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MHW-3Bomber F74 Navigator Grinder

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The F74 Navigator Grinder


Unwrapped


Exit Chute Design


Branding


Auger


Hopper Lid


Dosing Cup


Bottom of Dosing Cup


Power Cord


Back Legs


Navigator Box


F74 Navigator Grinder


Testing the Grinder


Closeup of Exit Chute


The Grind Dial


Hopper


Hopper Detail


Lid Instructions


Grinder Brush


Angles and Materials


Inside the Dosing Cup


Back Vent


Machine in the Box


Back of the Box


Out of the Box


Hopper Lid


Grind Dail Sticker


Open the Lid


Control Dial


F74 Navigator Grinder

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Out of the Box

The MHW-3Bomber F74 Navigator doesn’t so much arrive as land.

At 7.5 kilograms, you know you’ve received something substantial. The outer box is neat and I appreciate the eco-friendly limited use of printing and graphics on the brown cardboard, but crack it open and those feels change. You’re greeted with dense, custom‑cut polystyrene, shaped precisely to the grinder’s industrial frame. It’s effective armour for shipping, though a definite loss for the environment. Protective plastic bags cover the grinder and its parts.

For a brand that markets itself as cutting‑edge, a more sustainable choice in packaging would make a stronger impression. I really hope MHW-3Bomber takes this to heart one day, as other manufacturers, like Rancilio and Breville, are doing.

The main box for the Navigator. 3Bomber is going for good eco-branding here with just black ink on the cardboard boax.

Yeah… that logo. Not for everyone.

Opening up, there’s a couple of mini manuals (containing basic info about the grinder) and… polystyrene.

We don’t like this stuff at CoffeeGeek. Coffee already has a massive carbon footprint and high waste costs. We don’t need this

The machine and accessories as you find them in the box, with even more polysterene.

Everything is wrapped in a kind of plastic, I wasn’t able to confirm if it is biodegradable.

The grinder and parts, unwrapped.

Getting to the grinder itself requires removing more polystyrene and the dosing cup.

Lifting the Navigator free, the weight is reassuring. It’s not large, but it feels like a dense block of engineering magic. The dimensions – 10cm wide, 32cm deep, and 28cm tall (4″ wide, 12.6″ deep, and 11″ tall) – make it surprisingly compact. Yet the dense weight keeps it firmly planted on the counter when the motor spins up.

The design is unmistakably MHW‑3Bomber. No soft curves, no attempts at looking like kitchen décor. Instead, sharp lines, exposed bolts, thick structure legs, and an industrial personality. In black or white, it commands attention without pretending to blend in. If you liked the functional, precision‑first look of their Blade R3 or the Sniper grinder, you’ll find the Navigator in the same spirit, only bigger, louder, and meaner.

The angles and materials on the grinder are start and robust, and almost brutalist in design.

The back of the grinder has a big vent cutout, and it is also some of the only plastic on the entire grinder.

The dosing cup is nicely finished in the same textured matt black as the grinder. But it can get stuck inside 58mm filter baskets.

The main lid for the hopper, in its plastic bag for shipping.

There is a pull-off sticker on the lid with some fairly random non-related information about the grinder.

The grinder brush is okay. I prefer softer bristles for this kind of tool.

The hopper lid is very well designed, with a silicone rim for “soft” seating and also a bit of an air tight seal.

The back legs of the grinder are thick aluminum, powder coated with a textured black paint.

The single control point dial; press to start and stop, press 2sec to change modes, rotate to change RPMs

Thankfully, 3Bomber’s branding of this grinder is fairly subtle – this front plate (you could stick some black electrical tape over if you like) and the side dial when it lights up.

Front and centre sits the grind adjustment dial. The dial claims 90 “steps” on its visual indicators, and the manufacturer says each tick represents a 0.01mm burr movement. That’s plenty fine enough for espresso, though we’ll see if real-world use matches that claim in the full review.

But the feel is what’s really impressive. The dial delivers a seriously premium touch-point experience, with dampened resistance and a firm clack at the end stops. It’s a unique hybrid system. Visually, you get indicators from 0 to 9, with ten tick marks between each number (and a larger one at the halfway point between each number). As you rotate it, there’s a very subtle, tactile feel of “clicks”, but the dial doesn’t actually lock into them. You can easily sit it right between those marks.

It’s one of those “you have to try it hands on to know what I’m talking about” kind of things. You end up with the tactile feedback of a stepped grinder but the infinite precision of a stepless one.

This was a highlight for me – the “action” of the dial is very nice, and very repeatable. With a fine touch, you can park it between ticks.

Above the grind dial is a removable sticker with 3Bomber’s recommended settings for various brewing methods

The hopper lid fits very securely; more machine instructions here, kind of a catch all.

The hopper has an anti-popcorn device built in and the lid can be used as a sort-of bellows to blow out any stray grinds.

The hopper is also magnetized and slots into the top of the machine via click channels. The grinder won’t run without it in place.

The third of the three main labels on the grinder, this one details how to use to control dial. Memorize then peel it off.

The burrs themselves, uniquely sized 74mm titanium‑coated flats, hide behind the front dial and mounting plate. If you peek down through the hole where the hopper sits, you see the machine’s auger system, itself attached to the unseen back burr plate. Out of the box, alignment is spot on excellent, at least with our test unit. The Ti coating is there for wear resistance and to keep grinding temperatures down, which should help preserve delicate flavours. On paper, this sits at the top of its class.

We will have further photos of the burrs very soon, but for now, here’s two detail shots.

The auger / prebreaker for the F74 Navigator, visible when you remove the hopper.

There’s no knocker installed on the grinder (IMO, there should be).

Quick aside: every coffee forum has folks obsessing over “burr swapping” like it’s a rite of passage. The F74’s 74 mm burrs? Rare size, wider footprint, not meant to play musical chairs. And honestly, you don’t want to swap them. These burrs were built to sync with the auger, which controls flow and pre‑breaks beans so the grind’s on point. Hold off until 3Bomber makes additional, brewmethod-specific burrs for this grinder; in the meantime the OGs are doing just fine without a $400 order to SSP.

The F74 is equipped with an ionizing coil – two of them in fact – which are supposed to aid in the reduction of static and also lower the grinder’s retention of grinds. They’re located at the exit chute area. We will be testing that a bit in this First Look, but will do our thorough tests in the Full Review coming in the next few months.

The catch cup is just… okay. Honestly, after using the awesome catch cup with the Lagom Casa recently, the F74’s version just isn’t in the same class, even if it’s better than what ships with most DF grinders.

It feels nice enough at first. It’s a 50-gram magnetic container that slides into place with a satisfying snap, and the silicone base is a nifty touch that prevents scratching while still sliding securely. But the workflow is where it falls apart for me. Every time I tried to dose coffee into a 58mm portafilter basket, the cup got wedged, making it a PITA to remove. I quickly learned I can’t use it to dose on its own and have to pair it with a dosing collar, which feels redundant.

This is such a classic MHW-3Bomber move. If there’s something I’ve learned about them over the last few years, it’s that they can come up with some very innovative, unique ideas, but there always seems to be a few areas they just needed to pay more attention to. The dosing cup’s design is a perfect example of that.

Here’s the exit chute, seen with a shot mirror. Note the declumper built in, and the ionizer coils.

The grinder can build up retention (hence needing to clean it out often with a brush). You can just make out the 2 ionizer coils. A knocker would go a long way here.

You still get stray grinds with this grinder; it isn’t a true zero retention design, but its close.

In this closeup, note how close the exit and declumper is to the actual burrs; also note the two ionizing coils. They can be overwhelmed by grinds and chaff if you don’t clean this area often. Again, a knocker could be a possible solution.

The bottom of the dosing cup (the magnet’s inside) has a silicone base that isn’t super grippy (by design) but prevents the cup from scratching the grinder base.

The dosing cup inside also has the textured black paint, but we noticed it does tend to attract chaff on the side walls.

On the right side of the machine is the multi-function control dial, fronted by a bright LED display that shows the current RPMs and grinder mode. This is also how you access the F74’s three modes: just press the dial for two seconds, then rotate to pick your poison.

