> A scale is nice to follow instructions if you've never used an espresso machine before, but I don't think it is necessary. Or maybe my taste buds just aren't

> A scale is nice to follow instructions if you've never used an espresso machine before, but I don't think it is necessary. Or maybe my taste buds just aren't discerning enough :) I manage to get a very good shot 9 times out of 10 just by eyeballing things. A scale might help, but I feel like my biggest variable is the state of the beans I'm using. I'll generally grind older beans a little finer, and fresher beans a little less fine to get the nice "fluffy" output. Based on that, I'll level and tamp, and adjust tamp pressure with older beans needing a bit more pressure. When pulling the shot, I also look at the flow and crema color to know when to stop. I started with timers and scales and rarely got a good shot, thanks to the varying quality of my beans. Learning to read the beans and adjust accordingly is what worked for me. For those with better quality beans, scales and measures can definitely help create reliably reproducible results.