Best Coffee Scale: Weighing the Options

If you’re serious about brewing coffee yourself at home, which we are here at Roasty, you will either use a premium brand of pre-ground coffee or grind your own from your favorite beans. Either way, you’ll need to measure your coffee grounds before you start brewing.

At A Glance: Our Top 5 Picks for Coffee Scales

Now, many people use a simple scoop or a spoon to measure out beans or grounds. But savvy home baristas who appreciate great coffee always use a coffee scale.
 

 
 

What’s so bad about using a scoop?

Okay, so you’re not convinced? That’s understandable. But ask yourself the following questions:

• What exactly is a heaped tablespoon?
• How about a level tablespoon?
• Or a rounded tablespoon?
• Are you supposed to scoop the beans or just the grounds?

We reckon that most home brewers use a considerable degree of “eye” when measuring out scoops or spoons of coffee. So, you’re likely to be off by a tiny bit each time you measure. If you don’t believe us, check out this scientific article about the inability of folk to consistently measure liquid using a teaspoon.

A scoop could be rounded, heaped, a tad flat, etc., etc. But, twenty grams is twenty grams, regardless of the consistency of the grind or how much or how little you heaped the spoon!

So, now you see just how inaccurate using a scoop or spoon to measure your grounds can be, you understand why using a scale is so much better.

And that matters why?

Why use a coffee scale?

So, do you really need to use a coffee scale?

Do you wonder why your brew is perfect one day and slightly off the mark the next? The key to a perfect brew every time is consistency; that’s consistency in your methods and processes.

And consistency in the amount of grounds you use. By measuring your grounds by weight, you know that you are using exactly the same amount each time.

Think about it. All scientific experiments are based on precisely controlling various elements of the process to yield the desired result. Creating great coffee is no different.

Of course, if you’ve never used a coffee scale before, you won’t know which one to buy. But don’t worry, we have your back!

The Roasty crew has taken time to weigh up the best coffee scales the market currently has to offer. Check out our reviews to see which scales measure up to our scrutiny before you make an informed purchase.

Roasty’s 8 Best Coffee Scales

Here, in no particular order are our favorite coffee scales. All these products get good reviews from home baristas who bought them. Enjoy!

Coffee Gator Digital Scale

The Coffee Gator is not only able to measure in pounds and ounces, but in volume as well. Accurate from measuring as small as .003 oz to as heavy as 6lbs, this scale is perfect for weighing coffee due to its measuring accuracy. There’s also an additional tray that can be used as a cover or to help measure objects larger in size or volume. 

It has a non-slip rubber platform and feet, making it movable, but also stiff and strong. Since it’s more precise and it’s especially good at measuring liquids, this scale is perfect for the barista who needs to sharpen their precision when making pour-overs. A little pricier but still affordable, the Coffee Gator is able to handle any barista’s measuring needs. 

Brewista Smart Scale II (BSSRB2)

The Brewista Smart Scale is designed for both the professional and amateur barista and is perfect, regardless of what brewing method you prefer.

The scale is accurate to within 0.1g, ensuring that you always get the exact quantity of coffee you want.

The scale has multiple, pre-programmed modes with different auto features, designed to measure coffee for different brewing methods. The Brewista uses a USB rechargeable battery and has a useful programmable auto-off function too.

The scale is tiny, measuring just 4 inches wide by 5 inches long, making it light and compact for easy storage and portability.

On the downside, the Brewista is a tad pricey, but it’s a great little piece of kit with lots of features, making it well worth the money.

Ozeri Pronto Digital Multifunction Kitchen Scale

While a little bulkier than other scales on this list, the Ozeri Pronto is still small enough to fit in most kitchens. Not super well-designed for on-the-road travel, it’s elegant chrome-design makes it a dashing addition to any dedicated barista’s kitchen.

It’s also customizable, available in several different colors to match any kitchen decor. Able to handle up to 11 lbs, it can measure almost any coffee or cooking ingredients. All in all, if you’re searching for a scale that can do it all and is easy to use, the Ozeri is right up your ally. 

Felicita Arc Digital Scale with Bluetooth

With Felicita’s brand new Arc digital scale your appreciation of coffee weighing will climb to the next level.

In addition to the technology, we’re also in love with the clean minimalist look of it. 

The scale is significantly more expensive than most others listed here and for good reason. This scale will give you the utmost precision (2000 gram capacity and readability in 0.1 gram increments) for truly next level measuring.

I was fortunate enough to get a free scale to try out and really appreciated the simplicity and precision of the scale. They even include a little 100G weight in the box to confirm your scale is on the money. 

Digital Kitchen Scale/Food Scale

Now, we love this coffee scale by Nourish. With its stylish glass top and rounded corners, it could easily be mistaken for fancy tablet, so it looks great on your countertop. The digital display is very easy to read, and the control buttons make using the scale simple and uncomplicated.

The scale has a cool multifunctional capability, so you can use it as a scale, timer, and stopwatch too, making it ideal for pour over and French press brewing. There’s also a lock button that allows you to prevent the display from going into the auto-off mode when you don’t want it to.

