(Part 3) Top products from r/cafe

You'll definitely want to upgrade to a quality burr grinder. I've never made espresso with a blade grinder but I imagine it would be pretty difficult. To use a non-pressurized portafilter you'll really need a decent grinder like one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Baratza-Preciso-Coffee-Grinder-685/dp/B003JFCRN6

Grind is one of the most important things for espresso. Good grinders range from $100 all the way up to $2k and more. A Baratza Encore is about $120 and a great starter grinder and would work great with a pressurized portafilter. That is actually what I use at home.

Tough to make a recommendation without knowing your budget, and what you currently own, use, and like or dislike.

I have over a dozen coffee making devices, multiple pour overs, Aeropress, Chemex, Siphon, and a few electric machines. They all have their own plusses and minuses, and I use them all (today was a generic ceramic cone with a Melita 4 filter), but the 2 things that get used every time I make coffee are a grinder and scale.

Upgrading to a good burr grinder is almost universally acknowledged to be amongst the most useful things you can do to improve your coffee, and actually weighing your beans and water are probably a close second. My Baratza Encore does a great job, and I'm also very happy with my American Weigh Scales LB-3000.

How set are they in their device and method, and are they interested in reading/learning about brewing?

Rather than the beans or any particular device, I've been finding this book to be really valuable as a casual/at-home brewer. It's fairly method-neutral, does a good job of explaining how to tune your cup for strength/extraction using evidence, and has a nice mix of "prose" and "information-focused" sections. Plus, the printing quality and material texture of the physical edition is just really nice.

I would say that more important than the bean is the filter.

Vietnamese coffee is highly concentrated and delicious because it uses this filter

Thanks! Just found it if manthing772 is still interested:
http://www.amazon.com/Hario-Canister-Ceramic-Coffee-Mill/dp/B003EEGDSM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1397444070&sr=8-3&keywords=Canister+Grinder

You can always fold a piece of paper into an impromptu funnel. Instead of a stir stick, I travel with a LMF Spork. It fits the inside of the AeroPress well and is useful to eat with when your delivery food forgot a fork or spoon.

I've always bought these natural untabbed ones:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0029PVRXS?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_pd_title

If you like those these are very similar: Honey Stinger

Pitcher,
Tamper

I use one of these.

There is also a model that has a a two-in-one moka+steamer.