The Best Smart Coffee Scale

[@teaforshortbreads]

"Man with high design standards endures terrible user experiences for your enjoyment" 10/10 video

[@teaforshortbreads]

Hoffman to scale makers: "Not angry, just dissapointed"

[@YTACCPP]

The beauty of an appropriate and well thought out choice of words can be quite conceiving indeed, beautiful quotation!

[@voidremoved]

he didn't rap I want to hear some bimleven

[@PandorasFolly]

I like how he still has a grip on how much money is worth. At 27:30, that is just too much money as he looks at the scale like someone who just heard the bland cardboard looking sneakers the color of grease someone just handed him cost $900.

[@rogerzheng2814]

@@teaforshortbreads Is this a Rossmann reference?

[@jedrzejw.9819]

I feel as if James could make a 40 minute long video comparing different coffee scoops and we would all watch and enjoy it

[@Vulcapyro]

implying this isn't already in the works

[@shortrefmegaref]

Oxo have good cheap polycarbonate half cup scoops

[@BentheBassPhish]

Well this is a video I didn't know I wanted up until this moment...

[@clewstah]

The smart coffee scoop.. that's an idea. xD

[@jamesb.ofdesertdistrict567]

Ryan Flanagan You *weigh* coffee if you’re not dumb.

[@AlbertoBlasi]

As a professional UX Designer: I wish I had a tester like you every time I design a feature.

[@s3myazz]

that's the problem. testers are usually not interested in testing that something is actually useful rather just tick the box. no domain knowledge gives completely useless results from testers. and when stuff is actually designed by IT people, pure IT programmers who are just kind of familiar with UX technology (what might be the case in such niche scales mobile apps business) it's when 'brilliant' software is created, in the opposite meaning of that word.

[@michiellombaers3198]

That's an important point. Every R&D should have both basic software testers who test on source code level and "user experience" testers who should be knowledgable on the functionality and priorities in the real world. Those last ones should have a voice in the "look & feel" of a product.

[@frenzee9671]

As fellow UXer I hope that as "tester" you meant "user in usability testing session" not a software QA tester. These are definitely not the same and you and your company should know it.

[@ignatiusgregory_]

He'll made a great product owner/manager

[@graham1034]

It has been my experience that devs often just code to meet requirements, but QA usually tries to test from a customer's viewpoint and if the company isn't terrible they also run alpha/beta versions by actual real customers before a full product release. I can see for cheap products designed and made in China (or other cheap manufacturing hubs) that the software would be terrible but these are very expensive scales. For these apps I'd place the blame on the product team for doing such a shit job of knowing their customers.

[@Hammi4Real]

James is like the perfect test user for any UX/UI design with all that useful dead on feedback, as an aspiring professional designer it kind of gets me fired up. It's always about the user.

[@alexalexwin]

“Get out of here” _Angrily flicks away the manual_ I felt that frustration down to the bone

[@BubbaLichvar]

As a software engineer with a lot of friends in ui/ux and human centered computing, I forwarded this to all of them. I think this shows how important proper design can contribute to more pleasant experience.

[@lisar3944]

yeah but they are often the last people who need to hear that if they are true UX specialists. Bad UX usually comes from companies that have no UX designers and/or devs that somehow fell into interface implementations, ie, hackers. It's getting better, but as a dev who has done a lot of UX work and takes it seriously, it's still an uphill battle. I can't tell you how many companies I've worked for who have an attitude of "they'll take what we give them - just do...something...fast". It's appalling.

[@Chinookman]

Many years ago I volunteered for graphical user interface design studies at a new lab located at Babson University outside Boston. It was the genesis of the internet and it was these studies for major clients such as Fidelity Investments that really determined how and where things standardized across the internet as smaller companies copied the larger ones: Such as looking at the bottom of a screen for Contact or About Us. The lab had eye tracking systems for example. Clearly no use-ability studies done here. Painful GUI. Painful graphics. Painful flow. If a company send out an app where the end user can’t make heads or tails of it....very bad.

[@sanderschat]

while you are at it, implement some AI.... these machines still need to learn a lot

[@YTACCPP]

@@lisar3944 That sounds horribly relatable ;-)

[@trentbosnic]

Sander Schat God no, the last thing these scales need is AI. What they need is a simple and intuitive UI that anyone can understand. AI is a word that morons in marketing like to throw around because they don’t understand what it’s purpose is.

[@YTACCPP]

"This Beep is not a good Beep". Best. Feedback. Ever.

[@DinarQ8]

Sound Settings kzbin.info/www/bejne/jp_LiamXjK-JfZo

[@josuesalazar502]

It gets me every time jajaja

[@KristianRoebuck]

Beep

[@weihengmanufacturer6921]

Could you tell me the correct Beep sounds like what? The answer is important to me. thanks

[@manuel0578]

Actually a bad beep is bad feedback. 😆

[@jeremychristian5409]

I feel like I only know 5% of James Hoffman as a person after watching like dozens of his videos. But this single video reveals to me about half of the remaining 95%. Like, wow... This is the "if you truly want to get to know a guy let them play an online game with lags" version of a coffee guy.

[@fastenedcarrot9570]

Yeah he held it together way better than he had any right to.

[@razgvozd]

He should receive some brit award for being so brit. Brit people complaining is such an entertainment. Is sad how nice it is.

[@razgvozd]

These apps are all giving me a nightmare though. Is like internet in 1995.

[@eronan03]

@@razgvozd BAFTA nominated Espresso Connoisseur James Hoffman. Has a ring to it.

