Secret Santa Coffee Gifts Under £20: Ten Picks by Person

The best Secret Santa coffee gifts under £20 are a bag of roastery-fresh beans (from £6.47), a trio of syrups in glass bottles (£8.95), a milk jug, a matcha starter or a French press. All of them get used, none of them are novelty, and every one on this list ships from our roastery the next working day.

Key takeaway: Buy something they will drink or use in the first week of January. Beans, syrups and small kit beat mugs and slogans every time. Ten picks below, sorted by the kind of person you drew.

Secret Santa budgets sit at £10 to £20, and coffee is the easiest category to get right: everyone in the office drinks something hot. The trick is matching the gift to the person, not the theme.

What do you buy the person who just likes coffee?

• Italian Gourmet, 250 g, £8.47. The safest bean we roast: 100% Arabica, medium roast, milk chocolate and caramel. Works in a cafetière, a filter machine, a moka pot or an espresso machine.
• Original Rich & Smooth, 250 g, £6.47. Dark cacao and cinder toffee. For the person who says "just strong, please".
• 1 Coffee + 2 Syrup bundle, £16.47. A bag of beans and two syrups. A latte, made at home, in one parcel.

Not sure which bean? Which Coffee King bean is right for you sorts it in two minutes.

What do you buy the syrup and latte person?

• Sweetbird at Home Collection, £8.95. Caramel, vanilla and hazelnut in three 250 ml glass bottles. This is the one to buy if you know nothing about them except that they order a flavoured latte.
• Sweetbird Gingerbread, 1 L, £6. The Christmas latte, for the whole season. Add the pump (£3.95); nobody thinks of it and everybody needs it.
• Sweetbird Ube, 1 L, £7.19. The purple one. For the colleague whose coffee order changes with what is trending.

Festive recipes for any of these: Christmas coffee drinks at home.

What do you buy the matcha person?

• Zuma Matcha, 100 g, £7.55, plus a bamboo whisk, £8.45. A matcha latte starter for £16. Whisks wear out, so even a matcha regular is glad of a new one.
• Zuma Hojicha, 100 g, £12.49. Roasted green tea: toasty, low in caffeine, and the drink the matcha person has not tried yet. More in our matcha gift guide.

What do you buy the person who does not drink coffee?

• Zuma Turmeric Chai, 100 g, £9.29. Caffeine-free, warming, and the one chai we sell in a gift-sized bag.
• Four boxes of Birchall tea, about £16. Jasmine Tea Pearls, Redbush, Red Berry & Flower and Peppermint. Award-winning, plant-based tea bags, and a selection reads as a present where one box does not.

What do you buy the person who wants better kit?

• Bodum Java French press, 1 L, £15. The simplest step up from instant, and enough for two.
• Yagua bench scales, £19.95. For the colleague with the espresso machine. Read what to buy someone who has an espresso machine before you spend more.
• Motta Tulip milk jug, from £10.45. The jug that makes latte art possible. Fits any machine.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good coffee gift under £10?

A 250 g bag of Original Rich & Smooth (£6.47) or Italian Gourmet (£8.47), or the Sweetbird at Home syrup trio (£8.95).

Whole bean or ground for Secret Santa?

If you do not know whether they own a grinder, choose the syrup trio or a French press instead. If they have an espresso machine or a grinder, whole bean.

Will it arrive before the office party?

Orders placed Monday to Friday ship the next working day. Standard delivery is two to three working days; next-day is available at checkout. Check our last order dates for Christmas on the Christmas Shoppe page.

Can I send it as a gift?

Yes: enter their address at checkout and add a gift note. If you have missed the post, the digital gift card starts at £10 and arrives by email.