The best travel gifts for foodies in 2019

Whether you love to explore by eating your way through a new city, use your tastebuds to travel during stints at home, or a little of both, there's no doubt that cuisine and adventure make for excellent companions. These gifts were selected with the food-focused traveler in mind – you know, the one who schedules their days around meals, coffee breaks, brewery runs, and wine-bar pit stops, and doesn’t let anyone touch their plates until the table has been staged and the pics have been taken – and they all ring in at $75 or less. Bon appétit!
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Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast Stout kit on a bar with an espresso machine in the background — The Beer Geek Breakfast kit lets hop heads recreate an award-winning brew in the comfort of their own kitchens – no transatlantic flight required © Image courtesy of Brooklyn Brew Shop

1. Brooklyn Brew Shop's beer-making kit

Mikkeller’s Beer Geek Breakfast stout put the Danish microbrewery on the map back in 2006, and it’s won heaps of awards in the decade-plus since. The original bar is still well worth a visit, but if a trip to Copenhagen isn’t in the cards, Brooklyn Brew Shop’s beer-making kit makes it a cinch to recreate the magic at home. From the all-grain ingredient mix to the gallon-size fermenter, it's packed with everything the hops-head in your life needs to make the coffee-heavy stout from scratch.

Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast Stout beer-making kit, $48; brooklynbrewshop.com.

Canvas tote with names of Jewish foods in blue, filled with produce and sitting on a bench — The Jewish Food Society tote hits the culinary highlights © Penny De Los Santos via Jewish Food Society

2. Jewish Food Society signature tote

Though an extra bag always comes in handy for market hauls or shopping binges, one that makes a statement is even better – and the Jewish Food Society’s tote makes your affiliations clear, whether you’re a regular at an local appetizing shop or struggling to find a decent bagel in a town bereft of options. Thanks to a nostalgia-inducing blue font this bag hits the cuisine’s highlights, from schmaltz and shakshuka to challah and herring. L'chaim!

Jewish Food Society signature tote, $25; jewishfoodsociety.org.

A table with four map-printed coasters in a grid, one holding an ice-filled beverage — Memorialize a destination of personal significance with these custom map coasters © Image courtesy of the Grommet

3. ScreenCraft Gifts custom map coasters

A few notable exceptions aside, the days of traveling off the grid with nothing but a tattered atlas as a guide are quickly becoming the stuff of memory. But the Grommet’s custom marble coasters offer a pleasantly analog antidote to Google Maps, commemorating the US location of your choice – and the nine square miles surrounding it – all while keeping the coffee table ring-free.

Custom map coasters, $75; thegrommet.com.

An open box of Lord Jones limited-edition sugarplum-flavored CBD gummies — With 20mg of CBD apiece, these gumdrops will get you in the holiday spirit © Image courtesy of Lord Jones

4. Lord Jones Limited Edition Holiday CBD gumdrops

Between the massive crowds on public transit and the never-ending lines at airport security, holiday travel can be stressful, to say the least. These limited-edition CBD gumdrops from Lord Jones are designed to ward off your anxieties and keep you even-keeled, with festive flavors – a stone-fruit-forward sugarplum fairy and a spicy-sweet mango chili – to get you in a celebratory mood.

Lord Jones Limited Edition Holiday CBD gumdrops, $50 (available through December 31, or as long as supplies last); lordjones.com.

A woman wearing an IceMule Jaunt pink cooler and holding a baby — The Jaunt backpack cooler will keep your drinks on ice for more than 24 hours © Image courtesy of IceMule Coolers

5. IceMule Jaunt backpack cooler

What’s an outdoor excursion without the refreshments? IceMule’s Jaunt is an insulated backpack cooler that will keep your drinks on ice for more than 24 hours, with a nine-liter capacity that can accommodate a six-pack of soda or three bottles of wine. Its tough exterior is waterproof, with welded seams to prevent leakage and a roll-top closure so you won’t have to futz with zippers, and the padded straps make carrying a full load as painless as it gets.

IceMule Jaunt backpack cooler, $80; amazon.com.

Snow Peak cutting board set on a picnic table with a snack spread — This cutting board folds up and serves as a carrying case for a full-size knife © Image courtesy of Snow Peak

6. Snow Peak cutting board set

Whether you’re heading for a picnic in the park or a stay in an understocked Airbnb, carting around your knives unprotected is a terrible idea. To avoid accidental injuries, Snow Peak’s packable birchwood cutting board folds up to serve as a carrying case, with the medium version housing a proper carbon-steel chef’s knife and the large holding a full-size santoku-style blade. Toss it in your bag and proceed without fear.

Cutting board sets, from $40; snowpeak.com.

Aeropress Go travel coffee press, individual elements and a graphic showing how they fit together — Skip the hotel-room coffee and make your own high-quality cuppa. Image © courtesy of AeroPress, Inc.

7. AeroPress Go travel coffee press

True aficionados know that relying on hotel-room java only ends in disappointment. For an early-morning cup that beats the stuff from those single-serving pods, the new AeroPress Go produces cold-brew or hot in a hurry: up to three shots of espresso at a time, with room to add water for an Americano or milk for a latte. It’s a versatile system, equally useful for camping trips, weekends at the cabin, and overnights with anyone whose coffee preferences don’t match your own – and compact, too. From the filters to the scoop, all of its components fit inside the lidded mug for smooth transport.

AeroPress Go travel coffee press, $32 (available in mid-November); aeropress.com.

Zojirushi's SM-SHE48BZ thermos in black on a black background — A light, well-insulated thermos will help keep you going all day © Image courtesy of Zojirushi America

8. Zojirushi stainless steel mug

Taking that coffee to go? Zojirushi’s 16-oz stainless-steel vacuum-insulated mug will keep it hot for hours, and the safety lock on the lid will keep it from spilling all over your bag (or your hands). With a stopper that comes apart for easy cleaning, a polished corrosion-and-stain-resistant interior, and a lightweight design that feels good in the hand, it also doubles as a water bottle, so it’s the only drinking vessel you’ll need to carry for the day.

Zojirushi 16-oz stainless steel mug, $32; amazon.com.

Smoko dumpling-shaped AirPod case with a smiling face — A dumpling earbud case is equal parts kawaii and convenient © Image courtesy of Smoko

9. Smoko Little B dumpling AirPod case

For the dumpling fiend in your life, Smoko’s silicone earbud case is equal parts kawaii and convenient. Granted, it won’t provide a boost unless you have a charging cable plugged in, but offers enough extra padding that your first- or second-generation AirPods will be guarded against drops, bumps, and rough handling. Plus, it attaches to your keychain, eliminating desperate bag searches from the equation ... and did we mention it's extremely cute?

Little B dumpling AirPod case, $15; smokonow.com.