[@lurklingX]

i was thinking the same thing. like OH, he isn't just naturally this chill and with bob ross vibes voice. to see him legit get pissed and toss that set of crappy instructions.... lol. nice to know it's not just me who gets pissed off by horrible design and worse instructions.

[@JuainLondon]

Been upgrading my coffee corner recently and thinking about getting a nice slick black smart scale, but after watching this video, I’ve decided to stay with my cheap plastic digital scale for now. Thanks James for saving my money :)

[@remaguire]

All I need my scale to do is tell me how many grams i've weighed!

[@rengingurel3744]

I have been watching your videos and I want to say: these reviews are really helpful for DESIGN students! Because you talk about them in that way. I am doing my masters in Industrial Product Design major, even though my bachelor's is interior architecture. But the way you analyze your experience with the product and apps are really good examples on "how to think as a designer", in my humble opinion. Thank you for these! I enjoy everything about coffee but this aspect is so powerful that needed to be said. I hope you see this. Thank you! And you are right, these scales don't seem to be user-friendly.

[@jasonlinn]

Thank you for squashing any desire of mine to "upgrade" from my Hario brew scale

[@Frownigan]

Jason, is the Hario ok? Does it do the job? I currently have a mere kitchen scale with only 1g accuracy, so it takes about 4-5 beans to change the reading, which a bit too much, really! Was thinking of buying the Hario.

[@jasonlinn]

@@Frownigan I love mine! It's awesome have 0.1 g accuracy when weighing beans. My only complaint is that I would prefer tactile buttons, but that is really a small gripe. Overall, I totally recommend it!

[@Frownigan]

@@jasonlinn Thanks for replying so fast! That's it, then. I'm buying the Hario. (Really felt no need for something such as Acaia when all I need is better accuracy). Thank you again!

[@adrianbreivik28]

@@jasonlinn I'm really happy with mine, but I think it's a bit unresponsive which makes me have to spend more time weighing my beans and often overshoot

[@ltbaxter]

Me too! Half way thru I thought "I can't watch this trainwreck any more - I will absolutely be sticking to my not-so-smart-but-oh-so-nice Hario scale! :)

[@ngkasp]

I laughed out loud when that brew graph started. All it needed was the Nyan Cat music in the background!

[@peternewton2200]

Nick Kasper I thought it was tracking down the way to start until my brain worked out it was moving the graph around the plot point 🤯

[@shu002]

Worth the money if it was actually nyan cat

[@clarayi1840]

Same Hahaha😂😂😂

[@rikaze]

Thanks to your comment, i opened another tab to play Nyan Cat in the background while the graph was charting. IT WAS EPIC. SUDDENLY THE GRAPH MADE SENSE. It made my day, thank yo.

[@olam.2136]

🤣🤣🤣

[@antibodyjeans]

James. I love this video. I am a scientist who runs a lab with lots of expensive lab scales, DNA sequencers, and we also program apps. All this to say that I am not a technophobe. Let’s just say that in the morning, I just use a Hario V60 scale, and that’s all I want. You’re right: 30 g per 500 ml, with your pouring guidelines is easy to remember in the foggy mornings. I’ll save my money and stick to that.

[@cristobalmunoz5756]

As a blind coffee drinker Who likes pour-over, AeroPress and French press, there are unfortunately very few options for talking kitchen scales that can weigh to the gram. I was skeptical about using a smart scale with my iPhone, but I’ve been using the same smart scale (Drop scale) for going on more than four years now. It was marketed with all sorts of recipe functions and other stuff, but I got it strictly for the scale feature. It’s completely accessible and can way to the 10th of a Gram.

[@vintageswiss9096]

Cheers mate. Many blessed cups in your future.

[@Omnilatent]

That's actually so cool and a use I did not think of before

[@mikaeljensen4399]

This is so important and I honestly hadn't thought about it before reading your comment. It ought to be a standard feature, to have an option for the scale to read out loud the weight, since it is so cheap and easy to implement.

[@wangouthangout]

James videos must be so good for a blind person. He describes literally every detail in words.

[@lolariley3367]

I agree! I am blind and love coffee and looking for a reliable coffee scale

[@floorpizza8074]

I want a scale with a beep sound of James saying "Beep."

[@CantEscapeFlorida]

I'm going to put it as my ringtone

[@laowai2000]

That would sell!

[@nickman5959]

@@CantEscapeFlorida can you drop it somewhere haha I want it

[@alfredleadbeaterjr.6053]

I’m not interested in smart scales but I really enjoyed this hilarious, entertaining and accurate review. James is awesome.

[@Oscar-mi7yi]

Me: Already has a perfectly functionable coffee scale Also me: Watches a 30 minute video about the best one anyway

[@daltonionson8223]

Same lol

[@stan4620]

Just having him pronounce it as "tim-muh-more" instead of "time-more" increased the Timemore's value by about 35%

[@Alph92]

Why tho?

[@winedemonium]

“I’ve got the instructions in front of me.... I’m just not having a good time.” A fairly universal truth in my experience.

[@NikkLiberos]

I love how the frustration mounts as time goes by in this video. Feels like a pretty sensitive small kitchen scale, Googling the recipes and your phone stopwatch are more than enough.

[@travellingminion]

James, I would just like to say "thank you". There were so many moments in this that genuinely made me laugh out loud; just what I needed after a frustrating day in the office. Definitely one of the best videos on KZbin. I also agree with you about the 'beep'.

[@LadyTigerLily]

I'll say it again: Thank you for your sacrifice, Jim. But honestly, this is a video I've been really looking forward to.

