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News
Berry Bros brings back historic weighing practice
Fine wine merchant Berry Bros. & Rudd has revived its historic practice of weighing customers on its famous scales in its St James’s Street shop.
Harriet Sergeant gets weighed on the famous BBR coffee scales
The ancient practice was brought back to life after BBR customer Harriet Sergeant won a competition to be gifted her bodyweight in wine.
Sergeant was balanced on the seven-foot, 17th century coffee scales with 59 bottles of Berry Bros Good Ordinary White, which she was given to take home.
The scales have been on site since the shop opened in 1698 and were traditionally used for weighing coffee.
The first customer was weighed on the scales in 1765. At the time people had to pay to be weighed at the doctors, so Berry Bros started offering the service to its customers for free.
Records of customers’ weight fluctuations are stored in the shop and include the likes of Lord Byron, Beau Brummel and William Pitt the Younger.
Recent stars to have sat on the scales include Hollywood actors Kevin Spacey and Matt Damon.
Harriet Sergeant has been added to the customer ledger by BBR chairman, Simon Berry.