Tamper

Post by **bbqnut** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 3:13 am

I have a fairly new S1 VII, and I bought the Macap 53mm tamper at $110, which I really love - except for the fact that it is about 2mm too small (or the baskets are too big).

In any case, Chris' Coffee is giving me credit, so it looks like I could get the CoffeeLab, Reg Barber, or the Espro. I am leaning toward the Espro because of the set tamp pressure. I like the looks of the Reg Barber.

I read some other threads, and many talked about needing a 53.5mm or some larger custom fit. Also, there was some differences in baskets. But all of Chris' tampers are 53mm.

Basically, I want the tamper to fit tightly, as that just works with my style. Can anyone recommend a tamper that will fit tightly? Or recommend against one that will be too loose?

Thanks

Post by **Niko** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 4:33 am

I use the Espro, Coffee Labs and two different Thor Tampers. I know I have a 5th somewhere but I can't remember which one at the moment.
My favorite is none, I love all of them all for their unique uses. The Espro clicks at 32lbs so I love pulling it out for singles and to occasionally check my technique every other month or so, it fits in the baskets kind of loosely (not a tight fit at all) but I love it for that since it gives me room to bump, wiggle and spin polish the grinds. The two Thors are awesome, perfect pours every time - One is custom fit for 1 basket and the other will fit most of my other baskets. I have lots of baskets and 4 portafilters and I have to say that none of my baskets are the same exact size (must be a Spaziale thing or something). I really enjoy using the CoffeeLabs tamper, I can see why it won the Coffee Geek award for best tamper of 2006, it simply outclasses most of them out there. It feels great, has a very slight 1mm convex with removable height adjustment rings and it spins great in the basket with an exceptional fit. This one is the tightest fitting production tamp out there for me - Only thing is that this one is a 58mm for my Quick Mill Anita, I can't speek for the 53mm version. Stay tuned, I'm buying a 2nd S1 (VII) soon and I'll be getting the CoffeeLabs tamp for this one.
And for my encore I'd like to say that I use my Thor Cocobolo tamper the most - probably about 70% of the time, remember these are custom fit so there's no wiggle room whatsoever but this one, however, I had made so it'll fit all my baskets.

scot · Post by **scot** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 9:45 am

I'm using the wood one that Chris sells. Its cheap (compared to the rest at least) looks great, and fits perfectly.

I have no complaints.

Scot

Post by **woodchuck** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 9:58 am

I use a bottomless PF and the Coffee Labs tamper. I really like the "feel" of the rubberized inserts.

Post by **Fred** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 12:00 pm

I have a 53 mm Espro that I bought with my S1. The fit is too loose in my triple basket and consistently results in channeling at the sides.

Les from Thor tampers made a custom sized one for me (I sent him my basket for sizing) and it turned out a bit loose as well (the triples that Lino was making for a while had sloped walls, so it's a bit difficult to figure out the optimum diameter). He remade one a bit larger in diameter and added a curved bottom and it works very well--no channeling!

My wife uses the Espro for the feedback on tamping force. The Thor's bottom is a bit rough and doesn't polish anywhere near as well as a steel tamper. But the advantages of the curved bottom and tighter fit outweigh the disadvantages for me. YMMV.

Fred

Post by **bbqnut** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 12:34 pm

Hey thanks for all the feedback. Great info.

I think I may go with the Coffeelab for now...

Post by **Niko** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 12:46 pm

bbqnut wrote:I think I may go with the Espresso Labs for now...

I think you meant "CoffeeLabs".
You chose wisely...

Post by **bbqnut** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 1:34 pm

Yeah, I fixed it.

Even though the Gunmetal looks cool, I think the Raw color will fit better with the S1.

Post by **Niko** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 1:57 pm

I have the raw, it looks great.
That's OK that you called it something else, just gave me an excuse to post the pic - I call things by the wrong name all the time. Think of those people that call espresso "expresso", that irritates me but of course they drink Starbux.

chas · Post by **chas** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 2:28 pm

I looked for the CoffeeLabs tamper on some of the key sites I think of when shopping for tampers and didn't find it. Then I decided to check the Chris Coffee site and there is was!

http://www.chriscoffee.com/products/hom ... signtamper

Post by **bbqnut** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 3:17 pm

chas wrote:I looked for the CoffeeLabs tamper on some of the key sites I think of when shopping for tampers and didn't find it. Then I decided to check the Chris Coffee site and there is was!

http://www.chriscoffee.com/products/hom ... signtamper

I believe Chris' website even makes mention that they have an exclusive deal with CoffeeLabs.

The pic really makes we want one of the crazy colors. They look so nice.

Post by **Niko** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 3:31 pm

That's where I got mine last August, as soon as they were available in the U.S. pretty much.
Chris told me about them back in July.

Post by **Weska** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 2:34 am

Just for the record, all my three double baskets differ from each other in diameter. One came with the machine, one from Chris, and one from 1st Line and is probably not OEM.

I had ordered a 53.3mm tamper piston for my Reg Barber handle, but I was guessing. I got one nice fit (just about ideal, perhaps a hair snug but about what I wanted) to one basket. The other two were too small. One was close enough that I was able to spread it by jamming the hopeless one into it with considerable force. That opened it up enough so that I can use it as a spare with the risk of binding the tamper on occasion. Probably, it's a little out of round. The third basket would need something much closer to an accurate 53mm piston and is usable only with my rubber disc as a blind basket.