There’s the A1 mode, which senses when the hopper’s empty and kicks in a quick reverse spin to clear grinds; A2, the full hands-free auto option; and M, old-school manual control. Simple enough once you’ve tried them, even if the naming is a bit clunky. Beeps accompany every mode change, as well as each time you change the RPM by 100, and they cannot be turned off. Consider yourself warned (it’s loud).

The mode and action dial; when the machine is in standby mode, it shows the 3Bomber Logo, the current mode, and current RPMs.

the dial is the grinder’s single control point (other than the front grind dial). It doesn’t have the finesse of the dials on an OXO product, but it’s not bad.

We put the usual 3+ kilos of old, stale coffee through the grinder to season everything up (sidenote – I wish more manufacturers would pre-season their burrs, like Mazzer and Mahkonig do). Once that was done, the true first use started, and here’s what I got.

An 18g espresso dose at 1200 RPM is through in under 7 seconds. At 800 RPM for a 19g pour‑over grind, we got about 8 seconds (both grind speeds measured after we fully seasoned in the burrs). The initial measurements of retention were quite nice: about .2g on the espresso side, and down to .1 on the pourover range. This was with the auto reverse mode enabled. Not bad at all for a fresh-out-of-the-box grinder.

Grinds were very fluffy and consistently placed as they fell into the cup. Combined with the speed, this was particularly impressive. I do have to say, this first use showed a lot of promise for the F74 Navigator.

Using The

It’s a sign of good design and engineering when you open a product and don’t really need to use the manual. I basically skimmed the instructions for the F74 Navigator to learn how the control dial worked, and that was about it.

Operating the grinder quickly became second nature. Start with the grind setting: dial in the luxurious-feeling, dampened dial up front to your preferred fineness level. Next comes your dose of coffee: the 50g hopper is designed for single dosing, keeping your workflow tight and on track. Snap the hopper lid on (this mainly helps reduce grinding noise; the hopper itself has a anti-popcorn device in place), If you like hot starts, run the grinder and drop your beans in. Cold starts? The 400W brushless motor has no issues at all with loading up the beans then running the grinder, if you prefer that way. Even if you used baked ultra light roasts.

I found espresso liked to live in the area between 0.7 and 1.2 on the grind selection dial. That’s actually a really nice dial in range, especially since the selections are effectively stepless. I should note, MHW-3Bomber ships this grinder with the grind dial not truly zero’ed out when you set it to zero. This is because they wanted to give more range in the coarser grinds. You can easily recalibrate the dial by pulling it out (it is held in place with magnets) and setting it to your new zero point. I’d leave it as is, and we did just that on our espresso tests.

AeroPress (we like to grind fine for AeroPress) sits in the 4-5 range, and pour-over grinds for V60, Kalitta Wave, and Melitta cone have their happy zone in the 5.5 to 6.5 range on the grind dial. For our full review, we’ll really get into this, testing grind particle size to find the factory-set zero point grind settings that match our CoffeeGeek standards for various brewing methods.

But let’s cut to the chase: the actual grind quality here is excellent. My espresso shots had a syrupy sweetness, viscous body and flavour note highlights that I’d say is perhaps on par with the Mazzer Philos I recently tested.

It’s not just an espresso one-trick pony, either. For pour-over, the variable RPMs give you fantastic control, delivering grinds with impressive clarity and nuance you can tweak and play with. This firmly places the F74 near the top of the class for any sub-$1,200 grinder in this category.

And that RPM control is not just a gimmick or fad, but a banger of a tool to really take your coffee extractions to the next level. This is where the fun begins. Lower settings like 800 RPM deliver cleaner, more transparent brews, and help with minimizing dust production in coarser grind settings. Higher settings around 1100-1200 RPM yield smoother, sweeter espresso shots with that viscous oomph I personally seek out. You can grind the same beans twice at different speeds and taste two distinct cups: not a bad trick for a single grinder.

Modes are easy to switch. A1 will probably be the most popular for its auto‑reverse, which does a bit of clearing out stray grounds, keeping retention low. A2 offers one‑touch automation, grinding hands‑free and stopping when out of beans. M puts you in full control, useful when experimenting with tricky beans.

The grind itself is fast. An 18 gram espresso dose takes 6 to 7 seconds depending on RPM. For filter coffee at 800 RPM, expect 8 to 9 seconds. Grounds land cleanly in the magnetic catch cup, with very little clinging thanks to the vertical chute, built in dual ionizer coils, and reverse spin.

Noise is the one workflow hazard with the F74 Navigator, and one area where I kind of shook my head at what the folks at 3Bomber were thinking here (remember how I mentioned those “classic MHW-3Bomber moves” in the OTB section? This is another one). At idle, the motor is absolutely whisper quiet. Add beans, and the volume spikes close to 85 decibels. It’s a screechy burst of noise, and you will notice it. But that’s not my main concern.

It’s the beeping. Oh my stars, the beeping. Every setting change comes with an audible and annoying chirp. And you can’t disable it. You’ll either tune it out or grow to resent it. Can you guess where I’m at?

Daily cleaning is easy with a quick brush, although I often forget to do it. The next morning I usually regret that when I see errant chaff sticking here and there.

Here’s the ironic part: the grinder has dual ionizer coils specifically to reduce static and retention, but their design and placement seem to invite buildup anyway. Once that exit chute gets a light coating of grounds, the coils just… stop doing their job. I’ve found that as long as you give the chute a quick brushing each morning, the coils stay clear and work as intended for the rest of the day.

It’s a manageable quirk, but this is definitely another one of those “MHW-3Bomber, please fix this” areas for a future version.

For a full burr chamber clean, you’ll need a screwdriver and hex wrench. Not ideal, but manageable. We’ll get a lot deeper into that for the Full Review.

Overall, the F74 Navigator rewards curiosity and experimentation. Adjusting grind size, changing RPM, and swapping modes all feel intuitive. The output is consistently fantastic and perhaps even class-leading. It’s early days, but so far the Navigator feels like the rare grinder that is both fun to tinker with and consistent enough to trust.

The Navigator enters an extremely competitive space where a handful of grinders have already set the bar.

The Timemore Sculptor 078S ($799 USD) is one. Its design is sleek and modern, the kind you’d happily leave out on a minimalist kitchen counter. It uses 78mm burrs and has a clacker system for static. The F74 Navigator’s burrs, on paper are smaller (74mm vs 78mm) but their extra wide footprint means they provide more cutting surface. Of the two the Navigator is more robust and beefy, and it has the ionizer coil system and the auto reverse feature.

We do not have a Sculptor for testing, though I did borrow one for a few days just to see what it was all about. Between the two, the Timemore is more pretty, but the F74 is way more feature packed, better overall build quality, and IMO, just a better grinder overall. It also feels like it’s built to outlast grinders like the Sculptor.

Then there’s the Option‑O Lagom P64 ($1,650 USD). This grinder is completely loved by the enthusiast world. It kind of started the whole “let’s swap the burrs” trend. Option-O is most definitely a boutique brand, doing small production runs. Their QC is industry leading and the fit and finish of all their grinders is beyond question. The P64 also has variable RPMs (200-1400), and a 300W brushless motor. It really did set the standard for a while on what an enthusiast coffee grinder could be.

The F74 Navigator nearly matches the P64’s RPM flexibility, and perhaps surpasses it on burr geometry and size. The auger pre-feed and cutter system adds weight on the F74’s side of the scale. Consider that it’s half the price of the P64, and that scale starts tipping heavily. It’s not as refined or downright “beautiful” like the P64 is, but it delivers cutting edge (heh) tech and developments that the P64 needs to catch up to.

Speaking of boutique grinders, the Zerno Z1 ($1,250-$2,000 USD) is as close to true boutique and bespoke as we can get these days, with customizable touches, and serious burr capability. The catch, beyond pricing which can climb through the roof depending on how you want yours built, is availability: you may wait months for one. The Navigator, by contrast, is in stock and ready to ship. It may not offer the bespoke appeal, but in day‑to‑day use, the results in the cup might be nearly identical and the quality quotient on taste might even tip the F74’s direction.

(NB, we were in discussions about getting a Z1 for testing and review, and those discussions, while paused, are still ongoing).

