IMO there's a few more elements to consider when buying a scale that you didn't mention: 1. Low latency. Many cheaper scales (~$20) will have 0.1g accuracy, but often they'll be super slow to update measurements. Some scales update only every second or half second, which could result in a delay of up to 10+ grams once you stop the shot. Of course, you could manually compensate for this by stopping the shot early, but that's inherently error prone. 2. Ergonomics. Having a scale that you can pick up and move without accidentally pressing a button is important. Some scales, like the Timemore Black Mirror Nano, put their capacitive buttons in awkward places that makes them hard to use and difficult to move. 3. Water resistance. This is more of a "nice to have" than a necessity, but if you're spending a lot of money on a coffee scale you might as well spend just a bit more to get one that won't break if you spill coffee all over it.
You're right, but does a scale like this even exist? I've had Hario Metal Drip Scale for a couple of years, recently I flooded it with water, and after it got dried, the display cuts the top part of all digits, which makes it barely usable. I'm looking for a replacement for it and also an upgrade (the Hario is a bit slow, and the buttons are not always responsive), and I noticed that currently my only one reasonable candidate is Timemore Black Mirror Basic 2 (I've seen a test and it's very quick in terms of the booting and responsing to buttons taps). I'm also considering AVX KC215B, but I'm a bit scared that it could get broken after a while. Is there something similar to the Black Mirror, but cheaper (which could mean that probably without the pairing with iOS feature) on the market?
This video perfectly embodies why Acaia ends up being the only dependable option. RUclips recommends this video to me, it’s basically a sell for zero hero which I have never heard of before. Cool. Click the Amazon link and oh surprise, turns out nobody else has either. Junk reviews and I’m click funneled into all the other Amazon suggestions for $50 scales with questionable reviews and I’m back to looking at Acaia again knowing I’m just going to have to bite the bullet because apparently small reliable scales are ridiculously hard.
It’s a sell for any scale that is pretty darn good that doesn’t break your bank account on features most people don’t need in most cases. I have Acaia, Jennings, Hario, zerohero, and previously had the other scales. I test and consider the end-users needs before I recommend things. I wouldn’t tell the casual espresso enthusiast to buy the E65S I have but would recommend the X54 or Vario.
I happened to use the one I got for my homebrewing. It will measure to 0.01g as that's a requirement for a lot of my brewing chemicals if I'm scaling a recipe. Just because it was on hand, I've been using it. Downside is that it's not very water resistant, and over time the LCD tends to get a bit dim, but otherwise, it's $20 and is calibratable; i.e. you can calibrate to reference weights to ensure accuracy. I've never had an issue with latency on my shot pulls, similarly I am consistent to within about 0.05g shot to shot.
Glad to hear it! I have a Jennings 4000g capacity scale that I bought when I first started making coffee. It’s ugly and missing buttons and only goes to a .5g but it still works for cooking and baking.
The main thing that may break your requirements is this one only goes up to 500g. However, for espresso I've not run into any limitations there. And there's no timing feature as this is mainly marketed for jewelry and cooking. something to really drive home for the home user though, it's super easy to get bogged down into accuracy and trying to maximize your precision. But I've found that consistency is more key than the precision and accuracy. So even if this scale were somehow wildly off, it's consistently off.
@@DGPHolyHandgrenade That's a great point. Consistency is key. I've gone down the super accuracy and optimized brew path and banged my head into a wall over and over. Then I learned not to let perfect be the enemy of pretty dang good.
I have a Timemore black mirror however im getting FFFF error. Only a year old. Disappointed. I do pourover and will be doing Picopresso. Recommendations?
@@therobmcgeeI have reached out to no response from them on both IG and company support email. Shame I really liked it and my Timemore Chestnut C2 grinder which is awesome
IMO there's a few more elements to consider when buying a scale that you didn't mention:
1. Low latency. Many cheaper scales (~$20) will have 0.1g accuracy, but often they'll be super slow to update measurements. Some scales update only every second or half second, which could result in a delay of up to 10+ grams once you stop the shot. Of course, you could manually compensate for this by stopping the shot early, but that's inherently error prone.
