Gear

The short list of things I actually use. Owning more than this did not make my coffee better.

Grinder

A hand grinder with a conical burr. Not a specific recommendation — almost any burr grinder beats almost any blade grinder, because burrs give an even particle size and blades give gravel plus dust. If you change one thing, change this.

Scale

A small kitchen scale that reads to 0.1 g and has a timer. Nothing fancy. It is the cheapest item here and did the most for consistency, for the reasons in the ratios entry.

Kettle

A gooseneck for the V60, because it lets you place the water instead of dumping it. For the AeroPress any kettle is fine. Temperature control is nice but a thermometer or just “a minute off the boil” gets close enough.

Brewers

A plastic V60 (it holds heat better than glass and doesn’t crack) and an AeroPress. Between them they cover every cup I make.