# Tamper: convex or flat?



## Mavis (Feb 5, 2014)

Hi guys,

Tomorrow I'm picking up my new Rancilio Silvia, and with this I could do with a new tamper. I've been reading around and come across convex and flat tampers, both of which come with devided opinions on which is best.

I was hoping for some advice, with regards to which would work best with a Silvia. As far as I'm aware the baskets will be the standard Silvia baskets. Also would it be a good idea to change the shower screen to flat one? As I read that the screw on the regular can cause disruption to the coffee puck.

Thanks in advance


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## yardbent (Aug 8, 2015)

i have a 58 Motta convex and a MBK 58.35 flat

both used in my VST 18g - the MBK is a sliding fit

to be honest canna taste any difference - prob crap taste buds ..









building a naked PF for the VST

maybe will see a visual difference then..?


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## h1udd (Sep 1, 2015)

With the vst I have had more success with a convex ... Mrboots2u has had more success with flat ..... Buy both


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

h1udd said:


> With the vst I have had more success with a convex ... Mrboots2u has had more success with flat ..... Buy both


Ha! I've been using an MBK 58.35 flat with my VST18 for ages with what I consider to be good results most of the time. It was a step up compared to the bog standard 58mm tamper that actually measured closer to 57.5 and was like the proverbial **** in a bowler hat!

Was wondering the same thing - is convex better?

Then along comes CC with his Black Friday deals on Torr Goldfinger Titanium 58.4s.

The rest, as they say, is history (or will be when it arrives).

Buy both? Looks like I did!

FWIW I'm not anticipating an improvement in taste per se, but I hope that splashing out on the Torr will reduce the number of times I get channeling. Not that that is terribly often, but it's also to satisfy my curiosity on the subject. Oh and to acquire shiny coffee bling (and as a consolation for not winning the Compak raffle).


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## risky (May 11, 2015)

I have a Torr 58.55 with the sharp edges and the tamp is a beautiful thing. Tamping to the edge of the basket nice and flat and evenly. A convex I imagine would not tamp with even pressure across the basket, so the edges would be slightly less compressed, similar to using a tamper that was too small I guess? I presume this is the logic behind Mr. Perger's tamper as well. And he has had plenty of opportunity to research and design the perfect tamper.

That said, I'm not sure it really makes that much difference. If you grind cosistency and prep was perfect in every other way then maybe there is some fine-tuning to be done with the tamper but otherwise I'd say there are more important things, or other variables to perfect that will have more of an impact.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

That's what I always thought and why I got the MBK. The theory behind flat seems more accessible. I assume (please correct me if I've got this wrong) that the idea of convex is that it forces the grinds outward to provide a better seal at the edges - at the risk of greater compactionin the middle.

Coffee Chap says he prefers the convex, and there must be a reason why they were developed, so I thought if I was going to treat myself to a Goldfinger I might as well try a convex to see if it makes any difference. Not much point having 2 flat '58.something' black tampers both with walnut handles!


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## "coffee 4/1" (Sep 1, 2014)

some years back i recall, match tamper to shower screen, so curved screen/convex or us curve tamper, 10 years on now it's all NASA measurements 58.350010 tampers

having not used my reg barber euro curve as have no handle, i assume might take some time to get the tamp right, as standard outside flow to centre, if going the opposite early blonding in centre which you may not see as outside catches up

with centre, other than that let us know how it goes with the Goldfinger.


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## Mavis (Feb 5, 2014)

Thanks for the replies guys,

I opted for a Motta 58mm convex, as a little change to my flat tamp I used with the classic. Hopefully in the future splash out and get a tamper with a little more..pazazz, for want of a better word. For now, best to keep in the girlfriends good books, she already thinks I love the Silvia more than her, and I don't want another pair of socks for christmas!


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

I prefer the convex over the flat, no idea why, didnt taste any different, just felt better!


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## Epic_Espresso (Feb 22, 2015)

I say flat. The earth is flat, so tamps should be flat


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## DoubleShot (Apr 23, 2014)

I think if your tamper is


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## 7493 (May 29, 2014)

I have a Torr convex and an MBK flat. The convex seems to work better with 'light' coffee. (I don't mean the roast but some coffees seem to be more bulky for a given weight than others. If the basket seems very full at 18g I use the convex.)


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

I've found that the flat work better if the grinds have been levelled / groomed flat. Convex is better on a mound. That's just my findings.


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