Coffee Equipment for Back to School

If you’re a coffee lover heading back to school, you’ve probably already picked out a coffee maker for your dorm room. Most major manufacturers make a 1-4 cup size that’s ideal for a single person living alone, though you might also choose a 10-12 cup coffee maker that gives you the option to make 2-4 cups at a time.

Many college kids have already developed fairly sophisticated tastes in coffee. For them, an automatic drip coffee maker may not be satisfactory. There are a number of other choices, but the most popular option among coffee drinkers who developed their taste buds at Starbucks is a French press. If you choose a French press or any other coffee maker that doesn’t heat the water itself, don’t forget to buy a hot water kettle. Electric hot water kettles are inexpensive, and most have safety features like a switch that automatically turns them off after the water boils.

Of course, there’s more to making coffee than just a coffee maker. If you’re putting together a dorm room coffee kit, you might also include a few of the following items for your coffee lover.

A coffee grinder is a must for the real coffee lover who buys their coffee in whole beans. You can spend a small fortune on a high-end burr grinder, but most college students will be perfectly content with a $20 Krups coffee grinder.

A travel coffee mug is a boon to the student who wants his coffee on the go. Choose a mug that’s stylish and fits into a car cup holder, and that holds at least 12 ounces of coffee. Alternatively, choose a coffee maker like the Brew ‘n’ Go from Black & Decker. It has its own travel mug – and brews coffee directly into the mug.


Do yourself – and the environment – a favor by investing in a permanent coffee filter. Every year, millions of coffee filters end up in landfills, where they take years to biodegrade. A gold coffee filter actually uses little resources from the earth, and keeps your share of coffee filters out of the waste stream.

Coffee storage is another of those things that most kids won’t think about, but can make a major difference for those who buy their coffee fresh roasted in kraft paper bags. An opaque, airtight canister will preserve those flavors once the bag is opened.

Coffee flavors aren’t a must, but they are a fun addition to any coffee survival basket. Pick up a pack of Flavour Creations coffee flavor tablets, or a couple of jars of flavored Coffee Mate so that you’ve got a choice of flavors when you want something a little different.

Tuck in a coffee gift card from Starbucks or Tim Horton’s so that your student can grab a coffee on the go outside the dorm room, too. They’re reloadable, so you can even add money to their coffee funds periodically.

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