I've always had good experiences with my Toddy cold brew system; I also grind my own beans, which helps a lot.

I'm curious what you got your masters in that supported your work in customer success. I found my way to CS about 5 years ago after some time in software implementation/project management, operations, and sales/biz dev; I'm now a CS director but never did get an advanced degree in the field.

If he's at all into iced coffee, a cold brew kit would be a great gift. It makes a coffee concentrate that you can dilute with water, milk, or creamer and serve over ice. Or add boiling water for hot coffee. My household goes through a carafe of cold brew per week, and we get less acidic, great tasting coffee from pretty low quality coffee beans.

If fancy hot coffee is more his style, a french press is great option. You could make up a cute coffee basket with a nice mug, insulated thermos, coffee grinder, or whole bean coffee.