Finally, the DF83 V2 ($650 USD) pushes the affordability angle with 83mm burrs (and third party burrs in this size are more readily available if you want to really experiment). It’s solid, straightforward, and a favourite among budget‑minded home baristas. It does feel like last decade’s choice tool (even though it’s only been out for a few years). The DF83 also lacks the Navigator’s variable RPM, which makes the MHW‑3Bomber more versatile for those who want to experiment.

In short, the Navigator threads a needle. It may not match the polish of the Lagom or the bespoke nature of the Zerno, but it delivers performance on par, and perhaps even a bit better, at a fraction of the price. Against Timemore, it trades elegance for rugged intent. And versus the DF83, it offers extra control without jumping into boutique pricing.

Conclusion

The MHW-3Bomber F74 Navigator is a grinder that wants to play in the big leagues without charging big league prices. From the moment you unbox it, the Navigator communicates something, and that something is “I’m not playing kid games any longer”.

The grinder is heavy, solid, and built with an industrial aesthetic that often puts function ahead of curves or polish. The grind dial feels luxuriously solid, the magnetic catch cup is another touch point that makes you smile, and the vertical chute with auto reverse keeps retention surprisingly low.

The 74mm titanium coated burrs, 400 watt brushless motor, and variable RPM system make the F74 Navigator a serious playground for home baristas who like to tinker and taste the results. Espresso shots come out syrupy and sweet. Pour overs show clarity and separation. Brew with a Chemex and Kone filter at low RPMs and you get noticeably fewer fines and a cleaner cup. Retention is nearly negligible, and the magnetic cup plus the chute design keep workflow smooth and consistent.

There are frustrations. The ever‑present beeping is impossible to silence. Grinding volume screeches to the point where your early morning brews need to include an apology to your still-sleeping spouse. The packaging is dense polystyrene, which feels like a missed opportunity for a company that wants to be seen as forward thinking in 2025 by going all eco-friendly in their packaging. And if you are someone obsessed with burr swapping, you will be disappointed, because this grinder was not designed for it.

Still, for $650 to $759 USD (before any Trump Taxes applied extra), the F74 is very difficult to dismiss. You are getting control and consistency that normally require much more expensive grinders. That is why the Navigator earns comparisons to high end machines like the Lagom P64 and Zerno Z1. It may not carry boutique branding or furniture grade looks, but in terms of results it belongs in the same conversation.

We will keep running coffee through the Navigator in the coming months, because it is too fun not to. If you already own one, or if you are considering adding it to your home coffee arsenal, let us know what you think in the comments. We are curious to hear if you are grinning at it or cursing at the beeps, and your comments will help shape our upcoming deep dive.

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#coffeeGrinder #f74Navigator #firstLook #mhw3bomber #singleDoseGrinder

Two New Coffee Scales from MHW-3Bomber: The Cube 3.0 Micro and Pro Max

If you’ve been hanging around the coffee gear world for a while, you’ll see that MHW-3Bomber has a knack for standing out, sometimes loudly. They’re a Chinese company whose strategy seems to be simple: take features normally reserved for premium equipment, pack them into aggressively priced products, and see how many fans of higher-end gear they can lure over. The latest attempt comes in the form of two new coffee scales, the Cube 3.0 Micro and the Cube 3.0 Pro Max.

They’re both interesting, not just because of what they do, but because of how little they cost compared to their closest competition. The Cube 3.0 Micro is just $48, often with discounts, and the Pro Max is $55, again with occasional discounts.

One is designed for portability and espresso, the other is a bigger, data-driven beast for pour over. Neither scale is perfect, but both make you question whether you really need to spend $150 or more on a coffee scale.

If you can get past the name, which still makes some folks wince, the MHW-3Bomber branding on these scales is subtle and easy to live with. What matters more are the features and price. We’re not doing a full review on these scales, but I wanted to give you a closer look at some serious new contenders for measuring the weights of your brews.

The Cube 3.0 Micro: Pocket-sized Precision

The Micro is the smaller of the two, and MHW-3Bomber really leaned into portability here. It’s only 85mm by 85mm, weighs just 138 grams, and comes with a carrying case that is shockproof, waterproof, and has a little storage compartment for cables, or even a baggie with up to 100g of coffee. It’s about as close to a travel-ready espresso scale as you’re going to find.

Accuracy is a bit of a trade-off. The scale reads in 0.1g increments up to 1000g, which is fine for espresso and single-cup brews. But once your brewing gear pushes the weight past a kilo, the precision drops to whole grams. That means when you add coffee grounds on top, you lose the fine accuracy many people want for dialing in recipes.

It has three brewing modes: normal scale mode, pour over, and espresso. The espresso mode is where it excels, with a feature that automatically starts the timer when it detects the first drops of liquid hitting the cup. If you’ve ever fumbled with a scale, trying to start the timer while trying not to ruin your shot, this is a big aid.

There’s also an auto-on function: drop something weighing 50 grams or more on the scale and it wakes up ready to go, zeroing itself out in the process. I like this feature for pre-weighing a portafilter before grinding coffee into it from a single dose grinder.

The Cube 3.0 Micro also remembers your last used mode, which is nice if you’re a creature of habit, and it has what 3Bomber calls an “anti-mistouch” feature that helps avoid accidentally resetting the tare mid brew.

Battery might be a concern. I’ve seen two different “reports” of the battery inside – one said 400mah, the other said 600mah. Either way, not a lot of power, and having a scale that stays on for up to 30 minutes will drain it super fast. Charging is slow too; in fact, 3Bomber specifically warns you against using a rapid charger with this USB-C equipped scale.

The Cube 3.0 Pro Max: The Big Brother

If the Micro is all about compact espresso work, the Pro Max is built to be a kind of countertop command centre (going with the military motif, I am lol!). It’s a lot bigger at 150mm by 150mm, weighs around 560g, and has a broad weighing surface that can handle everything from a Chemex to a portafilter without covering up the display. Just like the Micro, it has a custom made silicone sleeve that sits on top, necessary because heat can affect the weighing mechanism.

Accuracy is 0.1 grams across the full range up to 2000 grams. No compromises.

The showpiece feature here, for me at least, is the live brew ratio readout in pour over mode. I love it: I can put any random volume of coffee I want in the pour over device (oh wait, I ground 23.1g of coffee? let’s roll with that!), register it with the scale (that action is super quick and intuitive), and the scale will give me a live readout of the ratio as I pour brewing water. No more mental math gymnastics if I want to get a 1:14 ratio (or a 1:16.3 ratio for that matter); just watch the live readout, and stop pouring once I hit my target.

Another nifty feature is the real-time flow rate display. This is usually reserved for scales 2x-3x the price, like Acaia or high-end Timemore models. The Pro Max shows your pouring speed in grams per second (down to .1g), along with time, the aforementioned brew ratio, and total water weight. For anyone chasing consistency in pour over, it’s a huge deal. Except, there is one issue with the flow rate, which I’ll cover below.

The Pro Max has the same brewing modes as the Micro, but with more data on screen. After you finish brewing, the stats stay visible until you clear them, so you can actually review what you did instead of losing the numbers the moment you lift your kettle.

Power is another strong point. The Pro Max has a 3000mAh battery with a claimed 72 hours of continuous use. That’s not a typo. You could brew coffee all week, almost non stop, without plugging it in. It also recharges via USB-C, and that takes a long time because you cannot use fast chargers with this device.

Where They Stumble

As good as these scales are on paper, they aren’t flawless.

• The plastic feels cheap. That’s the trade-off at this price point. Don’t expect the solid build of an Acaia Pearl, a DiFluid Microbalance, or the luscious Bookoo Themis.
• The Pro Max display is dimmer than it should be. It’s fine in most kitchens, but if you’re in bright light you’ll notice it. The Micro’s display is brighter, but not as clear as something like the Bookoo Themis.
• As great as the real time flow rate readout on the Pro Max is on paper, it’s not actually “real time”. In my testing, it’s quite laggy. You’ll see live numbers and think – okay, I’m pouring too fast, then adjust, and then go way too low because of how much lag there is in the readout vs your actual real-time pouring. Fine tuning your pour it can be frustrating.
• Finally, the auto-off timer options are odd. You can set it to 10 minutes, 30 minutes, or always on. Personally, I’d like to see 5, 10, and 20 minutes instead. The 30 minutes and always on timings for the Micro are especially weird, given its tiny battery (assumed). 

