Espresso Journal vs BeanBench
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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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Perfect your espresso shots by tracking every detail of your coffee making process. Whether you're a home barista or coffee professional, Espresso Journal helps you understand what makes a great shot of espresso. Record and analyze: • Shot timing, dose weight, and yield • Bean origins, roast levels, and processing methods • Equipment setups and recipes • Tasting notes and ratings Learn from your experience: • See what combinations produce your best shots • Track beans from multiple roasters • Monitor freshness with roast dates • Identify your preferred processing methods • Save successful recipes for consistency Key Features: • Built-in shot timer • Recipe management • iCloud sync across devices Never wonder "What did I do differently?" again. Espresso Journal helps you maintain consistency and improve your coffee making skills through methodical tracking and analysis. Free to download. No subscriptions. No ads.
BeanBench
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BeanBench is a coffee log for people who brew at home and drink out. Track the beans you buy, the cups you make, and the cafés you visit, then see how your taste develops over time. LOG BREWS, YOUR WAY - Guided timers with stage-by-stage prompts and haptics: V60, 4:6, the BeanBench House recipes, Chemex, Kalita, AeroPress, French press, Stagg [XF], cold brew, and cupping, plus any recipe you save yourself. - Quick manual logging when you already know the numbers: dose, water, temperature, grind (with your grinder's own scale), total time, and drawdown. Add a custom brew method if yours isn't listed. - Espresso too: baskets, prep, pressure profiles, and shot outcomes. BUILD YOUR COFFEE LIBRARY - Scan a bag: photograph the label and BeanBench reads it on your device, including the roaster, origin, process, variety, roast date, and tasting notes. Then you review and save. Photos never leave your phone. - Or import from an AI assistant: copy a prompt, attach your bag photos in the assistant you already use, then paste the reply back. - Track price, bag size, rest days after roast, and whether you'd buy again. Resting reminders tell you when a bag is ready. RATE WITH PRECISION - Five stars, with quarter-star steps. Tap for speed, drag for precision. CHECK IN AT CAFÉS - Log drinks at coffee shops with photos, prices, and ratings. See your visits on a map and in stats. Earn badges as your coffee map grows. SEE YOUR TASTE DEVELOP - The Coffee Passport automatically stamps countries and flavor families based on what you log. - Analytics show brew trends, spending, top coffees, and what you actually reorder. YOUR DATA, YOURS - Everything lives on your device. Optional iCloud sync uses your private iCloud account, with live sync status in Settings so you always know where things stand. We never see your data. - Full backup and restore to a single file. CSV and JSON export for everything. No account. No ads. No tracking.
Screenshots
Verdict
Espresso Journal and BeanBench are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Espresso Journal ships an update every 4 months, BeanBench every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on July 23, 2026 and September 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Espresso Journal | BeanBench |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.2 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 10 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Gruffydd Johnston | John Hodge |
In-app purchases
Espresso Journal
No in-app purchases
BeanBench
No in-app purchases









