Coffee Appreciation

Thing with the EU182 Pearl is, it's not the durable drip tray design of the EU284 Lunar

"Temperature may noticeably affect the accuracy and life of your scale's load beam over time. A heat resistant pad is ideal for reducing this issue."
https://eu.acaia.co/collections/accessories/products/pearl-heat-resistant-pad?variant=31347365576815

But seriously, look at those prices. Argh. I could buy so many landfill scales for that.

Well the Pearl is

W: 160 mm L: 160 mm H: 32 mm
Maximum Capacity
2000 g / 70.55 oz

The Lunar is
W: 105 mm L: 105 mm H: 15 mm
Maximum Capacity
2000 g / 70.55 oz

The Lunar doesn't actually look big enough to support a portafitler though.

EDIT: The Lunar has a plate added to weigh the portafilter:
https://acaia.co/products/portafilter-weighing-plate-for-acaia-lunar

Another 30EU, no chance.

Oh we’re talking about different things.

I was talking about the Felicita Incline, which has the auto tare and start with flow modes of the Acaia Lunar. So I meant the Incline would work if the Arc was too pricey.

I wasn’t recommending the Pearl for espresso, that won’t work.

https://www.dipacci.com.au/acaia-pearl-scale-black

$229AUD for Pearl = ~£120

Yeah, but now I'm having the ethical conundrum of buying a knock-off unit versus spending £300 for scales that get used once or twice a day and that I've happily done without for the last year or two.

I normally pour into measuring glasses and transfer that to drinking vessels so I need the weighing of the output less than the weighing of the input. Having it all combined with timing though is nice.

Yeh I did the exact same thing but it turns out I’m ruled by money and chose the unethical knock off. So maybe I’m an asshole.

I think the universe balanced out with some scale based karma though. The Hario scales I posted to @nefarious were opened and broken somewhere along the Hermes delivery chain.

*cough*

It comes with a little rubber stand thingy...

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Pearl is unlikely to fit on your drip tray, no?

I’ve also decided the real crime is that Acaia charges so much for their scale, when Felicita are able to sell the same tech so cheap. I’d have totally bought the lunar if it was under £199...probably.

Anyway, do you know what goes great with ethical conundrums? Coffee. So I am sitting in the garden, sun shining, drinking my pour over coffee, weighed upon an evil scale, questioning my lack of ethical consumption.

It's under £200 in Oz... #justsayin

Just looked back through my emails, my Gaggia cost less (£169, bargain!) than my coffee scales (£173, bargain compared to what you mugs are paying!!)... 🖕😂

:(

Haha. I think £173 is a totally acceptable price for the lunars.

Ah that’s grand, thanks for the comprehensive talk through. I didn’t realise they were essentially a copy either.

I totally accept that £300+ is way too much for coffee scales, no wonder some of you lot were taking the piss...

I just wish they’d also copied the auto tare only mode. As much as the desire to avoid a single button press is a first world problem, it’s frustrating knowing it’s capable but just isn’t programmed to do so.

If you need any more help just let me know.

Thanks - this is mega helpful. Nothing smells burnt!
Will get on it when I pick up a multimeter.

No, I wouldn't use it for that though. I'd have it next to the grinder to weigh the loaded portafilter. I care more about the weight going in than coming out. I think.

the real crime is that Acaia charges so much

Assuming they designed it, who's paying for all their R&D and design costs, their time spent sourcing a manufacturer, their marketing?

Of course a stolen design is cheaper - the cheats have not spent $x developing the product, they've just duplicated the manufacturing part, the relatively easy bit. The fact that a Chinese knock-off still costs as much as it does is more of a crime.

Is there a half way house for me- a durable scale that isn't a knockoff and doesn't cost more than £50?

Remind me how much a pint of beer costs in Australia?

In one weekend I'd have saved the entire cost of your scales, just with the price difference of beer. I'm still a tightarse though so spending anywhere near that amount of money on scales still seems mental.

this whole thing caused quite a stir in the industry, we'd seen several things be duplicated from the same or similar factories as the OEM production, but they were small things like distributors etc.

Acaia did do a lot lot of work to make both the hard and software specific to the needs of the coffee community, so to see that work pretty much reproduced verbatim was a shock.,

the real benefit of the lunars is the size imo. I've used the Pearls as shot scales in my cafe for years, never had an issue. before that we used to get through a pair of weed scales every 6-8 weeks

Yeh you’re right, I was just playing. They did redesign the housing though, surprised they bothered.

I was going to suggest the brewista smart scale, but even that’s £80+ by the looks of it.

Talking of size, the tiny Pyxis that Acaia have now made looks amazing too.

https://youtu.be/5IujRAmQP5U

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Maybe I'll just have a weekend off the piss and use the saved money to buy one?