The best Coffee Book alternative for better coffee.
Coffee Book is a beautifully designed indie brew journal, genuinely one of the good ones. Filtru goes further where it counts: live brew graphs, a documented 12-brand scale ecosystem, TDS and extraction tools, and community recipes.
Available for iPhone and iPad. Free to download.
Coffee Book: Brew Journal, on the App Store
First, some honesty.
Coffee Book (Coffee Book: Brew Journal) has been around since 2020, was featured as App of the Day, and is praised for exactly the right things: brilliant design, guided brew timers, strong espresso dial-in logging, and a famously responsive solo developer. In early 2026 it added an AI bag scanner and Bluetooth scale support.
The differences live a layer deeper. Coffee Book's scale support is new and thinly documented, there are no live brew graphs, no TDS or extraction calculator, and no community recipes; sharing means sending a link. It also now requires iOS 26 or later.
Filtru has been building those exact layers for a decade. Here's the honest, feature-by-feature picture.
Filtru vs Coffee Book,
feature by feature.
Based on each app’s public App Store listing and documentation, as of July 2026.
| Feature | Coffee Book |
 Filtru
★ Recommended
|
|---|---|---|
| Guided step-by-step brew timers | Yes. Guided timers + custom guides | Yes. Guided timers for 15 methods |
| Community & shared recipes | Partial. Curated library; share guides by link | Yes. Community recipes on every brew method |
| Bluetooth scale support | Partial. New in v4.0; no published model list | Yes. 14 documented brands, each with a guide |
| Live brew graphs (weight + flow) | No. Not offered | Yes. Weight + flow-rate brew print per cup |
| Espresso tools | Yes. Dial-in flow + Espresso Compass | Yes. Dial-in, shot recording, TDS + extraction |
| TDS & extraction calculator | No. Not offered | Yes. Extraction calculator with TDS support |
| Coffee journal | Yes. 20+ variables, photo journal | Yes. Tasting notes with customisable bag styles |
| AI bag scanning | Yes. AI scanner (added v4.0, Feb 2026) | Yes. AbolBuna, on-device, 50,000+ bags |
| Stats & insights | Partial. Brew history; no analytics dashboards | Yes. Cost per cup, origins, varietals over time |
| Apple Health caffeine sync | Yes. Automatic caffeine logging | Yes. HealthKit sync |
| Siri Shortcuts & widgets | Yes. Shortcuts + Lock Screen widgets | Yes. Siri Shortcuts, widgets, Live Activities |
| Languages | Yes. 6 languages | Yes. 14 languages |
| Free version | Partial. Caps stored brews & coffees | Yes. Guided brewing free, no coffee cap |
| Platforms | Yes. iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision (iOS 26+) | Yes. iPhone & iPad |
| Price | Yes. Free · Plus $1.99/mo · $14.99 lifetime | Yes. Free · optional PRO from $3.49/mo |
| Track record | Yes. 4.7★ from 83 US ratings · est. 2020 | Yes. 4.8★ from 11,914 ratings · est. 2016 |
“I just needed an app to guide me through the process of brewing my Chemex and AeroPress, I like how this does just that.”— App Store review of Filtru
Why people switch from Coffee Book to Filtru.
You want to see the brew, not just log it.
Coffee Book records what happened. Filtru draws it. With a Bluetooth scale connected you watch live weight and flow rate as you pour, and every cup keeps a brew-print graph you can compare later.
Scale support you can actually check.
Coffee Book added Bluetooth scales in February 2026 without a published compatibility list. Filtru documents all fourteen supported brands, from Acaia and Timemore to Felicita and Decent, each with its own connection guide.
Espresso down to the numbers.
Both apps help you dial in. Filtru also records shots, calculates extraction yield, and supports TDS readings, so 'better' becomes a measurement instead of a feeling.
Recipes you didn't have to write.
Coffee Book shares custom guides by link. Filtru's brew methods carry community recipes from other brewers, including recipes from James Hoffmann, right inside every method.
What you get when you switch.
Live brew graphs on every cup
Connect a supported scale and Filtru captures weight and flow rate through the whole brew. That brew print is yours to study, repeat, or improve. See how brew graphs work →
Fourteen scale brands, documented
Every supported brand has a dedicated page: what works, how to pair, and what you'll see while brewing. No guessing about compatibility. Browse supported scales →
The full espresso toolkit
Dial-in, shot recording, extraction calculator, TDS, plus guided espresso recipes for when you'd rather just make coffee. See the espresso tools →
Accessibility is a feature, not a checkbox
Filtru works properly with VoiceOver, including live spoken readouts of your scale's measurements while you brew, as often or as rarely as you like. And you can switch the whole app to fonts like OpenDyslexic, Lexend, or Atkinson Hyperlegible.
The answer is YES
Switching from Coffee Book? These all have the same answer:
- Can I see a live graph of my pour in Filtru? Yes
- Can I check if my scale is supported in Filtru before switching? Yes
- Can I measure extraction and TDS in Filtru? Yes
- Can I follow other people's recipes in Filtru? Yes
- Does Filtru work with VoiceOver? Yes
- Does Filtru work on older iOS versions than iOS 26? Yes
Filtru is free to download and works with the gear you already own. No subscription needed to start brewing.
Compare Filtru with more coffee apps.
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Coffee Book is a trademark of its respective owner; Filtru isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by it. Feature and pricing information comes from public listings and documentation as of July 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell me and I’ll fix it.