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Coffee Scale
What coffee scales are used for, why use one, and some recommended options.
Published December 22, 2021
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Johan Hedlund
Coffee experts@The Coffee Lab
Whether you need to get the exact amount of coffee grounds needed for brewing your favorite espresso, want to figure out the best bean-to-water ratio for your coffee, or need to get your espresso dose perfect, a decent coffee scale can be just what you need to add more precision and accuracy to your coffee brewing routine.
Do You Need a Scale for Pour Over Coffee?
You may be wondering why you might need a digital coffee scale for your coffee making routine. Do you need the best pour over coffee scale? While it is not essential, using the best coffee scale for pour over or another of the best coffee scale options will help you get the weight of the coffee that you use just right, ultimately having a positive impact on your coffee. Some of the top reasons to invest in the best digital kitchen scale for coffee – or even the best budget coffee scale - include:
Precision and Accuracy: While you might think that you know how much coffee to add, either by using teaspoons or eyeballing the grinds until it looks right, you’re never going to be able to get the exact amount using these methods unless you weigh it. And when it comes to making good coffee, you might be surprised as to how much difference just half a gram could make.
Consistency: While you could get lucky at times and get the approximate amount of coffee that you need, a good digital coffee scale or pour over scale will help you out on those mornings where you struggle to get it right with just your senses. If you want to enjoy coffee that is consistently good every morning, a scale such as the best coffee drip scale or espresso scale with timer, depending on your brewing method, will help you achieve this.
Reduce Waste: If you’re not sure of the exact weight that you are grinding, then you might end up grinding more coffee than you actually need. Instead, using a scale can help you grind just the right amount of beans by weighing them beforehand.
Learn and Experiment: When you can rely on your scale to make sure that you have the correct amount of coffee every single time, this makes it easier for you to experiment and play around with the other factors that go into making coffee such as ratios and brewing times. Using a scale gives you more control over your coffee brewing process, making it easier to experiment and figure out how to make a cup of coffee that you will love.
What to Consider When Buying a Coffee Scale
There are a few factors to consider when you are buying a coffee scale. You should consider what type of coffee you need it for – different scales work best for pour over or espresso, for example. Maybe you want a scale that is designed to measure just the coffee beans, or a scale that lets you know how long you should brew the grounds for based on the weight. Perhaps precision is the most important factor for you, or maybe you would benefit from having a timer included with the scale. Before you get started with looking for and buying your ideal coffee scale, it’s a good idea to write down all the things that your perfect scale would have.
Using a Scale to Make Pour Over Coffee
There are three things to measure with precision if you are making pour over coffee. You’ll need to measure the amount of coffee, the amount of water, and the brewing time. For a generous drink, you will need to use 20g of coffee, 340g of hot water, and brew it for three minutes.
Using a Scale to Make Espresso Coffee
A coffee scale can be one of the best accessories that you invest in when it comes to making espresso at home. This is because even the smallest changes to the amount of coffee grinds that you use for brewing espresso can make a massive difference to the taste. The amount of coffee that you will need when brewing espresso will depend on how intense you want the flavor to be. 18g of ground coffee is typically the best amount to use for a regular espresso shot, with 35g of hot water for a 1:2 ratio.
Best Coffee Scales to Consider
Now that you know more about why using a coffee scale is an ideal choice for improving your coffee brewing routine and how to use one for brewing different types of coffee, let’s take a look at some of the best coffee scales available on the market today.
Apexstone USB Coffee Scale
This simple scale is powered by either three AAA batteries or USB charging. It has a clear LCD display that is easy to read. Features include a tare function, a simple button for unit conversion, and a 100-minute timer. It will measure up to 6.6lbs and has a precision of 0.3g. It is ideal for measuring whole beans, making pour-over coffee, or recording your brewing time for a range of other coffee brewing methods.
WEIGHTMAN Coffee Scale
This is one of the most precise coffee scales that you can get your hands on with a graduation of 0.01g. While it has a maximum capacity of just 300g, this is ideal if you are in need of a scale to only measure beans and coffee grounds. It also has a built-in timer that you can easily use to measure the brewing time. It is small enough to fit in your pocket, very portable, and comes with a practical, silicone bowl included.
Outry Coffee Scale
This scale has highly-sensitive sensors and changes the weight almost instantly while you are still pouring your beans or grounds onto the scale. It is one of the best matches for the pour-over coffee brewing routine and comes with a built-in timer that you can use to time up to one hundred minutes. Other features include auto shut off, a precise tare function, overload indicator, and low battery prompt. It is precise to 0.1g for the first 200g of weight added, and to 0.5g for the next 200-500g.
KitchenTour Coffee Scale
If your coffee routine needs improving with a precise, electronic scales, then this one could be the perfect fit for you. With 6.6lb capacity, 0.3g precision, and an accurate tare function, this scale makes weighing your coffee as convenient as ever and will quickly become a crucial part of your coffee making process. It comes with a built-in timer and has a silicone pad to keep the carafe in place and reduce mess. It is a hugely durable scale, thanks to the ABS frame and platform that are designed to last a very long time.
DmofwHi Coffee Scale
This is an ideal choice of coffee scale with a compact design and a convenient hook that you can use to easily hang it below your counter when not in use to save space. It has a 6.6lb capacity, 0.1g increments, a built-in timer, auto-shutoff, and a precise tare function. The LCD screen measures 14mm and is blue-lit. It comes with a nonslip silicone mat that is perfect for cups or carafes.
JIYERLTD Coffee Scale
This scale is a very accurate option that will successfully assist in your coffee making routine. It can weigh up to 6.6g with increments of just 0.1g and has a built-in timer of twenty minutes. Features include a tare function, auto shutoff, five measurement units, and an overload prompt.
ERAVSOW Coffee Scale
This durable coffee scale comes with a stainless steel body and 1g precision. It will quickly become your go-to accessory for brewing coffee using various methods for a long time. It has a removable silicone pad that is designed to prevent spillage by keeping your coffee pot from slipping. It has a digital, easy-to-read display and has easy measurement conversion, making it very user-friendly. Features include a built-in timer, tare function, and auto-shutoff.
Ozeri ZK14-S Pronto Digital
With a large 11.24lbs capacity and increments of 0.05oz, this is a great value scale that can be used efficiently for either measuring coffee grounds or other larger cooking projects. It also comes with a handy tare function that you can use to subtract the weight of any containers that you use. It comes with easy conversion functions, five measurement units, and is very user-friendly to operate.
Hario V60 Drip Coffee Scale
If you choose pour-over coffee as your brew in the morning, this drip scale from Hario. It comes with a drip timer that you can use to precisely and accurately time your brew for the perfect coffee every time. It comes with increments of 0.1g, a five-minute auto-shutoff feature and the display is easy to read, while the sleek, black design looks great in any kitchen. However, there is no unit conversion feature.
When making coffee in the morning, using a coffee scale Amazon to measure the exact amount of grounds that you need can make all the difference whether you’re making pour over coffee, espresso, or another brewing method.
About the author
Johan Hedlund
I´m living in Karlstad, Sweden with my family. Been working the last 25 years with several start ups in the tech industry. Coffee has been an integral part, both professionally and privately. Eager to learn new things and happy to be a member of the era of we community.
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