Good eyes: I have two. I also like spoons. But if you want a consistent amount of coffee for a large espresso or pour over, a vertical scale is one true option.
I still remember a time when to weigh my coffee beans every morning, I would place a small measuring cup on the digital scale, press a button on the scale, and wait a second or so for the scale display to show up. zero before pouring the coffee beans into the drinking cup. Back in the sands of time—October of 2024, I think it was—I didn’t consider it a big deal. That’s how coffee scales work.
But maybe they don’t need to. Over the past year or so, several coffee brands have come up with the simple idea that a dosing cup and scale can be combined into one device. Start the lights above the forehead, and green birds on the shoulders. Perhaps the best of these is Subscale, the latest from Singaporean coffee brand Subminimal (also the producer of our favorite milk).
The Subscale is a black-on-black swoop of a cup that will hold about 60 grams of coffee, and its base contains a scale accurate to the tenth of a gram. Since I got it, the device hasn’t left my counter—and it’s made me enjoy my morning coffee ritual a little more.
Keep it Simple
The key to the Subscale’s appeal is its simplicity. The world of craft coffee is now full of new and complex and sometimes confusing things. Once a humble tool, the coffee scale has become the home base for all types of coffee. Fellow Tally Pro (8/10, WIRED Recommends) will do the math for you, tabulating the recommended water weights in the appropriate proportions. The Bluetooth-enabled Acaia Pearl S will track your brew time and water flow rate, while playing music on top of that.
Subscale doesn’t do any of this.
A cup. A lightweight, crisply minimalist cup with a sensitive pen scale that accurately measures the weight of what’s inside. There’s no Bluetooth, no app, and no particular learning curve. It takes up very little space on my counter, and it looks great there.