Why You Can Trust CNET Give the Gift of Homemade Coffee for Under $10
You don't need a costly espresso machine for great homemade coffee. You don't even need a French press.
Coffee is an expensive game. If you're like me, you have at some point counted up all the money you spend each week on coffee at a cafe and then went into a panic mode. You decree that something has to be done and investigate homemade coffee options. Here's where it all falls down: Espresso machines are expensive. You decide it would be silly to splash $500-plus in an effort to save money, so instead you stroll down to your local cafe to pick up your second Americano for the day.
If you're like me, you have a few friends who fit this description too.
Why it's a great gift: It doesn't have to be that way. Hario's V60 coffee dripper is a cheap, easy way to give the gift of affordable homemade coffee. All you need is the V60 dripper, which costs under $10, and some filter papers which cost even less, and you're on your way.
That's a whole lot cheaper than homemade espresso options. As for filter coffee, the V60's competition is the classic French Press. But for my money, V60s make better coffee. Some of that is subjective: V60 pour-over coffee is a little thinner, which you may or may not prefer. But the unambiguous benefit is that French press coffee produces bottom-of-the-glass gluck. You don't have to deal with that with V60 coffee. Ain't nobody got time for that gluck.
What you'll pay: Hario's plastic V60 coffee dripper costs around $9, or you can splurge and opt for a $13 option that's slightly bigger (thus better for pouring multiple brews). There are more elaborate metallic and ceramic options, but these upgrades are almost entirely cosmetic. Even then, they're not obscenely costly (about $22 for a ceramic V60, though closer to $40 for a metallic one).
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