These may be deal breakers for some; but the price points will probably shift them back to “yeah, I think I want one” territory.

Price and Competition

Here’s where things get interesting. The Cube 3.0 Micro usually sells for around $48, often with extra coupons floating around, while the Pro Max comes in at about $55, again with discounts if you catch them. Compare that to scales that MHW-3Bomber see as their rivals in these spaces: the ultra diminutive Bookoo Themis, which is most like the Micro, sits at about $130, and the Acaia Pearl, in the same size class as the Pro Max, goes for about $150.

That’s not just competitive pricing, it’s disruptive. Even if you take into account that MHW-3Bomber often ships direct from China, with longer delivery times and the chance of added fees or tariffs (something US buyers are dealing with right now thanks to their current president’s policies), you’re still paying a fraction of the price for features that normally come with a much steeper tag.

Which One Makes Sense for You?

If you mostly brew espresso, the Micro is a welcome addition to the marketplace. It’s small enough to sit on a drip tray, it has the auto timer, and it won’t take up much space in a travel bag. It even feels at home on a Breville Bambino Plus or Delonghi Dedica with their narrow drip trays. It is a bit taller than the Acaia Lunar or Bookoo Themis, so there still will be a tight vertical fit on machines like the Gaggia Classic and Profitec Go.

If you’re more into pour over or want a do-everything scale, the Pro Max is the better pick. The flow rate display is imperfect but still useful, the live brew ratio is brilliant, the battery life is ridiculous, and the price is almost laughably low for what you get.

If you’re torn between the two, the Pro Max is only seven bucks more but don’t expect to fit it on your espresso drip tray. Unless space is really tight, it’s probably the better all-rounder.

Closing Thoughts

MHW-3Bomber may have an unfortunate name, but they’re doing something important here. By putting advanced features into affordable packages, they’re forcing the rest of the coffee gear industry to rethink what counts as “premium”, at least where features are concerned.

Neither the Cube 3.0 Micro nor the Pro Max is perfect. The plastics feel cheap, the displays could be brighter, and the Pro Max’s flow rate isn’t as live as it should be. But for under sixty dollars, you get functionality that used to cost double or triple that. That’s worth paying attention to.

If you’re in the market for either, at the top of this article we linked to MHW-3Bomber (that’s not an affiliate link for us) to buy direct if you choose. Or if you want to help out our website, you can purchase these on Amazon using these affiliate links: Cube 3.0 Micro Scale ($48), or the Cube 3.0 Pro Max Scale ($55).

#coffeeScale #cubeMicro #mhw3bomber #pourOver #proMax #scale

MHW-3Bomber Updates the Mini Cube Scale

In the CoffeeGeek lab space, we have access to over 30 different scales for use in our evaluation of coffee and espresso. These range from $12 Amazon specials, to $250 Acaia Lunars, to a $750 Adam Luna Precision 2.6kg scale. Despite that variety, two scales see the most use: the Bookoo Themis ($130) and the MHW-3Bomber Mini Cube 2.0 ($35).

The Mini Cube does not outperform the Bookoo Themis or Acaia Lunar in accuracy, features, build quality or readout speed. However, one key feature sets it apart and makes it the preferred scale sitting next to our test espresso machines. It has an auto-on function that activates and tares itself whenever an object weighing 100g or more is placed on it.

This feature makes it especially useful in our fast-paced test environment, where responsiveness and hands-free operation matter.

The Mini Cube has its quirks. Our full review covers them in detail, but the most unusual design choice on the original model involved the tare and timer functions. Most scales assign the right-side “T” or “tare” button to zero out the scale; MHW-3Bomber did the opposite. The right button, marked “T,” controls the timer, while the left button, with a power symbol, handles taring. This setup felt unintuitive.

In the past four months, MHW-3Bomber redesigned the scale to fix this issue. They also made other changes, but not all for the better. In one way, they actually made the scale worse. Let’s look at that.

The Changed Design of the Mini Cube Scale

As mentioned, 3Bomber changed the button layout and functions on this scale, but are still married to the letter “T” indicating a timer function. They simply moved the T from the right side, to the left side, and moved the power indicator switch over to the right. 

This means that the right side power button still controls zeroing out the scale (a few milliseconds’ press will do it), and long pressing it will power off the scale. The T button, moved to the left, starts and pauses the timer. A long press (around 1-2 seconds) will zero the timer out. 

One welcome upgrade is the LED display, which is noticeably brighter than the original. Our new white unit, placed next to an older black model, is significantly brighter, making it easier to read in various lighting conditions.

Then comes the most puzzling change: the auto-off function. When I bought a new white Mini Cube 2.0 for our lab last month, I noticed it would not turn off on its own. I would use it, leave for 15 or 20 minutes, and return to find it still powered on. Initially, I thought the unit was defective or that there was a hidden setting to enable auto shut-off.

But nope; this is simply how MHW-3Bomber redesigned the scale.

The latest Mini Cube 2.0 now stays on for 30 minutes after its last use, and an incredible 40 minutes if the timer is running. Worse yet, there is no way to disable or adjust this setting. The result is a bright display draining the battery long after use. Since most coffee scales shut off automatically, users will often forget to turn this one off, leading to a battery that lasts days instead of weeks.

When I reached out to MHW-3Bomber, they explained that this extended auto-off time was intentional and designed for commercial café environments. They argued that, while 30 minutes may seem excessive, they believe the longer auto-off time prevents disruptions in busy cafés by keeping the scale ready for use.

The problem with this reasoning is that it doesn’t really make sense. In a truly busy café, the scale would not sit unused for 25+ minutes at a time. If anything, baristas would use it every few minutes, making such a long shut-off period unnecessary. A 5-minute auto-off setting is more reasonable (perhaps even stretching it to 10 minutes taking their reasoning into account), but 30 minutes seems excessive and needlessly drains battery life.

Adding to the frustration, the scale’s USB-C charging system is painfully slow. It can take up to four+ hours to fully recharge, which makes even less sense in a high-traffic café environment. If MHW-3Bomber truly designed this scale for commercial use, forcing baristas to wait this long for a full charge is counterproductive to the design ethos.

To their credit, they acknowledged that they are listening to feedback and recognize the impact on battery performance. Future updates may address this issue. Ideally, users should be able to customize the auto-off time, but if that is not possible, five minutes should be the standard, with a maximum of 10 to 15 minutes if the timer is active.

Despite this issue, we still think the Mini Cube 2.0 is a fantastic little scale, and like that they did move the zero-out function to the more conventional right side of the scale. That is why we are discussing it in such detail; most scale updates do not even get a mention on CoffeeGeek. We wanted to highlight this change as a PSA for anyone considering the Mini Cube. It typically lists for $45 but frequently sells for $35 or less, making it one of the best values in coffee accessories. However, if you plan to buy one, train yourself to turn it off manually with a two-second press of the power button, or be prepared to do a 3-4 hour charge at least once a week.

#coffeeScale #espressoScale #mhw3bomber #miniCubeScale #scale

It’s not often I get excited by certain innovations in the manual, hand cranked grinder world.

Sure, there’s been some fantastic innovations in that space ever since the Porlex Mini came along 13 years ago and really shook the space up. Everything from intricate burr geometry designs, to ultra precise 8um adjustments on grind settings, to triple and even quadruple bearing mounts for rock solid burr rotations, and even things like hybrid grinders, doing double duty as electric grinders for home use, and manual when out on the go.

But as amazing and value-rich the hand grinder market has gotten, I still get my kicks from the innovations in the motorized grinder world, for the most part. Then I saw a new manual grinder from the feisty upstart company with the horrible branding name – MHW-3Bomber – that actually got me pretty excited. Because this new grinder has a wildly interesting innovation: it has a sieve and shaker system to separate out fines from your grind. Built right into the grinder.

That’s a bit of a game changer for anyone who happens to like no-paper filtration methods for brew coffee. If you’re a Kone user, use metal filters for your AeroPress, like using the Espro Bloom, or are a press pot aficionado, you probably know using a sieve system like the Kruve sieve can improve the cup of coffee quite a bit, and reduce the sludge in the finished cup. Problem is, the Kruve starts at $100 (IMO still well worth the investment!) and can go up to $200 or more if you go for most of the sieve options. 