[@nallarke]

Simple 4£ kitchen scale and kettle built-in timer is just enough for me. For five years of being home barista I've never felt I needed anything more. Thank you for confirming my impression :)

[@NFTShake69]

James should start a new channel: "James Hoffmann using gadgets that don't really work properly" I'd watch every episode twice.

[@tonaka86]

YES YES YES !!!

[@lurklingX]

he could honestly be a consultant. lol

[@brandonkempf8194]

This was pure joy to see James mimick my own frustrations validating that I am not a crazy person. Lots of work to be done on these "smart" scales, although without the app I do love my Pearl S ;)

[@MichaelHeaney001]

I have a 16£ scale I bought on amazon, accurate to .1g and has a timer. Im very glad I've watched this video as I've been close to wasting my money on a smart scale a number of times! thank you!

[@andyerickson6294]

MichaelHeaney001 which one?

[@MichaelHeaney001]

The one I got isn’t available any more but this one is almost identical MUHWA High Precision Food and Coffee Scale with Timer, Multifunction Food Scale, Digital Kitchen Scale 3kg/0.1g www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B074TB9L2D/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_LePNEbEVR7E1V

[@pvgaming8243]

"Looks at my cheap food scale." I'm good with this.

[@teletubbiestunetwister9570]

Same. Good scale and a timer on my phone. They don't need to talk to each other.

[@MVargabass]

@@teletubbiestunetwister9570 same here 😂

I'm having a hard time finding one that doesn't have "drift." The one I have now is one of the least bad at it but it can still be 1-2g off by the time I'm done pouring. I wish I could remember my old roommates brands because it didn't have that drift.

[@Creativepianoacademy]

First thing in the morning, I just want a set of accurate .1 scales with a timer built in. Nice set of buttons that do what they say they do. Used those hario scales for years. I thought I'd ruined them by spilling my brew over them but dried it out and still works perfectly. Also use it for espresso with no problem. I would get the acaia not for the phone functions but just because its more solidly built and quicker. I could probably get into smart scales if they weren't so clunky (the flowrate is a cool feature) but this video confirmed I don't really need one. Great video as always James!

[@SeraphX2]

There are timer apps out there anyway that can give you that pour rate with full instructions on making a brew. For free. I think the Hario scale and a good coffee app is just fine. No need for the two things to be connected.

[@RichardWerbin]

Creative. Which scale are you using? My .1g coffee scale just died after getting a few drops on espresso on it. I tried drying it out for a few days with no success.

[@unstablemolecules]

I have the Hario scale, and it has too much of a delay every time after you pour. It has a one second delay for the result, compared to a Jennings scale that's half the cost. Hario also eats batteries like no other scale I've owned. I change batteries every few months, compared to once a year for Jennings. And sometimes the Hario turns off by itself and turns back on in the middle of my extraction. Very finicky and non-durable for a $50 scale.

[@Lee-hn3ko]

Great video, really helpful. I'd love for an updated video on regular coffee scales (non-smart), with perhaps a note on their functionality for non-drip methods, such as Aeropress. Since this vid pretty much concludes with "Smart scales are overkill for most people", I think that a video on regular scales would be fantastic.

[@cameronmcmanus4626]

Agree just regular scales.

[@NYKevin100]

The advice I was given was basically "go on Amazon and buy any random scale in the $10-$30 range, which for that price should go to 0.1 g precision and include a timer." You probably don't need anything fancier than that unless you're doing something rather exotic.

[@russelljackman1413]

Thank you, James! Your "rant" was spot on. I just saw the Acaia Pearl on a coffee roaster's website and my first thought was, "This might be a good idea." Thanks to your review, I have come back down to Earth, to realize that what I have--a simple scale, with a tare function and a gram weight option--is all I really need. Thank you for going through the frustrations and leg work for us! I found your review thoroughly enlightening, as well as greatly entertaining! All the best, Russ

[@dannol]

I’ve had the Acaia Pearl for a couple years and I’ve had many of the frustrating experiences you describe. The software for these is pretty unusable and lacks basic features of an app with good user experience. Honestly, the best features have been the built in timer, the long battery life, and the fact that it’s rechargeable by USB. I rarely use the Bluetooth feature anymore - I found it to be more of a gimmick. I do love the styling of this scale. I think they should drop the smartphone connectivity, keep the minimalist styling, make sure its waterproof and keep the price under $100. They’d have a real winner.

[@acaiacoffee]

Thanks, we appreciate the feedback!

[@klarkbeverly]

100% agree. This should be top comment.

[@golen87]

I only ever use the app to check the battery, but they seemed to have jumped ship on Android about a year ago. Haven't been able to connect with the scale for more than a year.

[@njx9230]

My thoughts exactly, I have both the lunar and pearl s and use them on a daily basis and love them for all the Features you described, but the apps are a PITA and don’t add any value (except the updater that brought faster weighing speed to my pearl)

[@nealreid5560]

I have had the Lunar for years. I wish it would do a few things well instead of man things poorly. All I want it to do is weigh and time my shots exclusive of pre-infusion, and, although the options to do that exist, they don't function dependably

[@Spiun666]

My thoughts : I am a software engineer and on behalf of my profession I am truly sorry.

[@4rk]

Hardware and device companies simply don't know how to both recruit good software engineers, and how to give them a chance at doing a good job.

[@mjardeen]

This is why you hire an interface designer who works with the Graphics manager to make sure the interface works and sticks to the overall corporate look. Every few years I read 'The Inmates are Running the Asylum'

[@Grassyfieldsflowers]

@@mjardeen The problem is software work is so often under estimated because we are always developing new things. Some entrepreneur things a scale with an app is easy, why's no one done this before. They probably already spent 5-10 times their original estimate, were already late only implemented half the features and they were asked "does it work?", "well.... we still need to improve the UI..." and then told that they have to ship it.

