# How much should I spend on a Tamper?



## FireyCoffee (Jan 1, 2012)

I am quite mindful of asking questions that may appear simple, please bare with me, I am still relatively new to all this. I also apologise if this is asked alot.

Judging by general viewing of the site, the purchase of a Gaggia Classic seems a reasonably sensible choice so I am quite comfortable with this. I also understand the need for effective tamping and even the use of a paper clip etc, but can I just gage opinion on how much I should look to spend on one? The Espro tamper (as nice as it looks) I saw retailing at almost £80, is it worth paying these amounts for this particular part of the Barista's arsenal?

Thank you in advance


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## Keef (Dec 7, 2011)

lots of good tampers are under £15 including mine, not having used a tamper of value I couldn't comment on spending that much, I would consider it a bit like a watch....they all tell the time but some look stunning! since buying mine I've found it far cheaper here

creamsupplies


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## Filthy_rich85 (Jan 20, 2011)

I got mine from creamsupplies an haven't had any issues with it. I would always go for a Reg Barber of I had the spare money though


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

Motta tamper. Got mine from coffee Latino. £15 ish


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## fatboyslim (Sep 29, 2011)

When you get a VST basket you will crave a 58.35mm tamper which retail around £60!

If I could justify paying £80 for the Espro I would definitely get one. We use them at work and they are great.

Mine current one was £15 off eBay and has a nice maple wood finish


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## Monkey_Devil (Jul 11, 2011)

Where are the ones for vst?


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

The main thing, I think, is a nice heavy balanced weight and a short handle.

This is what I use and it's excellent:

http://www.coffeelatinoshop.co.uk/motta-coffee-tamper-58mm-only-p-270.html


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## fatboyslim (Sep 29, 2011)

VST do an official tamper for their baskets but there is a much cheaper one found here:

http://www.chriscoffee.com/products/home/newitems/vstroyaltamper

Unfortunately US site but they do delivery to UK.


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Tampers serve a purpose - to compact the coffee and spread the coffee evenly throughout the portafilter, forming a nice even, flat seal

You can spend £15 on a well-fitted tamper and achieve a better result than an ill-fitting tamper costing £115

Like any piece of coffee equipment - buy the best you can afford, and one that is compatible with your baskets

I have about a dozen tampers ranging in price from £15 to £150 - some have different base sizes (53mm, 58.3mm, 51mm etc) or surfaces (flat vs convex vs c-flat etc) and others have different handle shapes (tall, radical pro, triangular etc) - each gets used with a different machine, device or basket.

The main criteria is to get a tamper that feels right in your hand.

It should have a decent weight to it (metal - not plastic) and if you used it all day you shouldn't get wrist ache

Looks come into the equation for home users but remember it is a tool and should be used - not just a trophy object

Hope I haven't muddied the waters


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## FireyCoffee (Jan 1, 2012)

Thank you all (so far) it has proved very illuminating in the slightly different views you all have, Personally, I guess it seems right to start with something from creamsupplies and then as my skills/tastes improve move onwards and upwards.


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

The espro tamper is one of my favourite buys. Aside from being a perfect fit for my gaggia classic's standard double basket (although fractionally small to be called perfect for a vst basket) it has helped me once and for all know how hard to tamp... with any subsequent tamper. The bathroom scales trick has never worked for me. Worth the £60 I paid for it? Probably. All good tampers are overpriced in my view.


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

Bear in mind that Italians manage to produce a decent espresso just using the one fixed to the grinder. I think we are just about coming through this Schomer-inspired nonsense about the 30lb tamp that had Americans attaching torque devices to their tampers and getting out the bathroom scales.

It is, in my view, utter bollocks. A flat tamp with consistent pressure is good, but not as important as correct dose for the basket and machine you use. YMMV.

Getting a crap shot and thinking that a £80 tamper will make it better is setting yourself up for disappointment. Everybody pulls bad shots sometimes and the reason why is not always apparent.


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## lucky13 (Dec 30, 2011)

whats the difference between a flat tamp and a curved bottom... appart from the obvious... just looking at the 2 58mm tampers on cream supplies


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

lucky13 said:


> whats the difference between a flat tamp and a curved bottom... appart from the obvious... just looking at the 2 58mm tampers on cream supplies


My understanding is this. You need your puck to be a consistent depth throughout the basket. If there are areas that are thinner than others then the pressurised water will find those areas since they present the path of least resistance. More water will flow through those thinner parts, and less through the thicker parts. Grinds in the thin part are overextracted, and grinds in the thick part are underextracted. The shot will not be optimal.

How does this relate to the tamper bottom? Some baskets are completely flat-based, some are slightly domed. Some people believe that you would benefit from using a flat based tamper with a flat based basket and vice versa, to ensure consistent puck depth.

I have never found any conclusive evidence one way or the other. VST baskets are becoming a very popular choice, and they are flat based. Personally I have always used a flat base.


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## lucky13 (Dec 30, 2011)

Thanks for the reply, that's spot on. I'll go with the flat.


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## vintagecigarman (Aug 10, 2009)

Expobarista said:


> Bear in mind that Italians manage to produce a decent espresso just using the one fixed to the grinder.


...and they aren't that strong on freshly roasted beans, consistency of weight and distribution, either! But I think that what you've said is true - they manage to produce a 'decent' espresso. Much as I hate to denigrate anything Italian, with a few notable exceptions you seldom get a GREAT espresso in Italy. Given the fact that time is seldom an issue in home production, achieving consistency in as many aspects of the pull as possible is a great help on the way to good shots. Some of the luxuries of consistency that we have at home (I weigh each dose individually) just wouldn't transfer to a busy Italian coffee bar!

