Best Coffee Scale Face-Off: Does Price Even Matter? TimeMore vs Acaia vs Apexstone
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- Опубликовано: 7 июл 2024
- Article: craftcoffeespot.com/gear/best...
Top Picks
Apexstone: amzn.to/423WIyP
TimeMore Black Mirror: amzn.to/3ME8N8m
Acaia Pearl: acaia.co/collections/coffee-s...
Do you actually get more for paying $200 for a scale? We all know a scale is important for brewing coffee. But what's the best coffee scale with dozens of options? We went through six options and focus on three choices at VERY different price points: Apexstone, TimeMore Black Mirror, and Acaia Pearl. We evaluate the scales across accuracy, responsiveness, and ease of use.
Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:36 What makes a good scale?
1:42 Accuracy Test
3:14 Responsiveness Test
5:40 Ease of Use
7:51 Conclusion
9:14 Honorable Mention
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Please note the Pearl is $150, not $250. Anyone selling on Amazon is not an authorized reseller of Acaia products. Acaia also offers a repair program for their equipment beyond the warranty period.
I changed the link to the Acaia website. I had no idea and thank you for pointing this out. Pinned this comment so people will know.
@@craftcoffeespot There is a $250 one (the espresso focused Lunar) that a lot of sellers conflate the information between … not just you buying it there… you’re lucky you got an authentic one at all! A LOT of Amazon sellers buy fake ones from Chinese marketplaces that are linked to the factories… it is so easy to copy the boxes and all else with their massive production sites, and China doesn’t even apologize for selling the same casings under random different names, some eerily alike, with far less quality control measures… or they just sell bootlegs that are mostly the same, app aside, but as always cost them under a dollar so whether they get $15 or $150 is kind of unimportant.
any upcoming sale or discount code on the Pearl or the Lunar?
@@theoravelo136 Our larger U.S. stockists like Prima, Whole Latte Love, Espresso Parts, and Seattle Coffee Gear will often run promotions this month. Keep your eyes peeled on those sites. Cheers!
We’re all rooting for the cheap one.🤭
A few people on Amazon mentioned that the TimeMore has almost non-existent costumer service. That's an important consideration when deciding who to buy from.
I guess I’ve never reached out, since their scale has always worked well! Interesting to hear.
I don't have quite as many scales as you, however I do use 3 fairly regularly. I have a generic kitchen scale that is pretty decent. I use it for weighing out doses. I have a version of the Apexstone (looks the same, but with a different name, and a rubber cover) that I use for Aeropress. I also have a small scale that fits under my Flair Pro 2. None of these are really expensive, and to be honest, I am not sure if the extra price would be worth it for me. I do not do V60 or pour overs in general.
great review though.
This really is the most clear and transparent video on coffee scale
I use the Apexstone, which gets the job done, but it does bobble a little bit when you're trying to hit your final weights on things. I have mixed feelings on whether I want to upgrade since it is just for casual use, but I do suspect it was hurting my cause on pour overs. Especially when I was trying to do v60 pour overs.
I would upgrade to the Timemore Black Mirror. It’s more responsive with much less bobbling. More importantly, it has a nice flow rate indicator, which will help you get more consistent and optimize pour speed.
You’re hitting the trade off with Apexstone: gets the job done for 1:16, but little else….If the Acaia has a numerical flow rate, it’d be worth >$100, but instead it has dots…been trying other scales, like Wacaco but nothing stood out.
Your accuracy test is flawed. Many cheap scales cheat. I have one that claims to be accurate to 0.1g, but any weights that are within 0.5g of multiples of 10g get rounded to that multiple of 10g. For instance, any weight in the range 19.5g-20.5g gets rounded to 20g. As a result, when you weigh a calibrated weight (which are typically multiples of 10g), the scale appears to be dead on. But this is only due to the rounding.
Yes! I have experienced the same thing with a cheap, Apexstone like, scale. It tends to round quite a lot
This is the best coffee analysis on YT. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Thank you!
