Help! Too many scales with lousy reviews

[Dogstar]

Hi everyone
just started to take my coffee making to the next level.
know trying to determine what scale to buy. All the recommended
ones have a multitude of negative reviews. After spending a week
reading reviews. My head is spinning. Help me, please!
Thanks

 

[MntnMan62]

I found the same thing. You can get carried away with making sure you buy the perfect scale. But the reality is many of them are unreliable. I suggest you look for the scales with the best ratings on Amazon, compare prices and features and then buy the one with the highest ratings that you can afford and has the features you need. in the end, you just want to start weighing your beans and water and shots. You'll then want to tweak the weight to your taste buds. As long as the scale is consistent, it's accuracy is less important. You just want to establish some consistency. Any scale will do that. But if you notice that when you weigh the same thing over and over and keep coming up with a different weight for it, that's not good. I bought a Etekcity scale for about $17 at back in 2018. It's pretty handy, seems to be consistent. I have no idea how accurate it is. Decent features. Now I see it's available for only $14. Lots of reviews and only 4% of them negative which I find to be pretty good for these things. Good luck in your search.

 

[Dogstar]

Thanks for the advice. I did as you suggested and bought one I am sure will
satisfy my low level skill set

 

[Kudzu]

Thanks for the advice. I did as you suggested and bought one I am sure will
satisfy my low level skill set

If you don't mind saying, after your research, which scale did you choose?

 

[shadow745]

Yeah there are lots of scales available and I find it hilarious when some spend an outrageous amount on the Acaia brand. I've had a handful of different scales over the years, but by far the absolute best is the My Weigh Barista. Thing is crazy fast, accurate, consistent, water resistant, is rechargeable and has a negative type display. Typical price in the past has been $40, but I scored mine for $28 +shipping a bit over 1 year ago and it's been phenomenal.

https://myweigh.com/product/barista-scale/

Regarding Amazon... I'd say take their reviews and lame Amazon Choice/Best Seller B.S. with a grain of salt/coffee as most often their reviews are boosted by free/discounted products, etc.

 

[709espresso]

I got a really cheap one from Amazon - https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B013L9DJRC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. I chose it because its small enough to fit under my portafilter and fit in the "cup holder" on my Baratza grinder. It's not perfect... occasionally it creeps. But for the most part, it does its job well, and it definitely makes a big difference in dialling in espresso. Once I'm dialled in, I prefer to grind by time anyway.

 

[PinkRose]

Yeah there are lots of scales available and I find it hilarious when some spend an outrageous amount on the Acaia brand. I've had a handful of different scales over the years, but by far the absolute best is the My Weigh Barista. Thing is crazy fast, accurate, consistent, water resistant, is rechargeable and has a negative type display. Typical price in the past has been $40, but I scored mine for $28 +shipping a bit over 1 year ago and it's been phenomenal.

https://myweigh.com/product/barista-scale/

Regarding Amazon... I'd say take their reviews and lame Amazon Choice/Best Seller B.S. with a grain of salt/coffee as most often their reviews are boosted by free/discounted products, etc.

The description for your My Weigh Barista scale says that it needs to be recalibrated from time to time. How do you do that?

Just curious

 

[shadow745]

The description for your My Weigh Barista scale says that it needs to be recalibrated from time to time. How do you do that?

Just curious

I actually don't as based on catch bins, etc. that I use with it it's always dead on within .1 gram, which works for me. Of course weights can be bought as I think it's designed to use a specific amount of weight, but I simply don't see a need to. Now if it was used in a very busy environment getting bumped around, all sorts of weighted objects getting tossed on it, getting wet, etc. then I imagine it would be good to calibrate it periodically as would any scale. For the price point I'm sure not many come close. One guy on another forum said he bought one for his wife for baking as he didn't want her using his Acaia Lunar, but said the My Weigh Barista was on par with the Acaia, just a bit too large to fit on his drip tray. I don't bother weighing extractions like some 'enthusiasts' do, but more power to them. I let my eyes/taste determine flavor/texture. Number chasing is least important for some variables.

