Coffee snobs of the world (we're looking at us, Portland) are united on one thing: the best cup of coffee is made via the single-cup, pour-over method, using Hario coffee tools. Strangely enough, the Hario Buono kettle, the Hario hand-crank coffee grinder, Hario coffee dripper cones, and Hario paper filters are made in Japan, a country steeped in hundreds of years to tea culture. Here's a thorough pictorial guide to the pour-over method, courtesy of Portland's Stumptown Coffee Roasters.

Filter cones, called drippers, from Hario are different from all others, with spiraling ribs on the inside and a single large hole at the bottom. With Hario drippers, you don't just dump a bunch of hot water onto ground coffee; it would all come quickly out the hole, resulting in a poor cup. Instead, you follow the deliberate, detailed pattern of pouring (get that Hario kettle!) that gives the optimum results. And a Hario dripper requires Hario paper filters, the only filters shaped to fit the Hario drippers. If you really care about coffee, it's all worth it.