Tampers

conjon

Hi All

I wanted to ask the Boards opinions on tampers and what constitutes value for money when buying one.

I bought my Gaggia a while back and at the time bought a 57m tamper. I was thinking of upgrading and have seen both the Bumper, Reg Barber and Espro tampers available on Hasbeans.

The Espro is retailing at £59 and I appreciate that it does help apply the magic 30 pounds of pressure, but do any boarders have it? Is it worth the money, or would my money be best spend on a cheaper tamper?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

It will be Monday before I can check back on any responses, so thanks in advance to those that do.

Conor

Mr Magnolia

conjon wrote: »

Hi All

I wanted to ask the Boards opinions on tampers and what constitutes value for money when buying one.

I bought my Gaggia a while back and at the time bought a 57m tamper. I was thinking of upgrading and have seen both the Bumper, Reg Barber and Espro tampers available on Hasbeans.

The Espro is retailing at £59 and I appreciate that it does help apply the magic 30 pounds of pressure, but do any boarders have it? Is it worth the money, or would my money be best spend on a cheaper tamper?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

It will be Monday before I can check back on any responses, so thanks in advance to those that do.

Conor

Hi Conor,

A good tamper is important but spending >£30 seems a little over the top imho. This is the one I purhcased. It's £13.90 at HappyDonkey, less than half the price of the tampers you have linked.

What type of tamper do you currently use?

If you start with a decent tamper you'll learn to apply a consistent pressure over time, I wouldn't pay huge money for a tamper when moderate money will suffice.

That espro tamper is a bit on the ugly side for me and at £59.99 I wouldn't touch it. Note that it's only available in 53 or 58mm, make sure it will suit your application.

The Bumper tamper is a decent looking tamper, still twice the price of HappyDonkey though.

The Reg Barber looks ok if you want a personalized tamper at a cost.

RE*AC*TOR

This is my new tamper

http://www.espressoparts.com/product/RW_21310/Rattleware_Tamper_with_Angular_Handle.html

$30

Think the espro is OTT, but if you are very concerned about your tamp pressure, then maybe it could be good.

Reg Barbers are lovely, but I can't justify the price.

conjon

Mr Magnolia

Thanks for your response. I actually got my current tamper from Drury and it was £15. I got a 57mm but want to get a 58mm (like an idiot I got the wrong size in a rush)


Reactor,

Thank you too....I was cosidereing this a present to myself!!
In relation to Expressoparts, what are they like to deal with? I had a look and their prices are cheaper (slightly) the Hasbean for most things. Are their shipping rates reasonable?


Completly off topic, but reading through some of the older posts, I did see some negative feeback on M&D, in particular to how fresh their beans are. I have been buying mine there for the last couple of months and have noticed that the Columbian beans do start to become quite oily after about a week. I'm keep the in the opened bag, but pretty airtight. Is this a sign that the beans I'm getting aren't fresh?

Thanks again for the responses...it's a learning curve!
Conor.

RE*AC*TOR

conjon wrote: »

Reactor,

Thank you too....I was cosidereing this a present to myself!!
In relation to Expressoparts, what are they like to deal with? I had a look and their prices are cheaper (slightly) the Hasbean for most things. Are their shipping rates reasonable?

Their shipping rates are terrible - fine to deal with but expensive on the shipping.

TKK

You can get better shipping rates from them if you email and get them to quote you using usps. I got couple of bits (silvia steam wand, milk jug & thermometer, knockbox) from them and their shipping was way under the figure the site calculated. Arrived within a decent amount of time too if I recall correctly.

conjon

TKK wrote: »

You can get better shipping rates from them if you email and get them to quote you using usps. I got couple of bits (silvia steam wand, milk jug & thermometer, knockbox) from them and their shipping was way under the figure the site calculated. Arrived within a decent amount of time too if I recall correctly.

Thanks TKK.
I actually bought the Bumper tamper from Hasbeans today. Steve was a pleasure to deal with. I will bear this in mind, if I want to get anything else.

Thanks again.
Conor.

rubadub

If you want to practise your pressures then tamp on a weighing scale and watch it rise. You will have to calculate your area size to workout how many psi you are using.

I have heard baristas talking in lb before, and then when I question if this is overall force or force per square inch they didn't have a clue. With a larger tamp area you have to press harder to get the same force per square inch.

RE*AC*TOR

The point is that its not 30psi - its 30lbs of force.

No one has ever said you should apply roughly 30 psi to your coffee.