[@pictishboar]

Software engineers have forgotten the K.I.S.S. Principle (keep it simple stupid) that was there when we first started programming the first consumer computers. Simple, clean, and lightweight programming is always better then tons of layers and buttons and features.

[@hitherefrompointswest4805]

No need, as he said these are all examples of technology for the sake of technology - no need to even have it.

[@Kenjitheninja]

I'm surprised but also happy to know that James has a limit to his patience.

[@mikri2008]

You are right with every word you say. These scales are not smart enough. I love your videos, you helped me a lot in the past.

[@stellanagy8060]

I had bought the Acaia Pearl S coffee scale and sheer despair at the operation. Then, on the advice of my son, I ordered the Hario kitchen scale. It does what it's supposed to do, it's small, light and you can even attach it to a hook on the wall. Only afterwards I saw your video and laughed tears. Wonderful. Thank you.

[@GadgetViper]

I have a set of £10 scales with a decimal place and I have a wall clock with a second hand, they have served me well. I do like the idea of being able to log your pours, by pressing a button and have it sync to an app every now and then. I definitely would not be at all interested in mucking around with a phone app before I've even had my morning coffee.

[@jasonadams7308]

This is the fundamental problem with these. All that extra cost is for software which frankly is extremely poor. To ask a consumer to pay those prices for incredibly bad software is just flat out highway robbery.

[@timgerber5563]

Same here. The standard cheap drug dealer scales you can get for 10€/$/£. Together with a stop watch I start when the pump starts, this is great although with a short lag, which you learn to compensate. Essentially spending 250€/$/£ on a shorter lag and bad software doesn‘t seem worth it anymore after watching this video. I can‘t see how this should result in better coffee.

[@reginaldbowls7180]

The Acaia Pearl is designed more for professionals no?

[@weeksweeks9552]

@@reginaldbowls7180 IMO if you're a professional (barista/coffee shop staff) wouldn't you want something more industrial with tactile buttons and infinite battery life? Rather than a finicky minimalistic black and white small square panel. These scales are for people who has everything

[@amunak_]

The reason why they all use an app is that it's fairly simple and cheap to make a phone app, while it's expensive to make complex hardware. So they make the simplest hardware possible: a scale device that just transmits current weight over a bluetooth connection, while doing almost nothing else. What you have there is basically all dumb scales with smart apps (that are designed terribly). A true smart scale - working like you suggested - would be much, much more expensive. You would need a proper "computer" on the scale running some complex software. You'd need a wifi module (which draws more battery than bluetooth). You'd probably need more buttons, much more complex software on both the scale AND on your phone (or whatever app you use to control it), etc. And it would still probably kind of suck. Edit: it actually seems that the Jimmy scale is the only one with more complex computing and software inside the scale which is WHY it's so goddamn expensive (among other reasons like that it needs dual bluetooth and whatnot). So that kind of proves my point. And it's still ... mediocre at best. Just get two 10$ scales: one that has a precision of .1 grams and does up to 200-500g, and a regular kitchen scale that has a precision of 1 gram and does up to 2 to 5 kilograms. That'll cost you like 20$ on Amazon, which is still less than 50% of the price of the Hario scale, and like 10% of the price of all those dumb smart scales.

[@zakariyyagardee8934]

Been waiting for this video for ages and now that it's here I've had to pause it as I need to pee after listening to all those water trickling noises :(

[@AirborneLRRP]

You should get that checked out by a doctor.

[@lukehawkins9443]

I use an A$30 scale which weighs stuff. It's reliable and elegant and my phone has a stopwatch. I'm so glad I've stuck with this setup. Making coffee should be kept simple and intuitive.

[@at-ge5te]

yep. if its good enough for a local dealer to weight his powder its good enough for coffee

[@explosivefitnessuk]

Completely agree! Most coffee heads get caught up in the trap of buying more and more expensive stuff they don't need. I use a cheap scale and it doesn't effect the outcome of my espresso

[@Abigail-hu5wf]

@@at-ge5te From speaking with the students at the pharmacy school, the ones who are dosing uhhh unprescribed pharmaceuticals actually prefer jewellers' scales because they're accurate to the hundreths of grams typically and they rarely need to weigh more than 10-20g of stuff at a time.

[@virtual_self]

Today a shopped groceries without my phone, I just plain simple put whatever I needed written in a piece of paper. Let me tell you this, it was SO satisfying, that I felt good and happy and was asking myself why, and remembered that I didn't had my phone with me, I was actually living and enjoying what I was making, like looking at different products and shelves and people, seeing my surroundings...now, after this presentation let me tell you one thing: my coffee is for me to relax and enjoy the process. I make French Press the Hoffman way and I don't use nothing since I have a scoop I bough in Ikea that filled x2 is 14g of beans, sometimes I feel like I need to make sure of it and so I use a regular scale and measure both beans and the amount of water. And for me that's it. That's all I need, don't want anything else to take me from that moment, the moment I make my cup of coffee. Also I have a glass that gives me the exact amount of water 250g I need.

[@morgaj21]

James I can easily watch your vids without audio. Your expressions and body language says it all - priceless!

[@Yuu_Adamowski]

I just use a lab scale that weighs as accurate as 0.01 gram. Funny when you can see the volatile compounds vaporising away with some steam when you put your coffee away for a bit. The first time I saw that number dropping bit by bit it was actually quite mind-blowing.

