Pourx Oura: The Smart Light-Guided Coffee Scale
As you’re probably aware, we’ve featured some cool products on Brew Methods over the years; some of which we sell and some of which we humbly write about, but today we’re doing both – introducing the Pourx Oura; the world’s first light-guided smart coffee scale.
Admittedly, when we first saw Oura on Kickstarter back in 2020, we had our reservations. Yes, it looked good but, “Why do we need another coffee scale, what more could it possibly do?” Perhaps you might have shared this view? A misjudgment on our part.
A few weeks back, Pourx asked if we’d like to to sample a pair, they also kindly sent us their new coffee dripper and glass carafe. We’ve been experimenting with it now for a few weeks and to say we’re impressed is an under-statement. It’s taken us two long years to realise how awesome this product is, so we’d like to pay it forward.
Today, we’ll be exploring all of Pourx Oura’s features, its various modes, aesthetics, and elaborating a little on why we’ve all of a sudden become fans. If by the end of this post you’re also impressed, you’ll have a chance to purchase one at an introductory price. We hope you enjoy the read.
The Features
While packed with innovative features, Pourx Oura is very simple and entirely tailored around user experience. It operates in three basic modes: light-guided mode, pour-over mode, and weighing mode.
Light-guided mode
Pour-over mode
Ideal for beginners and professionals alike, light-guided mode lets you forget about the numbers and simply follow the light. It’s our favourite mode to brew in, not only because it’s effortless, but because it keeps your flow-rate in check too.
White light: Begin brew / end brew
Green light: Pour
Red light: Stop pouring
Purple light: Stir your coffee
In addition to just displaying lights, Oura lets you know if you need to adjust your flow rate. If the green light is flashing, it means you need to increase your flow rate and if it’s pulsating, it means you need to reduce it. It also gives you audio cues for when your next or current pour is about to begin/end, so you’re never left in the dark (pun inteneded).
At the end of your brew, Oura records a timeline in the app, detailing your pouring pattern, accuracy, and times – it even gives you a score afterwards. You have the option of brewing using the app (which gives you more data), or you can simply brew using just the scale.
There are three default recipes built into the scale which are great if you’re just starting out, but you can also add three of your own through the Pourx App. Sharing them with your friends is super easy, Oura creates a QR code which your friends can quickly upload into the app, and vice versa.
Pour-over mode
Pour-over mode
Perhaps you prefer to keep it traditional? That’s totally fine, Oura has the best of both worlds! Just set it to pour-over mode and start pouring. No need to worry about starting the timer, Oura’s auto-start feature will time your brew from the second it detects the flow of water.
And for our American friends, you can brew in ounce measurements!
Weighing mode
Weighing mode
Weigh in either grams or ounces, Oura’s high accuracy, ultra-fast load cell will display your weight quickly and precisely. It has a maximum capacity of 2000grams and weighs in increments of 0.1 grams.
The App
One of our favourite things about Pourx Oura is the App, it’s designed with simplicity in mind and is easy to navigate. It connects via bluetooth so there’s no fancy wifi business. There are three main sections in the App: add recipe, home, and shop.
Add recipe
Add recipe page
In the Add Recipe page, you can either scan or upload a recipe instantly via QR code or you can build your own.
Building your own is super simple, first you determine the brew ratio and then you add your stages. The stages can include pouring, blooming, stirring, and stopping (pause). You can then add further details such as the water temperature, grind size, coffee variety, etc…
Once you’ve saved the recipe, you can then assign it to a star for quick-access, this means that you don’t need to use the App when brewing your recipe in light-guided mode. You can create and save as many recipes as you like and interchange them at any time.
Home
App HOME page
The home page gives you access to all your recipes, this is where you can edit your recipes and assign them to your three stars. It also gives you access to the ‘Settings’ page where you can do things like set your preferred units of measurement, modify brightness and volume, tolerance of brewing, and much more.
Shop
In case you need to shop or look something up, the Shop page contains a quick-link to the Pourx website.
The Aesthetics
Pourx Oura with heat pad
Now, if the bells and whistles of Oura’s tech aren’t enough to win you over, then surely the looks will. Let’s start with the obvious – the lights, they’re pretty damn cool! When lit and pulsating in various colours, it’s a different type of experience. Kind of like being inside a beautiful car, it’s one thing to sit in it but it’s another thing to drive it.
But even without the extravagant light show, it’s a beautiful scale. It’s simple, minimal, and sleek. It’s not offensive or over the top. The white LCD display is seamlessly hidden beneath the polished exterior. The build is consistent, smooth, and coherent. It looks great with any kit and complements any space.
It takes an unconventional disk-like shape which we haven’t seen before, but this actually makes sense as most brewers and servers are round. It’s compact in size but large enough to fit most servers without blocking view of the display.
From when we first unpacked Oura (which was a great experience), we could tell that this was a high-end product intended to impress. It has a great weight to it, indicating that there is sophisticated componentry and tech inside – it feels luxurious and grand.
And it has a lovely soundboard of polyphonic retro-esque tones, somewhat reminiscent of an old Nintendo system. It makes various toots and beeps that help guide you on your brewing journey, it’s very satisfying.
Our final thoughts
The Pourx Oura has definitely opened our eyes to what scales can do and how important their role is in brewing delicious coffee.
Perhaps, the coolest thing of all is it’s approachability, not just for beginners but seasoned professionals as well. It really allows you to hone in on your skills in a practical way that’s just not possible with other scales.
We think there’s a great opportunity for Brewer’s Cup competitors to leverage some of the stress associated with delivering a routine. We know how tough it can be, so not having to worry about the numbers could be a huge help.
Overall, we’re genuinely excited about this scale and can’t wait to see it used more.
Where to buy?
You’re in luck as we’ve got them available on pre-sale at an introductory price. Click here to get yours. Offer is valid until May 30 2022, items expected to ship mid July.
The new Pourx Coffee Dripper and Glass Carafe are also available.