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Tamper recommendations?

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  • greenman
    replied
    Re: Tamper recommendations?

    I called into Epic today and Corey showed me the new Pullman, very impressive Greg. Ive just ordered a PID for Miss Silvia so I cant afford one for a while!!

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  • gregpullman
    replied
    Re: Tamper recommendations?

    Technique, sharp tools, a good lathe, good quality steel, and plenty of time and patience! Not rocket science but not something you can make a rush job of. It takes a while to get people to understand the required finish which is one of the many reasons it took an extra 12 months to get this unit into production (if you noticed there was a bit of a delay in getting it out... :)

    Good to hear Den Nothing I like more than to hear one of our tampers getting a workout and coming out on top!

    Leave a comment:


  • martybean
    replied
    Re: Tamper recommendations?

    Dennis I use mine the same way.This is a fantastic product I dont know how Greg gets the finish so fine our machinist at work have trouble getting 6.4 finish.Im still getting use to how much pressure I need to put on the coffee.

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  • Dennis
    replied
    Re: Tamper recommendations?

    Well, I had the opportunity to give my barista tamper with matching synesso baskets a good work out over the past 2 days (400 cuppas).

    After some initial getting to know you I found the easiest way to use this tamper was to place it over the grinds and allow its weight to further settle the grinds. At that point, lifting it slighty and a light tap allowed any grinds on the sides to fall free and then the final tamp was super-easy and almost impossible not to get level.

    The whole process was very comfortable too - I like it...thanks Greg!

    Leave a comment:


  • gregpullman
    replied
    Re: Tamper recommendations?

    Id agree with Luca that Regs tampers are quite comfortable (well the tall handle one anyway, Ive not tried the others), but thats just my view, they may not suit everyone.

    If people like a tamper Im sure theyll speak up for it (as did AndyL in this thread) and if not then Im sure theyll air those views too; but beyond that I cant say Ive noticed any particular anti-Reg sentiment here on CS, they just dont seem to be the topic of a lot of discussion. As Ive mentioned ad infinitum before, the main thing with coffee is that youre happy with the result youre drinking and the same applies for tampers; I commented this just up yonder in #82 but its relevant here - as Luca eluded, ultimately the important thing is not whether you have a Pullman, RB, Espro or anything else per se, but that you have one youre happy with. There can be other factors that are considered and the experiences of others are often a good gauge (hence this 100+ post thread!), but as the ultimate user of the product, your own satisfaction with your purchase is ultimately what matters.

    Greg

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  • andy
    replied
    Re: Tamper recommendations?


    including providing prizes for barista comps in Australia
    Really? As far as I know the last few were donated by a local company that bought them from RB.

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  • luca
    replied
    Re: Tamper recommendations?

    Originally posted by luca link=1109146620/80#89 date=1219066864
    I have also tried a bunch of other tampers.  The two that I would add to my collection would be Gregs new barista (on the way, actually) and a Reg Barber.  

    <snip>

    ... continued ...
    I just wanted to supplement that post with a few words about the Reg Barber tampers.  If you read around this site, there seems to be a fair amount of anti-RB sentiment and it often seems to me that the implication is that people think that Regs tampers arent very good.  I like them and by my count so did literally half of the competitors in this years Australian Barista Championships, where RBs were by far the most popular tamper.  These tampers are generally pretty comfortable for most people and are quite durable ... with the notable exception of the powdercoat on aluminium handles, which seems to disappear pretty quickly in a cafe environment.  Reg deserves at least a little respect for, amongst other things, basically creating the market for decent tampers, coming up with the idea of wooden tamper handles and supporting barista comps all around the world, including providing prizes for barista comps in Australia.  Thats not to say that people shouldnt go Australian made - if they like the tamper, I think that they definitely should; I just dont like the idea of people reading this site and basing their decision to do so on an incorrect inference that RBs are not good.

    Cheers,

    Luca

    Leave a comment:


  • pie_in_ear
    replied
    Re: Tamper recommendations?

    To go a little off topic. Ive had a few snobs contact me today regarding the coffeelab tampers. To save some time here is the story.

    We are out of stock as is the manufacturer. We expect to have the new batch in 4-6 weeks. The price is expected to drop significantly from the current $95. I will post as soon as my first order arrives.

    Leave a comment:


  • Dimal
    replied
    Re: Tamper recommendations?

    No worries Aaron... Hope the info youre looking for is in that thread,

    Mal.

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  • azadean
    replied
    Re: Tamper recommendations?

    Thanks for the link Mal.