But today, we have the MHW-3Bomber Blade R3 manual grinder, with a built in sieve system. And in many cases, the entire grinder with sieves costs less than the Kruve starter system. Right now the Blade R3 Grinder is $90 on Amazon (once you apply the 10% off coupon). So is it worth the money? 

Well, this is not our formal review, but your TL:DR is: heck yes! 

Heck, I even bought one on my own, I was so intrigued (since then, MHW-3Bomber has also sent us a test unit, so I now have two to compare, side by side!)

The Blade R3 Grinder

Before I even get to the sieving system, which has benefits and drawbacks, let me briefly cover the rest of the Blade R3 from MHW-3Bomber. It is extremely well made, top to bottom. It certainly does not feel like a $90 grinder; just in feel, fit and finish, it matches well with $150 to $200 manual grinders out there. The entire construction is metal, and everything fits together with precise engineering.

The Blade R3 has an external click dial for adjusting the grind fineness, and each individual click adjusts in the burr vertical movement by 16 microns. That puts it on par with some 1zpresso grinders, and and has better grind selection performance than the Commandante and other grinders currently on market. The grind number indicators are very easy to read, and the grinder comes zeroed out from the factory. The grinder can also be calibrated: it has a similar spindle / locking nut mechanism to some 1zpresso grinders.

On visual inspection, 3Bomber’s “custom” heptagonal (7 bladed) 48mm conical burr looks very similar to recent 1zpresso flagship grinders’ burrs, but not the current K-Ultra, J-Ultra or X-Ultra from 1zpresso, all of which are brand new designs. Once I get down to the full Snapshot Review for the Blade R3, I’ll give the burrs a much closer look. For now, here’s what they look like.

The burr stack is also similar to the previous gen 1zpresso manual grinders: the thick spindle (electric drill compatible according to the manufacturer!) is permanently attached to a bottom block plate. The inner burr slides down the spindle and locks into place on the block plate via a mounting bolt. The spring sits above it. In this case, 3Bomber’s spring is a lot longer than those found on 1zpresso models.

I should note, 1zpresso did away with the bottom block plates on their most recent grinders, and instead, hard-attach the inner cone burr directly to the spindle. They said this reduces static issues with their grinder. Here’s what the 3Bomber setup looks like:

The crank arm is very similar to those found on the Commandante, older 1zpresso and Kin Grinders, but has a longer reach. It is longer than the current gen 1zpresso J-Ultra handle, for example. The handle is beefy, made of wood and a bit different in shape compared to other grinders I have here.The mounting cap for the crank arm is made of metal and secures very well on top of the grinder.

The entire grinder can be disassembled without tools (except the adjustment external dial). This is fantastic for deep cleaning. Here’s the grinder, entirely disassembled, with all its parts:

The grinder is long, with a good grip portion that is particularly elongated. The catch cup is held in place by a gazillion magnets, and holds on even tighter than the current generation 1zpresso grinders, which is saying something because the K-Ultra, J-Ultra and X-Ultra’s catch cups are held on quite firmly compared to previous generation models.

Now to the catch cup itself. It is a four part affair: the main catch cup, a screw on base, a sieve disk, and there’s also a magnetized lid to use when shaking the catch cup full of grinds. The Blade R3 comes with five sieves, in micron size holes of 300, 400, 500, 600, and 850. As mentioned there’s a gazillion magnets (each component has 24 rare earth magnets installed).

There is one really weird thing about the Blade R3 you should note if buying: the capacity of the grinder is barely 20g if you are using the built in sieve system. This is weird because the grind chamber and “hopper” for beans above the cutting blades can hold a lot more coffee: at least 30g if not more. But the catch cup, at least when the sieves are installed, will top out at about 22-23g which I don’t recommend doing because that tops out the catch cup. If the catch cup is full to the brim, shaking the coffee for the sieving effect won’t work very well. You need some headspace in there, so 18-20g is the max coffee you should have in there when using the sieve.

Of course, you could use the catch cup without any sieve installed, and the capacity of it increases to around 25-30g, nearly matching the hopper up top.

Using the MHW-3Bomber Blade R3 Grinder

Currently we’re testing a lot of manual grinders: three 1zpresso models, the latest Timemore external adjustment grinder, two from Staresso (including one that is rechargeable!), and a Kin Grinder. For the past 45 days, about 80% of the espresso and coffee brewed in my lab space and at home has come from manual grinders. I mention this because I’ve been able to do a lot of side by side comparisons with a lot of different brands.

Again, stressing this isn’t my formal review: the MHW-3Bomber Blade R3 is holding its own. It isn’t matching the king of espresso grinders – the J-Ultra from 1zpresso – on overall espresso quality, but it is on par with the more expensive Timemore and K-Ultra. Considering the grinder is only $90, that’s seriously impressive.

The biggest issue I’ve had with the Blade R3 is static. The mix of materials (steel, aluminum, lots of magnets, and the steel sieve disks) plus the block-plate at the bottom of the burr set all seem to create a bit more static than I’m getting from the current gen 1zpresso models and the new Timemore. RDT’ing the dose helps a bit, but it is still there, and that moisture, as minute as it is, is also evidenced in the catch cup, with some grounds sticking stubbornly to the angled edge where the sieve meets the side walls of the catch cup.

In terms of grinding “action”, it is smooth and very low resistance. This is obvious because of the long crank arm design. The spindle is held in place with three anchor bearings, making the rotation of the burr rock steady and even. And because the spindle is very thick, using an electric drill with this grinder, if you follow Jim Hoffmann’s advice, is actually fine (you should not use an electric drill on more narrow gauge spindle grinders like the Timemore series). 

Everything fits together well. The grind markings are extremely easy to read in most light conditions. The catch cup is held on so tightly it’s actually a bit difficult to remove, but there should be almost no worry about accidentally knocking it off and spraying coffee everywhere while you operate the grinder. 

In short, this is a very well built, well engineered, precision instrument. 

Sieving

I didn’t expect the sieves to work all that well. After all, the surface area of the sieves is like 1/6th the surface area of the Kruve Sifter sieves. But in practice, it actually works quite well, removing about .5g of fines from an 18g dose ground for pour over and using the 500um sieve, in my limited testing.

It even works better for press pot. I set the grinder up for 1200um particle sizes, used the 850um sieve, and for every 15g I ground (I would grind two batches to hopefully get 28g of coffee to use), it would sieve out about .75g of fines. This resulted in a lot cleaner cups overall from my press pot brews. Keep in mind you’ll have to grind about 8-10% more coffee to take the sieving amount into consideration. 

The process is this: install the sieve of your choice, set the grinder to your set grind level, and grind the coffee. Once done, remove the catch cup, put the catch cup lid on it, and start shaking the bejeebus out of the container. Side to side motions, knock motions, up and down. Do this for about a minute. Then pour out the coffee from the catch cup. Later on, unscrew the bottom plate, and witness all the fines you sieved out. Magic.

There is the aforementioned problem with static. I’ve also noted coffee would get stuck in crevices and edges in the grinder, making it a bit hard to get all the usable coffee out

Oh, one more thing: 3Bomber, in their promo literature, says the act of shaking the container is calming and focusing, which has health benefits for you. Specifically: “sieving also relieves your pressure; enjoy it in the present moment!” More magic? 🙂

Should You Buy One

If all you do is espresso with your manual grinder, instead go with the 1zpresso J-Ultra, which is probably the best manual espresso grinder you can buy today. With the MHW-3Bomber Blade R3, the sieves won’t give you much benefit for espresso, and all that time shaking the grinds catch container will stale the coffee.

Also, if you want your manual grinder to crank out large (30g+ batches of coffee in one go, the Blade R3 might not be for you.

But if you want an all purpose grinder that gives you good value and excellent construction for under $100, then heck yes you should consider this one.

If you prefer using metal filters (or ultra rare, luxurious all ceramic mesh filters boo yah!) in your pour over, or metal filters with your AeroPress, or are a big press pot fan, this grinder might be the best choice for you, because of the sieving system, built in. The biggest drawbacks are a) the low capacity and b) the static. I did note there was less static when I did not use the sieves in place, so I’m pretty sure the mix of metals contributes a tad to this.

