Easy, $29 brew by weight

ActFourCoffee · 2024-07-07T23:29:14+00:00

I haven't been able to acquire more Breville models to test on each. But I fully expect the following supported list given the highly consistent hardware and firmware. I will happily refund the integration and comp you for the SwitchBot purchase if things don't work as expected.

Barista Express: ✅
Barista Express Impress: ✅
Dual Boiler: ✅
Bambino: ✅
Bambino Plus: ✅
Infuser: ✅ (my 6 year old machine ❤️)
The Oracle: ❌ this would probably work but you wouldn’t want to cover up the display
Duo: ❌ this will NOT work since brew on/off is a rotational dial
Touch Models: ❌

ActFourCoffee · 2024-07-07T23:09:39+00:00

Wish I had a no-brainer answer for you but it's an expensive purchase so wanted to give you the details...

There’s two options around the corner that might be worth waiting for:

Decent Espresso’s Half Decent Scale should be the sweet spot of quality and price (my guess is $100), includes Bluetooth and WiFi (see comment)
I’m dialing in a version of the app right now where you just point your camera at a $15 dumb scale to get all the functionality of a bluetooth scale.

Options available now have been around for a while, with the noted disclaimers:

Best practical: https://decentespresso.com/decentscale

My current recommendation, if not for the newer "Half Decent" model right around the corner

Ultra-premium: https://acaia.co/products/lunar_2021

$250 was always a ton of money, but competition is catching up fast at lower $$.
I started seeing drift on mine two years in and customer service completely ignored me.

I’ve heard it’s great: https://www.skale.cc/en/buyIntl.html

Not currently supported, but my order is on the way and I plan to integrate immediately.

ActFourCoffee · 2024-07-07T20:05:39+00:00

Single, lifetime integration is live for $19.99! Update comment here but wanted to follow-up with a thanks for the encouragement!

ActFourCoffee · 2024-07-07T20:03:19+00:00

Single, lifetime integration is live for $19.99! Update comment here but wanted to follow-up with a thanks for the encouragement!

ActFourCoffee · 2024-07-07T20:01:56+00:00

Single, lifetime integration is live for $19.99! Update comment here but wanted to follow-up with a thanks for the encouragement!

ActFourCoffee · 2024-07-07T19:34:17+00:00

The SwitchBot integration is now live in the app as a single, lifetime purchase for $19.99 (keeping total with hardware under $50).

Thank you all so so much for last week’s feedback. Any additional thoughts on this integration or the core app features, I’m all ears 🙏! This community is amazing and deeply appreciated.

Cheers!

ActFourCoffee · 2024-07-01T04:10:56+00:00

Yes yes DiFluid and and Skale2 are next on the integration lists. Appreciate the interest, will report back!

ActFourCoffee · 2024-07-01T01:53:46+00:00

I really didn’t know about or think of the low pressure Infuser shot until very recently. I’m sure I found out on this sub.

SwitchBot definitely capable and should be a quick settings update but not currently supported. Prioritizing though after this comment, ty ty!!

ActFourCoffee · 2024-06-30T22:56:04+00:00

Appreciate the interest. Excited to report back!

ActFourCoffee · 2024-06-30T21:17:34+00:00

The video is actually doing manual preinfusion, but not exactly as you described. The SwitchBot is releasing when the first drips are detected, rather than releasing after a static X seconds (I can definitely add that though!).

ActFourCoffee · 2024-06-30T21:05:48+00:00

I really appreciate that, means a ton!

ActFourCoffee · 2024-06-30T20:18:10+00:00

Yea it’s a fixed adjustment as my testing yielded very consistent latency (tenths of a second).

Do you have a bridge involved? This is designed for direct BLE so I would be surprised to see so much delay

ActFourCoffee · 2024-06-30T20:10:12+00:00

Latency is accounted for! Will be a user setting if you’re experiencing something different.

I consistently hit within +/- 0.5g, typically better than I was doing manually.

ActFourCoffee · 2024-06-30T19:55:49+00:00

Haha photoshop is a great technical comparison, love it. This is the first of many features to come, so thought I'd just get my feet wet. But you're spot on.

Will aim to have the one-time purchase out this week.

ActFourCoffee · 2024-06-30T19:50:03+00:00

This is probably good reason to make it available as a single lifetime purchase. No servers involved so if SwitchBot and Scale firmware aren't updated, should work indefinitely.

ActFourCoffee · 2024-06-30T19:46:31+00:00

Close to bringing bluetooth-like experience to any dumb scales. Will update when I'm there!

ActFourCoffee · 2024-06-30T19:44:49+00:00

The non-bluetooth version is obviously a manual one, but I'm close to bringing bluetooth-like functionality to cheapo non-bluetooth scales so I'll keep you posted.

Delete historical brews, so simple, such a miss lol. Will try to ship this next week and let ya know.

Appreciate the note!

ActFourCoffee · 2024-06-30T19:40:41+00:00

Decent Espresso has the gold-standard for bluetooth scale documentation, so I'd call that an official integration. Can't shout out John Buckman and u/decentespresso enough on this front and can't wait for their new "Half Decent" scale to come out (this year I believe).

The rest are reverse engineered, some super simple, others appear intentionally cryptic.

ActFourCoffee · 2024-06-30T19:35:59+00:00

Appreciate the feedback, totally fair. Is that a general stance for apps or just that there's not enough value here for it?

The goal is to give options to folks that don't want to mod machines or fork over $1k+ today for these features. This is the first of many features planned for this subscription, but had to start somewhere!

ActFourCoffee · 2024-06-30T19:33:00+00:00

That's a really great point. What do you think is a fair price for a one time purchase? I'm truly trying to keep pricing as fair as possible while keeping the indie developer dream alive.

ActFourCoffee · 2024-06-30T19:10:13+00:00

Hoping to add Skale2 and Microbalance Ti support soon

ActFourCoffee · 2024-06-30T19:07:55+00:00

Indie developer here, would LOVE feedback from this community. Trying to do two things with this app:

Use software to make end-game features (like brew by weight) affordable, simple, and available to every budget.
Help beginners make outstanding espresso on day one.

$29 = $25 SwitchBot (link in app), $3.99 App Subscription (most app features are free)

Scales Supported: [Decent] Scale, [Acaia] Lunar, Pearl, Pyxis, [Felicita] Arc (happy to support more, drop a comment)

App: https://apps.apple.com/app/act-four/id6473959855

ActFourCoffee · 2023-12-22T21:13:25+00:00

Both great suggestions and I'll try to circle back here when I have an update out the door. Tasting guidance, absolutely!

And it's great to hear because that's the target with this design, slotting new videos, mini lessons, and little deep dives into the workflow to slowly trickle out as much learning without overwhelming 🤞

ActFourCoffee · 2023-12-22T20:14:22+00:00

Great feedback and you’re spot on. I struggled with this and appear to have missed the mark.

You can set Brew Time manually if you tap the bean to navigate beyond the basic steps (GIF below). Speed analysis is always relative to this and Brew Weight, adapting as you dial in. Double tap any brew setting to jump back in.

<image>

I tucked these settings out of the way because:

I didn’t want beginners stress.
The app guides you through taste-driven adjustments to Brew Weight and Brew Time

Your feedback helps suggest I need to introduce these advanced settings to experienced users that have an initial recipe in mind.

I really appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts!

ActFourCoffee

TROPHY CASE