Hi All! I have an itch that I need to scratch.

I have a cheap Amazon espresso scale, £20. It measures weight, time, it tares, the usual stuff. But it seems to me a bit unreliable. If I move the cup on one side the weight changes. If I take out a few coffee beans and then put them back on it’s not the same weight every time etc.

So obviously I’ve been thinking about getting a new one. I’d like the functionality of bluetooth and keeping track of the output (not that I know much about it and how I would do it) but I also feel that in about a month or so it would be an unused feature.

Obviously I looked at the options

  • Acaia lunar
  • Bookoo
  • Varia Aku
  • Timemore nano
  • MW3bomber etc

Very undecided but at the same time I feel like I wouldn’t want to spend more than £50 for it.

Any personal experiences and advice? Thanks

The types of problems you describe with scales are common. I say that as someone that spent several years testing scales in shops and supermarkets, to be sure they complied with UK (and EU) Metrology laws, using test weights that had to be certified regularly by our local Weights and Measures people. We tested for things like repeatability (addng and removing weights, several times) and eccentricity (what happens if you put weights in different corners of the scale bed - are the readings consistent). And so on.

I say all that so you have an idea that my next comment is based on something solid, not just ‘online waffle’.

I too have a pair of cheap Amazon-sourced scales. I’ve had them about 5 or 6 years. I went through a full verification cycle with them, using those same calibrated and certified weights I mentioned, and they didn’t have the faults you describe.

In fact, the only issue I had with them (and it’s a nuisance for espresso making, but not insurmountable) was a tendency to be a bit slow displaying the weight accurately. What I mean is that they were accurate (or to be a bit more precise, accurate enough) and consistent, but it took a second or two to stabilise. So, I had to anticipate a second or two ahead of the reading when making espresso.

Oh, and one thing to watch for - scales are pretty damn sensitive. Don’t lean on or knock your work surface when using them. Even on heavy industrial work benches, someone just leaning on the bench several feet away would destabilise the reading, making it waver up and down.

Just to be clear though, I’m certainly NOT claiming every cheap scale from Amazon is up to that standard, or even that another identical unit from the same manufacturer would be, as my tests had a sample size of exactly one scale.

My point is merely that cheap scales aren’t necessarily inadequate for espresso..

That said, I’ve looked at Acaia (I think they were Lunar but it was a while ago) and been tempted, But I can’t quite get past the value for money issue. So … I haven’t tested them for those issues. I’d hope that at that price they wouldn’t have issues, but over time, those supermarket scales (which unsurprisingly given the use they got, were FAR more expensive than Acaia) did fail on occasion. Sometimes a good cleanout would do the trick, but sometimes, it required parts being replaced.

So I soldiered on with my cheap (£15 IIRC) Amazon thingy. I still enjoy the coffee though.

Oh, and as for the Bluetooth thing, I thought about that, but ended up with a pen and a sheep of paper. Crude, but effective. :D

I’m very pleased with the Umbra Lunar, mostly because it’s the only scale I’ve had without ‘buttons’ that can be accidentally activated by stray liquid mid-shot.

It really needs to be paired with the Pearl for maximum value, but you could use it with the mobile app too which works well.

It’s very well put together and feels weighty.

However I’ve only had it a month or so so can’t comment on the longevity.

La Marzocco Linea Mini - Mazzer Philos

https://clumsygoat.co.uk/products/felicita-incline-bluetooth-scales-black?currency=GBP&variant=37754598686909&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&stkn=bbd4e5971dd0&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21450754207&gbraid=0AAAAADmp-3poBZAohzbhkNfGLn33VEaFx&gclid=Cj0KCQjwjJrCBhCXARIsAI5x66UKCpwem9grMDPwW8yFnbKX3tHjlFNEwN6yJRlNb5wbxcDRYTx0ST0aAp-tEALw_wcB

i have these

the bt to the decent get used 2 -3 times a day at least, are a yr old and have been charged 3 times if that

bean super impressed

Decent De1pro v1.45 - Niche Duo - Niche Zero - Decent is the best machine ever made -

@CoffeePhilE thanks for your input. I do need to pay more attention to the time the weight stabilizes.

@Cuprajake forgot about Felicita Arc, it was on my list. I just can’t justify at the moment £150 for a scale. Important piece of the kit, but not for that money (in my books at least)

oh, you have the lunar on there @ £250 lol

Decent De1pro v1.45 - Niche Duo - Niche Zero - Decent is the best machine ever made -

Clodius

How much difference do you think the small measuring amounts makes? Half a bean? Spend some dosh on calibration weights like @CoffeePhilE uses and then which ever scales you buy can be accurate? Just my tuppence worth obvs. :)

      Clodius thats where i got confused

      Decent De1pro v1.45 - Niche Duo - Niche Zero - Decent is the best machine ever made -

        smallblueplanet Spend some dosh on calibration weights like @CoffeePhilE uses and then which ever scales you buy can be accurate? J

        Umm, just to clarify, the weights weren’t mine, but a friends. I do have a cheap set (about £10 on Amazon) and they’re …. “okay” for the brass weghts. The tiny “trim” weights, which are critical to commercial verification, were laughable. It looked like someone had got hold of a piece of thin tin sheet, snipped off a set of pieces of whatever size (and weight) they felt like, and slung them into the box. The consistency, or lack thereof, was hilarious.

        The weights I actually used would cost several tines that of the Acaia scales, hence why I don’t own a set. But, I did the same tests with the cheap Amazon weights, and while Trading Standards would have a right hissy fit if they were used in a commerial setting (and they found out) they did the job just fine for assessing the cheap scales as accurate enough for the job at hand, that being, my cup of coffee..

        Also, while I could calibrate, within guidelines, the commercial scales, it was because we had access to the calibration switch. I didn’t take the cheap scales apart to see if there even was a way to change factory calibration, but I rather doubt it.

        Someone also asked if a small difference, like half a bean, wold make a difference … presumably to the coffee’s taste. I can only answer that for my taste buds, but my answer would be no. For me. For others, with a more refined sense of taste, I have no idea. Maybe? Maybe not? It’s easy enough for any of us to test that out next time we make a cup. Measure up as you normally would, remove a bean, or half a bean, and brew. To me, my taste, and/or memory of the last up, aren’t good enough to tell, and cerainly not enough to care.

        Finally, funds permitting, I quite understand the urge to buy “good” scales, whether they’ll improve the process or not. Just like a “good” tamper. I spent far more on one of those than simple brewing efficiency would require. Why? I wanted one. I liked how it looked. Same’s true of some scales, rather than the naff, plasticky Amazon things I use, compared to others. And as for hifi, computer gear, camera stuff and, heaven help me, cars … oh boy. :D

          3 months later

          Small update, I got Bookoo Themis. It’s good, accurate but also minuscule. Not sure I can get used to it, I’ll give it some time.

          I thought I would use the bluetooth function, but again a gimmick that I need to research. I have Bookoo and Beanconqueror apps but they seem quite daunting.