I was in a rush this morning, so I pulled out my old coffee maker (an Aeropress) instead of waiting for my shiny new CC1 to warm up (it's great, btw). I bought the Aeropress three years ago, back when I thought oily beans meant higher quality. It's had pretty much daily use since then (along with a Spong #1 grinder that's been in my family forever), and I've learned a lot about the different flavours of coffee, and I would definitely say it sucked me in to this world. However, I haven't used it in the past 2 weeks since the CC1 + Vario arrived.

I was rather impressed by my return to Aeropress coffee. For 5% of the price, it provides at least 80% of the quality of flavour, and it's super quick to use and clean up. Boiling water takes the longest time (especially since I don't have a kettle), but after that it was less than 3 minutes to grind, press, and rinse.

If you're still considering something for your girlfriend, maybe think about an Aeropress plus grinder. My boyfriend had a Capresso Infinity that does a good job if you don't need to grind too fine, and it's about $100. For $130 all together, it's a pretty good setup and won't make her feel like she needs to use it every day to justify the expense.

Baratza grinder + Espro Press. If fed quality coffee it will make a beverage better than any traditional French Press, and it is easy to use. It's a five-star device in my opinion that makes the French press obsolete.