The $10 Tool That Will Replace Your Coffee Maker

The chef Reem Assil, who owns the Oakland spots Reem’s and Dyafa, has vivid childhood memories of her mother making Arabic coffee in her Turkish warmer — stirring the coffee grounds into the water, bringing the mixture to a boil, and letting it simmer until the grounds fell to the bottom and foamy film formed on top. When she eventually moved to California, she searched for a Turkish warmer like the one her mom had; what she ended up finding was even better and more versatile: the Bed Bath & Beyond Stainless Steel Turkish Warmer.

For making coffee, Assil loves the warmer’s sturdy, rustproof stainless steel material (“the brass ones I have had growing up have definitely seen better days,” she says), the size (“it is made for five to six espresso-sized cups”), and its ability to bring the liquid to a slow boil without burning on the bottom (she thinks this has to do with pot’s unique shape).

But Assil doesn’t just use the warmer for coffee. She says that because of the pot’s thinness and compactness, it’s perfect for quickly melting chocolate or making finicky sweet sauces like crème anglaise and orange blossom syrup that won’t burn on you. She’ll also use it for steeping tea when she doesn’t need a whole kettle’s worth of water. “Anytime I need a small element of anything for a dish, I use it,” she says. (You can also find similar ones in sets of different sizes.)

Coffee percolators, saucepans, tea kettles — this one little pot has replaced all of those gadgets in Assil’s kitchen. “This is foolproof, durable, easy to clean,” she says. “It is all of the things!”