Our Favorite Gear of the Year: 2020
As the year reaches its close and 2020 makes its final curtain call, the time approaches for us to take a deep breath and remember all that we’re thankful for. This year has been, well...something, but as the holidays approach, we take time for cheer, giving thanks, and sending our love to those we may not have had the pleasure of spending much time with over the past few months. However, we must also take a moment to give thanks for the small things, the things that have given us joy in unexpected ways.
In the spirit of thankfulness and remembering what has brought us a little extra happiness lately, here at Prima we compiled a list of all of our favorite gear from this past year. We’ve included the things that brought ease to our lives in the times of chaos, brightened up our home setups while spending so much time there, and the new toys that kept us entertained when there wasn’t much else to do.
Check out our favorites of 2020 below! Included on the list is some of the new gear we got our hands on this year, a few fan-favorites that have earned their spot on this list for consecutive years, and a few odds and ends that really stood out above the rest. Let us know what you think, and make sure to tell us what gear helped you brew your best cup of coffee this year, or just made things a little more enjoyable. And from all of us at Prima to you, we hope you have a happy holiday season!
Our Favorite Grinders
Home Coffee Grinder:
Fellow Ode
Fellow came out with their very first grinder this year, and oh boy did they enter the scene with a bang. The Fellow Ode is definitely an eye-catcher, for it dons beautiful, clean lines that are evident in so many of Fellow's products The Ode’s small frame stands only 9.4 inches tall, 4.2 inches wide, and 9.5 inches deep making it compact enough for any counter top. Plus, it was designed with only one thing in mind, grinding to brew. We fell in love with the Ode this year because not only is it stunning, but it does a darn good job using its 64 millimeter flat steel burr-set (which is nearly unheard of in this price range) to grind coffee, while also including a ton of unique features. It has a PID, which automatically shuts the motor off when it’s done grinding, a magnetic grinds catch, and grind knocker. With its impressive grind consistency, and unique features, it’s hard not to love the Fellow Ode.
Home Espresso Grinder:
Option-O Lagmon P64 - COMING SOON
Option-O graced us with a treasure this year, the Lagom, and boy are we smitten. It comes with a unique design that works to minimize retention, and also provides a choice between the SSP 64 mm Unimodal Red Speed Coated burr set for filter and espresso, which are perfect for minimizing fines at the medium to coarse grind ranges, or the SSP High-Uniformity Red Speed Coated burrs which are great for those who primarily brew espresso, but will also produce an impressive grind quality for pour over. It also comes with a ton of great accessories! Needless to say, it brought some excitement to the Prima family this year.
Commercial Coffee Grinder:
Mahlkonig EK43S
Surprise, surprise! The EK43S is here to stay...at least until someone can build a grinder that can produce a better grind than this. The EK43S, the smaller version of the EK43 , has proven its worth time and time again. Providing consistently uniform grinds with its 98 mm flat burrs, stepless grind adjustment, and added features that help it excel at grinding small doses, we have a feeling that the EK43S may be on this list for years to come. And honestly, in a year of surprises, having something you know you can rely on is strangely comforting, even if it’s just a coffee grinder. Also, we now offer burr shimming and chamber sanding services for our EK43 grinders, ensuring that they’re grinding for that perfect cup every time!
Commercial Espresso Grinder:
Mahlkonig E65S
The Mahlkonig E65S is another gem on this list of favorites. Like the EK43S, the E65S is gracing this list again because we have yet to find a piece of commercial equipment that can grind for espresso better. Although it is similar to the retired K30 with 65 millimeter burrs, it has features that make it so much easier to operate, as well as a slimmer and a taller design. And get this...it’s also fast AND quiet! It might just be a barista’s dream. During the holiday season, when it is a time for giving thanks, we in the coffee business take a moment to thank Mahlkonig for designing such fantastic grinders.
Manual Coffee/Espresso Grinder:
Orphan Espresso Apex
Here at Prima, we hope 2020 ends up being a lot like the Apex. At first glance it looks delightful, but then you dive in and it’s far more complicated than was ever anticipated, but once you do some problem-solving, adjusting, and accepting, you’re left with something that is greater than you ever thought possible. When we first laid eyes on the Apex we were mesmerized by its unique design, but once we began to grind on it, we quickly partook in a workout we neither needed nor wanted at 9 am. It was soon discovered that if you secure the Apex directly into your counter-top, or for a less permanent solution, secure it to a cutting board, ease and great grinding soon follow. The Apex is the first ever flat burr manual coffee grinder, and it rocks an enormous set of “ghost tooth” burrs that create the most uniform grind we have ever seen from a manual grinder, and what’s not to love about that.
