A quality espresso scale is a necessary tool for any home barista on the quest for the perfect extraction. Sure—technically you could use a standard kitchen scale to brew espresso, but we wouldn’t recommend it.
Why not?
First and foremost, imagine what happens when you spill 200° brew water on a scale unequipped with heat and water resistance. You’ll be replacing your kitchen scale often enough to more than offset the price tag of an espresso scale.
Beyond that, espresso scales are packed with features designed to facilitate and improve the brewing process, whether you’re using an espresso machine or making pour-over coffee.
Read on for our recommendations on the best espresso scales around—quality tools specifically designed to help home baristas brew the best espresso & coffee possible.
Brewista Smart Scale II
If you’re the kind of person who likes a no-frills tool that simply does what you need it to, the Brewista Smart Scale II is going to be your new best friend.
This unassuming scale is accurate to 0.1 grams and has six different operating modes to facilitate all sorts of brewing styles—it weighs ground coffee and liquid espresso, has a built in timer that can automatically weigh and time your extractions in real time, and a rechargeable battery (so you won’t need to spend a small fortune on AAA batteries).
At under $100, the Smart Scale II is the perfect scale for those just embarking on their home-barista journey, and it will continue to serve well even once you’ve become a true brewing pro.
Acaia Pearl
$150.00
For those who aspire to lab-grade precision in their daily brewing routine, getting an Acaia Pearl scale should be at the top of your to-do list.
In addition to the standard weight and time measuring modes (manual weight mode, auto-tare, auto-time, and espresso mode), the Acaia Pearl has a “Beverage Mode” that allows you to acquire the perfect coffee-to-water ratio when preparing a pour-over coffee. Plus, with a 20–30 hour battery life, you won’t need to interrupt your coffee brewing to charge nearly as much.
The Acaia Pearl is also Bluetooth compatible with Acaia’s Brewmaster app, which tracks your brewing data in real time and shows trends you can use to diagnose issues you’re having with everything from flow rate to grind dialing in and beyond.
Beyond widespread functionality, the Acaia Pearl is built with lab-grade components, so you can be confident that it will not only be accurate out of the box, but continue to serve you well for years to come.
Fellow Tally Pro
$148.00
Like all Fellow products, the Tally Pro brings stunning aesthetics to your kitchen counter, and backs that up with outstanding performance.
The Tally Pro was built with the “sometimes less is more” mentality, and it makes an excellent case for that line of thinking. Its three modes (compared to the six available on the other scales in this list) enough functionality to serve a wide range of brewing techniques without overcomplicating things.
In addition to standard weight and timer modes, the Brew Assist mode is designed specifically for achieving perfect brew ratios when making pour-over coffee. It calculates the weight of your ground coffee and your water, then automatically starts timing when you begin your pour.
The Tally Pro also features top-notch accuracy (to 0.1 grams) and quick-measurement-stabilization to interrupt your flow as little as possible. Its long-lasting rechargeable battery means it will always be ready to go when you need it.
Acaia Pearl S
$220.00
The Pearl S is the ultimate upgrade to Acaia’s Pearl scale. It has all the same precision, features, and functionality as its younger sibling, but adds the impressive feature of connecting directly to Acaia’s BrewGuide app.
Use the BrewGuide app to look up recipes and display step-by-step instructions directly on your scale. You can also design your own recipes and share them with others through the app.
If you truly want to immerse yourself in improving your home-barista skills, the Acaia Pearl S is the best possible companion to facilitate that journey.
FAQ
Do baristas use scales?
Baristas in specialty coffee shops are most likely using scales. At least, they should be. (If they’re not, you might want to consider other coffee shops.) Most coffee shops focus on making excellent coffee and espresso consistently, and, in order to do that, you need to weigh your grounds and shots.
Do I need an espresso scale?
If you want to brew consistently-good espresso at home, you need an espresso scale. Is it possible to brew good shots of espresso without a scale? Sure. But doing so with any sort of consistency requires accurate weight measurements of ground coffee and brewed espresso.
Are expensive coffee scales worth it?
If you’re going to be brewing coffee or espresso daily, a coffee scale is worth the extra money it will cost. Not only will it last longer (especially if you’re going to be spilling brew water on it—normal kitchen scales aren’t always heat and water resistant), but it will have features specifically designed to help you brew more accurately.
How accurate does a coffee scale need to be?
Most coffee scales are accurate to 0.1 grams, and that’s about as accurate as you would need it to be. Weight more accurately than that is all well and good, but probably won’t have much impact on your extractions. If you’re not weighing that accurately, however, you’ll likely notice inconsistencies in your brewing results.
