Grind to weight?

[miicah]

I currently have a Sunbeam grinder, which I've owned for nearly 10 years now. The design of it means I can put a small jewelry scale underneath the hopper, put the grinds bin on that and grind to weight. Now that I want to upgrade to a nicer espresso grinder, I'm finding that a lot of them don't have a nice spot underneath to set up the same way. How do you grind to weight on something like a Compak K3? Do you just have to tare out the portafilter on a bigger scale and grind/weigh, grind/weigh etc?

[lancruiser]

One possibility is single dosing. Weigh out the beans you wish to grind before dropping them into an empty hopper. Then grind until the beans are depleted..

[stralto]

How do you grind to weight on something like a Compak K3? Do you just have to tare out the portafilter on a bigger scale and grind/weigh, grind/weigh etc?

Yes, this is the best method if you want a streamlined workflow. I recently bought some scales off eBay (look for 500g minimum with 0.01g increments) which i tare my portafiler on. The timed dose on my Atom is good to within about a gram. My process is tare scales > times dose > weigh > quick burst dose to top up > weigh.


With single dosing, you'll weigh beans before they go in, but you'll still need to weigh them after they come out again due to variances in retention (unless you are using one of a couple of high end "no retention" grinders). I find this process annoying and much prefer having a loaded portafilter.

[Ronin]

One possibility is single dosing. Weigh out the beans you wish to grind before dropping them into an empty hopper. Then grind until the beans are depleted..

I think you’ll find this method not accurate. I always recommend weighing ground coffee

[lancruiser]

It's good enough. I have been doing it with a Eureka Mignon with good enough results. It's no worse than time dosing.

[barri]

It is with the Niche zero. Nearly always within 0.1gms

[Ronin]

I think you’ll find this method not accurate. I always recommend weighing ground coffee

Timed dosing is up to 2 grams out, depending on the grinder

[wirecutter23]

Another option is to look at grinders such as the Baratza Sette 270Wi or the Mahlkonig Vario W that grind to weight however these are not perfect as even Ronin may point out.

I got into weighing my dose and managed to get extremely consistent in obtaining what many would call a "perfect extraction" with minimal effort but my coffee ended up tasting garbage. I'm not sure of the cause exactly but now I've stopped weighing or timing and I'm making the best coffee I have in a long time just judging by eye and experience. Take this as you like but I thought I'd share my experiences with hope that it will help.

[lancruiser]

Well said. With so many gadgets that cost us plenty, we are so focused on the journey that we forget about the destination.

[west912]

If budget allows have a look at the etzinger max light. It can do both timed or weight dossing. I have found the weight dosing very accurate.