I think it really depends on how into coffee they are.

If they’re just drinking it for the caffeine and/or are putting milk/creamer in it anyway, probably anything will be fine. Just get the cheapest reliable machine you can find. Not something that’s gonna break down in a year, but you don’t need anything fancy if that’s all it’s used for.

If they appreciate nice coffee but aren’t coffee nerds, I agree with anything SCA approved. If you don’t want to hassle with that, anything that doesn’t have a hot plate should be fine. Ideally something that brews into an insulated carafe so it’ll stay hot but not continue cooking. That’s how you get the burnt coffee taste.

If they’re coffee nerds, a large Chemex will probably be your best bet. It’ll be more work but still not hard to brew with, and will give them the best flavours out of these options. But it does take more effort.

Ultimately though, the most important thing isn’t the brewer but the ingredients. Make sure you have coffee beans they’ll like, and your water isn’t too hard or chlorinated. Those two will be the biggest changes in quality, not the brewer (as long as the brewer doesn’t have a hot plate. A hot plate will absolutely affect the quality of the coffee).