 

[Musicphan]

I use the Brewista for espresso, works fast and has nice features. It's more expensive than it should be IMO... I dislike my Hario for espresso - it works great for pour overs.

 

[Musicphan]

Are you using this just to measure your coffee before brewing? Using it for manual brewing / I.E. Pourover? Using for measuring gram output of espresso? What is your brewing method?

 

[Ultrarunner2020]

I too am looking for a decent scale for coffee.
My method of brewing is French Press.
I will need a timer on the scale; I currently use an app on my Android phone, but it gets clumsy handling the phone while pouring, etc.
I don't want to spend more than about $50, but have seen many options for half that amount.
The Hario V60 gets top or 2nd pick in several (independent?) reviews, but not so great on Amazon. Even with its 4+ star rating, there are enough complaints to scare me off. If I am going to spend $60 on a scale, I want it to be fast and accurate (or at least consistent) and last more than 1 year. Unfortunately, as with everything else in this world, consumer products are made of cheap parts (plastics) which are prone to breakage.
So perhaps my best option is to get an inexpensive one for under $25 and replace it in a year if it breaks.

Let me add that currently I am using a Weight Watcher's scale that happens to be hanging out in the kitchen. I assume it is fairly consistent, as it always measures 0.41 oz when I place the empty container for my beans onto it. But this scale doesn't have a timer, and gets used by others in the house, which means it gets tossed around a bit. I want my own scale I can depend on.

Ultrarunner

 

[MntnMan62]

I too am looking for a decent scale for coffee.
My method of brewing is French Press.
I will need a timer on the scale; I currently use an app on my Android phone, but it gets clumsy handling the phone while pouring, etc.
I don't want to spend more than about $50, but have seen many options for half that amount.
The Hario V60 gets top or 2nd pick in several (independent?) reviews, but not so great on Amazon. Even with its 4+ star rating, there are enough complaints to scare me off. If I am going to spend $60 on a scale, I want it to be fast and accurate (or at least consistent) and last more than 1 year. Unfortunately, as with everything else in this world, consumer products are made of cheap parts (plastics) which are prone to breakage.
So perhaps my best option is to get an inexpensive one for under $25 and replace it in a year if it breaks.

Let me add that currently I am using a Weight Watcher's scale that happens to be hanging out in the kitchen. I assume it is fairly consistent, as it always measures 0.41 oz when I place the empty container for my beans onto it. But this scale doesn't have a timer, and gets used by others in the house, which means it gets tossed around a bit. I want my own scale I can depend on.

Ultrarunner

Why do you need a scale with a timer? Why would you need to hold the phone while pouring? If all you are going to do is time the 4 minute brew, pour the water, then pick up your phone and start the timer. I found one on Amazon for a bout $15 and it works fine. It's not the greatest thing out there but that's not really necessary for french press. For timing my brew I just use either my phone or a timer I have on my microwave oven. Either works just as well. You don't need a timer on your scale. The only reason you might need a timer on the scale is if you are timing your espresso shots. And if I understand correctly, you aren't making espresso. If you do want a scale with a timer I've found several on Amazon. One was as cheap as $11.

 

[Ultrarunner2020]

I guess I don't really need a scale with a timer, as I do have the phone app. I just thought having the timer on the scale would be more convenient. Perhaps I just need a different timer app on my phone, as I don't particularly care for the raspy alarm sound my current app uses.
Perhaps one of the cheap scales would work for me - since I'm not doing espresso. I don't need high accuracy, only consistency.

 

[ve7twa]

[h=2]Are you using this just to measure your coffee before brewing?[/h]

 

[Ultrarunner2020]

Are you using this just to measure your coffee before brewing?

Yes. To this point I have only been using the scale to measure the beans before grinding. I have been measuring the water in a 16oz pitcher and only boiling that amount, so I have the right amount for the brew.
However, I was considering adding water by weight instead of volume. For that, I would place the French Press (with grounds) on the scale, tare, then add water.
It really doesn't matter. I still get the same amount of water each time I brew.

I would have been interested to know which scale the OP purchased, but he/she never posted that info.