[@miroslavmilan]

But is it waterproof? :)

[@ReinaldoJ_AF]

@@miroslavmilan there are ones that are waterproof, it depends on the model

[@abelbabel8484]

@@miroslavmilan just put it in a plastic bag lol

[@lizcademy4809]

I would use mine, only it has a top weight of 500 gm, and my empty brewer setup is 800+. So instead I use my 1gm general cooking scale, and tell myself bean measurement doesn't need to be accurate for a 500gm pour over. I would love for James to do a similar review of dumb coffee scales.

[@eldiabloduevel1073]

That is cool. Must try that at my friend's work place. They have scales that have wind covers as even breathing near it is registered. They also weigh down to a thousanth of a gramme.

[@bmasonoh]

I LOVE your honesty. Please don’t ever change.

[@IamSeafarer]

As a user experience designer, thank you.

[@LadyTigerLily]

"These are all examples of technology that exists because it can, not because it should." That is precisely my feeling on it. I don't have a smart device, myself, so I just want a reliable, waterproof scale that doesn't make me pause to use a secondary or tertiary piece of equipment. In work environments when I've had to use them, I really hated them. They were just redundant. Similarly, I had so much trouble with the Dalla Corte Mina in a work setting because the app was so counterintuitive and half-cocked. It and these scale apps are fiddly and annoying and I find myself wasting more time struggling with the app, for one reason or another, than focusing on my coffee. I could just write my notes on a piece of paper and keep them in a binder, or write them on a white board if I only need them for a day. I'm probably just going to go with getting a new Hario drip scale, even though I kind of hate the way it feels. At least I'm not dropping $100-$200 for bloatware.

[@4rk]

Funny thing though is: Maybe, if he had a normal watch with a visible second hand, all he'd need is a regular $25 scale. IE I'm saying the Apple Watch can have exactly the same criticism thrown at it.

[@BroonParker]

If you've ever come across the LockPickingLawyer channel, he often comes yo the same conclusion about locks, and gunsafes in particular. By introducing fancy electronic elements and apps, they create more vulnerabilities and often neglect the central mechanical lock. Locks that don't lock, scales that don't weigh.

[@Johannesbgood]

I am truly interested in a follow-up video. 3 years is age's in IT, and especially regarding 'Smart' products. I guess that apps have improved, some companies might not exist anymore and there could be newcomers or fashionably cold star-ups, that are interesting to hear about. Just entering the coffee maker space, wrestling with a standard digital scale and the stopwatch on my phone, makes me want a better solution.

[@username-yn5yo]

I dont even drink coffee, I love this guy. Very charismatic

[@milemil]

I thought I was gonna comment saying "aw man, now I want a smart scale!", but instead I'm thinking I definitely don't want one ever. I applaud you for not just throwing them all against the wall.

[@DonSWG]

Good on you for calling out Felicita. That kind of IP theft is never ok! Also, I have the Acaia scales, and the only reason I know how to do all the things is because I use them in a café, almost daily. By the way, I just got my first legit barista job and am totally pumped 😀.

[@jameshoffmann]

Congrats!

[@ecq2064]

"Oh goodness me, that is an unpleasant way to input data" - best line in this video by far.

[@bonnie9174]

James Hoffmann would make great product designer and product reviewer, not just for coffee but any type of consumer products. You can make anything but if it's not useful and something people need or didn't know they needed, it's a waste. His product reviews are somehow so technical yet so simple to understand. James, your way of looking at a product cuts to the heart of it.

[@douglasiram7937]

Thanks! Your frustration says it all!

[@michaelalden5119]

I love how every review or shootout starts with "we all remember how this product changed the industry..... yea I played a part in its design so I have bias" James is a legend

[@chamayonnaise]

james hoffmann, 20+ years experience in coffee: hi silly little electric scales: i’m about to ruin this man’s sanity

[@MrPineapples83]

I watch your videos to get into a meditative state before bed. This video stressed me out.

[@cindyarnold]

My near descent into madness occurred last night after watching two of your excellent videos. For reasons I cannot explain, I read all of the comments and one suggested a link to (-) adjust the bars of pressure on a Barista Express to 9 bars! And, the video was in Arabic! And, I watched the whole thing even though I would NEVER want to reduce the pressure, remove the protective top and back of the BE and finally to order parts to do same. And, watching the process I had no idea what he actually changed. But I believe I have passed some kind of home coffee brewing milestone because I cared enough to even try to understand.

[@nabreu1]

I don’t care about scales but I still watch every single second about this video and I enjoyed your honesty and critical thinking about no just scales but any equipment we want to buy . It needs to be functional, really “smart” on the design, and be intuitive for the consumer. Specially we such a high prices. Thank you.

[@eyeDoc202]

We use $8 jewelry scales from eBay rated at 3000g just like he used in recent videos. They are 4 inches square and have protective covers and fit great under our group heads

[@unina75]

Yeah, I have same one perfectly working for me & super budget friendly.I love it.

[@bcpettit]

Just did an ebay search. Found it. Totally buying that one and skipping all of these. I am not sure why I need a scale to have an app when I can do 1st-grade math in my head.

[@motek8220]

doing the same with my 500g @ 0.01g resolution from aliexpress. It costs about 6.5dollars. Works perfectly fine. Only problem I have is a small weighting plate, I have to use a ceramic square thingy which usually goes under hot mugs. Other than that I am fine with it.

