Why Use Brew Scales?
There’s a whole bunch of tools and accessories used in the coffee making process, so why use brew scales? In one word, consistency.
So how do brew scales improve flavour and consistency? You wouldn’t cook a cake without using a recipe and weighing the ingredients. Coffee is the same, because brew scales allow you to calibrate your coffee and once you have perfected your recipe you will be able to duplicate that amazing coffee time after time.
Firstly, there’s a few key benefits of using brew scales
- Using scales improves the flavour of your coffee
- Brew Scales provide consistency in your recipe
- Using brew scales aids bean conservation
Using brew scales improves the flavour of your coffee
Using scales gives you the ability to refine and optimize the flavour of your coffee. Most coffee roasters provide a recommended recipe for their coffee. The recipe will differ depending on whether you use a coffee machine, pour over, stove top or other brewing method. Different brewing methods require different amounts of beans, water and extraction time.
Brew scales enable you to find your ideal flavours and tweak the recipe as needed. Measuring your recipe with scales means that you will optimize your espresso for flavour and extraction.
Brew Scales provide consistency in your recipe
Imagine going out to a cafe and getting the best tasting coffee you’ve ever had! Now imagine going back for another coffee and it tastes awful, burned and bitter.
This is a very real situation that happens in cafes all over the world. A huge part of this problem is the lack of consistency in the coffee recipe. As we learned above, using scales enables you to find the perfect extraction for your espresso. Scales provide a level of consistency that simply outweighs what any one individual can create on their own. Using scales everyday gives you peace of mind, knowing that you’re getting (and serving!) what you want, every time. Coffee beans vary in size and density, meaning just using a coffee scoop won’t provide the level of consistency brew scales will.
In a commercial environment, scales are essential to retaining coffee customers with a rich and balanced coffee, every day.
Using scales aids bean conservation
Wasting coffee is never a good thing. Brew scales give you the ability to dose exactly what you need, every time. No more scraping overdosed grinds into the knock box! It is estimated that overdosing your basket can cause a wastage of up to 20% of your bag of coffee. This means you’re essentially paying that difference for each coffee.
Essentials for Brew Scales
Coffee scales are packed with everything from recipe savings to Bluetooth capabilities. The essentials brew scales should have are
- A platform large enough to measure what you need. eg. A dosing cup will require less surface room than a portafilter.
- A capacity of 1000-2000 grams.
- Response time, you should be able to get your measurement within seconds
- If you’re going to be weighing your espresso, ensure your scales are water resistant.
- The best coffee scales denote weight to 0.1 gram.