This coffee scale is a high-quality product with all the features you’re likely to want. It’s very reasonably priced too in comparison to some other coffee scales.

Apexstone Coffee Scale with Timer

If you’re looking for extreme accuracy, then look no further than the Apexstone Coffee Scale. With a built-in timer, the Apexstone is engineered with high precision sensors that accurately measure from 0.1 oz/1g to 3000g/ml. The scale can also measure in ounces, pounds, grams, milligrams, and grams/milligrams. 

In addition to this, the Apexstone also has a clear, easy-to-read LCD display screen with either a blue or green backlight. Reaching a maximum of 59 minutes 59 seconds, it also has a mat made out of FDA silicone that protects the scale from any accidental spills or heat. 

Hario Coffee Drip Scale/Timer

The Hario is not the cheapest coffee scale out there, sitting in the mid-range price point bracket.

We like the function-centric nature of these neat, compact coffee scales. Measurement is accurate to within 0.1g. There’s a dedicated space on the LCD for the measurement and the timer, saving you the hassle of switching between the two.

When you’re using the timer, the auto-off function is disabled. That means you can perfect things like infusion ties without the risk of the scale powering down before you’ve finished.

The Hario is powered by two AAA batteries, so you don’t need to worry about plugging it in, which is useful if you’re traveling.

The downsides to the Hario coffee sale are that it’s a little too bulky to fit on a coffee machine drip tray. Also, it’s perhaps not as aesthetically pleasing as some models. However, for a sensible price, it’s a reliable piece that does the job very well.

ERAVSOW Digital Hand Drip Coffee Scale

Now, if you’re looking for a sexy-looking coffee scale that’s excellent value for money and does everything you need a coffee scale to do, look no further.

The Eravsow uses a high-precision G-sensor to provide measurement accurate up to 0.1g. You can quickly switch between ounces, grams, and fluid ounces, and milliliters too if you need to.

There’s a timer and an auto-off that kicks in after the machine has been idle for five minutes, rather than the skimpy one-minute delay offered by other models. The smart brushed stainless steel platform can be wiped clean easily and quickly. The large, backlit display is clear and easy to read, featuring a useful overload indicator and low battery warning.

The scale is powered by two AAA batteries and comes with a full one-year warranty.

Overall, the Eravsow is a great little piece of kit that does everything you need a coffee scale to do for a very reasonable price.

Up your brewing game

So, a coffee scale can drastically improve your brewing. Here’s how it works:

• When making a manual brew, place your brewer and filter on the coffee scale and press the tare button to reset the display to zero.
• Now, add your ground coffee. You now know precisely how much coffee you have, and therefore how much water you need to add.
• Zero the display again and add your water.
• Make a note of the results. Once you’ve produced the perfect brew, you’ll know how to replicate it every time.

If you’re brewing using a French press, use a similar technique. For drip coffee, add the filter to the scale, and then measure your grounds precisely.

When making espresso, tare the portafilter, and then fill it as usual. Weigh your grounds and continue with the process as normal.

Even if you don’t feel inclined to weigh your water, you’ll still know precisely how much coffee you use every time you brew.

Choosing a good coffee scale

Okay, so now you know that a coffee scale will give you the consistency you need to make a better brew, what should you look for when shopping for coffee scales?

Although an old-school, set of brass tipping scales looks great on your countertop, we need to stick to digital for the best, most reliable results. So, keep your family heirlooms for display purposes only.

When choosing digital coffee scales, there are some features you’ll definitely want:

Tare function

Without a tare (zero) function, you’ll find yourself reaching for the calculator function on your iPhone, unless your mental math is better than ours.

Precision

Coffee scales should be accurate to within 0.1g. Any less than this and you might as well go back to using your spoon.

Timer

If you buy a coffee scale with an built-in timer, that’s one less piece of kit you’ll need to buy, especially if you brew using a manual process.

Auto-off function

Auto-off is a very useful function for saving your scale’s battery life. That said, auto-off can be a very annoying feature if your scale turns itself off at a crucial moment in your pour over process.

Choose a coffee scale with an auto-off that allows you at least four or five minutes before it goes into sleep mode.

Size

The size of coffee scale you choose will to some extent be dependent on your preferred brewing method.

Smaller scales take up less storage space and are more portable if you travel. However, a bigger scale might be better for you if you tend to brew on a large scale. Larger scales can also be used for other kitchen applications besides brewing coffee.

So, although it might first appear that all coffee scales are a little extra, that’s not necessarily so. And if you’re going to spend the money on a coffee scale, you might as well splurge on one that does exactly what you need it to do.

Wrapping it up

A good coffee scale will ensure that your measurements are always accurate, saving you from suffering disappointment in your brew quality and helping to build your confidence in your abilities as a barista to create Java of consistent, reliable quality.

All of the coffee scales we’ve included in our guide will give you the accuracy and array of essential features that you’ll need, as well as looking cool on your kitchen counter.

Consign your unreliable scoop and your guesswork to the trash and order yourself a coffee scale today.

Happy Caffeinating!