-bodied flavor that just feels round and smooth in the mouth. I don’t know how to describe what roundness tastes like, but trust me, this coffee tastes delightfully round. Circular even. This deal is good for anywhere from one bag to 4 pounds of coffee.
When you test coffee and coffee machines for a living, you really become a stickler for good decaf, and that’s exactly what Partners’ Ghost Town Decaf is. It’s one of the first fully decaf coffees I’ve ever had where I truly couldn’t tell the difference between it and normal coffee. I still find myself going back to check the bag to make sure I’m grinding the right coffee. It’s rich and warm, with very light toasty notes that don’t overpower the hint of a floral finish.
Atlas is one of our favorite coffee subscription services. It has a wide variety of excellent coffees that can fit just about anyone’s tastes. I honestly have yet to try a bag I haven’t liked. This deal is actually for a free bag of coffee. Just pay shipping. You can pair it up with a full subscription or an extra bag so you’re getting two for one, but what’s better than free?
The Atmos Vacuum Canister is an airtight canister you can use to store coffee beans or other food items that would benefit from an anaerobic environment. You just fill it up, put the lid on, give it a bunch of twists until the little nub on the top clicks inside and you’re all good.
A new pick on some of our coffee guides, the Tally Pro is the MacBook Pro of kitchen scales. It’s solid, hefty, made of metal and glass, and every dial and button feels like it was deliberately tuned to provide an appreciably tactile experience. Like the Stagg EKG Pro, the Tally Pro has an OLED screen beside the control dial to help you navigate the scale’s different modes, measurement units, and helpful tools—like the brew assist mode to help you time your pour-over just right.
Coffee Mug and Pour-Over Deals
The Ember Mug is for anyone who has ever forgotten about a cup of coffee or tea until it’s almost terribly cold and promised themselves they wouldn’t forget next time … only to do exactly that. It’s a mug with a built-in heating element and a helpful app. Yes, this is a mug with an app. Does a mug need an app? Not really. But it’s pretty fun. The Ember Mug can keep your drink hot for about 70 to 80 minutes, depending on your heat setting. It can also rewarm a cold beverage, which is a feature I find myself using quite a bit.
The Carter Carry tumbler is adorable. It’s smooth, with a matte finish on the outside, and the lid has a sturdy metal bar that makes twisting it open a breeze. That’s actually a more important feature than you might realize. During testing, I found that other tumblers and water bottles with narrow lids and nowhere to grip require a lot more wrist strength to open up. That can be a problem for some people, especially if you have carpal tunnel. This tumbler’s wide grip means you don’t have to twist as hard to get the leverage you need to open it up. Inside, it has a ceramic coating that keeps your beverage from getting a weird flavor, and it also includes a little splash guard to make sure you don’t end up scalding your lips when you’re on the move.
The Stagg XF Pour-Over set includes a double-walled borosilicate glass carafe, metal dripper, and filters—everything you need to either start experimenting with pour-over or master your existing technique. At 700 milliliters it’s smaller than most Chemex pour-over carafes, but if you’re just brewing for one or two it’s a perfect size.
