Coffee must-haves for caffeine addicts

Coffee. The mercy of the morning: restorer of a good mood, can-do attitude and kindliness to the rest of mankind. Oh, but we don’t drink any cup of joe, we only pour the best and so should you

Pact Coffee bag

“Now you'll find out why Ms. Sherwood shows up for breakfast, Tom. It's not love, it's my coffee machine,” so says Jude Law in The Talented Mr. Ripley. While we're not sure if there's any woman on earth that would choose a cup of joe over the irritatingly handsome British actor, we do rather get the point. When it comes to our morning routine, coffee is king. 

And because coffee is the most important meal of the day, we know our way around the best home gadgets, bean-to-door coffee services, and plain old London coffee shops that any caffeine-inclined individual could possibly ever need. 

We've rounded up all our favourites below, for your viewing pleasure. From high-tech coffee faucets (whatever one of those is) to artisanal coffee crafters to the capital's answer to an Italian coffee bar, this is the ultimate list for satisfying those pesky caffeine cravings. 

Now, if you'll excuse us, it's about time for our third cup of the day…

Hario Coffee Syphon 'Sommelier'

£200

Hario Coffee Syphon 'Sommelier'

Step away from the Nespresso machine and drop that instant rubbish, it's time to get serious about your home brew coffee. What you need is a coffee syphon and this Hario Sommelier is as good as it gets. It may look like an old-school chemistry kit but we can assure you it's the ticket to perfectly crafted brew. And it actually works. The scientist inside you will be delighted by the quality equipment, which lets you brew your morning cup by expanding and contracting the air pressure in the hand-blown bowl and heating the coffee in a matter of minutes. It's old school with a hands-on feel and we very much approve. hario.co.uk

The New Black

10 Philpot Lane, EC3M 8AA

The New Black

Artisan coffee may once have been the preserve of East London cafes, but The New Black is bringing luxury roasts to the City.  Founded in 2012 by British entrepreneur Phoa Kia Boon, The New Black menu features roasts from the best artisan roasters around the world: America, Australia, Scandinavia and beyond. The coffee bar at Philpot Lane also provides gourmet teas and pastries paired to complement the flavours of coffee roasts. Pop along one lunchtime to sample the highest-quality coffee made quickly and efficiently, without any compromise on taste. thenewblack.coffee 

TopBrewer

£7,200

TopBrewer coffee faucet by Scanomat

If you ever wished you could drink coffee straight from the tap, get ready to take your caffeine love affair to the next level… The TopBrewer from Scanomat is the answer to your prayers: a coffee faucet built into your tabletop. Gone are the days of Starbucks employees misspelling your name, now you can be your own barista; controlling everything from an app on your smartphone. When you select your drink, the machine starts the process from scratch, brewing anything from a macchiato to a double espresso in no more than 45 seconds: time is everything when you’ve woken up on the wrong side of the bed. The faucet is also self cleaning, just in case you were looking for another reason to buy this mother of all coffee gadgets. scanomat.co.uk

The Barisieur

£265

Barisieur Coffee Alarm Clock

The Barisieur combines the worst and best elements of your morning routine: your alarm going off, and your first coffee of the day. This coffee alarm clock (no, really) gently rouses you from sleep with the sound of bubbling water and the smell of freshly brewed coffee,  effectively making Monday mornings more bearable. Everything is bespoke, from the sugar drawer to the milk cooling vessel; making it easy to set up, no matter how blurry-eyed you are. As well as being practical, it is a stylish addition to your bedside table, with its stainless steel, wood, and glass finish giving it a glorified science experiment feel. This is one alarm you won’t be so quick to snooze. joshrenoufdesign.com

AeroPress

£25

AeroPress

You don't need to know one iota about coffee to know that freshly ground beans trump the instant stuff any day. Settle for instant no longer: the AeroPress uses freshly ground coffee to deliver the same machine-quality taste in just one minute. Actual press time is a mere 20 seconds, but you wouldn't know that if you tasted it. The 'total immersion' brewing method results in the final brew having only a fifth of the acidity of drip-brewed coffee. One minute to press, immerse, brew and filter is good news for your tastebuds – bad news for every other bit of coffee kit you've bought previously. aeropress.co.uk