Our Favorite Brewing Gear
Automatic Brewer:
Bonavita BV1900TS
We love the Bonavita because no other automatic brewer produces coffee of the same quality. Because of this, they are one of the few brands of automatic brewers to be awarded a Specialty Coffee Association of America Certification. It’s true that automatic brewers sometimes get a bad rap for producing a less than superb pot of coffee, but their added convenience and simplicity keep people coming back for more. The Bonavita BV1900TS provides the best of both worlds with several features that ensure you’re getting a quality cup of coffee each and every time. The shower head design saturates the coffee grounds completely, resulting in a more evenly brewed pot of coffee. It also comes with the option for pre-infusion which gives your coffee time to bloom and degas. Sometimes, especially during a year such as this, simplicity is the greatest gift that one can receive.
Manual Dripper:
Hario V60 Glass Dripper with Olivewood
We love the V60 here at Prima, so it gets used almost daily. We savor the delightfully balanced flavor and clarity that come from it, but the V60 Olivewood not only brews an impeccable cup of coffee, it also makes quite a statement. Being made of glass, it helps to cut plastic out of our coffee routine, and the beautiful, all-natural olivewood base brings an artistic beauty that is rarely seen in other brewers. Not to mention, there is a gorgeous matching olivewood server that can tie your whole setup together.
Immersion Brewer:
AeroPress
The AeroPress is a fan favorite, and rightfully so. It is a perfect combination of science, math, and coffee. Plus, it has its own championship that brings people together from around the world! Does it get much cooler than that? We don't think so. It also brews a deliciously rich and smooth cup of coffee in less than a minute, and sometimes that’s precisely how long we care to wait for our coffee. Despite there not being much “adventuring” this year, we do love how portable it is, whether you're headed back to the office or hitting the trails, this immersion brewer can tag right along.
Brewing Scale:
Timemore Black Mirror Coffee and Espresso Scale
The Timemore Black Mirror scale bundles all of the features you could want included in your coffee scale without including all of the glitzy extras that cause the price to skyrocket, and that’s why we really came to love it this year. Acaia scales have been the leader of the pack for quite a while now, but not without a fairly steep price attached to them. The Timemore features accuracy to 0.1 gram, a large capacity at 2.0 kilos, insanely quick response times, a silicone pad to protect it, and a built in timer. It lacks the high tech features like Bluetooth connection and Brewguide App, but because of this, it rings up at half the price. We were very happy to have the Timemore Black Mirror Scale on our counter this year.
Cold Coffee Maker:
Hyperchiller
Although the season for a cold drink is quickly becoming a thing of the past, in the sweltering days of summer, the Hyperchiller works flawlessly to chill your warm beverages without dilution. The Hyperchiller was engineered to chill coffee in only a minute using two chunks of ice that reside within the stainless steel of the cup. It works not only with coffee, but any beverage you need to chill rapidly. Tea? Yes. Water? Yes. Beer? YES. It’s pretty great.
Brewing Kettle:
Fellow Stagg EKG Matte Black and Walnut
As far as favorite kettles go, we can’t seem to shake our obsession with the Fellow Stagg EKG, but this year we specifically loved the matte black EKG with the walnut handle. It possesses all of the features we love in an EKG — the temperature reliability, quick heat time, hold mode, and high quality look and feel — but with a gorgeous, rustic handle. It looks beautiful next to the chemex that includes a similar wooden collar. It’s not only extremely functional, but it has an aesthetic that we don’t see in other kettles, and that’s why it’s our favorite kettle of 2020.
Brewing Accessories:
Sibarist Fast Filters
This year we got our hands on the Sibarist FAST Filters for the Hario V60 02, and boy did it open a world of possibilities. By producing brew times 27%-40% faster than the typical V60 filter, you’re left feeling like you’re not brewing with a V60 at all, in the very best of ways. The FAST filter gave us the chance to do what we love most: experiment with coffee. The increased flow rate gives you the chance to alter variables like grind size, dose, and water temperature. They are one of our favorite accessories of 2020 because it gave us a chance to play around and try new things in between the ever changing chaos and monotony of this year.