I totally agree that an expensive tamper isn't a fix-it. Three things needed in a tamper in my view: correct size for the basket, weight and comfortable handle. After that, it's just down to cosmetics. I'd shout up for the Espro, however. I found that this was an easy (if expensive) way of improving the consistency of my tamping. I regard it as a training tool - once you've got used to the 'feel' of tamping at a uniform pressure, that skill translates virtually automatically to any tamper that you change to - you just instinctively get the feel of applying the same pressure time after time.

I'd also shout up for curved base tampers, which I now use exclusively - even with VST baskets, and feel that they have contributed, in a small way, to shot quality. My theory - and it's only my own, so probably wrong - is that the curve, by its very nature, tends to exert an outwards as well as downwards pressure and improves the sealing against the side wall of the basket. Interesting that the FAQ on the Reg Barber website makes it clear that flat/curved base is a personal choice, but that RB himself would always recommend the curved ripple.


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

Whilst it surely can only be a good thing to be consistent, I do think that there is a bit of ritualised behaviour when it comes to making espresso, like tapping the portafilter with the tamper to drop the grinds off the edge of the basket and polishing. I wonder whether it is an attempt to control inconsistencies that are actually beyond our control that account for poor shots, for example the behaviour of the machine.

All part of the fun, though.


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

Yeah I think I know what you mean.

If my crap memory serves, one of the themes of James Hoffman's presentation at the NBS last year was the way certain norms have been established through nothing more than circumstance, personal experience, and just being handed down over the years, and they were never based upon scientific analysis of whether they were optimal. For example, 9 bars of pressure was built into espresso machines with electric pumps purely because that was the pressure with which early baristas gained good shots using level pumps (or something like that).

It's good to question norms I think. It's certainly in my own nature, even if it means I end up reinventing the wheel just to prove to myself that a particular norm is valid. I also think that as home baristas we can get caught up in over-prepping the basket. IMHO tools and techniques like WDT, that Orphan Espresso Slapshot funnel, weighing every shot, etc... they are vital training tools particularly when your equipment quality is less than ideal, they help overcome some limitations, and I think everyone should learn them as a rite of passage to a better understanding... but eventually I think it's good to take the stabilisers off and make great espresso without all the paraphernalia.

BTW, if any new home-baristas are reading this, please don't tap the side of your portafilter with your tamper. It increases the risk of an uneven distribution and hence a bad shot, according to the experience of some baristas over the years. "Don't tap it, whack it" as Dawn French says! (but could this too be just another urban myth?







http://www.home-barista.com/tips/what-was-portafilter-tap-supposed-to-accomplish-t15098.html)


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

I have a spare TORR tamper handle , I'm going to purchase a 58+ flat base and run some comparisons against my current 58+ curved base. Shall post up results.


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## lookseehear (Jul 16, 2010)

Just a heads up for people trying to source a cheap tamper. Hasbean are now stocking 58mm and 53mm tampers for around the £20 mark plus postage, however they're out of stock of the 58mm at the moment.

They look nice with a hasbean logo engraved on the handle, and as far as I saw they're only doing a flat base version.


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## onemac (Dec 15, 2011)

What!!! Now look here lookseehere, I followed your advice in the 'intros' forum and went for a curved 58mm Motta tamper (wooden handle) from Cream Supplies. Bargain at a shade over £14









At this stage in my espresso career, the variables are too many for me to comment on something in particular but the curved versus flat debate is an interesting one which I'm keeping a close eye on.

Hope my coffee comes tomorrow - that's a whole day I've been without experimenting.

Al


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## ChiarasDad (Mar 21, 2010)

Coffee Hit sell some 58.4mm Reg Barber tampers which fits the VST baskets (mine just arrived, and yes, it's a snug fit). Not an inexpensive product, but I felt that my slightly undersized tamper had become a limitation, so I took the plunge. I will let you know how I get on with it.

As for tamp weight, I used to tamp very heavily but since I upgraded my grinder to a Mignon I started experimenting, and I'm actually getting better results with a light tamp - just a pound or two if that - and extra care in distribution than I do with a heavy tamp. So I think it's worth keeping an open mind and trying a few different techniques to see what seems to work with your equipment and coffee.


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## lookseehear (Jul 16, 2010)

onemac said:


> What!!! Now look here lookseehere, I followed your advice in the 'intros' forum and went for a curved 58mm Motta tamper (wooden handle) from Cream Supplies. Bargain at a shade over £14
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Didn't think I'd recommended a base! To be honest I doubt it makes a huge difference to most people. I mentioned the hasbean one as an alternative to the cream supplies one, just as another option. I still think the cream supplies one is the biggest bargain!

Sent from my Touchpad using Tapatalk


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## DonRJ (Apr 3, 2010)

I use the Espresso Gear Barista tamper which has a curved base, fits my hand well and it is a good fit for the Rancilio basket. Like ChariasDad, my tamp has lightened since moving to the Mazzer grinder and more consistent attention to the distribution of the grinds without getting too giddy over Feng shui / paperclip / pseudo mystical coffee preparation.


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## ChiarasDad (Mar 21, 2010)

DonRJ said:


> more consistent attention to the distribution of the grinds without getting too giddy over Feng shui / paperclip / pseudo mystical coffee preparation.


 I will admit to doing the paperclip thing and while I am not ready to say that it does or does not make a difference, it may be worth noting that an OE dosing funnel (as in the group-buy thread) makes this practice much easier than it would be without one.


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