The Timemore black mirror basic has been a popular scale for a while, for espresso and manual brewing, thanks to the auto timer function, but Timemore are continually developing their products, and the biggest improvement in the new version, as far as I can tell, is that they’ve given it the more responsive firmware of their newer nano version.
They’re a nice looking set of scales, with the hidden display, hidden until you turn it on, that is, at which point the digits are very easy to read.
The buttons are almost hidden, too, but I wan’t the biggest fan of the first version where the buttons were completely hidden, it was very clever but sometimes was a bit of a pain to find the buttons.
They’re not the most low profile at 3cm, but if that’s a big deal for you, spend an extra tenner on the “nano” version, which are 2cm.
The lithium battery is 1600-mAh lithium, which is apparently enough for 24 hours of use, and it does charge pretty quickly, and it’s USB-C so most people will be able to borrow their smartphone charger to re-charge if they lose the included cable.
It comes with a silicone pad, but it doesn’t come with a portafilter plate.