The Coffee Equipment of Those Baby Baristas’ Dreams
Whatever holiday you celebrate (heck, maybe your own darn birthday is your real favorite), you coffee professionals out there might consider just how rocked your world would have been had you received one of the gifts we list below when you were just a tyke. Yes, as the world gets more knowledgable and appreciative of specialty coffee, toy manufacturers are waking up to the potential profits of third-wave-adjacent toys. Here are some of our favorites.
Leave it to Pottery Barn Kids to make a bespoke espresso machine for your quality-minded kiddos. On sale now for just $27! #soblessedWhy are there so many toy Keurigs out there? Now, I will share that one of my besties—a mom to twin 5-year-olds and a 3-year-old, and a former awesome barista herself—uses a Keurig. She basically just clings to any device that can make her life just one iota less complicated than it already is, and hey—word, mama. We get it. This KidKraft Espresso Coffee Set (as it is so called) is $25.99 at Toys R Us.For the zillionth time: Damn you, Pinterest! You show us adorable images and then we can’t find them anywhere else on the world wide webs! This “Coffee Machine” looks suspiciously like a prototype of a Linea Mini. But where, oh where, can it be purchased? It does everything: Mocha, Latte, and Espresso!What’s this? A toy espresso machine made by an actual espresso machine manufacturer? As the Amazon UK site that sells it says, “it’s a must have for all little budding Chefs.”Straight up coffee for your little barista? How about this option for Delicious Coffee? At a suspiciously low $4.53, we gotta assume this does not come with those bodacious hair ties.
Sarah Allen (she/her) is co-founder and editor of Barista Magazine, the international trade magazine for coffee professionals. A passionate advocate for baristas, quality, and the coffee community, Sarah has traveled widely to research stories, interact with readers, and present on a variety of topics affecting specialty coffee. She also loves animals, swimming, ice cream, and living in Portland, Oregon.
