Boost your daily coffee routine with my favorite mini coffee scale
Some mornings I just need to get caffeine into my system; my taste buds can handle the swill I made while half asleep. But more often than not, I want to make a cup of coffee that welcomes the day and starts me off right.
Whichever method I choose, whether it’s an espresso or a leisurely pour-over, I’ve realized that the secret is consistency: the same amount of quality beans well ground, mixed with hot water and then extracted or brewed for a certain time.
A high-quality coffee scale ties them all together, measuring the beans before and after grinding, distributing the amount of water and tracking brew time to create a cup worth enjoying.
The MHW-3Bomber Cube Coffee Scale Mini 2.0 does it all in a compact, affordable package – on sale now for $37 – with features tailored to coffee and espresso preparation. It charges via a USB-C cable and takes up virtually no space on your countertop. The best part is that you don’t have to delve deep into the intricacies of professional coffee brewing to experience the benefits that a scale offers.
Let gravity help you along the way
Aside from the obvious ability to provide an accurate measurement of whatever you put on the scale, what I like about the Cube Coffee Scale Mini 2.0 is how convenient it is for me.
As long as the scale is on (via a physical switch, which I hardly ever have to touch anymore), it sleeps next to my other coffee items. If I put something on top that weighs more than 100 grams, such as a small container for pouring beans in, the scale wakes up and resets the reading – most scales require me to add the container and then reset the amount before adding the beans.
The MHW-3Bomber Coffee Scale Mini 2.0 is automatically activated when you place something heavier than 100 grams on it, such as this cup, and then measures the coffee you put into the object.
Smart pour-over and espresso modes
In addition, the Cube Coffee Scale Mini 2.0 has smart settings for preparing pour-over coffee and espresso. For example, with ground coffee in a pour-over cone, as soon as I start pouring water the scale starts recording the weight and starts the timer. When brewing is complete, the bright LCD screen displays the original grind weight and water weight plus elapsed time.
When used with an espresso machine, the bowl is small enough to fit under most group heads. This smart mode records the weight of the coffee in the portafilter (the silicone mat flips over to make this easier to balance) and then records the weight of the extracted espresso so you can set a good bean-to-liquid ratio.
For espresso, measure the coffee grounds placed in the portafilter. Then move the scale to the drip tray of the espresso machine to weigh the sucked liquid.
True to its name, the MHW-3Bomber Coffee Scale Mini 2.0 has a small footprint, which is great if the coffee corner in your kitchen is full of stuff. It’s best suited for smaller, individual coffee batches, but I’ve used it successfully with one Overflow coffee maker for 8 cups which I brew most mornings.
This pour-over carafe with 8 cups fits perfectly on the MHW-3Bomber Coffee Scale Mini 2.0.
Measuring my coffee beans and water has proven to be a revelation when preparing coffee. When an older, larger scale I’d used for years finally weighed its final grounds, I was buzzing with excitement to get a smaller, slightly smarter model — or maybe that was the caffeine coursing through me.
For more information, here’s our favorite mug warmer and here’s our favorite smart mug.