[@jalanperak]

Same here :-)

[@luksan1585]

Can you share which model of scale you bought please? Tank you

[@denniskirschbaum9109]

"Doing things that don't need to be done." That pretty much describes my feeling about the whole category of Smart Coffee Scales. A regular kitchen scale accurate to 1 gram works great for both making my coffee and several kilos of bread dough. Thanks for making sure I remember this!

[@allan2491]

Disagree. For espresso you need 0,1g accuracy

[@denniskirschbaum9109]

@@allan2491 How do you know what I need? :-)

[@allan2491]

@@denniskirschbaum9109 I mean it generally, using kitchen scale for espresso is hugely inaccurate. You don’t have to buy acaia lunar, but any cheap scales with 0,1g accuracy

[@varieedeventualii]

@Paul Ridgeway "nobody" that's nonsense, I have an extremely sensitive palate, and many other people do... crappy kitchen scale is not good enough

[@dorish2808]

As of late, I have been using the OXO Good Grips Precision Scale. I own a few of the scales you talk about and have had all the same issues as you. I highly recommend this scale. It is easy to use, well-labeled - which makes it intuitive - and checks off all the boxes of what you'd hope for in a coffee scale. P.S. Keep up the invaluable work. I very much enjoy and admire your thoroughness and sense of style!

[@MeiinUK]

I like the Oxo brand, it does what it says. And I couldn't believe that in the market are a lot of badly designed products. Products in London means physical products, tangible products. Products in Cali, means software products, smart connections, turing-complete, data dumps, shaping, AI (database queries snatching your info from everywhere that you've been, and dumping it in places that you least expect, and resold it back to you). That's advertising.

[@timothyf7621]

I agree with your assessment of these Bluetooth scales. I use a regular coffee scale and an app, ie Filtru Coffee, Coffee Guru, etc. to record and time my recipes. This eliminates virtually all of the headaches that the above scales produce. My scale does not have the ability to connect to a finicky WiFi connection... nor does it come with the inherent frustration! Love your videos! I am so much smarter on coffee after watching them than I ever thought possible! Thank You for what you do!

[@nicolasmiguez7092]

I have the TimeMore one, Never used the app. You can turn off sound (yey!) I like the way timer can autostart when you pour water but if you take things off yo shake or something, stops or reset (weird) I don't use anything else than timer and scale. I do the ratios by hand and its all happiness after that. Lots of love James! Love you content.

[@RockAndRose]

I wanted to get a scales to automatically calculate the 1:16 ratio instead of having to use my calculator, which is on my phone. Thanks to your reviews, I can now save myself the expense of these supposedly sophisticated scales and just keep my regular kitchen scale on hand and calculate my ratio myself and slow down my pour! Fait accompli!

[@DJ_SayWhaaaat]

Great video! Thanks for going through the frustration for us. Frustration seemingly being the only thing these scales provide.

[@BeachJazzMusic]

Great video. I bought the Acaia Lunar about 3 months ago and I absolutely love it. The main reasons I bought it instead of the Pearl S is that the scale is built like a tank, it's waterproof and has a small footprint. Because it is so small I use the remote scale app so that I can see the weight and timer but I haven’t even tried to use any of the other features . So far just using this I've had no bluetooth issues at all. Also having a rechargeable USB connection is the bomb. I hate having to put batteries in scales and wall warts suck. The battery appears to last a long time, I haven't had to recharge it yet and I use it to weight food for my cockatoo as well who is on a very restricted diet so I have to have an extremely accurate scale.

[@explosivefitnessuk]

Did the overpriced scale make your Coffee come out better? No? Funny that...

[@BeachJazzMusic]

@@explosivefitnessuk Yes.

[@BeachJazzMusic]

@@explosivefitnessuk Actually it did.

[@explosivefitnessuk]

@@BeachJazzMusic don't you lie to me! Don't make me come to your house, sneak in the window, make an espresso with my cheap scale then wake you up with it to prove you wrong.

[@BeachJazzMusic]

@@explosivefitnessuk I have a ton of cheap scales. I think about seven. Those are what I use to use. I bought the Lunar because I needed a scale to weight things that require extreme precision. Another reason I bought it because I have limited counter space. This way I have a small scale that I can use for everything rather than have to pull out a bunch of different scales, worry about putting batteries in them and then putting each one away to pull out another one which was a huge pain in the ass. I don't make espresso, only pourovers. Back in 1981 I went to Italy and bought a Faema 1 group restaurant espresso machine. I had to have it professionally installed and back then it was difficult to even find a company that could do it. I was drinking 20 doubles a day and my doctor told me if I kept doing it I'd have a heart attack so I sold it. Now I only drink one or two cups of coffee a day but I roast my own beans because I couldn't find any places that roast it like I like.

[@elizabethingram9784]

I enjoy your rants - measured and calm, with a slightly wrinkled brow. Perfection.

[@Sally4th_]

I was wondering if I needed a coffee scale. I now know I do not need this level of stress before I've had my coffee in the morning. Thankyou James ;)

[@mothmanprophet11]

22:50 - When the madness takes hold. Thank you so much for doing this video. I hope it didn't leave you with any lasting distress.

[@p1ggie]

I was looking forward to the rant while watching. I knew it was going to begin sooner or later. You make rants so enjoyable to watch!

[@FrogRider]

Your videos are always great, one of the few things to make a sick day just a bit better. Thanks James! Edit: I use just a simple kitchen gram scale I bought about 8 years ago for baking. It’s never steered me wrong and still works great. I’ve thought about the acacia a lot for espresso because my current scale doesn’t really fit and work with the tray of my mozzafiato. Though I get plenty good shots without weighing and I just use a timer and volumetric marked shot glasses, so why bother at that expense.

