I started with a supermarket glass french press, and a 10€ spice grinder and it did the job it had to at the time. It made coffee which was way better than instant or whatever I used to drink back then, and it was cool making my own coffee.

I’d say French Press is the easiest intro because you just take the coffee weight you want, put it at the bottom of the French Press, and add water on top. Let it sit there for some time, you’ll hear various times, I usually stick around 8 minutes but I don’t look at the time anymore. Coffee ends up good anyway.

You can make do with a measuring cup/spoon to begin with if you don’t want to bother with a scale yet or due to budget constraints, but any scale is better than none. However, coffee scales are overpriced gadgets you don’t need at all. Go fancy if you want and it makes you happy, but don’t feel pushed to. I still use the same scale I did when I began my journey in 2019, which is a 10€ scale from the local store. You’ll want more specific gear if you ever venture into espresso, but you’re not there yet.

So to sum it up:

• French Press
• Kettle
• Coffee (preground) OR Coffee (beans) + cheap grinder.

I upgraded my supermarket french press when the glass eventually broke from the heat to a metal one which might outlive me for 50€.

Note : if you go French Press route, most likely you will end up with coffee sand at the bottom of your cup because you’ll either use preground coffee that is too fine, or you’ll start with a cheap spice grinder that grinds too fine. You may or may not want to skip that step and invest into a grinder capable of coarse coffee. Baratza is widely recommended for their bargain prices and very capable grinders. But that’s a step above, depends on your budget and how deep you’re willing to dive at first.