Peak Water Pitcher
Water is a key component that is often overlooked when it comes to brewing the perfect cup of coffee. Much of that comes from the misconception that getting the perfect water for brewing involves having to purchase a system that costs thousands of dollars. And that is why the Peak Water Pitcher made the list this year! Peak Water, out of the UK, has invented a device that brings the simplicity of a Brita Filter to the coffee game. It has an adjustable filter that lets you choose how many of the minerals in your water are filtered out or retained. That way, you can have a barista-quality brewing experience every time!
Kruve Coffee Brew Stick
The Kruve Coffee Brew Stick is not a necessity per se, but it does make a nice addition to our coffee set up. We love the Kruve Stick because it does a fantastic job at agitating coffee grounds in nearly any manual brewer. The long, slender shape of it makes it especially useful when trying to excavate a cone-brewer. It may be a small addition, but it did bring some added convenience and color to our lives in 2020!
Our Favorite Espresso Gear
Home Espresso Machine:
Black Rancilio Pro
We don’t know where to even begin with this beauty. When we got it here at Prima, we all stood around it staring in awe. The Rancilio Silvia Pro is an exceptional home espresso machine to begin with, with its small footprint, two boilers (one for brew water and one for steam), and digital display, but the black Powder Coat makes it stand out way above the rest. It’s just one good looking machine. It makes a gorgeous addition to any countertop, and its unique beauty brought us a lot of joy this year. The black Powder Coat option is being offered exclusively at Prima, and we can’t wait to share it with you!
Commercial Espresso Machine:
Astoria Pratic Avant Xtra SAE
This year the Pratic Avant SAE makes our list of favorites because it very well may be the best overall value we’ve seen in an espresso machine in a long time. It’s great for low-to-mid volume operations, has four programmable automatic doses per group, a single boiler with automatic heat exchange, and fun extras like raised groups and downlights, features that will make any barista happier. With so many small businesses struggling to get by in these difficult times, we felt it was important to highlight a machine that provides quality at a much lower price point.
Tampers:
PUSH Adjustable Depth Tamper
We love the PUSH tamper because since it took the stage in 2015 and caught the coffee world by surprise, it has consistently shined brighter than similar puck-shaped tampers. Once you have it dialed in and get the depth at a fixed point, all you have to worry about is weight and grind size, practically eliminating an entire step and variable that could hinder the perfect shot of espresso. Also, the depth indicator markers on the tamper base, and the radial markings that let you know how much of a change you’re making as you turn, really set it apart from the others. The vibrant color options they come in are a nice touch too!
Our Other Favorites
Cupping Spoon:
Hario cupping Spoon Kasuya Edition
In the process of compiling this list we learned there are two types of people in this world. People who immediately have an answer when questioned on what their favorite cupping spoon is...and people that have zero preference whatsoever. As for those individuals here at Prima who have formed a sound opinion on cupping spoons, they all mutually agreed that the Hario Cupping Spoon Kasuya Edition is where it’s at. The spoon is aesthetically pleasing with a matte black finish, and has a distinct length and a unique angle in the handle that allows for easier slurping.
Cleaning Supplies:
Timemore Grinder Cleaning Brush
This one isn’t quite fair to list because it’s not something that is sold separately...but boy do we need to tell you about the brushes that come with the Timemore grinders. They are bar none. In fact, our Content Creator, Steve, would likely sing praises of it from the rooftop if it were permitted. This brush does an exceptional job at removing the remaining grounds out of your grinder. So if you were already contemplating getting a Timemore Grinder, do it, because you’ll get not only a great grinder, but an amazing brush too!
So the time has come for 2020 to take a bow and make its exit, and although most will agree it won’t be missed, it has been an exciting year for coffee equipment! We’ve seen unique designs, new methods, enjoyed ample time to experiment, and witnessed the industry keep evolving into something magnificent. Let us know what gear helped you maintain your sanity this past year, brought you happiness, or aided you in brewing something unforgettable! We can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2021! Happy holidays y'all!