2. Ergonomics. Having a scale that you can pick up and move without accidentally pressing a button is important. Some scales, like the Timemore Black Mirror Nano, put their capacitive buttons in awkward places that makes them hard to use and difficult to move.
3. Water resistance. This is more of a "nice to have" than a necessity, but if you're spending a lot of money on a coffee scale you might as well spend just a bit more to get one that won't break if you spill coffee all over it.
100% agree with those additions. Thanks.
You're right, but does a scale like this even exist? I've had Hario Metal Drip Scale for a couple of years, recently I flooded it with water, and after it got dried, the display cuts the top part of all digits, which makes it barely usable.
I'm looking for a replacement for it and also an upgrade (the Hario is a bit slow, and the buttons are not always responsive), and I noticed that currently my only one reasonable candidate is Timemore Black Mirror Basic 2 (I've seen a test and it's very quick in terms of the booting and responsing to buttons taps).
I'm also considering AVX KC215B, but I'm a bit scared that it could get broken after a while.
Is there something similar to the Black Mirror, but cheaper (which could mean that probably without the pairing with iOS feature) on the market?
@@adrianniechcia2579 what about the 3Bomber mini? $15 less than the Timemore and similar design and functionality.
I like the accuracy and build quality. But now there are better options.
This video perfectly embodies why Acaia ends up being the only dependable option. RUclips recommends this video to me, it’s basically a sell for zero hero which I have never heard of before. Cool. Click the Amazon link and oh surprise, turns out nobody else has either. Junk reviews and I’m click funneled into all the other Amazon suggestions for $50 scales with questionable reviews and I’m back to looking at Acaia again knowing I’m just going to have to bite the bullet because apparently small reliable scales are ridiculously hard.
It’s a sell for any scale that is pretty darn good that doesn’t break your bank account on features most people don’t need in most cases. I have Acaia, Jennings, Hario, zerohero, and previously had the other scales. I test and consider the end-users needs before I recommend things. I wouldn’t tell the casual espresso enthusiast to buy the E65S I have but would recommend the X54 or Vario.
Yeah for me I have the lunar and never used the app only for updating the firmware.
Crazy, right?
@@therobmcgee because at that time lunar was #1 now maybe bottom of the list 🤣 due to many competitors
I happened to use the one I got for my homebrewing. It will measure to 0.01g as that's a requirement for a lot of my brewing chemicals if I'm scaling a recipe. Just because it was on hand, I've been using it. Downside is that it's not very water resistant, and over time the LCD tends to get a bit dim, but otherwise, it's $20 and is calibratable; i.e. you can calibrate to reference weights to ensure accuracy. I've never had an issue with latency on my shot pulls, similarly I am consistent to within about 0.05g shot to shot.
Glad to hear it! I have a Jennings 4000g capacity scale that I bought when I first started making coffee. It’s ugly and missing buttons and only goes to a .5g but it still works for cooking and baking.
The main thing that may break your requirements is this one only goes up to 500g. However, for espresso I've not run into any limitations there. And there's no timing feature as this is mainly marketed for jewelry and cooking. something to really drive home for the home user though, it's super easy to get bogged down into accuracy and trying to maximize your precision. But I've found that consistency is more key than the precision and accuracy. So even if this scale were somehow wildly off, it's consistently off.
@@DGPHolyHandgrenade That's a great point. Consistency is key. I've gone down the super accuracy and optimized brew path and banged my head into a wall over and over. Then I learned not to let perfect be the enemy of pretty dang good.
I have a Timemore black mirror however im getting FFFF error. Only a year old. Disappointed. I do pourover and will be doing Picopresso. Recommendations?
That sucks. I would reach out to the company directly. Hopefully they'll give you a replacement.
@@therobmcgeeI have reached out to no response from them on both IG and company support email. Shame I really liked it and my Timemore Chestnut C2 grinder which is awesome
I have a scale for pour overs from hero company it is high quality and way cheaper
I’m a big fan of zeroHero.
@@therobmcgee yep
$12 is literally all you need - my does time, grams or ounces and 10th of gram - everything more expensive is a scam
Which scale are you using?