Measurement · review
Fast enough for espresso, small enough for a drip tray, and it shows flow rate — which is the one number that tells you what your shot is doing while it is still happening.
The bottom line Everything espresso needs from a scale, minus the waterproofing.
Scales are the least interesting purchase in coffee and one of the most consequential, because everything else you do is an attempt to be repeatable and you cannot repeat what you did not measure. The Black Mirror Basic 2 is the point where a coffee scale stops making compromises that matter.
Three things separate a coffee scale from a kitchen scale. It resolves to 0.1 g, which is noise when weighing flour and is 5 % of an espresso dose. It refreshes fast, so the number on the display is what is in the cup now rather than half a second ago — on a slow scale you chase the reading and always overshoot your target yield. And it fits on a drip tray, because a scale that does not fit under the portafilter is a scale you stop using.
The flow rate readout is the genuine surprise at this price. It shows grams per second live as the shot runs, and that turns an opaque process into a diagnosis. A shot that leaps to a high flow rate early is channelling — water has bored a path around the puck rather than through it, and no amount of tamping harder will fix a grind problem. A shot that never gets going is choked. Without that number you see only the final weight and the elapsed time, which tells you something went wrong but not what.
The weakness is unambiguous and worth planning for: it is not waterproof, and a drip tray is a wet environment. Water, not wear, is what kills scales in this price bracket. A silicone mat underneath and a wiped tray costs nothing and roughly doubles the life expectancy.
At 60 $, it is the 3 cheapest of the 4 models in this category published here.
| Capacity | 2 kg |
|---|---|
| Resolution | 0.1 g |
| Modes | Espresso, pour-over, manual |
| Flow rate | Yes, live g/s |
| Charging | USB-C |
| Water resistance | None — keep it dry |
For filter, 1 g is plenty — you are weighing 15 g of coffee and 250 g of water, and a gram either way is noise. For espresso it matters: an 18 g dose and a 36 g yield mean a gram is over 5 % of the target, and it is the difference between a shot you can repeat and one you cannot.
It tells you what the shot is doing while there is still time to learn from it. A shot that jumps quickly to a high g/s is channelling — water has found a path around the puck. A shot that crawls is choked. On a scale without it you only see the total, which tells you what happened after it is too late.
With care. It is not sealed, and water is the usual cause of death for coffee scales at this price. A cheap silicone mat under it, and wiping the tray before you brew, is the difference between two years and two months.
8.5/ 10
Everything espresso needs from a scale, minus the waterproofing.
Espresso, where 0.1 g and a fast refresh genuinely change what you can control.
Same category, nearest prices. Only the specifications every one of them states are shown — a half-empty column compares nothing.
| Model | Price | Capacity | Resolution |
|---|---|---|---|
| TIMEMORE Black Mirror Basic 2 | 60 $ | 2 kg | 0.1 g |
| Hario V60 Drip Scale | 60 $ | 2 kg | 0.1 g |
| TIMEMORE Black Mirror Nano | 50 $ | 2 kg | 0.1 g |
| Brewista Smart Scale II | 80 $ | 2 kg | 0.1 g |
A reference exists on these Amazon stores: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, United States. Listed is not the same as in stock — availability changes daily.
Details checked on August 8, 2026.
Specifications: manufacturer sheet and Amazon product page. Prices and availability: Keepa. No product on this site has been physically tested.
2 kg × 0.1 g · 6 modes · water resistant
The one scale here built to survive a drip tray. Six modes, auto-start timers and a silicone cover — which addresses the thing that actually kills coffee scales.
Best for: Espresso on a wet drip tray, which is where scales go to die.
≈ $80 / £65
2 kg × 0.1 g · auto timer · V60 footprint
Built around the V60 rather than adapted to it: the footprint fits a dripper and a carafe, and the timer starts on its own when the first drops land.
Best for: Pour-over and immersion brewing, where a timer matters more than refresh speed.
≈ $60 / £50 / 55 €
2 kg × 0.1 g · pocket size · USB-C
The Black Mirror shrunk to fit a drip tray with room to spare, or a jacket pocket. Same 0.1 g resolution and fast refresh, without the flow-rate display.
Best for: Espresso on a machine with a shallow drip tray, or travel.
≈ $50 / £40 / 45 €
