Acaia Scale

[d.manuk]

I just purchased this scale and was wondering how others used it for tea making.

If you have any experience, please let me know.
For now, I am using Mode 2 - Timer Mode which is what I bought it for but perhaps there are better ways to use it.

[OCTO]

I just purchased this scale and was wondering how others used it for tea making.

If you have any experience, please let me know.
For now, I am using Mode 2 - Timer Mode which is what I bought it for but perhaps there are better ways to use it.

I use mine mainly to weigh my tea when needed. Timer only when brewing coffee.

[debunix]

I only use my little scales when weighing tea leaves for a formal tasting that I'm going to post about, and they're too small to weigh the liquid as well as the tea leaves; if I'm trying to quantitate the liquid portion, I usually rely on measuring the volume of the brewing vessel by weight from previous weighing on my regular kitchen scale--which is not sensitive enough to measure to a tenth of a gram of leaf.

If I had a scale like this I'd use it for tea tastings, to measure the leaf and the water for each infusion, so I could report back accurately.

Now that my eye is pretty well calibrated for different styles of tea (rolled vs flat vs twisty vs compressed leaves), I mostly just eyeball the amount of tea for various brewing vessels and increase or decrease the water used if the first infusion is not satisfactory.

[Ethan Kurland]

Now that my eye is pretty well calibrated for different styles of tea (rolled vs flat vs twisty vs compressed leaves), I mostly just eyeball the amount of tea for various brewing vessels and increase or decrease the water used if the first infusion is not satisfactory.

Somehow I cannot estimate how much leaves weigh by sight accurately enough. I have been weighing leaves for several weeks and enjoying the exactness. I have no trouble knowing by sight that the amount of water that I want, 2 ounces (almost 60 ml), is in the teapot. Results from unmeasured steeping times vary enough to keep drinking the same teas over and over from being monotonous.

[debunix]

I weighed my leaves often for probably 2-3 years before I was comfortable starting a new tea (albeit of a familiar type) without weighing he leaves for that first infusion. It took dedicated practice to 'calibrate' my eye.

[pantry]

I couldn’t eyeball the weight, but can pretty accurately measure out by picking the leaves out with my hand (the horror). Much like salting. Still use the little scale when testing out the tea when first get it though. This acacia scale is so expensive, and only go to 0.1g?

[Baisao]

I only started weighing my leaves a couple years ago after years of doing it by sight. I changed over to a scale because I was surprised by how inconsistent I was doing it my eye and a gram more or less makes a large difference when making tea in small volumes. I was always able to make great tea when doing it by eye but now my results are more consistent.

Also, as someone who has been doing this a long time and teaches on occasion, having metrics allows me to share that knowledge more easily than saying, "fill so the leaves look like this". Online, having measures allows me to troubleshoot problems people have.

I don't have experience with the scale in question. I use a pocket gram scale that measures to the tenth of a gram. I also use it for measuring yeast and salt for baking. It's cover is removable to serve as a dish when measuring on the platform and the whole thing fits comfortably in my pocket.

[d.manuk]

I couldn’t eyeball the weight, but can pretty accurately measure out by picking the leaves out with my hand (the horror). Much like salting. Still use the little scale when testing out the tea when first get it though. This acacia scale is so expensive, and only go to 0.1g?

I bought it because of the way it looks. It’s white and has a timer in it so I don’t need to have my cellphone near me.

But the scale has some advanced features I had initially overlooked that seem worth experimenting with...

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[pantry]

@Shine Magical beautiful setup! I have the same kettle, same color too

[Baisao]

I feel like I am missing something with this device that justifies a price point thats 5x what my pocket gram scale costs.

The “killer app” for this is that it has a timer and connects to your phone, correct?

I can only speak for myself (though I thought this applied to most of us) but I almost never use a timer. I do with sencha and kama-iri but all the other teas I prepare are timed with intuition. I take pride in being able to intuit when a tea is just right, ready to pour. It’s an important element in getting intimate with tea.

Phone connectivity is actually a negative to me as it’s not future proof. There’s little chance of my batteries going out of stock as they are a standard size, and even if they did I could easily make a battery pack for it as I have battery operated devices made in the late 1950s. How long will the scale’s phone app be supported (not just available but updated and patched)?

It otherwise seems like a fine device. I like that it doesn’t have areas on the device where dust and rubbish could collect.

[Dresden]

I feel like I am missing something with this device that justifies a price point thats 5x what my pocket gram scale costs.

I agree... I know that when pulling espresso shots timing is important and may indicate that an adjustment is needed to grind, dose, or tamp. If I already had one for that I would surely use it, but I don't see where it has anything I would consider a necessity for tea. Of course that's just me.

The scale I use was marked down from $25 to $13 and has worked flawlessly for a decade now.

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[d.manuk]

I can only speak for myself (though I thought this applied to most of us) but I almost never use a timer.

The scale doesn't have a timer, it has a stopwatch. I find using a stopwatch to be helpful for precision in knowing how much time has passed for a better session.