I bought this for use with my Mr. Coffee ECM160. If that's all you want from my review, then yeah, works great. Could be 1mm bigger but fits pretty good. Buy one. More importantly, the temporal happiness. My wife tried very hard to talk me out of buying this. She said that I was buying into needless consumerism and seeking contentment from material purchases rather than seeking some kind of inner harmony. Of course she's right; I hate that. So for months I used the flat plastic spoon tamper that came with the Mr. Coffee. This week my wife is out of town, so I debated between buying the 50mm/60mm tamper for $6.95, or spend the extra $9 for this one. Like I said, my wife is out of town, so I bought this one. I received it today, and couldn't be happier. It has brought me the kind of happiness that will last for at least another 15 minutes, and has motivated me to come and write a positive review. I usually only write reviews when I have something BAD to say. That's how good it is. This is why it's great: 1. It just looks and feels great in my hand. It's like going from a crappy dull knife to a very fine Swiss knife. I've just started to want better quality things in my life, and I find it very satisfying. Perhaps this is the kind of delight in quality metal that crazy people feel about holding a gun. I think that if all gun owners were to buy this tamper instead of guns there would be peace on earth, and the happiness this tamper brings would last far beyond 15 minutes. I just wish it didn't say "China" on it. Perhaps I need to get over my prejudice and think of "China" as "Switzerland." 2. It actually does make my coffee better. This is a far lesser point because even the $6.95 tamper would have done that, but it does make my coffee better. I get a nice crema on my espresso, which I had never gotten before. I always blamed my cheap Mr. Coffee, but now I know it was just the cheap plastic spoon with a flat bottom for a tamper to blame. In case you're wondering, because I found this info hard to find, the reason for a tamper is to pack the coffee grounds so the water doesn't just run right past it and has to be drawn through the grains. Supposedly, you are supposed to tamp down with 30 to 40 pounds of force, which you just can't do with a plastic spoon. UPDATE: I have now owned this tamper since 20 minutes ago. What can I say? It's a tamper. It's not going to cure cancer or bring about world peace. If you're thinking to put this on a credit card, don't do it. You don't need it. Don't buy into materialism and needless consumerism. You can tamp your coffee with a metal spoon. I'm sure you have one of those already. It's not going to make your coffee all that much better. Crema is for the bourgeoisie. Get off your computer and go to the park with your children. Read more
This is the second tamper that I bought. The first one was 1mm too big for my Mr. Coffee machine. It was my fault that I didn't measure it carefully and it was misleading to see the first tamper I bought featured with the Mr. Coffee machine I have as having been bought together by some customers. Thanks for the review posted earlier about this being the perfect one for the Mr. Coffee machine. Anyway, this tamper works and looks great. I used it for the first time today and I can taste the difference. I had been using a measuring cup while waiting for this item in the mail. I like the feel of it in my hands and it has a pretty good weight. I love the price too. I ordered this from Chef Tools and it was a pretty smooth transaction- great communication and fast shipping. Read more
Bought this smaller tamper for a single-shot portafilter basket that narrows in a bit, and my standard larger tamper doesn't quite do the job because of the narrowing. This tamper is inexpensive, but heavy and surprisingly pretty despite its seeming plain-jane chrome look. Not that it's important for its function, but thought I would mention it. At any rate, it's a nice, inexpensive tamper with some weight to it and works like a charm for my single-shot tapered basket. Read more
This tamper feels solid in the hand...almost like something you could bludgeon a snooty barista with, but thankfully, if you're buying this, it's likely you'll be opting for the more reasonable, and LEGAL option of brewing your own. My basket has an INNER diameter of 51mm, which is a tad bit hard to find. There is one...but it's the very standard looking double ended deal you'll find at any Starbucks in the Pacific Northwest. I am NOT standard, and neither is my nice new tamper. Like I said, it's solid feeling. The blue accent has not come off so far, after many many many tampings. The fact that this tamper is SHINY, and not dull finished metal, it's easier to see if coffee bean oils are starting to accumulate. Shiny things also look best shiny, so the tendency to KEEP it clean is almost automatic. I cracked a walnut or two until I found my nutcracker...didn't mar the finish horribly, but I LITERALLY, only cracked one or two. Mainly out of laziness, and a willful desire to see if it would ruin the finish. Nope, still good. No rust, and the coffee isn't sticking to anything, but you can still tell that the tamper has seen much use. Anyone with basic math skills has by now deduced that this tamper is actually smaller than my basket. The 2mm difference hasn't made for any major issues with tamping. If the grind is the proper grind, and properly measured, it should all pack down very evenly and remain level. A light tap on the side knocks the loose coffee from the edges into the middle, a second tamp completes the process of loading the basket. I get perfect pours every time, but have had much practice in a home setting, with my own favorite beans. Commercial places tend to favor a darker roast for espresso, which actually has less caffeine, and tastes scorched to me. My preference...a good stiff jolt from a medium roast doppio is often all I need to work 12 hours straight. One warning...try not to overdo it on the shots when you're dialing it in with a new tamper AND machine...AND Blomus Cups. (Beautiful little cappuccino cups. I also got the Trudeau with the Stainless Saucer, also awesome and stylish.) I got excited, drank WAY too much coffee in a week and dehydrated myself a bit. Any enthusiast with a bit of experience would be happy to have something like this in their home espresso set up. Mine looks a lot like an espresso bar at this point. Starbucks HATES me now. If I pay that much for a cup of coffee, I WILL say something if it's awful. Good coffee is an art, I hope this tamper helps you get to that perfect time on the pour, and the most delicious coffee you'll ever have. After some practice, I decided I don't have to buy espresso anymore. I just buy my favorite beans, grind them with the burr grinder (DO NOT get the Mr Coffee model with the clear hopper with the twist-hopper-to-adjust-grind...it will not grind it fine enough. It's JUST a little too coarse, and a VERY inconsistent grind. Read more
