Review on 📏 MAXUS Espresso Scale with Timer: Small and Handy Barista Scale for Perfect Coffee Brewing by Kristina Scott

Pretty much everything I'm looking for in an espresso scale at an extremely reasonable price. But the reasons for its low price are not surprising and will become apparent pretty soon. My rating stays at the average level until I'm convinced otherwise. Advantages: • Fits easily under a Flair espresso machine. • Built-in countdown timer. • Backlight, legible readings. • Affordable price. Disadvantages: • Obviously vulnerable to liquids. • Temporary Accuracy. • Delay of 1-2 seconds or more. • The battery life is suboptimal, at least with frequent use. Consider rechargeable batteries. In terms of features, the simplicity of this scale suits me a lot. I don't need and don't need complicated programming, brew profiles, or social networking features, and *especially* no wireless connection that emits EMF right under my coffee. No thank you. There's none of that here - just weight in grams or ounces with some accuracy, a timer in whole seconds, and a tare function. I'm fine although I say "to a degree" because while the scale is usable enough, it can take about a second to catch up and another second to register that it's stabilizing has, and the readings can vary within 1 to 3 tenths of a gram for different weighings of the same object. Additionally, if I leave what I'm weighing for a minute or so while I cook something, I sometimes come back and find it that the display jumped up by a second and a half. grams or more. As a result, I have no idea if the original result is correct or not, so I'm just using it as a point of reference in relation to the rest of the recipe. Far from ideal, but I imagine looking at this price range without thinking you can handle it might require a slight reconsideration of your expectations. I have no illusions that despite their characteristics, these are not cheap scales. The timer does not have a pause/resume function. Pressing the button in sequence gives you start, stop and reset. Not a critical bug for me, but something to be aware of. The battery consumption is also not critical, but could be improved. The battery that came with the scale lasted me about 3.5 months. This is after daily use and quite often more than once a day. You can tell from your own use, but I replaced them with rechargeable ones when they ran out of power. However, it looks like they need better protection. All other shortcomings are solvable, but THIS is crucial. After all, this one is meant to be used near and under hot liquids. With such a small form factor, chiclet-style mechanical keys are fairly prone to splatter and drips. In hindsight I'd like to think about covering them with a little saran wrap or something. It's been less than 2 weeks and the power button is already stuck. At least I'm assuming it comes from falls and not just wear and tear. Either way, it's pretty worrying. So for only $12, is it worth it? Maybe with some compromises. If like me you're not so demanding that I need accuracy to within tenths of a gram, you can use this to get an approximate result of around half a gram in most cases. At least that's enough for me for a decent brew. Of course, it's also good that I don't need any other device if I want to time a shot, and apart from a few replicas from another brand, I haven't seen any other scales in this price range with a timer. Ultimately, though, it won't be such an attractive price if I have to keep replacing it. Well, let's see how well it holds up.