Sage by Heston Blumenthal: The Oracle

£1,599

Sage by Heston Blumenthal the Oracle Coffee Machine

Heston Blumenthal may have a little too much fun with liquid nitrogen – and not to mention he’s a bit of a nerd – but if he puts his name to something, you’re guaranteed a quality product. Take the Oracle coffee machine: coffee starts to lose flavour from the moment it’s ground so this machine insists upon bean-to-cup coffee, with 45 individual grind settings for (slightly excessive) control. The machine is is a combination of manual and automatic; designed for those with an interest in the coffee-making process. Mercifully, it does most of the hard work for you – and rest assured you’re not expected to complete the ‘milk texturing’ stage yourself. The ideal companion if you’re OCD about poorly frothed milk. sageappliances.co.uk

Pact Coffee

Prices from £6.95, per 250g

Pact Coffee bag

Pact’s head of coffee (a title we’re a little envious of) travels the world sampling the finest brews you can lay your hands on – so you can be certain that these mail order beans are the best to be pushed through your letterbox. With regular deliveries to suit you, you'll never run the risk of dreaded coffee bean drought, and you’ll never resort to instant coffee again. The brand's grand master roaster (OK, an even cooler job title) creates a roast profile for each bag of beans, giving you a flavour breakdown of each: varieties include milk chocolate shake and ruby red plum for maximum taste bud bombardment. Roast and packed within 7 days, you can be certain that your coffee will be fresh and, all importantly, delicious. pactcoffee.com

Minipresso

£50

Minipresso

What do glacier treks, mountain expeditions and your morning commute have in common? It's pretty difficult to get decent coffee (we're not being dramatic, promise). Well, Minipresso plans to change all that with the first portable espresso machine, which we think is perfect for every coffeephile on those desperate Tube journeys. The slick bullet-like capsule can be held in your hand and lets you make great-tasting shots wherever you are. It works by the user squeezing a semi-automatic piston to fire hot water through ground coffee – a great way to get your caffeine fix and let out your commuter rage all in one. wacaco.com

Bar Termini

Bar Termini

Bar Termini is a collaboration between mixology maestro Tony Conigliaro and coffee industry stalwart Marco Arrigo – we don't need to tell you the result is a bang-up espresso martini. This small but perfectly formed coffee-cum-cocktail bar is ideal for any eventuality but we like to just chill out in this Italian atmosphere and people watch... In a non-weird way, of course. bar-termini.com

Square Mile Roastery

Prices from £9.50, per 350g

Square Mile Roastery

No, it's not our own brand of Square Mile coffee. The Square Mile Roastery turns out to be the product of James Hoffman (World Barista Champion) and Anette Moldvaer's (World Coffee Cup Tasting Champion, of course) collective expertise. The pair source beans from Brazil, Colombia and Rwanda, and then roast them right in the heart of the City. You can purchase their whole range online but if the daily grind of making your own coffee doesn't appeal, you can also find them on your doorstep at various independent coffee shops across the city. squaremilecoffee.com

The Coffeehouse Tour

£16

Coffeehouse Tour of London

Learn how a “newfangled abominable heathenish liquor called coffee” became the fuel for the City. Famed historian Dr Matthew Green leads a tour of the capital’s best, and Europe’s oldest, coffeehouses. This is not your average walking tour, however. You’ll be caught off- guard by dramatic performances delivered along the way, making the experience all the more engrossing. The original tour even has violin music accompaniment. Included in the price are shots of black, gritty, 17th-century style coffee, known at the time as ‘bitter gruel’… Safe to say, you’ll never complain about instant again. unrealcityaudio.co.uk

Workshop Coffee

Workshop Coffee

If you're still drinking chain-bought coffee then your standards have sipped… Sorry. Forget that puddle of mud and head to Workshop Coffee, whose string of coffee bars and online coffee range focuses on high-quality beans it has sourced from independent producers in Kenya, Colombia and Costa Rica. As well as serving your on-the-hop coffee needs, it also offers coffee-making masterclasses. These range from a 2.5-hour home brewing session to an espresso masterclass, aimed at arming the amateur enthusiast with pro technique. Find outlets in Clerkenwell, Fitzrovia, Holborn and Marylebone. workshopcoffee.com

Sandows

Sandows

Cold-brew coffee is an oft-misunderstood delicacy. Many people seem to view it as a gimmicky offshoot of 'real' coffee as opposed to a drink in its own right. Introduce those people to Sandows, who creates its brew by soaking the coffee overnight in cold water, ensuring a smooth flavour free from bitterness. Whether from the bottle, on ice or with milk, Sandows is a delicious treat that proves cold coffee can be good coffee. It's available in supermarkets and retailers throughout the City so there's no excuse for you not to join the converted. sandows.com

Loading