Is A Coffee Scale With Timer Neccessary?

A foolproof way of making an amazing cup of coffee every single time is to invest in and use a digital coffee scale with timer. 

The answer to the headline question, is a coffee scale with timer necessary? Of course yes. While there is no need to get the most expensive scales that you see, there are certain features to look for that will help you to create a repeatable process and a digital coffee scale with a timer is one of them.

The very secret to making amazing coffee every single time is to have an exact process that is repeatable.

By the time you have finished reading, you will know exactly what to look for in a digital scale.

Keep reading as we dig deeper into this topic!

Is A Coffee Scale With Timer Necessary?

Personally speaking, I highly encourage home baristas to use a coffee scale with a timer and I do think that it is a necessary addition to a smart scale.

If you can’t afford to spend a little extra and get an expensive coffee scale, then in all honesty basic scales will be completely fine just as long as they are the type of scale that can measure mass accurately, have a tare button and the scale sensitivity is fine enough to measure in grams.

The additional features like apps, timers, are a bonus and make brewing coffee much more convenient.

A scale that is portable and battery – powered, be it rechargeable and sized to fit in your pocket is perfect. A great feature to consider is a water-resistant option, since plenty of hot water will be in use. You most certainly don’t want the odd splash to break it.

This water-resistant option is even more so if your method of choice for coffee brewing is French press, pour over, chemex.

Per se, a built-in timer is not an absolute must-have. It is a very convenient option that will help you as you will need to control your extraction times and having it built into your device will save you from looking for one, setting up your phone app or any other timer that you may have.

The more fancy scales have Bluetooth connectivity which allows you to track your brew, do more complex things all in a cool app.

Read: Pour over coffee scale

Best Coffee Scale With Timer: Hario V60 (Black) Drip Scale

When it comes down to making and brewing excellent coffee, timing and getting your brew times exact is important. This scale has a built-in timer. The LCD has a timer located on the left-hand side, and on the right for your weighing of your coffee grounds or beans.

The design makes it easy to read.

This scale is very ordinary looking, rather plain. There is nothing in terms of style other than a range of color options, which are:

• Black.
• White.
• Stainless Steel.

The response time is slower than other scales, which, depending on your weighing method, will affect your final cup of coffee.

You can overcome this by weighing your coffee beans and then grinding them instead of weighing the ground coffee.

With that said, this accurate coffee scale is so easy to use. It has a very handy Auto-off function that is activated after 5 minutes, which will save your battery life. The auto-off function will not activate when you are using the timer function.

The maximum weight is can record is 2,000 grams with a precision of 0.1 gram.

Best Espresso Scale With Timer Acaia Lunar Scale

The Acaia Lunar Scale is the scale of choice for expert baristas and is used in barista competitions. I label this as the best scale for brewing espresso as it has a lot of features, has one of the fastest response times and is conveniently sized to fit right on to your espresso machine drip tray.

The Acaia Luna espresso scale was specifically designed for espresso brewing.

The standout, well-thought-out feature is the built-in auto-start timer function that starts when the weight of your shot hits the scale. This scale also has Bluetooth connectivity, which allows you to access their app and log your brewing data, coffee recipes and a lot more.

The heat-proof silicon pad and ceramic coating make it easy for you to keep clean. It is well-designed to resist an accidental jet of steam from your steam wand, spills and splashes of espresso and, of course, water.

It is stylish and available in silver, black and white. The maximum weight it can measure is 2,000 grams with an accuracy of 0.1 gram accuracy.

It can weigh both ounces and grams and comes with a 2-year warranty.

Why Should You Use A Coffee Scale?

The reason for using a coffee scale is to produce consistently great coffee. They eliminate all the guess work and inconsistency. You never truly know how many grams of coffee there are in a scoop, teaspoon or a tablespoon.

Using a coffee scale removes all the guess work and gives you an exact number, a weight that you can write down and brew with the exact same weight every time. This will help you to create a repeatable process.

Measuring by weight rather than volume is much better and more accurate than measuring by volume. A regular kitchen scale won’t get you the same accuracy that you need.

Following this, you can focus on other important factors like your extraction time, water temperature, and grind size.

What To Look For In A Coffee Scale

When you are thinking of buying a digital coffee scale, there are a few important things to look for to ensure that you get one that fits your needs. When you buy one, take good care of it, and it will last you for a few years.

Precision

Precision is a very important thing to consider when you are looking for a coffee scale. Accuracy is important as there is a big difference between 20.1 grams and 21 grams. Measurements in 1 gram increments are not going to give you the precision that you need.

For best results, you need to have a scale that can measure a minimum of 0.1 gram increments.

Size

The size of your coffee scale is something that is often overlooked and not considered by many coffee lovers. Before you buy a coffee scale, think about what coffee you will make most often.

A fine example of this is, if you love making a Chemex you will need to ensure that your coffee scale can accommodate your coffee maker. If you love brewing espresso, you will need to ensure that your coffee scale is splash proof, and you can ft comfortably on your drip tray.

Tare Function

No matter what your brewing method is or what kind of coffee you want to brew, a tare button is something that you have no choice about – your digital coffee scale absolutely must have this feature.

