Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Before the Half Decent Scale became a feature-rich, Bluetooth-enabled espresso scale, it began as a DIY side project by a content creator named Soso. This video is his story—from hacking kitchen scales in his apartment, to building firmware, PCBs, and enclosures by hand, all in the spirit of open-source collaboration.
In this 55-minute talk, Soso shares:
- How he built his first open-source scale from spare parts and GitHub code
- Why he believes coffee tools should be hackable and community-driven
- How John Buckman (Decent Espresso) helped turn a home-built prototype into a real product
- The hardware and firmware challenges of building a scale that’s precise, durable—and totally open
- How the Half Decent Scale enables community mods, DIY repairs, and total transparency
Whether you’re a developer, barista, or just someone who loves tinkering—this video shows what’s possible when transparency, community, and curiosity come together.
Chapters:
00:00 – Welcome & Introduction
Soso opens the talk and outlines the two-part structure of his story.
00:47 – From Vlogger to Coffee Enthusiast
How Soso’s career as a Bilibili content creator led to a love of specialty coffee.
03:09 – Building the First DIY Scale
Discovering scale components, open-source code, and building his first homemade scale.
07:54 – Inventing the Ratio Scale
Introducing auto-calculation of coffee-to-water ratios—an early innovation.
10:54 – Automating Pour-Overs & Espresso
How DIY tech let Soso control espresso machines and kettles using weight data.
17:03 – Hardware Hurdles & Iterations
From melting plastic to bad PCB batches—Soso's path of trial, error, and prototyping.
27:05 – Joining Decent Espresso & Going Fully Open Source
How Soso met John, shared his code, and helped launch the Half Decent Scale project.
39:00 – Apps, Community Mods & Beyond
How the scale enables real-world use cases, from café workflows to cocktail recipes.
All code, firmware, PCB layouts, and 3D print files are available on GitHub.
Right to repair? Fully supported. You can even modify your own chassis and upload new firmware.
- Learn more or buy the scale here: decentespresso.com/decentscale
- Explore the open-source project: github.com/decentespresso/openscale-
Before the Half Decent Scale became a feature-rich, Bluetooth-enabled espresso scale, it began as a DIY side project by a content creator named Soso. This video is his story—from hacking kitchen scales in his apartment, to building firmware, PCBs, and enclosures by hand, all in the spirit of open-source collaboration.
In this 55-minute talk, Soso shares:
- How he built his first open-source scale from spare parts and GitHub code
- Why he believes coffee tools should be hackable and community-driven
- How John Buckman (Decent Espresso) helped turn a home-built prototype into a real product
- The hardware and firmware challenges of building a scale that’s precise, durable—and totally open
- How the Half Decent Scale enables community mods, DIY repairs, and total transparency
Whether you’re a developer, barista, or just someone who loves tinkering—this video shows what’s possible when transparency, community, and curiosity come together.
Chapters:
00:00 – Welcome & Introduction
Soso opens the talk and outlines the two-part structure of his story.
00:47 – From Vlogger to Coffee Enthusiast
How Soso’s career as a Bilibili content creator led to a love of specialty coffee.
03:09 – Building the First DIY Scale
Discovering scale components, open-source code, and building his first homemade scale.
07:54 – Inventing the Ratio Scale
Introducing auto-calculation of coffee-to-water ratios—an early innovation.
10:54 – Automating Pour-Overs & Espresso
How DIY tech let Soso control espresso machines and kettles using weight data.
17:03 – Hardware Hurdles & Iterations
From melting plastic to bad PCB batches—Soso's path of trial, error, and prototyping.
27:05 – Joining Decent Espresso & Going Fully Open Source
How Soso met John, shared his code, and helped launch the Half Decent Scale project.
39:00 – Apps, Community Mods & Beyond
How the scale enables real-world use cases, from café workflows to cocktail recipes.
All code, firmware, PCB layouts, and 3D print files are available on GitHub.
Right to repair? Fully supported. You can even modify your own chassis and upload new firmware.
- Learn more or buy the scale here: decentespresso.com/decentscale
- Explore the open-source project: github.com/decentespresso/openscale-
