Knowing what scales would be the most effective use of the time, space, and money that you’re spending on them would certainly make life easier for a range of different coffee lovers the world over. By this, we mean that if we could wave a magic wand and figure out the answer to this question, we’re sure we would do it.
Sadly, this isn’t the case.
As such, people have long held a little bit of confusion and frustration about the best sets of scales that might be on offer for them, and how to bring them into their homes in a way that will genuinely boost their brewing ability.
In this article, we’re going to talk about how scales work, as well as what you might need in your home.
How scales work
Old-school scales worked off a system of weights and balances, which is where the term ‘weights and balances’ comes from. However, this system has long been a little abandoned in the digital age, in favor of something rather a lot more precise.
Modern sets of scales work off a simple principle – as a straight piece of metal bends, more or less electricity can flow through it.
When you place something heavy onto a set of scales, a small piece of metal within the mechanism bends a little. This bending causes more electricity to flow through the set of scales than there was before something was added to them. The circuits within the scales translate this change in voltage into a number that you can read to gauge the weight of something.
This is a simple basic mechanism, though many people add bells and whistles to it – timers, pressure distribution systems, and detachable displays, to name but a few differences. There are even exceptionally complex scales out there with linked apps that record the specifics of each brew you make. These are, of course, rather a long way from the balancing system of old.
Considering your use case
Your use case is the number one thing that should really determine the scales that you buy. By this, we mean that the tools you need for an immersion brew, for example, are totally different from the tools that you need for espresso brewing.
For an immersion brew, such as a French press, you really only need a basic set of scales, and perhaps a stopwatch. These two features, even in tandem, can come fairly cheap – remembering that they’re all you need will save you money!
A scale designed for use alongside an espresso machine will likely have more precision, measuring weight down to a tenth of a gram. It may also have a series of timers that follow on from one another – a timer for pre-infusion, followed by a timer for brewing, followed by a timer for shot freshness.
These features will all cost extra, so consider which feature you really consider vital in your home to get great coffee.
Considering your budget
Depending upon the budget that you’re working with, it’s likely to either be the first or second thing that you consider.
If it’s the first thing that you consider, then you might be working with a slightly smaller budget. There’s certainly no shame in that – you could weigh things by feeling if you really need to and still make great coffee.
If you’re looking for a beginner-level digital scale designed for brewing coffee, then you can expect to pay somewhere in the region of $20-30. We’ll be speaking more specifically about an option that we’d recommend to beginners a little later on, but bear in mind that if you’re paying more than that for a simple digital scale, you might be paying too much.
If budget is less of a concern for you, then it can be very easy to be lulled into spending far too much money on a kitchen scale. The reason for this is that scales contain electronics that people don’t understand, allowing salespeople to easily leverage higher prices for straightforward equipment.
If you’re looking to spend a little more on a scale for your coffee, it’s easy to spend over a hundred dollars on a scale. If we’re being a little more reasonable, though, we would say that you could expect to pay around $60-70.
Some great options
Hario Scale
This straightforward scale is something that the vast majority of people consider to be the basic coffee scale. That’s not to say that it comes cheap, as it doesn’t – it typically retails for around $45. However, it does have a lot of functionality and a long history of working well for coffee lovers.
Something that we really like about this scale is that the small features have all been designed, seemingly, to help out the brewer. For example, there is better water resistance in this scale when compared to others on the market, plus there is an auto-off feature to prevent you from needlessly wasting battery. This means, quite simply, that the scale is a great example of what it does.
As a final note, we want to talk about precision – this scale measures to a tenth of a gram when you’re measuring at very small weights, but that functionality is removed from the screen at higher weights. This seems like a small touch, but it increases usability by ensuring that the screen is never too full of random items and digits that might be complex to understand.
Coffee Gator Coffee Scale
This scale from coffee gator is cheaper than the Hario version, clocking in at just over twenty-five dollars. This is a great price for a scale with great functionality, including a timer, precise measurements, and the ability to change units through a wide range of different measurement systems easily.
We really love the non-slip rubber mat that forms the weighing plate – it will serve to easily prevent damage to the scales in the long run, which is precisely what you need!
Conclusion
We hope that this short article has given you a little guidance on picking a great set of scales for your coffee bar – it can be a complex decision, but you’ll thank yourself for making it.