Tasting Grounds vs Espresso Journal
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Tasting Grounds
This app helps specialty coffee enthusiasts brew better coffee by logging brew details, tasting notes, and ratings. Connect with friends and the wider coffee community to share experiences, discover new coffees and roasters, and learn about coffee origins and processing methods.
- Log brew details and tasting notes
- Rate coffees like a professional
- Share brews and methods with friends
- Discover coffee origins and processing
- Explore new roasters and brewing techniques
- See community tasting notes and ratings
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Brew Coffee Together! Tasting Grounds is the specialty coffee app designed to connect the coffee community and help everyone brew better coffee together. - Log and rate your brews - record the details of your brewing process (such as brewer, water to grounds ratio, brew time, and more), the flavors you are tasting, and scoring notes like a coffee professional. - Share with your friends and the community - share your coffees and brewing methods, see what your friends are drinking, and discuss how we all enjoy our coffee differently. - Learn more about your coffee - see details about where your coffee was grown, how it was produced, and what flavors your roaster tastes as well as how others are brewing the same beans, what others are tasting, and how others are rating their brews. - Discover new things - discover similarities in the coffees that you do or don’t enjoy, explore new roasters from around the world, and find new ways to brew better coffee. We hope you enjoy using Tasting Grounds! Don’t forget to give us feedback at https://tastinggrounds.com/contact or follow us on Twitter (@tastinggrounds) and Instagram (@tastinggrounds)! TOS: https://tastinggrounds.com/terms
Espresso Journal
Log and analyze every aspect of your espresso brewing to understand what makes a great shot. Track details like timing, weight, bean origin, and tasting notes to refine your technique and achieve consistent results. Perfect for home baristas and coffee professionals seeking to improve their craft.
- Shot timing and yield tracking
- Bean origin and roast details
- Equipment and recipe logging
- Tasting notes and ratings
- Built-in shot timer
- Recipe management
- iCloud sync
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Espresso Journal is a simple log for home espresso. Record each shot, see what you changed, and get to a better cup sooner. LOG A SHOT IN SECONDS New shots start from your last one, so you only change what you're dialing in. Start the timer, pull the shot, and the brew time is filled in for you. Add dose, yield, grind setting, grinder RPM, grind time, temperature, a rating and notes. KEEP TRACK OF YOUR BEANS AND GEAR Save the roaster, origin, process and roast date for each coffee, with a link to the shop for when you need more. Add your machine, grinder, portafilters and baskets. ON IPHONE AND IPAD Your journal syncs through iCloud. Export your shots as a spreadsheet whenever you like. ESPRESSO JOURNAL PRO A one-time purchase, shared with your family: • Take a photo of a bag and the app reads the label for you • Recipes for the drinks you make often • Charts comparing grind, ratio and time with how you rated each shot • The shot timer on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island, and a Pull a Shot button for Control Center and Siri • Bean stock, shot cards and flavor notes Questions or ideas? Use Send Feedback in Settings.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Tasting Grounds at every 9 days against Espresso Journal's every 5 months. Tasting Grounds also leads on ratings volume (47 vs 3) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.0). Espresso Journal's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 84%). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Tasting Grounds sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Espresso Journal sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Tasting Grounds holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Tasting Grounds has 47 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 84% of Tasting Grounds's written reviews are positive against 100% of Espresso Journal's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Tasting Grounds ships an update every 9 days, Espresso Journal every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Tasting Grounds | Espresso Journal |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (47 ratings) — better | 4.7 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 84.2% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 47 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 62 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | +4 |
| Developer | Tasting Grounds, LLC | Gruffydd Johnston |
Customer experience
Tasting Grounds
Espresso Journal
In-app purchases
Tasting Grounds
- Tasting Grounds Pro - Monthly$2.991 Month
- Tasting Grounds Pro - Yearly$24.991 Year
Espresso Journal
- Espresso Journal Pro$9.99
Questions
Is Tasting Grounds free?
Is Espresso Journal free?
Which has better reviews, Tasting Grounds or Espresso Journal?
Do Tasting Grounds or Espresso Journal have ads?
Which is updated more often, Tasting Grounds or Espresso Journal?
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