0,1 g base

The coffee scale accurately weighs one tenth of gram and almost always carries a timer. With it you weigh the coffee, the water you pour or the espresso that falls from the machine while you control time.

Measuring to tablespoons is unreliable: a tablespoon of a light nut weighs more than a dark one. With a scale you can follow an exact recipe, change one thing and know what happened.

• In favour: makes all recipes repeatable.
• Please, it also serves you for the pastry shop.
• Against: one more device on the counter.
• Against: the cheapest respond late.

They cost €15-60; those of high-end, such as the Acaia, €150-250. Look for precision of 0.1 g, timer, quick response and a size that fits under the filter holder if you make espresso. It's a plus.

Cheapest alternative: a 1 g kitchen scale serves for filter; for espresso it is short.