Best Coffee Tools

Once you’ve got the basic coffee stuff, like a coffee maker and some fine beans, it’s time to add the key coffee brewing tools to your brewing arsenal. These are the bits of kit that will take your coffee making process from good to great, make brewing more efficient, and just generally make your morning routine more pleasant. It’s hard to put a price on that!

The 14 Best Coffee Brewing Tools For Home Baristas in 2023

This list is composed of the personal favorites of our editorial team. Each of our team members owns some accessory from this list. So, they’ve all been thoroughly tested and experimented with. These are the little things you might not consider when you’re new to the world of coffee, but we find ourselves turning to them day in and day out!

Ready to upgrade your coffee bar? Here are 14 coffee accessories and gadgets our team uses all the time when making coffee at home. Whether you need a new travel mug, a steaming pitcher, or just a cleaner coffee machine, we’ve got you covered with these top-rated coffee products.

Got a coffee nerd in your life? Everything on this list also makes a great gift.

The Porlex Mini burr grinder is the perfect traveling companion. It’s tiny, lightweight, and durable. I often toss mine in a backpack when I go hiking or camping. 

Its best feature? It’s one of the only handheld coffee mills small enough to fit inside the brewing chamber of the Aeropress! I own both just to combine the two for the ultimate on-the-go brewing set-up, and you need never be without great coffee again.

The Porlex Mini conical burr coffee grinder sports sharp ceramic burrs that yield impressively fluffy, uniform coffee grounds. But note that its 20-gram whole bean coffee capacity is enough for a cup or two. I found it pretty frustrating to make several cups of coffee at a time.

Baratza is widely recognized as the best manufacturer of electric coffee grinders for home use. Baratza grinders are a big step up in quality from the budget brands but only a small step up in price. 

The Encore ESP is a new model from the coffee company, just released in 2023, and it’s already charming coffee lovers worldwide – our testing team included.

The ESP takes the incredibly popular Baratza Encore and makes it even better. An upgraded grind setting adjustment makes it suitable for a wider range of brew methods. We tested it with everything from French press to espresso and enjoyed many delicious brews. Plus, they swapped in the burr set to the one found in the more expensive Virtuoso.

A good coffee scale is a must for any coffee lover. Serious baristas know that scooping coffee just won’t cut it; coffee needs to be measured by weight. The Hario Drip Scale is perfect for meeting all your brewing needs without totally blowing your budget.

It has a sleek minimalist appeal with a low profile and matte finish. But its spare design packs some impressive features, including a built-in timer, touch-sensitive buttons, and an auto-off. It’s accurate to 1/10th of a gram. In my tests, I was also impressed that it had a fast enough response time for pour-over brewing – a feature often missing from budget scales.

It’s easy to laugh off the Ember Mug as a gimmick. I mean, who really needs a hundred-dollar mug that connects to their smartphone? But we were forced to stop laughing once we tried it. Sure, it’s a luxury. But it’s a luxury that delivers on its promises and really adds to your quality of life.

The Ember Mug uses a built-in heater to keep coffee and tea at the ideal temperature for up to 90 minutes on one battery charge. It’s the perfect coffee accessory for anyone who likes to sip and savor a great cup of coffee.

The Contigo Autoseal West Loop is the perfect mug for every coffee lover with a commute, no matter how you get to work. I love that the lid can be opened and closed with one hand so I can get my caffeine fix safely while driving or riding a bicycle. It’s a practical, affordable, and lightweight way to take high-quality coffee on the go. 

I put the spill-proof seal through its paces, tossing it every which way, and it never spilled a drop. The vacuum insulation keeps your coffee hot or your cold brew cold for up to five hours. At the end of the day, toss it in the dishwasher for easy cleaning.

A calibrated tamper is a no-brainer for all but the most experienced baristas. Dialing in a shot of espresso has enough variables to manage without adding tamping to the list. The Espro Calibrated Tamper comes factory-regulated to deliver 30 pounds of pressure every time. Consistency is king when it comes to espresso!

Our team found the Espro Tamper very easy to use, and we loved its simple and classic design. It feels weighty and sturdy in your hand and looks nice sitting on your coffee bar. It’s available in four sizes, suitable for most home and commercial espresso machines.

Fellow is known for innovation, and the Eddy Steaming Pitcher is a great example of their intuition for functional design. Rather than a traditional pouring spout, the Eddy sports a crease that runs the full length of the pitcher’s body, culminating with a sharp, fluted tip. The result is a super-smooth and precise milk flow. I found that my latte art improved, especially more complex designs, in just a few attempts.

The Fellow Eddy is beautiful, like all Fellow products. You won’t want to store this in the cupboard. The open-ended handle is attractive and works for all hand sizes. Everyone on our diverse team could hold it comfortably.

A bottomless portafilter is high on the wish list of every budding espresso enthusiast. For one thing, pulling a perfect shot with a naked filter basket makes a beautiful addition to your Instagram feed. But more importantly, a bottomless portafilter is a valuable learning tool to improve your puck prep. I definitely learned something on my first attempt, when I sprayed espresso all over my counter. But a few shots later, the counter was clean, and the espresso was more delicious than ever. Totally worth it!

We love Normcore Bottomless Portafilters because they’re simple, affordable, and durable. The anodized aluminum handle might not be as flashy as wood, but it lasts forever and doesn’t ramp up the price. Normcore makes this model in a variety of sizes to fit any home or commercial espresso maker.