Right now, the MHW-3Bomber Blade R3 is listed for $100 on Amazon, with a 10% off coupon available, making it $90. That’s a killer bargain for this device. We’re working on a full Snapshot review for this grinder and several other manual grinders, coming soon.

https://coffeegeek.com/blog/new-products/mhw-3bomber-blade-r3-manual-grinder/

#BladeR3Grinder #coffeeGrinder #coffeeSieve #manualGrinder #mhw3bomber

How did I come to this? I used to be kind of meh on the whole WDT thing.

Lemme explain. I felt we espresso fanatics should always be demanding more of grinders: demand grinders that provided a fluffy, uncompacted output. Grinders that made the whole WDT thing unnecessary. 

But the thing is, my reasoning behind this also justifies WDT – the Weiss Distribution Method – first developed in the alt.coffee / home barista / coffeegeek forums era nearly 2 decades ago. Its purpose was to overcome grinder deficiencies, namely compacted, clumpy, badly distributed grinds in a portafilter basket. And still to this day, many grinders that otherwise can do an excellent job at grinding coffee down to specific particle sizes struggle with delivering those grinds evenly, uncompacted, and “fluffy” to a filter basket. So my dream of expecting grinders to fix themselves has not come to pass.

So now I’m all about the WDT. It definitely aids your coffee prep, but I’ve always had concerns about the length of time home baristas spend on the technique. Because the longer you take to get that ground coffee into the portafilter with pressurised water running through it, the more you are making that coffee go stale. It’s all about the coffee’s stored CO2. 

See, not everything in coffee is water soluble. In fact, many of the things that contribute to taste, flavour and aroma are insoluble and water alone won’t transport those to the cup. But other elements besides H20 are at play in roasted, ground coffee that can act as boxcars, transportation devices for these fats, lipids and oils.

One major one is carbon dioxide, or CO2. Freshly roasted coffee produces so much of that stuff, that litres of it (gas occupies a big space when uncompressed!) will evacuate over 5 to 10 days. The whole bean does a good job of containing CO2, but the moment you grind coffee, you create umpteen thousands more surface areas in the coffee for the gas to escape. And the finer your grind, the more surface areas you create.

Andrea Illy, in his thesis-cum-book Espresso: The Science of Quality, posited that coffee ground for espresso can lose up to 80% of its stored C02 in the first 2 minutes. For the pursuit of the best possible espresso, that’s… a very short time to play around with ground coffee. We want that C02 in coffee, which is why it’s really important to be pulling your shot of espresso within 30 seconds of the coffee being ground.

Getting all fancy with distribution, dosing, levelling, WDTing, tamping, etc before a shot doesn’t help on timing. I’ve seen professional baristas – competition level baristas – take up to 3 minutes in prep. It hurts.

So if a tool comes along that can do an excellent job of WDT, but only take a few seconds to do what a manual hand and a needle tool will take 45-60 seconds to do, I’m all for it, no matter how crazy the device looks. 

Which brings us to… the claw!

The MHW-3Bomber Yu Cyclone WDT Tool

I call it The Claw. MHW-3Bomber calls it the Yu Series Cyclone WDT Tool, an $80 automated distribution device.

Designed only for 58mm portafilters and baskets, the Cyclone can apply a very decent WDT distribution to a bed of coffee in under 5 seconds. And the device gives some customization options. Though this is not a formal review, let’s get into it a bit.

The Yu Cyclone is a plunger style, spinning WDT tool with 14 needles installed in a seemingly random pattern. This is not a spirographic spinning tool, like the Weber Moonraker (which is a copy of various spirographic 3D printed tools found on Etsy for a few years now). In the Yu Cyclone, the  individual needles’ circular tracks do not change diameter or pattern while the device is spinning.

Is it a big deal that the needles’ paths are circular and fixed, and not spirographic? There’s been some debate online as to whether or not spirographic movements of the needles in an automated WDT device are beneficial or detrimental. I haven’t been able to personally test one, so I cannot speak on that myself.

In the Yu Cyclone, the placement of the needles and each circular track they follow do a good job of covering the entire surface area (except directly in the middle) of the bed of coffee. The needles are .25mm, and in the box, six spare needles are included. I will say replacing the needles isn’t easy, based on a YT video MHW-3Bomber themselves put out, so try not to break them. Half of the needles have to be jammed up into the needle holders (the ones that have the metal ring above them); the other half can be dropped down from above into their holders, but still need to be forced into place with the help of pliers or some heavy flat tip tool.

The depth of all the needles is very easy to change, but you cannot set the depth of individual needles. When you do change the depth, be careful about not setting the depth too long so it scrapes the bottom of your filter basket.. I like this feature because I can easily adjust the Yu Cyclone to work with a 22g VST triple basket, or a 17g Rancilio double basket. It will even work with single shot baskets, if you adjust the depth to be very shallow.

The adjustment is achieved by unscrewing the two bolts at the base of the piston, then while holding them, screwing the main piston clockwise to lower the needles’ overall depth, or counter clockwise to reduce the overall depth. Once at the needle height you want, re-tighten the two black bolts at the base of the piston.

Looking at the design of the device, it almost appears that half the needles have an adjustment barrel up top – the metal rings around seven of the needle placements – but they don’t serve any adjustment function at all. I am speculating here, but based on the design of the device, which works via gravity to drop the needle assembly down into the bed of coffee, these purely serve as weights to make sure the assembly drops down. 

The device features a lot of magnets and adheres very confidently to any 58mm filter basket. The magnets are powerful enough to pick up a filter basket filled with coffee (though not powerful enough to pick up a portafilter with the filter basket). It feels very solid and reassuring when you use it: it always seems to “lock into place”.

Depending on how fast and firm you press the plunger, you can get almost no WDT effect, or so much that you end up spinning a lot of the coffee to the outer edges of your filter basket. It’ll take a few tries to get a ‘feel” for it, but what works best for me is a measured, confident press on the plunger, not too forceful, 3 times to get a good distribution. Here’s a look at how it works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSBc-ViQUTE

The real star here is how the Cyclone does a really good job of WDT that is consistent, shot after shot after shot, achieving it in about 5 seconds or less. The workflow contribution here is immense: first, you get a very fast and even distribution, and you can hit the magic mark of 30 seconds, grinder to espresso machine, getting a full WDT application in the process. Grind your coffee; knock down the grounds; apply the Yu Cyclone for 5 seconds. Tamp your coffee, another 5 seconds, lock the portafilter into the machine, and under 30 seconds after the grinding ends, you’re pulling a shot. Sometimes as fast as 22 seconds in my own speed testing.

Should You Buy One

I’m on the fence given the price of the MHW-3Bomber Yu Series Cyclone WDT Tool (which is available on Amazon). It is $80 and that money goes into a lot of fine tuned and crafted metal and silicone parts. It definitely looks worth $80; perhaps even $100, $125, for the materials and construction quality. I don’t see this device breaking down, as long as you don’t try plunging it directly on a counter (the needles will bend and possibly break if you do so).

But the real question is, Is $80 worth spending to get your bed of coffee better distributed? Especially when you can get great WDT handheld devices for $20 or less? Or better yet, just demand that your grinder manufacturer designs a good grinder that produces a fluffy, even output that won’t see much benefit from applying a WDT distribution. They do exist (The Baratza Sette 270, the Rancilio Stile, to name two). Unfortunately, most espresso-primary grinders don’t do this. So we WDT.

Considering a really high quality, hand crafted 58mm tamper can cost $50 to $100, the cost of the Yu Cyclone is somewhat justified. Also considering this device will give you a very consistent and repeatable WDT distribution every time you use it, makes the price even more justified.

But perhaps the best justification for this device is the time saved to your espresso prep workflow. With it, you don’t have to fiddle around for a minute or longer, hand massaging the bed of coffee with a manual WDT device. 5 seconds and you’re done. That retains more CO2 in the coffee, and contributes to better crema, and a better tasting cup. 