Gran Hermano

http://www.coffeeresearch.org/espresso/tamping.htm

http://greatinfusions.com/howtotamp.html

http://www.home-barista.com/espresso-guide-dose-distribute-tamp.html

RE*AC*TOR

I think you can forgive people for confusing their units / nomenclature. Its a bit anal to argue over psi, when its obvious that everyone understands it to be 30lbs of downward force.

rubadub

RE*AC*TOR wrote: »

The point is that its not 30psi - its 30lbs of force.

No one has ever said you should apply roughly 30 psi to your coffee.

My point was that with a small tamp diameter your coffee will be compacted more with the same 30lb. I just wondered if they took this into account, apparently not, or maybe a smaller filter basket does need to be more compacted.

http://www.home-barista.com/forums/basket-size-to-tamp-pressure-t2293.html

http://www.home-barista.com/forums/how-can-30-lbs-be-universal-tamper-pressure-t2485.html

http://www.partsguru.com/SaecoPortafilters.html

It has to be compacted using a coffee press (tamper) using a tamping pressure ranging from 25 to 30 p.s.i.

RE*AC*TOR

Most filter baskets are 56mm to 58mm in diameter. I believe 30lbs of downward force applied to a "standard" sized filter basket is the rule of thumb.

rubadub wrote:

I have heard baristas talking in lb before, and then when I question if this is overall force or force per square inch they didn't have a clue.

This just strikes me as trying to either (a) make the barista look foolish, or (b) make yourself look clever.

rubadub

RE*AC*TOR wrote: »

This just strikes me as trying to either (a) make the barista look foolish, or (b) make yourself look clever.

ehh no, I figured you had some problem/issue with me. I am actually involved in the engineering side of the industry and wondered what forces were involved in automated machines as I could be developing one soon.

Most baristas seem to do it by feel anyway, that is why they probably have no idea. Just like most I have met do not use thermometers when steaming milk, so might not be able to say what temp they steam to either.

I have used the Espro and thought it clicked very easily, most baristas I see tamping appear to use more force than the calibrated espro, I have seen them use the espro too and pushed hard well after the click. For this reason I though the 30lb was quite low, while 30psi would be a lot more force on the tamp.

RE*AC*TOR

rubadub wrote: »

ehh no, I figured you had some problem/issue with me

WTF? Don't be so soft.

Mr Magnolia

rubadub wrote: »

Most baristas seem to do it by feel anyway, that is why they probably have no idea. Just like most I have met do not use thermometers when steaming milk, so might not be able to say what temp they steam to either.

Steaming milk is obviously a different process. I use my hand on the jug to tell when the milk is hot enough so not a good comparison in my opinion.

When a (good) barista is tamping several hundred baskets a day I'd say you'll be surprised to find very little difference in the pressure of each of his/her tamp. This is of course impossible to measure but skilled trades people often display similar qualities in other disciplines. I'm talking about skilled barisatas here.

Kannon

Hi all.

I am looking at getting a half-decent tamper as i all i have is the plastic one that came with my machine. I was looking at the 57/58mm wooden tamper on happy donkey. It seems like good value. After reading the pullmans article linked in a post above, is it really necessary to go and measure the width of the basket to a decimal point to ensure you get the correct size? should the tamper be just big or small enough that it fits snugly into the basket, or does a bit of room matter? at the moment there is room when i tamp, and a result i have a meniscus of grounds at the side. would this contribute to worsening the quality of the shot?

Mr Magnolia

Kannon wrote: »

Hi all.

I am looking at getting a half-decent tamper as i all i have is the plastic one that came with my machine. I was looking at the 57/58mm wooden tamper on happy donkey. It seems like good value. After reading the pullmans article linked in a post above, is it really necessary to go and measure the width of the basket to a decimal point to ensure you get the correct size? should the tamper be just big or small enough that it fits snugly into the basket, or does a bit of room matter?

Go for the 58mm for the Classic (I think it's the classic you have?). If for some strange reason it's not a 58mm (again assuming it is the classic you have) then Scott from HappyDonkey will change it for you if you cover P&P.

at the moment there is room when i tamp, and a result i have a meniscus of grounds at the side. would this contribute to worsening the quality of the shot?

The purpose of tamping imo is to have an evenly packet basket, if it's not evenly packed the water may take the path of least resistance, which would be through the 'grounds at the side'. This will cause over extraction and may lead to you espresso tasting bitter.

Here's some reading material on tamping.

Let us know if you've any more questions.

RE*AC*TOR

The staub tamp method requires a tamper slightly smaller than the basket.

Kannon

so should i go then for a 57mm do you think for my 58mm basket? Somebody else who has a Silvia told me they have a 57mm tamper and that there is a bit of a gap around the outside but it works ok....