Does precisely what it was purchased for. Accurate to one gram (1g). Displays in both metric and US (grams, ounces, kilograms, pounds). Large metal tray can hold large bowls, etc. Large and clear digital display. Tares automatically, manually, or both. Operates on either 9V battery or 110V with standard AC wall adapter. Large buttons for easy operation. Substantial six kilogram (6Kg)/thirteen pound (13#) capacity, making it very useful for a variety of tasks. As simple to use as it gets--your average chimp could operate it blindfolded.

Asthetics take a back seat. It looks more like a scale you'd find in a pharmacy than in a kitchen. If you're concerned about decor, you'll probably want to store it when not in use versus leaving it out. Aside from the metal tray the unit is all white plastic, so it's not exactly a measuring instrument of German heritage (ie: it's cheaply made). No AC adapter is included, but it does come with a generic 9V battery that seems to last quite a while.

The addiction strikes again!

In the never ending pursuit of the ultimate shot of espresso and the best possible coffee I, as countless others before me, have arrived at the conclusion that home roasting your own coffee is compulsory. Having acquired an Alpenrost home drum coffee roaster, it became necessary to precisely measure the weight of each batch of green beans to be roasted--227 grams per if you must know.

So, Visa card in hand, I scoured the web in search of a suitable scale that could also be used by my wife--a budding private chef--in the service of her extraordinary culinary talents as well. Eventually I wound up at one of our favorite places: eBay. There are no shortage of scale peddlers on eBay, forcing one into doing a nominal amount of independent research to weed out the false or skewed performance claims. Considering we had settled on a few feature requirements in advance--such as a digital readout, minimum 10 pound capacity, tare capability, stainless steel measuring surface for durability and cleaning, portability, reliable accuracy within 1g--we were able to immediately weed out a number of the smaller capacity sellers. What ultimately led us to the Escali 136DK was the fact that it fulfilled every one of our requirements at a very respectable $45 price.

The 136DK certainly can't be accused of being attractive or unique in any way. It's squarely a tool with a no frills approach to design, but it is somewhat refreshing as well. It stores away easily, being of compact dimensions, can stand up to having the occasional liquid of one sort or another spilled on it, is easy to clean, seems to be very accurate, and is eminently usable and practical without any complex, unnecessary gizmos. The stainless steel measuring surface is easy to clean and can stand up to hot objects without fear of melting the plastic on the main unit itself. The unit has a tare feature that can be used manually or automatically. Just turn the unit on with a container already in place and it will zero itself out. Conversely, if the unit is already on from prior use, just place a container and hit the "tare" button manually to have the unit zero out.

It's accurate, easy to use, easy to clean, has a large capacity and digital readout, and is lightweight and portable enough to be easily moved and stored.

It does precisely what we bought it for and has, in the two months we've owned it, never misperformed or failed to operate.

Another good eBay seller. For more information and to actually *see* the Escali 136DK, check out this link: http://www.escali.com/136dk.htm