THE BREW DOG BLOG
Weighing It Out
Now that we’ve dripped and dropped through some pour over devices, time for the next step.
The scale.
Is it necessary?
Do I REALLY need one?
That depends on what you’re looking for. If you want to track your extraction and find the best cup you can out of your bag of coffee, then yes, you need a scale.
If you want that good ‘ol cup in the morning that hits home very time and strays no further, then I’d say no.
Let’s Tare the Score
Okay, so, if you’re brewing your beloved cup of coffee at home in a French press, or you have a drip machine, chances are you aren’t measuring out the coffee on a scale.
Honestly, there’s not much wrong with that. Due to the easygoing nature of these brew methods, having a rough guideline, like x amount of tablespoons, will produce the same, great cup just about every time.
But if you’re nerding out on pour overs, espresso, or just trying to get the most out of your coffee, you’re going to want a scale that at least measures in grams, and doesn't have major delay.
The reason being, in order to move forward in a secure and knowing manner when adjusting your brew you need to know what happened during your brew. And that means monitoring all your variables.
This way, if you know all the variables, you can change whichever ones needed and find that sweet spot in no time, instead of brewing the whole bag and never quite getting what you wanted.
This Sounds Like Chemistry…
That my friend, is because it is.
Brewing coffee is essentially chemistry. The only hard and fast rules inside of coffee brewing are those of extraction, which is the principle we follow (as it particularly applies to coffee) to draw the tasty flavor compounds and addictive, albeit productive, familiar buzz of caffeine from those precious beans.
Ultimately, with that in mind, having a scale seems rather natural. Without having a recipe with a consistent set of numbers and a way to measure them, you’re shooting in the dark when it comes to altering your brew for a favorable change.
You don’t need to break the bank either. There are some affordable, great scales out there. Hell, even the Target brand should work as long as the screen doesn’t have a big delay.
We have a wonderful scale on the retail shelves at Black Dog, the CJ, that will accomplish everything you’d want and do it for a long time without murdering your bank account. Able to measure in several units, and is quick to respond.
However, if you have some cash to spare, we also have the Acaia Pearl. This scale, while a bit more expensive, has features enough that make its price tag seem generous. From a built in timer and the ability to weigh your brew items separately, to being able to link it to an app to track your flow rate and more, all while utilizing a simple and efficient interface.
With no buttons. It’s extremely water resistant.
Having Weighed Our Options
Having a scale or not having one shouldn’t stop you from brewing coffee. You’ll hear it again and again from us at Black Dog, taste is king. If you brew bomb coffee with no scale heck yeah.
All we’re trying to say is, you can dive as deep down the rabbit hole as you want to. If you decide to start using a scale, you might just start to taste things you weren’t before.
And you might end up spending a bit more time dialing in that freshly purchased bag, and acquiring rad gear, all the while experiencing food in one of its most complex offerings.
