Prior to this I was getting pretty good results using separate leveling and tamping tools, and probably would've never thought to get anything else. My tamper was pretty standard (decent upgrade from what came with my espresso machine), but the leveler was a Motta. Unfortunately the leveler fell off the top of my grinder onto an espresso mug, which put two barbs in the rim that made it uncomfortable to handle. After confirming Motta didn't sell just a replacement handle, I started shopping one-piece tools. I liked the all-silver yet understated look of this one. Compared to having separate tools, it's nice to only have the one footprint to deal with in your setup. Also the leveler and tamper depths are adjustable, so once tuned to your bean/grind, they do the same thing every time. I left the leveler setting as-is but put a little more depth on the tamper side. It gives a satisfying sink when compressing the grounds after leveling and a nice polish. I'm not exacting enough to where I weigh out the beans or grounds but am used to how much grind goes in the portafilter, and am getting more consistent results finishing with this tool. Shots come out with no noticeable difference every time, whereas before, some would pull faster than others. Really like the look, functionality, and simplicity of this tool. Also the 58.5mm is a perfect fit for my Gaggia Classic Pro. Read more
I have been using a Breville Barista Express for about a year now. I have gotten pretty decent at tamping with the built-in tamper, but there is still occasional variation in my shots (pressure, time to extract, etc). Figured this tool would help me fine tune so that I could dial-in and pull my espresso shots more consistently. Let me just say that it didn’t just help a little - it helped a LOT! I weigh out the desired amount of espresso in the portafilter, using a digital scale for accuracy. Then this tool helps me distribute in the portafilter and tamp to a consistent depth every single time. There is no guesswork anymore and here is what has happened... my extraction time, extraction pressure, and weight of pulled shots are all very consistent. I had to use the tool for a few days and fine tune the depth of the tamp to work with my grind setting and weight of espresso. Now that I have it all set, my shots are repeatable within 0.5 - 1.0 grams, which was impossible for me to do manually. The espresso has lots of crema and taste is very consistent too. Overall this is very well made, feels incredibly solid (it is heavy), and I see huge improvements in the consistency of my shots. Definitely worth the price. Read more
After dealing with traditional hand tapers for 20 years, this thing has been amazing. It is always difficult to get perfectly tamped grounds, but with this unit, you level the grounds with one side, then get a perfectly level tamp with the other side. The metal collar hits your portafilter for the perfect depth and levelness. Plus, this thing is an absolute beast, so you can use it as a weapon during a zombie apocalypse or home intrusion.. Read more
THE SHORT: This is a high quality device. I've used it for a little over a month now with a Breville Barista Express (BES870XL) and am satisfied with it. If you use the single or double shot baskets included with Breville, this will work very well for you, especially since the Crema tamper is a better fit (diameter wise) and finish than the included tamper. If you use aftermarket, straight-wall baskets I would recommend a properly-sized, traditional tamper and a standalone distributor instead. THE LONG: The primary reason I purchased it was because the listing was specific and precise about the diameter of the tamper. I wanted it to reach closer to edge of my baskets to reduce edge-channeling. And it did that very well. The inner diameter of the baskets included with my Breville were 53.75mm +/- 0.1mm. The outside diameter of this tamper is 53.39mm +/- .01mm. As such it makes a decent fit with the edge. I would say that it could be slightly larger, perhaps a diameter of 55mm. Any larger and you start getting an interference fit between the basket and tamper. The distributor works well, my only complaint is that it typically collects some grounds around the edge where the collar meets the distributor body. Not a big deal though. I really just used it it level the surface before tamping and it does a great job of that. As far as the leveling aspect of a puck tamper: I still feel that I have to pay attention to how I'm tamping to get a good, level tamp and the collar is more of a confirmation that I've done so. You can push the tamper at an angle and the collar will correct that, but I find that it does still lead to inconsistent flow through the puck. Keep in mind, that's from an engineer who is hyper-analyzing every step of this process. I will still use the distributor but I am going to be moving away from this tamper. That's primarily because I just upgraded my basket to an IMS precision H26 basket. It has a diameter of 54mm +/- 0.02mm. That means the tamper doesn't go as far to the edge as I would like, but more importantly: since it's not a tapered basket like the Breville ones, it has greater volumes meaning this tamper isn't able to tamp as deeply as it needs to get full compaction of the grounds. (That is, you can't over-tamp, but you can under-tamp and that's the issue I'm having now.) Read more
It’s immediately clear that this is well made and of high quality. Its high density feels great. It fits perfectly in the Flair Classic basket. I will probably have this tamper for decades! Read more
great quality of finish and machining. adjustable depth of tamper, hefty, good fit. recommended. Read more
Its expensive but i love it, feels heavy but the most important thing is the consistency in crema i have now. For a long time i was evaluating this thing, i am now a believer. i have a breville with grinder integrated. i opted for this option vs other cheaper options because it was designed for breville baskets as long as i understood. Just a few tweeks 5 or 6 times until you got the desired results, remember little crema maybe means not enough pressure, or like happened to me using the one that breville provide with the machine do not damp even with leads to inconsistency in crema. Read more