[@MW3piXy]

You can check out the brewista smart scale II for both espresso and pour over :)

[@stalkholm5227]

You know what I love? I've always thought of coffee as a working class drink, odd as that might sound, the sort of thing you'd get out of an grungy plastic percolator that's going on its third carafe, you'd find it on a work site or in the waiting room at a garage, I'd never thought of it in the context of, well, *thought.* It's neat, I like it!

[@xandergrae9444]

I put forward that James should design a decent coffee scale that meets all of his findings The world will benifit immensely from this

[@dushk0]

any unf... smartened scale that works well enough and is cheap enough?

[@jamesmorris2010]

This type of design and reaction to it is almost a perfect textbook example for any UI/UX/product designer that wants to see exactly what not to do.

[@matthewchristianho]

Hey James, thanks for uploading! I own a set of Acaia Pearl scales and have never used the app. I like how fast they are for weighing our portafilters. After they started getting abused at work I took them home and switched to an ohaus navigator which was good but not as quick but liked (not loved) the ir tare function. They did a good job until someone dropped a portafilter on the LCD and it became effectively unusable. After researching and finding that ohaus have now put out a new model and not being able to buy a new LCD we bought a felicita parallel which is doing a good job so far, but again never have used the app. We use brewista smart scales for weighing espresso and they are great apart from the usb jack which breaks easily when we charge it. Slight segway on your original topic but wanted to share my experiences!

[@pnjunction5689]

This is a fantastic video and sums up pretty nicely everything that is wrong with a lot of "smart" products these days. Every product developer should watch it and make his boss watch it, too!!

[@AzWineNut]

James: You hit the nail on the head. Why o Why do we need a smart scale???? I'm a beginner, using a small digital scale for making expresso, and so far am in complete agreement with you. Figure out what you like, understand why, and do not overthink it!! CHEERS!!

[@properandwise]

Thank you for your videos and insight into various coffee methods and design ratings. It is easy to enjoy your videos because you are incredibly transparent with your reviews. I watch you every morning! Blessings from Florida

[@kevinromaindrums]

Sometimes when I'm feeling sad I watch the first 7 seconds of this video and everything feels better.

[@super_slo]

That concept James presents at the end seems like it should be incredibly simple to implement as a diy.

[@jshalvorsen3D]

I LOVE my Acaia Lunar, but i never use it with the apps. The design, battery life and accuracy is what appeals to me the most. I use it for both espresso, filtered and pour over coffee. If I had to purchase the scale myself i would probably have gone with something a bit cheaper.

[@innoillust]

Okay, I was designing an app, and this video will be on my watchlist, period

[@stefanshapiro1245]

I just built a simple smart scale in my spare time. It has its own display, doesn't need to connect to a phone. Its functions are: - calculate how much water is needed, based on grounds weight - count down to 0 remaining water needed (for pour overs) - automatically start timer when pouring water (for Aeropress) I can't imagine needing or benefitting from most of the "features" in these scales. I confess I experienced schadenfreude seeing this video. Thanks for taking the hit for us, James.

[@grindhousefaction]

This was honestly painful to watch. I really hope these companies pay attention to the criticisms as we consumers deserve much more for the prices that we paid for the scales. I have two of those you reviewed and I'd say for the money paid, I use them more as a paperweight against brewing coffee daily.

[@lucretius8050]

They can double as a paper weigh as well.

[@weeksweeks9552]

Congratulations on having money

[@olivtrees8749]

Honestly I just don't get why people have the need to "smart" every appliance. There's even smart toasters now. At the end of the day there's nothing easier (and less likely to record you for data) than just pushing down the toast level. I have a scale- I press a couple of buttons and I'm good. No pairing, no stress, no hassle and no privacy issues.

[@weihengmanufacturer6921]

There is no any manufacture recognise this problems. They copy the hot model again and again. They only know the prodoucts is so hot , but they don't check the criticisms from consumeres. Because the hot products can get back money soon. The best sales always is trade company. Trade company have big sales team and famous brand. What a pity!

[@humanhelp3969]

@RudyOthman Which two do you own? Care to share which scale you prefer between the two that you own?

[@dan110024]

Wow. Those apps. It's like a weird venn diagram of unskilled programmers and startups who kind of want to be part of the coffee thing coming together to create a really bad coffee related app. It makes me appreciate my Acaia even more now.

[@simondoes]

Also, when you buy the Fellow Stagg Kettle you get a timer with inbuilt prompts with that and can use just a regular scale for weighing.

[@noxnext]

And suddenly I feel a lot better about my old Hario scales (the one James showed in the beginning)! 😌

[@Psykel]

I got the Brewista scale. Super easy to use, haven’t had a single problem with it for the year and a half I’ve had it. Helps me make awesome Chemex coffee every time!

[@GoomusicLtd]

Yeah I think I’ll stick with my Hario.🤣

[@thedanalcantara]

I needed this after 8 miles of walking around Warsaw.

[@PhilipKingLondon]

It would be interesting to compare how scales react to temperature. My own scales (just kitchen digital scales, not smart at all) are hugely affected by temperature, so I have taken to putting an insulating layer on them first before pouring hot water. For nerd points, I just did a little experiment: Test 1: Using a metal container weighing 154g, I first filled it with 250ml water at room temperature and placed it on the scale, which read 405g (I reckon 1g is reasonable pouring error). Test 2: I then filled the same container with 250ml of just-boiled water and placed that on the scale which read 404g. After a few seconds the reading began to rise until at the one-minute mark it read 411g, and then by two minutes it had reached 425g, an error of 21g (or about the weight of my single coffee dose). Test 3: After leaving the scales to cool to room temperature, I added an insulator between the container and the scale (a plastic lid from a cocoa tub). I filled the container with 250ml of just-boiled water, and after two minutes the reading had gone from 404g to 406g, a small increase but the insulation clearly slowed the rise. Which means that direct contact between a hot container and the scale can cause the sensor (strain gauge or load cell) to give a wildly high reading. If anything, the reading should go down slight due to steam evaporation. I wonder how these expensive smart scales would fare in this regard. Do they have good insulation? Does the software take account of temperature effects on the mass sensor?

