What we love: First and foremost, this is a very accurate scale, reacting to changes of a tenth of a gram. But it also has an incredibly smart design and evident high-end build quality. The Lunar is a compact scale that fits under just about any espresso maker and on any drip tray. The large digit display features a visual flow rate indicator in the form of a row of LED dots indicating grams per second. The required repeated taps on a touchscreen are not our favorite way to run through a menu. But unlike other multi-modal scales we tried, Acaia’s at least doesn’t require any weird “tap five times” instructions.. The scale saves whatever your most recent mode was, meaning if you’re making coffee the same way every morning, you don’t have to wade through any default settings to get started as usual.. It has seven options that help you focus on different parts of pulling an espresso shot. Shift between functions like a simple weighing function, auto tare (great if you’re weighing grounds in a portafilter), an auto-start timer, and a flow rate monitor. And it comes with heat-resistant silicone pad for pour-over vessels or simply keeping your scale a little cleaner when making espresso.. Depending on whether you’ll be sliding the scale across a busy, industrial multi-spout espresso station or (more likely) setting the scale on your home espresso maker, it comes with both low-friction and grippy strips to stick on the bottom, scoring yet another point for versatility. Finally, it comes in multiple greyscale colors from white to black to match your aesthetic.. What we’d leave: The symbols-based indicators don’t give a clear indication of what mode you are in; it’ll be important to hold on to the instruction manual to look up what it means if you’re in triangle mode versus square mode versus triangle square mode (that’s a real distinction). The flow rate meter also takes some getting used to. This is a bluetooth-compatible scale that connects to an app for added features and data tracking, but we didn’t find it necessary for regular operation. Finally, while Acaia scales are all high-quality pieces of equipment, they are pricey. And while the Lunar certainly makes sense if you’re buying a few for a team of professional baristas at your coffee shop, it may seem steep for a beginner. The issue though, is that all the less expensive scales we tested had accuracy issues, which meant we didn’t want to name them as favorites.. Fellow. Tally Pro Scale. $200. Amazon. $200. Fellow. Pros and cons. Pros. Accurate. Brew assist mode makes pour-over a breeze. Versatile enough to work as an all-purpose kitchen scale. Cons. Expensive. Dimensions: 7 in. x 6 in. x 1.3 in.. Max. weight: 2,500 grams. Power: USB-C rechargeable
