For the Coffee Nerd, the One Gadget They Don’t Already Have

Photo-Illustration: The Strategist; Photo: Michael Zhao

For as long as I’ve been making my own coffee, I’ve never thought twice about the process of weighing out my beans. A cup goes on the scale and gets tared. The right amount of beans goes in and is then poured into a grinder. It never occurred to me that combining the scale and cup in one device could make the process both simpler and more enjoyable, but that’s exactly what the Subminimal Subscale does. Using the device feels so intuitive that I wonder how I ever measured beans without it, and it would make an excellent gift for anyone who enjoys making pour-over coffee or espresso at home.

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The Subscale looks a lot like a handleless milk-frothing pitcher. The seamless interior is made of the same sturdy matte-black plastic as the outside, with no hint of a screen in sight. But once I pressed the touch-sensitive button on the front, a hidden LED display lit up like magic on the back wall. I poured coffee beans into the top, watching as the number climbed to 18 grams — my preferred double-shot espresso dose — before dumping it into the grinder.

The Subminimal Subscale has a hidden screen on its back wall that illuminates when turned on.
Photo: Michael Zhao

If I go over by a few beans, it’s no problem, since I can pick up the whole cup and pour some back without worrying about affecting the tare. It’s perfectly sized for weighing espresso and pour-over doses, but I still need my kitchen scale for bigger batches of drip coffee. (Subminimal claims the Subscale can weigh up to 60 grams of coffee, but the display gets too buried to read at around 40 grams.) Overall, it’s a more elegant process than taring a separate measuring cup or bowl; though it may not save much time, it feels more satisfying. It’s also less prone to accidents, since it’s quite bottom-heavy and resists being knocked over.

The Subscale defaults to grams, but you can switch to ounces by double-tapping the button. And you can re-tare it with a single tap. Holding for two seconds turns it off, or else, it’ll shut off automatically in 30 seconds if empty (60 if full). The battery lasts a long time (I haven’t had to charge it once in the month I’ve had it), and it recharges via a USB-C port on the bottom, which should be kept away from liquids. The interior, however, is fully waterproof, so you can thoroughly clean it out as needed. Subminimal says you can brew a shot of espresso directly into the device, but even though it’s heat-resistant, many users may think twice about mixing hot liquids with plastic. I would like to eventually see a premium version with a glass, ceramic, or stainless-steel interior, even if it somewhat complicates the delightfully simple design.

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