With many brewing methods, you need to place your coffee brewing equipment on your coffee scale to start, thus a tare button is a must-have. It permits you to reset the mass on your digital scale to zero and measure accurately the amount of coffee grounds and water being put in the coffee brewing apparatus.

Battery Life

There is an obvious advantage for your coffee scale, having a long battery life. Simply put in fresh batteries or charge it up and forget about it for a while. This is obviously great if you make a lot of coffee and is not at all an inconvenience if you only make the occasional cup of coffee.

The last thing you want is to keep replacing your batteries too often or keep recharging it.

Style

This is something to think about if you want your coffee scale to fit in with the rest of your kitchen equipment as you leave it there. Coffee scales range from being dull, boring but very practical in design to looking absolutely fantastic, like art work!

Display

The display needs to be easy to read in all light conditions, low light, bright and natural light. The background colors can vary and are perhaps more of a personal preference than anything else. The most important part is that you can easily read it without straining your eyes.

Water Resistant

There is no coffee scale that is absolutely 100% waterproof. To be completely honest, they really don’t need to be. You are not going to be weighing your coffee grounds underwater.

It is a good thing to look for your coffee scale to be water-resistant and splash resistant to some degree, as you will have an accident at some point when you spill some water, coffee, milk or blast some steam on to it.

Special Features

Additional features like an auto-on and auto-off, built-in timer, Bluetooth and connectivity to apps are all beneficial and your own needs for them will depend on your own personal taste, preference and how much you will use them.

Give good thought as to how much you will need them and how much you will use the special feature. For me personally, I’m not into one that has Bluetooth connectivity and a bunch of apps that I am likely to never use.

Frequently Asked Questions About Coffee Scale With Timer

Are Coffee Scales Worth It?

Yes,

a coffee scale is most certainly worth it. It is one of the most VIP and undervalued pieces of coffee brewing equipment. It is a tool that every professional and home barista needs.

The more precise you are, the greater your precision in your measurements of your coffee grounds and water, the more accurate you will be in regard to the coffee to water ratios. Using an accurate scale will help you on your coffee brewing journey. Taking notes and creating a repeatable process will help you to make great coffee every single time.

What Kind Of Scale Do You Need For Coffee?

There are a series of specialty scales that you can buy for coffee brewing, which are known as coffee scales. These are known as grams scales. The best ones are accurate to 0.1grams; an accuracy of 0.01 grams (1/100th of a gram) is overkill for coffee. There is no need at all for accuracy to that level or degree for brewing coffee.

Is Acaia Worth It?

The Acaia Pearl is the gold standard of coffee scales. It is used by professional baristas in competitions and in the top gourmet coffee shops. It has everything that you are looking for in a coffee scale, and, most importantly, precise measurements. It comes with an app that you can geek out on.

Do You Need A Scale For Pour Over Coffee?

Yes,

you will need a coffee scale, not only for pour over coffee, French press coffee, siphon coffee and cold brew coffee, you will need one for all brewing methods – including espresso based drinks like shots of espresso, flat white, latte, cappuccino, mocha and so on.

Do You Need A Timer On A Coffee Scale?

Yes, in my opinion, it is important and highly advantageous that your coffee scale has a built-in timer. It is a more convenient way to measure your brew time and weight together. The best ones will start timing automatically as soon as you start brewing. It is a very useful feature as is the feature, which some coffee scales have, that plots a graph of your extraction.

How Do I Choose A Coffee Scale?

The best coffee scales are responsive, fast, are intuitive and incorporate an easy-to-read interface.

Is An Espresso Scale Worth It?

Yes, absolutely, an espresso scale is worth it. Without one, how would you know that you are brewing the perfect espresso shot by weight and extraction time?

Using an espresso scale will ensure that your espresso is perfect.

Can You Use A Kitchen Scale As A Coffee Scale?

No, kitchen scales lack the accuracy that you need for coffee brewing. You need an accuracy of at least 1/100th of a gram.

Frappé-Ing It All Up – Coffee Scale With Timer

A coffee scale with a timer is definitely a good thing to have as it handles two things with one piece of equipment. It handles the weight of your coffee and water, and thus ensures you get the perfect coffee to water ratio. After going to that effort, you can ensure that you get the perfect brew time and don’t over extract or under extract based on your brew time.

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Derek Marshall

Derek Marshall, a certified barista by the Specialty Coffee Association possesses over two decades of experience in specialty coffee shops. He holds professional certifications for coffee brewing and barista skills. Derek is also an author with authoritative books covering various coffee topics including specialty coffee, sustainability and coffee, coffee brewing, coffee recipes, coffee cocktails and books focusing on Brazilian coffee, Vietnamese coffee, Indonesian coffee and Malaysian coffee. As a barista for over two decades, Derek Marshall has worked in specialty coffee shops across the United Kingdom, Spain, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. His expertise extends to the distinct coffee cultures, specialty beverages, and brewing techniques of each nation. Functioning as a coffee consultant, Derek charges US$50 per hour. To learn more about Derek Marshall and Latte Love Brew, visit his About Me Page. For coffee inquiries, contact him at +34-639-410-375 or Derek@LatteLoveBrew.com, mentioning your name and location