Conclusion: If you have a specific idea about tamper fit, you should send a basket to one of the makers that will do a custom turn. Otherwise, nominal 53mm will fit well to slightly loosely, but more than that cannot be predicted.

Post by **bbqnut** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 9:19 pm

Just an FYI on that Macap 53mm that I bought that is going back.

I havent measured either the tamper or the basket, but I can tell you that there is about 2mm disparity maybe 2.5mm by visual check - and that goes for all 3 baskets I have.

That is a lot of play. Can't wait for a better fit.

chas · Post by **chas** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 9:52 pm

Both Thor Tamper and Reg Barber will let you send them a basket and custom fit a tamper for you. Reg will also shave one down if you get it too large.

Post by **bbqnut** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 10:50 pm

The only problem is I have a credit at Chris', so it is what they have.

I guess I could go with a Reg Barber 53mm, and if it does not fit, have them make me a custom piston later.

I have heard such good things about the Coffeelabs though, I really want to try it.

Post by **Weska** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 1:37 pm

The matched basket-tamper set is something I would probably find irresistible.

Post by **Martin** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 2:46 pm

Weska wrote:The matched basket-tamper set is something I would probably find irresistible.

I favored the "matched basket-tamper" on a roughly parallel thread under "SwapMeet." But this thread seems to have the more recent activity. I won't cross-post, but I wonder if Fred, who proposed CoffeeLab group buy, is listening here, and if he finds the tamper-basket idea worth pursuing. By my count, we have 2 interested.
Martin

chas · Post by **chas** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 4:15 pm

Between the initial raves about the CoffeeLabs tampers and the suggestion to group order a slightly larger size, I ordered one from Chris. I was having slight buyer's remorse until it just arrived. Nice. I feel like I just turned pro and it is a perfect fit for the triple basket lino made for me.

Post by **bbqnut** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 4:40 pm

chas wrote:Between the initial raves about the CoffeeLabs tampers and the suggestion to group order a slightly larger size, I ordered one from Chris. I was having slight buyer's remorse until it just arrived. Nice. I feel like I just turned pro and it is a perfect fit for the triple basket lino made for me.

Could you tell us how it fits some of your other "Standard" La Spaz double baskets?

Post by **admin** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 10:43 pm

I got all my baskets back in the early days before there was such a widely reporting basket to basket variation. The Coffeelabs tamper seems to be the best fit of all three of my 53mm tampers. I got the ole calipers out and measured all three. This is what I found:

Thor - 52.7mm
Espresso Parts SS - 52.8mm
Coffeelabs - 53.0mm

It's hard to believe that 0.2mm is noticeable, but it is.

The latter two are convex but the Coffee labs is less so that the Espresso Parts SS tamper.

Post by **Fred** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 11:07 pm

Martin: Sorry to take so long to check in again. I did pick up on your suggestion to try to match baskets and tampers, and emailed CoffeeLabs to see if they were willing to pursue that idea. Have not heard back yet. When I do, I will post an update on the SwapMeet thread.

Chas: Could you measure your baskets for us? By my measure, my Lino basket is 54.2 mm wide at the top of the puck. The single basket that came with my machine (LaSpaz 1 purchased in March, 2006) measures 54.0 mm and the double measures 53.7 mm. That seems like a lot of variance to me, and seems to explain why I had so much problem with side channeling when using the 53 mm Espro. Perhaps baskets are typically measured at the different point, but the top of the puck seemed to make some sense to me.

Thanks to you both,
Fred

Post by **Niko** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 11:37 pm

admin wrote:The Coffeelabs tamper seems to be the best fit of all three of my 53mm tampers.

That's what I've been saying since last August.
No one believed it, otherwise we'd have a website dedicated to just this tamper.

I'll say it again, "I love this tamper".

chas · Post by **chas** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 7:32 am

Fred wrote:
Chas: Could you measure your baskets for us? By my measure, my Lino basket is 54.2 mm wide at the top of the puck. The single basket that came with my machine (LaSpaz 1 purchased in March, 2006) measures 54.0 mm and the double measures 53.7 mm. That seems like a lot of variance to me, and seems to explain why I had so much problem with side channeling when using the 53 mm Espro. Perhaps baskets are typically measured at the different point, but the top of the puck seemed to make some sense to me.

Thanks to you both,
Fred

Unfortunately, with my cheapie measuring tool I can measure outside diameters and inside diameters only at the very top.

Post by **bbqnut** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 12:50 am

Just an FYI - I used my Chris' Coffee credit to buy a Reg Barber 53mm. A much better fit than the Macap that I returned.

I also realized what made the Macap so problematic - the thickness (or height) if the piston is about 1/3 of most normal tampers. That makes it easy for coffee to make it's way up the sides and on top of the piston. Of course the smaller diameter makes it even worse. I think it is about 51mm.

I am still in for the group buy however. I mean, we can all aspire to have 5 tampers in our drawer in case the baskets change again. And certain other people around here can aspire to have 6 or more tampers :D

Post by **Niko** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 1:35 am

Pretty soon I'll need a drawer just for the tampers...

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