There has been a shift in coffee brewing with the use of scales. Compared to simply relying on volumetric measurements (from a flow meter), scales provide you with accuracy, which leads to repeatability and room for experimentation. Instead of simply eyeballing the liquid espresso and crema, a scale provides weight-based brewing, where the output is instantly measured and displayed. This allows you to brew to more consistent-tasting cups of coffee.

Another factor that affects the coffee’s flavour is its brew temperature. According to the Specialty Coffee Association’s The Coffee Brewing Handbook by Ted Lingle, various coffee flavour components such as malic acids, citric acids and sucrose, each require different temperatures for a balanced cup.

Many coffee professionals debate the effect of pressure profiling on the cup. Some say that a slow ramp-up would even out the extraction process, while some prefer to lower the pressure at the end of the brew to mute out some of the bitter and astringent qualities of coffee.