[@pappito]

I'm using a bog standard salter scale with a metal plate and as hot coffe starts to heat up the carafe grams start to drop. after a 300g pourover I end up with 242/243g. weird

[@KnowledgePerformance7]

Ik this is old, but if you look at scales such as the Acia, it comes with a rubber insulation pad to help prevent this. I believe it's due to one side of the strain gauge expanding due to the heating and changing the dynamics of the gauge. Even expensive scales suffer this and I don't think there is a great solution other than insulation of the scale from the hest.

[@vernonserafico6349]

LOL! I love coffee... I like watching your reviews Mr. James Hoffmann. I have an Acaia, my second scale after the old classic Hario scale. these smart scales help me record my brew time on pour overs and espresso shot. My third scale is the Hiroia Jimmy which perfectly fits my old Hario Acrylic Drip Stand. I think that is why they made the display detachable. The Jimmy comes with a small metal plate that you can stick on near your coffee station, so you could place the magnetic display, while the scale is underneath the drip stand. I sticked that small plate on my Breville Espresso Machine, so everytime I use my Jimmy to weigh my espresso shot, I would attach the display just on the slanted edge of my Breville. I still love my Acaia Pearl S which has a longer battery life than my Jimmy.

[@seanoncape4854]

I'm not sure if I've been able to relate more the James Hoffman than in this video! "Look...look..." And when he throws off the instructions and says, "Get out out of here!" Way to be a voice FOR the people :)

[@peccimabel]

No need for a $200 scale where a $20 will do the same without an useless phone app

[@SirDragonClaw]

Me: Doesn't even drink coffee. Also me: Watches a 30 minute video about the best coffee scale anyway

[@gordanbabic8028]

smart coffee scales. these are SMART coffee scales 😂

[@nickdubya1215]

"I'm not having a good time!" "This beep is not a good beep." At 23:00 min, the solidification of this as my one of my favorite videos of James' is established. I wasn't even too interested in the minute differences before watching. But seeing the hellish techonological frustrations ensue not only made me feel in communion with James, but was a hoot to watch. Regularly, you'll find me yelling at (insert device name here) asking, "Why don't you do the simple automatic task you were designed solely to do?!" Just imagine when automatons have to start considering their relative place in the world and possibly have existential crises! Then our pour overs will really be doomed! I'm currently rolling with the Coffee Gator coffee scale, set me back about $25. I think it's a knock-off design of another brand out there, something i didn't think of when I bought it. It weighs to 0.1g and times. It's a little slow and the weight likes to dance around occasionally. But overall, simple and does the trick. I'd like to be able to log brews with coffee notes (Origin, Process, Varietal(s), Roaster, Roast Profile) and tasting notes along with a brew graph. It'd be nice to have a few recipe recommendations for different coffees (to highlight certain characteristics) but too much would just give me more distractions and frustrations to make me late for work. The Jimmy's app looked cool with flow-rate guidance.

[@lauralcg]

I usually like your videos a lot but this one... Wow, I truly loved it! Not because of your frustration, but just because you make a clear example of technology pushing too far. So many things created that are a constant: WHY? It seems that some people in tech don't get a sense of when is more than enough. Not everything has to be "smart" or be connected.

[@truesimplicity]

I think James needs a coffee hug after that experience... I appreciate the candor and the sincerity of the effort. Technology for technology sake is worthless. Basic scales with tare function and a timer rules...

[@PJko666]

Hi James, I can feel the frustration through the monitor :D Just sharing my experience: I had the Hario and it was ok for V60, Chemex and french press (I still am using it for FP). But for my espresso flow rate measure and knowing when to stop the pump to get a certain amount of final liquid, it was way too slow (I had to stop 3-5 grams earlier to get a desired target +-). So I went with Acaia. And if the single one isolated purpose was the espresso mode, I would still probably go for it. As I am just 1 year into making home espresso, it helped me greatly in consistency, finding the moments when a channel appeared during the flow and so on. This would be even better with Lunar due to its lower height (when using taller espresso cups, 2 of them cant fit on the Pearl below the double spout). However the Pearl is better for e.g. a large Chemex and there I use mostly the flow rate on the scale. Especially useful for your V60 recipe - when aiming for the 60% by 1:15 time I use 10-11 grams/s and from then about 5 g/s. As for the app, I have used it about 3 times. These are my thoughts. Thank you for making these types of videos, they are a great fun and help too.

[@shadow74uk]

James's conclusion to this video is amazing. His reaction is just brilliant

[@alansaxon]

James, you make the most dry and brittle subject hilariously fascinating and enjoyable to watch but for now I’ll stick to my set of jewellers scales and iPhone timer I think.

[@gamesandpctipstricks8855]

I dont even drink coffee or brew coffee this way i use instant t coffee but I love your videos and find them so relaxing and enjoy watching tjem

[@Grabehn42]

I just love the "look" after certain phrases, that look that shows a mix of uncertainty, mild frustration and dissapointment at the same time.