I abandoned ending the shot by weight when I realized the scale lagged behind the true weight. Maybe I need to revisit? I tried to entice American Weigh to build a purpose made scale for espresso machines but despite them sounding very interested on the phone, I haven't heard back.

I'll have time to play tomorrow.

mitch236 wrote:I abandoned ending the shot by weight when I realized the scale lagged behind the true weight.

Mitch, I use Triton T2. It is fast enough and I simply stop the shot about 2 grams before my desired brew weight. I am always in the ball park. With scale like this then you only need to find out what's your "2 grams" with your machine...

I use My Weigh scales, too. I use the Triton T2 to weigh beans and grinds because it fits and balances fairly well on the K10 forks when I use a disposable OE bowl to catch the grinds. I use an EF550 to weigh the beverage because the panel is slightly less exposed to drips from the group head, and I don't want to risk any damage to the scale I use to weigh grinds -- that's the one that needs to be accurate within 0.1g. A bit of overkill, but these scales are pretty cheap.

I've been considering replacing the grinder forks on my K10 with a homemade flat platform so the scale will fit better, be level, more stable and have room for a large (tall) basket.

At least one grinder manufacturer, Baratza, has heard the call and come out with a built-in scale. As I recall, they don't sell the grinder specifically for espresso because the weighed grind bin is incompatible with having a PF fork. But if you're OK with pouring grinds from the bin into the basket, it's a great way to go.

Of course, what we really need is a scale mechanism built in to the drip tray. I hear that some people are working on that, though I'm somewhat doubtful it can be done at a reasonable cost.

The Triton T2 has a faster sampling rate than any of the cheap Chinese scales I've tried, which is helpful when you are weighing a pulling shot. I have a calibration weight for it, and the only thing that made it read slightly off was switching between alkaline and NiMH batteries.

After 10 months of use with no special care taken, my first T2 was working perfectly until the silly tight fit portafilter of my Strega unscrewed itself mid-shot and slammed down with enough force to smash the cup sitting on the scale. I had a replacement on hand because I know espresso mini scales are expendable. The only extra care I take now is to wipe off the bottom of the scale after every shot, because the hot water in the drip tray steams it up.

Peppersass wrote:I use My Weigh scales, too. I use the Triton T2 to weigh beans and grinds because it fits and balances fairly well on the K10 forks when I use a disposable OE bowl to catch the grinds. I use an EF550 to weigh the beverage because the panel is slightly less exposed to drips from the group head, and I don't want to risk any damage to the scale I use to weigh grinds -- that's the one that needs to be accurate within 0.1g. A bit of overkill, but these scales are pretty cheap.

I've been considering replacing the grinder forks on my K10 with a homemade flat platform so the scale will fit better, be level, more stable and have room for a large (tall) basket.

At least one grinder manufacturer, Baratza, has heard the call and come out with a built-in scale. As I recall, they don't sell the grinder specifically for espresso because the weighed grind bin is incompatible with having a PF fork. But if you're OK with pouring grinds from the bin into the basket, it's a great way to go.

Of course, what we really need is a scale mechanism built in to the drip tray. I hear that some people are working on that, though I'm somewhat doubtful it can be done at a reasonable cost.

Dick, again I am in your debt! I broke out my battery powered AMW-1000 (very similar to your scale) and voila, it works great to measure brew weight as the shot is brewing. It seems the larger, A/C scale was way too slow to be useful for this and that's why I abandoned it long ago. The scale dilemma for our use is that the small, fast scales automatically shut off after a given amount of time so one has to be quick to use the scale once it's tared. If it shuts off mid use, one is basically screwed. I wish the scale manufacturers would make a version of their scales with the ability to have it stay on until turned off manually like the larger scales. That's why I switched to the larger version.

I'm now also using the small scale to weigh my grinds as they come out of the grinder and because it works so well, have abandonded my doser and gone back to the doserless version of my Robur.


What is so interesting about espresso brewing is that there are many lessons to be learned along the way to proficiency and one must endure (and enjoy) the journey until you figure out what works best for you and can do it consistently most of the time. It is at that point that real learning begins. All of the arguments about which is the most important M of the 4 M's change as one moves along the path of learning. At the end, when one is able to consistently make the equipment do exactly what is required, the most important M becomes coffee because the remainder of the equation has been solved. Until then, it is whatever link is weakest.

PS, Dick please check your PM box. Unless you're ignoring me, I have a question.

The scale dilemma for our use is that the small, fast scales automatically shut off after a given amount of time so one has to be quick to use the scale once it's tared. If it shuts off mid use, one is basically screwed. I wish the scale manufacturers would make a version of their scales with the ability to have it stay on until turned off manually like the larger scales. That's why I switched to the larger version.

My scale also used to switch off, especially during the few seconds of no weight change during preinfusion. I now touch the scale or the cup lightly during any lulls to change the weight and keep the scale from shutting off. I bet that now if I got a scale that had a longer wait time I'd probably still keep goosing it manually out of habit.