Tare Weight

Tare Weight refers to the weight of a container or vessel without its contents. In the coffee industry, it’s a critical term used in brewing and roasting processes to ensure accurate measurements. When you use a scale to weigh coffee grounds, water, or even green coffee beans, you need to account for the weight of the vessel—whether it’s a portafilter, a coffee cup, or a dosing container—by subtracting the tare weight.

In practical use, you’ll often “tare” your scale by placing an empty container on it and resetting the scale to zero. This ensures that when you add coffee or water, you’re only measuring the actual weight of the contents and not the container itself. Accurate measurement is crucial in dialing in recipes, especially in precise brewing methods like espresso or pour over, where consistency and balance can depend on getting the right dose or yield.

For baristas, regularly taring a scale becomes second nature, as it’s part of their workflow to ensure consistency in every shot of espresso or batch of brewed coffee. In roasting, tare weight helps in determining the actual amount of green beans going into the roaster, allowing for more precise batch control and better quality in the final roasted product.