While I’ve explored gifts from holiday coffees to decadent espresso chocolates in past guides, this year’s holiday suggestions are a little more permanent (except the liqueur—regardless of potential, it probably won’t last long once it’s out of the gift wrap). For gifts with staying power, check out 2014’s lineup of the region’s coolest, including something for everyone on your list (and maybe something for yourself as well).
For the craft coffee addict: Bean Box Gift Subscription || Seattle-based Bean Box is essentially a multi-roaster coffee subscription, mailing out monthly boxes of rotating fresh-roasted Emerald City beans (four varieties per month—think Kuma, Lighthouse, Herkimer and the like) plus tasting notes and maybe an artisan chocolate or similar surprise thrown in for good measure. || Bean Box: $20/month.
For the caffeine-fueled voyager: Stumptown Rambler Travel Kit || Everything you need to make coffee on the go in full-on Portland style—mini burr grinder, Aeropress and accessories, a pair of two-tone enamel mugs emblazoned with buffalo (because why not?), and a bag of Stumptown’s Hair Bender espresso.|| Stumptown Coffee Roasters: $185.
For the tea devotee: Tea Tree Tea Infuser || The culinary gadgeteers at Seattle-based Chef’n have created a full range of ingeniously user-friendly kitchen toys. Their Tea Tree infuser, for one, flips upside down over any mug to mull, then removes to stand beside it, serenely catching every drop. || Chef’n (various retailers): about $20.
For the home mixologist: Red Wing Roast Coffee Liqueur || Anchoring the southern end of Portland’s Distillery Row, Stone Barn Brandyworks churns out a wide-ranging lineup of spirits including their stellar coffee liqueur. While you’re in the neighborhood, take a stroll up north: House Spirits and New Deal offer stellar coffee liqueurs too, while Eastside Distilling has coffee rum and tempting mixers like eggnog liqueur. || Stone Barn Brandyworks: about $25.
For the seasonal sipper: Reindeer Mug || Thrown, fired and painted by Victoria-based potter and teacher Faro Annie Sullivan, this wintry reindeer silhouette mug is my favorite among numerous festive designs. || Dirty Girl Clayworks (via Side Street Studio): about $25.
