Making coffee at home can turn into a real obsession, and I know it has been for me. Discovering recipes developed by champion baristas or other coffee nerds and trying them out is my favorite Sunday hobby. While some people love to prepare it with rough estimates of water and coffee grounds, I’m one of those who prefers to double-check. So I always have the perfect coffee scale when the craving for caffeine hits. Whether you’re brewing espresso or filtered coffee, weighing the coffee beans and water during the brewing process has become a habit that has greatly enhanced my cup of coffee. If you take your coffee preparation seriously, you’re expected to ditch the measuring spoon and find the best scale for your ideal cup of coffee.
Why I recommend using a scale for coffee brewing
When I walk into a café and see the barista measuring every dose of espresso on a coffee scale before serving a cup, I know I’m in safe hands. After placing an espresso order, it’s important to ensure that the results are consistent and that every customer receives high-quality coffee with a precise weight and consistent outcome. Similar precision is needed to brew the same delicious coffee at home daily. Whether you love experimenting with different ratios in your brew or want to recreate a recipe that works for your choice of roasted beans, a coffee scale will help you stay on track and measure the exact amount of coffee and water needed to achieve that.
What if you’re trying a new coffee and not getting the flavor you want?
In that case, you can simply try adjusting different parameters and track the changes using a timer and a coffee scale. Although you could try to wing it, you won’t truly know what change occurred or how to replicate it. What is the right type of coffee scale for you?
Budget scale options
A simple digital scale that includes an inverse function, such as the Amazon Euno scale with a deviation of 1 gram or 0.1 ounces, is your most economical choice. When using it as a coffee scale, make sure its size fits with your brewing device and use your smartphone as a timer. Although this type of scale isn’t precise enough for brewing espresso, some coffee enthusiasts find that it works well for filtered coffee. In this price range, the response times of the scales are relatively slow and not water-resistant, which can pose problems if the scale gets flooded with hot water during brewing.
When timing is everything
Digital coffee scales with timers, like the commercial coffee scale from Brews, are more popular among coffee enthusiasts due to their ability to measure from 0.5 or 1 gram in 0.1-gram increments. Despite the improved precision, espresso preparers may still find the scale’s response time too slow for using this type of scale to brew espresso. However, having a built-in timer is a helpful feature for filtered coffee lovers to experiment with different extraction times.
For eco-conscious espresso lovers
Another excellent option is the functional and portable coffee scale with a timer that can charge quickly via USB-C, such as the Timemore Black Mirror Digital Coffee Scale. Unlike previous models, you can forget about replacing AAA batteries and enjoy a more eco-friendly choice. This coffee scale measures in 0.1-gram increments for top accuracy and includes a built-in timer for complete control over your coffee brewing process. It’s slim enough to fit on the drip tray of most espresso machines and sensitive enough to produce a precise espresso.
The scale
The Smart
Last but not least, the smart coffee scale like the Acaia Pearl, Pearl S, Lunar, or lightweight Pyxis models with a sensitivity of 0.01 grams are popular choices for professional use due to their extreme accuracy and minimal delay time for both brewed and espresso preparation. Acaia models feature water resistance, a great design, and connect to your smartphone via Bluetooth or an app to calculate brewing ratios, monitor your brewing processes, and save recipes. Different smart scales come with various features, but they share the high cost and the fact that users often encounter issues when trying to connect the scale to their smartphone or just trying to use the app for its primary purpose.
My Picks for Best Precision Scale in 2021
The Brewista Ratio Pour Over Coffee Scale is the scale I use both at home and outdoors for coffee preparation. This scale is an ideal choice, as I always experiment with coffee and water ratios. It has an option to set the desired brewing ratio and measures in increments of 0.01 grams once the sensor detects the minimum one-gram weight. The display responds quickly, and it is a lightweight and portable scale.
A point to consider: the built-in timer only starts once you place your brewing device on the scale and zero it out, weighing your ground coffee. Then calculate the required amount of water for you. Depending on whether you choose “A” for automatic timer or “M” for manual timer, the timer starts when the scale detects that the water touches the coffee bed or when you press the timer button. Once you go through this process several times, it will become intuitive, but if you are in a hurry, using your smartphone as a timer will make things faster. It may be a limiting factor, however, that this coffee scale only has the option to choose between a brewing ratio of 1:14 and 1:20.
Overall, I love using the Brewista Ratio Pour Over coffee scale. It helps me maintain consistency in coffee preparation and I take it with me everywhere, even when I go on trips. The fact that it can be charged via USB makes it extremely convenient. There is an icon on the display indicating the remaining battery.
Best for Filtering
It has a ratio function to calculate the amount of water needed for measuring your coffee
Manual timer and zero adjustment
Measures in increments of 0.1 grams from 1 to 2000 grams
USB charging
Hario V60 Drip Scale
The Hario V60 Drip Scale is a reliable device you can count on to deliver perfectly brewed drip coffee with precision, from the weighing function to the timer. You can measure the weight and brewing time at the same time, with both indicators displayed on the screen. It is important to clarify that the timer does not start automatically; you simply press the start/stop button to run it.
The screen’s accuracy ranges from 2-200 grams, decreasing in 0.1 gram increments from the reading. From 200 to 500 grams, the scale measures in 0.5 gram increments, and from 500 to 2000 grams, it measures in 1 gram increments. While the progressive adjustment works well for filtering, it makes it quite challenging to focus on the specified espresso quantity. If you add espresso trays with ground coffee for the scale, it is likely to exceed the scale’s maximum of 200 grams from the top, thus you won’t be able to measure it in 0.1 gram increments. The Hario Drip scale’s design is not made to fit espresso machine drip trays, and its response speed is not a feature. But again, it isn’t supposed to be. If you’re strictly sticking to manual brewing, the Hario V60 Drip Scale is a very good option.
Scale
Timemore Black Mirror Coffee Scale
The Timemore Black Mirror coffee scale is a beautiful device with simple and effective functions. The built-in timer and sync filtering feature, along with its instantaneous response capability, are the essence of its features, making the preparation of filter coffee and espresso easier. We are looking for model 202 with the timer and automatic filtering function when purchasing!
Although the scale is larger than, for example, the Lunar model from Acaia, it can be used on most espresso machines and is more affordable. The quick response speed, beautiful design, and precise measurement in increments of 0.1 grams make the Timemore Black Mirror a strong choice for both espresso and filtering.
Acaia Pearl
Sleek, smart, and refined – the Acaia Pearl and Acaia Pearl S are excellent entry models for exploring the world of Acaia scales. While the Lunar models and Pyxis are particularly interesting in professional environments, the Pearl’s feature is the most popular in the home brewing community. Although it is the most accessible coffee scale in the Acaia line, I must warn you that the price is significantly higher than the average home scale. But with Acaia, you get what you pay for: an extremely precise scale that boasts automatic ratio capability and many other useful features. Want automatic tare? No problem. Automatic timer? Absolutely can do. And there are many other things it can do. Pair the scale with your smartphone via Bluetooth and let the Acaia app calculate your coffee recipe and monitor your flow rate in real time. The Pearl and Pearl S have the same dimensions, but the latter has a higher maximum capacity of 3 kg, instead of 2 kg.
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