If you are reading this, chances are good that you’re a bit of an optimiser. You like things to be a certain way in life, and why would your coffee be any different? Perfectly assessing the quality of an espresso shot using its weight is the dream for any at-home barista growing their skillset… but is a brew-by-weight scale worth it?
Let’s have a look.
Why weigh your coffee shot?
Let’s first take a step back.
One of the best and most well-loved ways espresso experts have found to hone the quality of a shot is to weigh it as it pours. Rather than simply relying on the timing of the shot, weighing the output is a powerful way to make sure you’re getting all the best parts of the extraction and none of the over-acidic overtones or deep, bitter undertones inspired by a poor extraction.
Is it fundamentally flawless as an approach? No. A coffee weight scale is simply another data point you can use to refine your craft and pull better shots, just like a shot timer, or a distributor, or any other espresso tool.
If you decide to use a scale as part of your brewing process, then the natural next step is: which kind? Manual, or a brew-by-weight scale? And as you might guess, we have a few thoughts about that.
Manual Weighing vs. Brew-by-Weight
If you’re kicking things off, chances are you’ll want to start where most home enthusiasts do: a manual scale. It goes like this:
1. You put a manual scale under your cup, and zero it.
2. Pull your shot into the cup while watching the readout.
3. Stop the machine once you reach your target weight.
There’s nothing wrong with that approach if you’re just getting to know brewing. It works well, and there are many people, baristas and home coffee lovers alike, who use this method for their entire lives.
The real limitation is, as you might have guessed, being human. Specifically, our reaction times. Much like tapping the brake pedal quick enough to stop perfectly on a dime, stopping your shot at the absolute perfect moment manually is a toss-up. You need to account for any espresso that will drip down from the group head once you’ve stopped the shot (a.k.a. the drip). Getting it exactly right takes practice.
A brew-by-weight scale like the Lunar scale, on the other hand, integrates with your machine. It uses a sophisticated algorithm to not only measure the perfect stopping point, but action it without your intervention. So, your reaction time is no longer a factor, and your shots are always perfectly consistent.
Curious? Let’s look a little closer.
Meet the Brew-by-Weight Acaia Connected Scale
This connected device helps you measure your coffee weight by scale without relying on your interaction during the shot pull. The Acaia Connected Scale is built exclusively for and communicates directly with the Linea Mini espresso machine (as well as the Pico grinder). Together, they help you pull a truly unbeatable shot.
It’s simple. Set your target dose via the app or use a preset on the scale. Place the cup, engage the paddle, and the scale auto-tares. Once the first drop of espresso hits the cup, your scale starts timing and weighing, feeding that data right back through the closed loop and into the Linea Mini.
Here’s the crucial part: the drip.
Rather than waiting for the shot to be complete and then cutting off the flow, the scale uses a sophisticated predictive drip algorithm that, based on the flow of the shot, exactly predicts when to turn off the flow of water. The final drips into the cup bring your shot perfectly to the target dose, and you’re officially good to go.
On top of that, each shot is an opportunity for our innovative brew-by-weight scale to learn. The algorithm improves its predictions over time based on how your specific setup behaves, which means the longer you use it, the better it gets.
If you want to know more about how to set up and use this coffee weight scale with your Linea Mini, we’ve left a tutorial for you here.
So, is a brew-by-weight scale better than a manual setup?
In terms of consistency, there’s nothing better. While operating manually is a great way to hone your experience of this particular part of pulling a shot, nothing beats the again-and-again predictive nature of a connected scale. There’s just no human with reflexes quick enough to deliver the same results every single time.
That said, it’s not magic. You have to set the target dose, dial your grind, and define what ‘good’ actually is. The scale just does what it is told, so you are always the barista. And of course, for the Acaia connected coffee weight scale, you need a compatible Linea Mini. There are other scales on the market if you have a different machine on hand, but if you already have a Mini, then there is truly nothing better.
Bottom line? If consistency is your next goal when it comes to coffee, learning to pull a shot of coffee using weight by scale is the step up.
Experience the closed loop of the Linea Mini & Acaia Connected Scale.
For consistent coffee and shots worthy of the Italian masters, there is nothing better. Explore the Acaia Brew-by-Weight Scale’s potential for yourself.