In that regard, if you’re a serious espresso nerd, the $80 cost of the Yu Cyclone from MHW-3Bomber may be very much worth the expense.

https://coffeegeek.com/blog/new-products/mhw-3bomber-yu-cyclone-wdt-tool/

#Espresso #espressoTools #mhw3bomber #wdt #wdtTool

MHW-3Bomber Cube 2.0 Mini Coffee Scale

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Out of the Box

Just way too much environmentally-unfriendly stuff in the box the Cube 2.0 Mini Scale ships in. That black polystyrene type material you find in many Asia-sourced coffee gear. If MHW-3Bomber wants to really distinguish themselves from the rest of the crowd, they should work on making their packaging 100% recyclable and biodegradable. And then make a big deal about it.

When you open the box, there’s a top layer of polystyrene, then the user manual. Under that, the scale silicone mat, and the scale itself becomes visible, and both look to be wrapped in biodegradable bags (that’s good, at least).

Inside the front portion of the box, once flipped open, you’ll find another bag that contains a USB-C (both ends) charging cable.

The cardboard box the scale ships in. Small and complactThe outer cardboard box is enviro-friendly with the basic printing.Opening the lid, you find the first layer of polystyrene. The instruction manual once the top layer of polystyrene is removed.The silicone mat has its own wrap of biodegradable material, as does the scale.The scale’s charging cable is in another bio-bag under the front flap of the boxThe scale parts, unboxedThe parts of the scale, unboxed and unwrapped.

We ordered the black model of the Cube 2.0 Mini, which has a matt black, granular finish to the main scale, a black silicone mat, and a black charging cable. It also comes in white; that version has more of a glossy mirror finish to the scale, a light grey silicone mat, and a white charging cable.

The scale is designed similar to the Acaia-pioneered design; that is the weighing pan is actually upside down, compared to traditional scales. The main pan is inside, surrounded by the top wraparound cover that also contains the scale electronics and LCD readout. This design makes these kind of scales water resistant, because water getting into the electronics and weighing mechanisms has a much more difficult path than traditional scales.

To further add to the water resistance, the Cube 2.0 mini scale has a silicone cover for the charging port, and the 3-position power slide on the back of the scale has gaskets to prevent water ingress.

The back panel of the scale has the charging port (covered with a water resistant flap) and a 3 position switch.The charging port is easily accessible by opening the flap. The flap stays connected.The black model of this scale has a matt black finish, and a granular finish to the plastic, as seen in this photo.When the display is off, the scale has no visible indicators for where the power on button is. You get used to it.

The scale is tiny: 10.5cm square, and just under 2cm tall without the silicone mat. It is roughly the same width and depth as the Acaia Lunar scale, and about 3mm taller. It also weighs less than the Lunar; this makes sense because the Acaia Lunar is mostly metal and the 3Bomber Cube Mini is mostly plastic.

There are two long “grip strips” on the bottom of the scale, which keep it from sliding much, especially on smooth countertops. No complaints there.

There is one physical control on the scale, the aforementioned power button. It has three positions: off, on, and on with sound. There is no volume control on the scale, the beeps are either on or off via this switch. And the beeps are pretty loud, so you might want to keep it in the sound-off position.

The rest of the scale’s controls are via two capacitive touch areas on the front left and right of the top panel. And this is where the MHW-3Bomber Cube 2.0 Mini scale differs from other scales. When the scale is powered up, the display and soft-touch buttons light up. On the right is a T button, which on most scales is the “tare” or zero-out button. On the left is a power symbol button.

But the “T” button is not the tare function button on this scale (except in one instance). It is the timer button. The power button on the Cube 2.0 Mini scale is the tare button… in every circumstance but one instance in smart mode. Confusing, right? I’ll get to this.

These two buttons serve several purposes. Let’s start with the T button. Double tapping it will change the scale from grams to ounces. A single tap will start the scale timer. Another single tap will stop the timer. A long press will zero out the timer. In the scale’s “smart mode”, at one stage, it becomes the tare function, zeroing out the timer. There’s no indication to you, the user, of this change from the power button’s function to the T button, but it is what it is.

The power button on the left has several functions as well. If the scale is off, pressing that area will power on the scale. Long pressing it will power the scale off. Tapping it tares the scale back to zero. Double tapping it puts the scale into a smart mode. Double tapping again turns off the smart mode

Touch Panel

The main display and touch panel area of the 3Bomber Cube Mini scale. Power button is on the left, and doubles as a tare button and a smart mode start button. T on the right is for starting and stopping the timer, and changing from grams to ounces.

The layout of the display is:

• power button on the far left,
• timer numbers on the left,
• a battery power indicator, volume indicator, and smart mode indicator in the middle,
• weight readout and grams / ounces indicator on the right, and
• T button on the far right.

All are invisible when the scale is powered off or in standby mode. When lit up, the scale display is quite bright, especially compared to our pre-2022 version of the Acaia Lunar scale.

One of the best features on this scale is the auto-on mode, at the expense of slightly less battery life. The Cube 2.0 Mini scale is designed to automatically power on the display if it detects 100g or more on the scale for 2 seconds. And it will zero out the scale when powering on in the process.

That means if you place a dosing cup or portafilter on the turned-off scale, it will power up, and tare out to zero, ready for you to add coffee or dose into the portafilter to get your coffee weight. I quickly came to love that feature, wishing it was on my other scales. The downside to this is the scale is always chewing away at the battery in minute amounts. It’s not much, but it is going on.

The auto on / auto tare feature in action. With the scale off, place a portafilter on it.With the weight placed for 2 seconds, the scale powers on.The scale quickly zeros out the weight of the portafilter, automatically.At this point, you can just go on with dosing and measuring, or put the scale in smart mode by double tapping the power button.

The Mini version of this scale has a 700mAh lithium battery installed. The company has specific warnings about not using a fast charger to charge this battery. This makes me wonder how many of these scales will get torched by folks plugging it into their Macbook Air or Google Pixel Phone USB-C mega-wattage fast chargers. Seems like an area they could have better designed for. Just be warned.

The silicone mat that comes with the scale is reversible, and has a L-bend portion for resting portafilter handles on when using it flipped over. This mat is essential to avoid heat-transmitted weight drifts in the readout.

The scale power on time is faster than the pre 2022 Acaia Lunar we have here (the more recent Lunars are supposedly faster, though we do not have one to confirm this). The Acaia wins on response time, showing changes in weight faster than the Cube 2.0 Mini scale, but not by much.

I tested the scale’s calibration out of the box with a standard set of calibrated 250g, 500g, and 1kg weights. It was off by .3g on the 250g test. .6g on the 500g test, and .9g on the 1kg test. I’d consider this pretty accurate. To further test the scale, I measured 20.00g exactly on the Acaia Lunar (which goes to .01g accuracy reading), and got 20.0g on the Cube 2.0 Mini.

Acaia Lunar and 3Bomber Scale

Side by side, both the Lunar and 3Bomber scales are the same width and depth, but the Acaia remains one of the lowest profile scales available today.

Using the

We actually covered a fair portion of the MHW-3Bomber Cube 2.0 Mini scale features and uses in the Unboxing section above, but to recap some of the salient points:

• This scale has an auto-on, auto-tare feature for portafilters, brewing devices and bean cups (over 100g) which really improves the scale’s workflow
• This scale is very small and fits on most espresso machine drip trays with adequate cup clearance to portafilter spouts
• This scale’s display is nice and bright, with a fast power on time and decent response time to weight changes
• The scale, though lightweight and all plastic, sits nice and firm on most counters because of the grippy strips on the bottom of the scale.
• The scale’s weighing pan is pretty accurate, matching the Acaia Lunar for under 50g weights, and within .3g when testing with a calibrated 250g weight.

The scale’s brightness is very nice; it is easier to read and brighter than the Acaia lunar scale, which really stood out for me in the main area I was using this scale, by a western-facing window in our home. There were times in some afternoons I could barely read the Acaia scale, but the Cube 2.0 Mini was easy to read at all angles.

Acaia Lunar and 3Bomber Scale

We did a lot of side by side testing of these two scales. The 3Bomber starts up quicker, but the Lunar registers changes faster. As you can see, the 3Bomber’s display is a lot brighter than the Acaia.

Pour Over Use

This is a small scale, but it can accommodate most single-serving pour over systems I have. Putting an eight cup Chemex on it is a bit of a stretch, but since the scale’s max capacity is 2000g, you could do it, and still just barely see the readout area.

