Your favorite coffee shop might be closed for a well-deserved break this Thanksgiving, but you can still treat your guests (and yourself) to an excellent cup or two with our home brew recommendations. Just add freshly roasted beans!

French Press

A French press pot is the perfect bit of gear to prepare great coffee at home every once in a while. Inexpensive and easy to use, you can store it in a corner of your pantry and take it out to quickly make a few cups at home after dinner or for breakfast (with leftover sandwiches, yum). Nobody will complain if you arrive with your own French press and take over coffee duty for your hosts. All the more if you bring your own fresh beans! Expecting tough conversations at home? Get a Calusa French press mug to keep your coffee hot while you take a calming walk at the nearest park. Pro tip: Remember to ask for a coarse grind so that coffee grounds can’t make it to your French press mesh.

Mocha Pot

For a flashier presentation that people will notice, use a handy mocha pot. Still quite affordable and easy to use, the mocha pot makes a stronger cup as water vapor goes from the bottom to the top of the fancy metal pot through the coffee grounds in the middle. Everyone will hear and smell the coffee as it bubbles up, hot and ready to drink. Resist the urge to lift the lid until bubbles stop to avoid spills. Serve on the tiny coffee cups that you only use to show off. Get your beans at medium to fine grind for a more intense taste.

Cold Brew

As a South Florida shop, we know many of our regulars will want to stick to cold brew with plenty of ice even during Thanksgiving (we are still waiting for weather to drop below 70 over here). Fear not: you can make delicious cold brew at home using this excellent pot. With this method, you can prepare coffee ahead of time, making it one less thing to think about before Thanksgiving. We find 18 hours seeping is the sweet spot to get a very fine cold brew. Of course you could also brew the coffee hot and cool it on ice, but our recommended pot will let you enjoy the flavor intensity you like consistently throughout every cup instead of only at the time the ice melted just right. Use a coarse grind.

AeroPress

Unless you have your own espresso gear at home, there’s no way you’ll get your favorite espresso drink the way your coffee shop makes it. Or is there? In our opinion, the AeroPress comes close. A cool invention from a California engineer, the AeroPress uses your arm to replace the pressure from the boiler inside espresso machines. You can then add hot or cold milk, water to get an americano, and so on. They even have a portable version to get an espresso at your host’s drip-only dungeon! Use a medium-fine grind for best results.

Any of these options will help you get some good quality coffee at home or away this Thanksgiving, with many thanks to your favorite shop for all the coffee. Happy Thanksgiving!