I currently use Oxo coffee scales and food scales. Nice for the money, but not precise. I can get some variation that is 0.5 - 1 gram in the 15-20 grams, which I think is too much.
I get the same with a $10 scale and it's driving me nuts. Hoping a more expensive one will help
I’m assuming these scales have a calibration function and manufactures instructions on how to perform a calibration procedure?
If you have a research University or “Testing Lab” nearby you could ask if one of the labs would “weigh” your weights as some of their balances/scales should be NIST calibrated and certified.
The point is not perfect calibration - it’s just showing whether you use a $20 or $200 scale you get (almost) identical measurement. The difference is really about the responsiveness, which is important for pour over and espresso.
It has been a crazy time trying to figure out a decent coffee sacle on a small budget. So many coffee channels on RUclips and reviewers keep suggesting these scales that what cost an excess of £80 to £200 which is ridiculous I know expressive coffee machines the prosumer ones are ridiculously expensive but surely it's got to be some more reviews like yours that bite the bullet and show more of these Chinese brands? Definite bonus points for using a reference weight set now I don't really care so much about people complaining that they're not high precision NASA standards yes put in some oil from your skin on the weights may change the weights overall measurement but a 100 g is 100 g You're probably going to get these micro increases from cleaning the damn thing spilling a few coffee granules on it and other stuff.
So far I have been struggling with and off-the-shelf kitchen scale That doesn't go down past 1 g it's doing my head in trying to get consistent espresso so I will probably be getting your recommended cheap one as at the moment it's £14 on UK Amazon.
And yes I agree separate buttons to the weighing surface bonus I don't need silly touch sensitive buttons but people like aesthetics and nice looking things I guess that's why you spend five grand on an expresso machine😅
I hope this shows a cheap scale can get by. The Apexstone is slow, but very similar accuracy...Also, if you're looking for espresso scale, consider the Weightmann scale (mentioned at the end of the video). That one is good and on a budget. My frustration is it's too small to hold a portafilter. The Timemore is nice for espresso because the flow rate display is useful, but it's annoyingly sensitive.
To consider: it's true that having silly touch sensitive buttons adds to the look, but also saves in build materials and adds durability since they aren't physical components that will be beaten sooner or later.
More important: won't interfere with reading when you press them
Did you calibrate the scales before shooting this video?
Yes, tare to zero.
Touching the reference weights with your bare hands puts oil on them. I'd be the Acaia is more accurate based on excess oil. Worth the price, hell no.
Agree on accuracy with more precise testing. The goal was to show it's darn close to far less expensive models. Agree with conclusion too, although the Acaia is growing on me...guess that happens after you spend $250!
What you didnt do was lift the weight off the scale and put it back down several times. I have the apexstone and it sucks beyond belief. If you tare out a container then move it or pick it up for any reason and put it back down it shows a different wieght. Which makes it useless.
I tried it many times off camera and it’s consistent.
@@craftcoffeespot I can put something on and off the scale and the measurements stays the same. But if I put one of my containers on the scale and tare it then add beans and dump the beans in the grinder and put the container back it does not go to zero as it should. So far Im using a 7 dollar jewelers scales I got on ebay and it works flawlessly. Its more precise too.
The audio makes this feel a little like a Kung Fu movie. Great video though.
lol, first time I heard that. Thanks.
you know that test weights are not 100% accurate?so a 100 g weight its not 100g unless you are using the ones from NASA.I also like my wacaco exagram 2023 edition
Agree, this isn't 100.0% definitive. But it shows a $20 scale is almost identical to a $250 scale. Thanks for the heads up on the Wacaco - looks like a good one for espresso, which I've been looking for.
I tried the Wacaco scale…it’s accurate and responsive, but the buttons are harder to press as they’re flush with the interface. I like the Weightman scale more - that one is growing on me.
Appreciate the suggestion.
Well now… that’s not objectively true.
PS. It’s NIST not NASA.
Timemore scales are lousy at best. Ugh, the drift. There is nothing you can do about it.