Using your standard 300-500ml carafe and a Hario pourover system on this scale works great. The button touches are almost always registered, and that’s saying something: I’ve tested a lot of scales and kettles recently with capacitive touch buttons, and sometimes they require 2 or 3 presses to get what you want done; not so with this scale. I would even say it is more accurately reading finger touches than the Acaia Lunar.

All scales experience drift in weights when heat is applied, even if you have a silicone mat on top, and this scale is no different. What makes scales better or worse is how long they remain stable before the weight starts driving downward. The Cube Mini 2.0 would start showing a slight drift about 2 minutes into a brew, and only by .1g every 5 or 10 seconds, which I consider to be very adequate. For pour over coffee, this kind of drift isn’t of any consequence.

Pour Over Use

The scale is small but can work with most pour over systems up to 750ml, and possibly even 1l with smart positioning. The scale has a 2000g capacity.

Pour Over Smart Mode

The Cube 2.0 Mini scale has a smart mode (just one, but it’s been designed to work for both espresso and pour over brewing). It’s not very intuitive, and other than providing some rudimentary information if you’re writing down your brew information, not worth doing. Still, it will give you the following outputs at the end of a pour over session: Brewing ratio; starting coffee weight; brewing time; and total water used.

There is one particular mode within the smart mode that is actually smart though (got all that!). The scale knows the difference between water flow weight addition, and one time “bulk” addition. So once the scale is full on in smart mode, mid way through, after you add your coffee and press the T button to “record” the coffee volume, the scale will zero out. Then, if you add cups, or something more than 30g at one go, the scale knows this is not brew flowing, so it will zero out that added weight. 

This is good if you’re adding a flow controller, porcelain cap, or top-mounted water reservoir, or adding cups to the scale, after measuring the beans, but before commencing the brew. 

To access the scale’s Smart Mode, power unit on, then double tap the power button. A water droplet appears on the screen, showing smart mode is engaged. The smart mode also changes the function of this scale’s “T” button to what most scales “T” button does – it turns it into the tare function, once you are in the middle of the smart mode steps. Here’s the process.

• Put dosing cup / bean holder on scale, tap the power button to tare the scale.

• Use the scale to measure your beans as normal. Hit the power button to tare out things when necessary.

• Put the brewer (cup / carafe + filter holder + filter material, pre-rinsed) on scale. The weight of the brewer is not factored into the smart scale’s function so press the power button to tare it once more.

• Add ground coffee to brewer. The scale will be showing the ground coffee’s weight.

• Press the T button this time, to record the ground coffee weight. This press also serves to set the scale into the motions of its full smart mode.

• At this point, the water drop will flash to show it’s recorded the ground coffee weight, and the scale zeros out.

• Start pouring your brew water; the timer should start automatically.

• Do your brew pour in whatever stages and pause you normally do.

• Once done, remove everything from the scale, immediately, and the scale will stop the timer.

• The scale at this point will switch to showing you brew results: It will alternate between showing you a) brewing ratio (something like 1:16), and coffee weight, and b) brewing time and total water used.

Again, not super intuitive, but it does provide recordable results if you’re tracking and evaluating your coffee brews.

Espresso Use

For espresso, the best feature by far is the auto on and auto tare, which we’ve already covered. The scale is also small enough that it will sit just fine on most espresso machine drip trays. There’s even the ability to put it on the Gaggia Classic Evo Pro (with its notoriously short height drip tray area), though your standard espresso cups will have to be fit around the portafilter’s brew spouts.

Response time is good, and certainly better than some other cheap scales I’ve used. The Acaia Lunar is faster, though not readily noticeable.

The Smart Mode for Espresso is the same mode for pour over, though the scale will auto zero out after it is placed on the espresso machine’s drip tray, and espresso cups are added. Here’s the workflow.

• Use the silicone mat (flipped over) for espresso portafilter.

• Put the portafilter on the scale. It should wake up, and zero out.

• Double tap the power button to enter smart mode.

• Grind coffee into your portafilter and weigh it. Adjust the coffee if necessary (remove, add some, WDT it, etc). Once happy, with the PF on the scale, pres the T button.

• The water drop will flash to show it has recorded the espresso ground coffee weight.

• Insert the PF into the espresso machine.

• Put scale on machine drip tray, place your cup on the scale. The scale should automatically zero out the weight of the cup.

• Start your shot. The scale timer should start as soon as it detects the weight of espresso flowing into the cup.

• When the extraction is done, remove the cup.

• The display will change, and show results, alternating between a) shot ratio (something like 1:2.2 or similar) and coffee dose, and b) shot time, and total shot weight.

The work flow isn’t super intuitive, but if this is your only scale, you should get used to it. I don’t think the smart mode is as valuable for espresso brewing as it is for pour over brewing. I think just using the scale in “dumb mode”, first measuring your dose, then using it to measure the shot volumes is useful enough.

Comparisons

The obvious comparison product here is the Acaia Lunar scale, a scale that costs 5 times as much as this scale. I’d love to compare this scale to the Timemore Black Mirror scale, or their Nano Scale, but we don’t have either here at CoffeeGeek.

We do have the DiFluid Microbalance Ti scale here, which we are currently reviewing, and I do have to say the Microbalance is a better scale in almost every regard, with the exception that it doesn’t have the auto-on feature. Unfortunately, the Microbalance Ti is a larger scale (halfway between the Acaia Lunar and Acaia Pearl in size), and costs $150. It is a full smart scale, with bluetooth connectivity and a fantastic app environment, both things the Cube 2.0 Mini Scale does not have.

Three Scales

The Microbalance Ti (left), Fellow Tally Pro (centre) and MHW-3Bomber Cube Mini (right). Note the size differences. The Fellow is the only one with an OLED display.

We bought a Maestri Mini House Scale to compare against the MHW-3Bomber scale, because it seems a similar size and ability, for $30. Unfortunately, the scale stopped working after one week. It was sent back to the US Amazon store, but got lost in transit, and we don’t have a replacement.

I was able to compare some things about the scale before it stopped working. It has a smaller battery (500mAh vs the Cube’s 700mAh battery), wasn’t nearly as accurate, and had a much slower power on time and reaction time. It also doesn’t have any real smart features, other than an auto-start timer. For just $10 more, the Cube 2.0 Mini offers a lot more functionality. And ours hasn’t broken yet in over 45 days of testing.

The Acaia Lunar

Compared to the Acaia Lunar, the MHW-3Bomber beats it in four areas: the display is brighter; the auto-on / auto-tare feature is excellent; it powers on faster; and it doesn’t slide around the counter like the Lunar does.

Espresso Machine Use

The 3Bomber Scale, next to an Acaia Lunar (on the left), on a GS3 espresso machine. Note the difference in displays.

The Lunar has additional smart modes, including auto start and stop features, flow rates, and can be put into a .01g reading mode. It is also all metal in construction, and a bit more water resistant. The Lunar is bluetooth enabled, and does have an app environment, but it is very poor, especially on Android. Apparently the Lunar can work with third party software, which is something we haven’t explored at CoffeeGeek. The Cube Mini does not have bluetooth and no app ability.

Both scales are the same width and length. Both work well on most drip trays, and both would work fine with manual lever machines like the Flair 58.

Scales Side By Side

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a good quality budget (under $50) espresso focused coffee scale that can easily do manual brew methods up to 1litre in volume, the MHW-3Bomber Cube 2.0 Mini Coffee Scale is one to consider. We’ve put our unit through enough work to require 12 charges so far, and it is still going strong.

To repeat for the tenth time, the best feature is the auto-on, auto-tare feature when 100g or more is put on the scale. I got so used to this feature, when I went back to my standard scale (the DiFluid Microbalance), I found myself missing it quite a bit.

The display is also first rate and very easy to see and read in most lighting conditions. I cannot say that for the Acaia Lunar, which seems to be fading as time goes by. You don’t expect that from a $250 appliance.

Response time is good. Button presses on the capacitive touch panel almost never miss, and the scale is quick to react to your interactions. The smart mode could be better thought out, and the T button not being for Tare will throw people off, but overall, the scale is enjoyable to use and will serve quite well for the home coffee enthusiast.

#coffeeScale #coffeeTool #espressoScale #mhw3bomber #scaleCubeMini