You might not think double-wall insulation is important for a shot of espresso. Maybe it’s not if you actually plan to shoot it. But if you plan to savor your drink at all, an insulated glass is crucial. Because 2 ounces of liquid cools down very fast. And as your coffee drops out of the ideal temperature range, the flavor drops with it.

These stainless steel insulated espresso cups from Real Deal will keep your espresso perfectly warm. We know because we tested them! Even after 15 minutes, our espresso was still warm and flavorful, compared with less than 5 minutes for our non-insulated cups. 

They’re super durable, great for camping trips or just clumsy mornings, and they come in a cute selection of colors.

Is a pile of coffee filters the thing standing between you and a perfectly organized coffee bar? I know the feeling. Everything is arranged just so, expect that pesky plastic bag of filters. And you know you’re going to need one every single day!

A filter holder is hardly a necessary piece of coffee gear, but adding one to your coffee station is a dirt cheap option for a serious aesthetic upgrade. I put this basic triangular bamboo design on my counter because it’s simple, efficient, durable, and it looks great. It holds standard conical filters, like you’d use with a V60 or Melitta pour-over coffee maker. As a nice bonus, bamboo is one of the most sustainable materials.

A knock box is one of those things you don’t think you need until you get one. Then you’ll wonder why you went so long without it. A knock box is a must unless your espresso bar is adjacent to your compost bin.

We knocked a lot of boxes putting together a round-up of this tool, and the Breville Barista Style Knock Box is our favorite in this category. It’s super durable, with a die-cast metal exterior and no-slip base. It’s quite large, which is great for heavy espresso drinkers. But if you prefer something a little more compact, the Breville Knock Box Mini is just as worthy.

A coffee scoop is nothing more than a tablespoon, so I won’t claim that you need one to brew a great cup. In fact, I always advise measuring coffee by weight rather than volume for consistency. So a scale is a more important part of the toolkit. 

But if you’re going to buy a special spoon just for coffee, why not buy the most beautiful one you can find? That was my logic when I picked up this model from Easyworkz on a whim.

The Easyworkz Retro Coffee Spoon has a gorgeous black walnut handle and a stainless steel coffee scoop available in various finishes. I vote rose gold for maximum bling, but gunmetal is another classy option. You won’t want to tuck this spoon away in a cutlery drawer.

Yet another Fellow product to round out the list. This is a brand clearly designed by and for serious coffee lovers. 

The Fellow Atmos Vacuum Canister sports the same stunning minimalist design as all Fellow products – indeed, it’ll look great on the counter next to your Stagg kettle – but it’s what’s on the inside that counts.

What’s inside is an integrated vacuum pump, which is activated by twisting the lid. It removes all the air from the canister, keeping your coffee beans fresh for 50% longer! I’ve kept coffee beans in mine for up to 6 weeks without any noticeable loss of flavor.

Plenty of brands sell pricey descaling solutions. But if we’re being honest, most drip coffee makers can be descaled with a mixture of white vinegar and water. Instead, spend your money on a specialty coffee maker cleaner designed to remove those stubborn coffee stains that nothing else can tackle. 

Bar Keepers Friend has been making specialty kitchen cleaners for over 140 years, and all their products are sustainably produced, biodegradable, and septic system safe. 

This coffee maker cleaner is specially formulated to remove oily residue, tannins, and coffee stains. It works for any type of coffee maker or espresso machine, and we even used it to clean the office’s stained coffee pots and mugs. 

It is 8-times concentrated, so a single 12-ounce bottle should yield 96 ounces of cleaning solution. But in our tests, unless the stains were very stubborn, we could dilute it even more to improve our value for money.

What to Look for in Coffee-Making Tools

Choosing the right tools for brewing coffee is a bit less committing than buying coffee gear. It’s not like you’re dropping hundreds of dollars on a new espresso machine or brewer. But spending money on something you don’t end up using is never fun. So ask yourself these questions before you pull out your credit card.

What’s Your Usual Coffee Brewing Method?

Think about how you like to make your home coffee, and then write down a list of associated tools. Chances are, you don’t need one of everything on this list – unless you like to vary your coffee routine. 

Drip coffee fans can skip the tamper, knock box, and frothing pitcher. If you have a single-serve coffee maker that uses coffee pods, you might not need a grinder. If you only drink espresso shots, a coffee filter holder is probably besides the point. But some tools are universal. Everyone, especially coffee shops, can benefit from essential accessories like an accurate coffee scale, a reliable coffee canister, or a good cup.

How Much Do You Want To Spend?

For the most part, these tools and accessories aren’t mandatory. You can brew coffee without them, even if it’s not quite as convenient or delicious. So don’t break the bank trying to own it all. Establish your coffee-making budget first. Then list the best coffee gadgets you covet in order of priority. 

Think about products where it makes sense to skimp (like a cheaper knock box) versus those where paying for quality is important (like a scale). If any of our favorite coffee gadgets and accessories highlighted here don’t meet your budget, check out the associated review round-ups; they all contain a bargain option that we stand behind.

Where Is Everything Going To Fit?

Most of these items are small, so space is rarely a limiting factor. But it’s still important to consider where you’ll store your new gear, especially if you have a small kitchen or limited counter space. Do you have a partner who’s going to move out if you cram yet another new coffee cup into the cupboard? Take that into account before you invest in the Ember Mug.

The Verdict

Coffee tools might not seem as important as big-ticket items like coffee makers and espresso machines. But they’re the small things that true baristas can’t do without. Wondering why your fancy coffee machine isn’t delivering the good cup of coffee you hoped for? Want your morning coffee experience to rival the local coffee shop? Adding the best coffee accessories is probably the answer!