I ordered a new tamper from Happy Donkey just before Christmas, as my wife said she would pay for it as one of my stocking fillers.
![:)]( ":)")
I liked the look of the "Espresso Gear high quality 58mm flat Barista tamper" they were selling, although would have really preferred a slight convex tamper, so I was happy when I received an email saying these tampers 'were' actually slightly convex. (website still states they are flat)
Anyway! Previously, I'd been using one of their flat based Italian tampers (bought as 58mm but is actually 57mm) and I've been happy with it, except when using it with my open PF, where it always spattered coffee in an 8" radius of the PF no matter what I did. You'd think changing the group head seal would have sorted it, but no way, so I returned to using my standard Gaggia basket and PF (blaming the open PF as being slightly warped or something) and all was nice and clean again.
Well, my new tamper arrived just in time for Christmas. 'Tis a lovely looking thing! Fits the hand very well with its large, bulbous handle. The stem is even extendable by about a half inch with optional shims that can be fitted, although I find it perfect as it is, as I can easily reach the top of the filter basket with my fingers while my palm is on the handle when tamping. It's even customisable with different coloured hand grips if required, though I won't bother.
The tamp head is a lovely mirror finish and gives no resistance whatsoever while tamping and yet still manages to give lots of feedback through the slim stem to the handle. The convex curve extends down from the base of the tamper by approximately 2mm so not a large convex, but still noticeable when you look at the coffee in your basket after tamping, and there is a nice depth line around the top of the tamper base to align with the rim of your basket. The Tamper weighs in at 290g, feels great in the hand and somehow doesn't require as much tamping force as my previous tamper to achieve the same tamp. The diameter of the head is precisely 57.96mm and after the tamp and two or three turns, there is now no need for me to go back around the basket edges, as everything is nice and compacted.
I thought I'd try it out on my open (problematic) PF first and was amazed, that I was now no longer getting any more spatter from between the group head and PF, so I'm back to using the open PF on a regular basis, with very predictable consistent results every time. I can't believe what a difference this tamper has made and all for less than £31 +p&p. I think I'll try one of those nice, engineered baskets next. Thanks for reading if you lasted this far and no, I don't have any affiliation to HD in any way, other than being a happy customer.
![:popcorn:]( ":popcorn:")
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Anyway! Previously, I'd been using one of their flat based Italian tampers (bought as 58mm but is actually 57mm) and I've been happy with it, except when using it with my open PF, where it always spattered coffee in an 8" radius of the PF no matter what I did. You'd think changing the group head seal would have sorted it, but no way, so I returned to using my standard Gaggia basket and PF (blaming the open PF as being slightly warped or something) and all was nice and clean again.
Well, my new tamper arrived just in time for Christmas. 'Tis a lovely looking thing! Fits the hand very well with its large, bulbous handle. The stem is even extendable by about a half inch with optional shims that can be fitted, although I find it perfect as it is, as I can easily reach the top of the filter basket with my fingers while my palm is on the handle when tamping. It's even customisable with different coloured hand grips if required, though I won't bother.
The tamp head is a lovely mirror finish and gives no resistance whatsoever while tamping and yet still manages to give lots of feedback through the slim stem to the handle. The convex curve extends down from the base of the tamper by approximately 2mm so not a large convex, but still noticeable when you look at the coffee in your basket after tamping, and there is a nice depth line around the top of the tamper base to align with the rim of your basket. The Tamper weighs in at 290g, feels great in the hand and somehow doesn't require as much tamping force as my previous tamper to achieve the same tamp. The diameter of the head is precisely 57.96mm and after the tamp and two or three turns, there is now no need for me to go back around the basket edges, as everything is nice and compacted.
I thought I'd try it out on my open (problematic) PF first and was amazed, that I was now no longer getting any more spatter from between the group head and PF, so I'm back to using the open PF on a regular basis, with very predictable consistent results every time. I can't believe what a difference this tamper has made and all for less than £31 +p&p. I think I'll try one of those nice, engineered baskets next. Thanks for reading if you lasted this far and no, I don't have any affiliation to HD in any way, other than being a happy customer.
