Brewing espresso at home is an art and a science. Using a scale for home espresso is essential for consistency and precision, which leads to a better understanding of your own preferences! But of course, if you’re reading a blog about the Timemore Black Mirror Mini scales, surely you’re already acquainted with the need for a scale in your ‘spro workflow. If you’re on the fence about using a scale at all in your espresso, please read THIS BLOG by our Head of Coffee, Phil, to convince you why it’s one of the best investments you’ll make into your home espresso set-up!
Review: The Timemore Black Mirror Mini Scales - Good things sometimes come in small packages
The Timemore Black Mirror Mini scales (TBMM) are an excellent option for your home espresso use. Compact and precise you’re sure to make tasty coffees with this little beauty.
Small but powerful
The TBMM scales are an excellent size to fit into any coffee bar flow, whether you’re just using them for weighing coffee dose or you need them on the drip tray to measure extraction yield. They are made from high-quality aluminum alloy so they can stand up to the rigours of coffee making.
Scale of the century
Not only are they a cute but helpful size, these little babies are water resistant so they can stand a little coffee splashing on them from time to time. With the added benefit of a silicone cover for heat resistance. Flip that over and you got yourself a portafilter stand.
Although they are great for most of your measuring needs, they perhaps fall short if you need to fit two coffee cups on it whilst extracting. The measurements of 110.5mm x 100mm x 16mm makes it a little hard for that. However, it is still possible, if you’re game.
With the sleek design you shouldn’t have too many issues managing any of your dialling in routine.
Accuracy and responsiveness
TBMM comes with a rapid response time and great readability. The 0.1 readability works perfectly if you’re wanting to measure your coffee dose or even your espresso/extraction weight. Although the TBMM is small, it still manages to hold up to 2 kgs, for those who need a super large coffee(?).
The reaction time is lightning fast, so any changes you need to make on the fly won't get in the way of your coffee work flow.
Features that punch above its weight
These are small and seemingly simple scales, but are packed with some extra features that you’d expect from higher-end scales. They’ve managed to include auto tare modes for both espresso and filter along with flow rate indicator. These features are fairly standard in most coffee scales these days.
The sleek-looking hidden display can sometimes get confusing if the silicone mat is not on correctly but not really a major issue. This, with the manual on/off, is a nice touch to save the scales from turning on when moving them around.
Read more about other essential equipment for your home coffee setup.
Final thoughts
The Timemore Black Mini scales are great value for what they give you. Packed full of features but still simple to use makes them perfect for home espresso users. Although they have small footprint, the smart silicone mat can be flipped upside down and rest as a portafilter without any issues. If anyone asks me what would be the best all round scale for home users on a budget, these are the scales I’m recommending.
P&R’s score:
- Price/Value - 10/10
- Form Factor - 8.5 /10
- Features - 8.5/10
- Overall - 9/10
