Tom's Guide Verdict
At just over 3 inches tall and 3 inches wide, this compact little scale is fantastic at weighing coffee beans, grounds, and even could be used in baking. The provided silicone mat means hot brewers won’t damage its surface, too. Although its auto-timing feature is unreliable, the Maestri House Coffee Scale is mostly a success.
Pros
- +
Accurate 0.1g measurements
- +
Built-in timer
- +
Compact
- +
Aesthetically pleasing
- +
Multiple measurement units
Cons
- -
Auto-timer function unreliable
- -
Not waterproof
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If you’re into coffee, you’ll want to know you’re using some of the best coffee scales around. I’m a recent Chemex and V60 convert, having moved on from my basic moka pot a few months ago. Whether I'm using one of the best coffee makers or the best espresso machines, I want to know that I’m using the precise ratios to get the best flavor.
I also like my coffee accessories to be as aesthetically pleasing as my mugs. The Maestri House Mini Coffee Scale ticks that box — although it seems inconspicuous, the compact 3.7 x 3.9 inch size and solid black exterior look great on my kitchen countertop. It also fits under an espresso machine drip tray, meaning it’s compatible with a wide variety of coffee makers.
While it’s not perfect, with some taring and timing issues being the most glaring missteps, it could be good enough to be your first coffee scale. At under $40, it’s not the priciest coffee scale I’ve seen, either. So what’s the full story? Find out in this Maestri House Coffee Scale review.
Maestri House Mini review: Cheat sheet
- What is it? A compact coffee scale with a built-in timer
- Who is it for? People who don’t want to spend $$$ on a coffee scale but still want a pretty addition to their kitchen
- What does it do well? It looks good, is compact, and rechargeable via USB-C
- What do I wish it did better? I wish the auto-timer function worked better
Maestri House Mini review: Specs
Maestri House Mini review: Price & availability
The Maestri House Mini Coffee Scale is available for $39 at Amazon U.S. and £39 at Amazon U.K. This is cheaper than both the Hario V60 Drip Scale ($56) and the aesthetically-pleasing Subminimal Subscale ($49). It’s $10 pricier than the KitchenTour Coffee Scale, which is $29 from Amazon U.S.
Maestri House Mini review: Design & functions
The Maestri House Mini Coffee Scale is, you guessed it, mini. At just 3.93 x 3.71 inches, this is a dinky little scale so will easily slot into a compact kitchen and fits comfortably under my KitchenAid Semi-Automatic espresso machine’s drip tray, even with a mug on top. Don’t think you can’t use it in tandem with bigger brewers like the Chemex, though — you can still put a Chemex on top of the scale for accurate measurements. Make sure you use the included silicone mat to protect the scale from overheating though.
The Maestri House Mini Coffee Scale has a timer setting, unlike the Subminimal Subscale ($49) I recently reviewed. A timer is super important to ensure consistency between espresso brews, and to precisely time your V60 bloom and pour stages. The Maestri House Mini Coffee Scale has an automatic timer — on top of a manual timer — which means it’ll detect when water is flowing and start timing for you. This is great in theory, but in practice, I found it stopped halfway through brewing randomly sometimes. More on that in the ‘Performance’ section, though.
The scale feels well made, with enough weight to avoid it feeling cheap, but not so much that it’s difficult to move around. It is a little annoying that when you press down hard on either side, the opposite side of the scale flips up, but this only happens when there’s nothing on top of the scale.
It’s worth noting that this scale is not waterproof — Maestri House warns against getting the scale wet entirely in the user manual. Even though the Amazon U.S. page claims the scale to be waterproof, this contradicts advice written in the user manual. I would not recommend getting this scale wet.
Maestri House Mini Coffee Scale review: Performance
I like how compact this scale is without compromising on compatibility with bigger brewers. The first thing I did was test it out with my V60 Dripper and it worked like a charm. I put my mug and dripper on top of the scale and measured out 15g of coffee grounds, then pressed ‘tare’ and set the timer to auto-time. Then I slowly poured in 300g/10oz of 85°C/185°F water.
As I mentioned earlier, I had an issue with the auto-timer. The auto-timer worked for the first 8 seconds, but then it stopped, despite water still flowing through the V60 into the mug. I reset the timer (meaning to add 8 seconds to my new time), but it tared the whole scale and I was met with blinking 0s. So not only had I lost my time, I’d also lost how much water I’d poured into the V60.
The second time, I changed to the manual timer and it worked perfectly without stopping or taring my weight. In the end, the auto timer issues were negligible in real-life use as I worked with the manual timer instead.
When I tested this for use with espresso machines, I was able to fit the scale under the group handle with a cup on top. I used the scale to monitor weight and time of my espresso extraction, which helped me calculate the flow rate easily.
During my coffee scale group testing, the Maestri House scale read mostly the same measurements as the majority of the other scales. The only time it measured a different weight was by 0.1g. It never had a gross outlier measurement, which means I would trust it to measure my coffee accurately.
This scale also has the longest standby time of any coffee scale I’ve ever reviewed — a huge 5 minutes. This would be great for cumulative weighing, or baking.
Maestri House Mini Coffee Scale review: Storage & maintenance
Given that this is a compact scale, it would suit a small kitchen well. I have a reasonably small kitchen with only one storage cupboard and it slots away nicely underneath other clutter. It’s rechargeable with a provided USB-C cable and Maestri House recommends that you charge it once every 90 days.
In terms of maintaining cleanliness, this scale has no IP rating, unlike the Subminimal Subscale I recently reviewed, which can be rinsed in hot water. To clean the Maestri House Mini Coffee Scale, I wiped with a damp sponge and immediately dried with a tea towel.
Maestri House Mini Coffee Scale review: How does it compare?
If you have a dripper like a Chemex or a V60, this is a good scale for your needs. Its max weight is 2kg/4.4 pounds, which means you can weigh a lot of coffee on this thing, or even use it for baking. The Subminimal Subscale’s max weight was just 99.9g, restricting it to just coffee usage.
Even if you have an espresso machine, this scale would work well. It’s not designed specifically for espresso like the Felicita Arc ($110) or the Subminimal Subscale, but it can still fit under an espresso machine drip tray with ease.
Maestri House Mini Coffee Scale review: Verdict
While the auto-timing niggle was a little frustrating during testing, this is one of the cheaper coffee scales I’ve reviewed. You wouldn’t be able to tell that by looking at it, though — the sleek black design suggests it’s much more premium than its price point. The build quality is fantastic, too, with high-quality plastic exterior and easy-to-use controls. Although it’s not waterproof, if you’re careful while using, this shouldn’t be a major issue. The weight is super accurate, too, down to 0.1g, meaning you should get a fantastic coffee extraction each time you use this scale.
The Maestri House Coffee Scale is more versatile than the cup-shaped Subminimal Subscale and more attractive than the Hario V60 Drip Scale. This is my favorite coffee scale for the price, aesthetics, and functions.