    The search engine is usually my friend. Unfortunately the computer Im on at present is sooooooooooo slow   that it is taking me ages to load up each page. So I thought Id cheat a little bit this time.... :-[

    Leave a comment:


  • Dimal
    replied
    Re: Tamper recommendations?

    Gday azadean,

    The "Search" tool is your friend.... http://coffeesnobs.com.au/YaBB.pl?num=1161240704/0

    Found this thread in less than a minute; probably has most of the answers youre seeking mate,

    Mal.

    Leave a comment:


  • azadean
    replied
    Re: Tamper recommendations?

    Hello all

    Wow this is a long thread. I was hoping by reading it all that I would get some understanding about the difference between convex, concave and flat tampers, but to no avail.

    If anyone can provide a link to a thread that would explain why there are differences and their purposes I would appreciate it. I was under the impression that a flat tamper was best???

    Cheers
    Aaron

    Leave a comment:


  • AndyL
    replied
    Re: Tamper recommendations?

    I would agree with you Luca. Coffeelab is my pick and most of my staff.

    Leave a comment:


  • jprm
    replied
    Re: Tamper recommendations?

    How does one get a Pullman barista tamper? I checked the website I cant find a link to buy it (only the deluxe).

    Apologies if someone has already asked this (its a very long post!).

    Cheers,
    jprm

    Leave a comment:


  • luca
    replied
    Re: Tamper recommendations?

    Sounds like selecting a tamper is similar to selecting a new espresso machine - you need to try a selection to work out which feels right.
    IMHO, the difference between selecting a machine and selecting a tamper is that machines can make quite a difference to what you get in the cup, whereas the difference that tampers make is pretty marginal. I think that for a newbie to coffee its also easier to make an assessment of which tampers they will find more comfortable because its really just a matter of holding them and pressing on the table. Selecting the best espresso machine requires that you have a fair bit of espresso tasting experience ... conversely, I guess that that might imply that the differences in ergonomics between tampers are more obvious than the differences in taste characteristics between machines. Whatever. I guess that the point still stands - buy what you like!

    For the more experienced CSers, how many tampers do you own (could be a Poll) and why did you buy other tampers - was the older one not good enough or did you find out there were better ones or just upgradeitis?
    I have about six or seven tampers, most of which I was given by various kind people for various reasons. As Andrew said, it becomes a bit like pokemon - gotta catch em all!

    Some brief overviews:

    Coffeelab: Probably my #1 at the moment, which is pretty ironic because I had some pretty unkind things to say about it on coffeegeek a few years ago when it was first launched. Simply put, I find it very, very comfortable, which is why it tends to get something like 50% of the work. That said, that probably isnt a big deal at home, where I seldom make more than three coffees in a row. I love the raw aluminium finish for its looks, but it scratches very easily. The anodized tamper handles are much more heavy duty.

    Espro: Again, another tamper that I find very comfortable, so it gets slightly less tamp time than the Coffeelab. It might not be as comfortable for people with big hands, as the handle is a little on the small side. I would have to say that this tamper probably has the highest quality construction that I have seen. That said, its not like your garden variety tamper falls apart or anything!

    La Marzocco: This is the plastic 57mm tamper that comes standard when you buy a la marzocco machine. It is basically a plastic version of a decent tamper and I find it juuuuuust tall enough to be sort of comfortable. I have brought this tamper in from the sidelines quite a bit this year, just to try and work out how bad it really is and how much of a difference the tamper really makes. Unfortunately, I found that there was basically no decline in quality - see my comments on HB. A sad conclusion for a guy with a drawer full of tampers and more on the way. That said, it is impossible to polish the puck with this tamper and it either requires multiple tamps or it leaves a lot of loose coffee ... which is not necessarily a problem.

    Bumper: Paul Pratt sent me one of these shortly after I got some bumper tamp stands in. I must have been on a coffelab binge in those days, because he accompanied it with a note saying "cant let coffeelab have all the fun." Paul sent me all three tamper handles. I found the first two to be uncomfortably short, but the LM shaped one was quite nice. The base is machined from a nice chunk of stainless and is nominally 58mm.

    Pullman Classic: Regretfully, my Pullman Deluxe sits in disrepair. The handle broke off and Greg instantly offered to replace it for free. I declined the offer because Greg has already gone far above and beyond the call of duty for me and chances are that I would not use it anyway.

    Generic Aluminium: I won this in some Crema magazine photography competition aeons ago. It is actually far better than the generic stainless tampers, as the handle isnt painfully short and it is, understandably, very light. Its on loan to a pro barista, who uses it with the HX that he bought for home.

    I have also tried a bunch of other tampers. The two that I would add to my collection would be Gregs new barista (on the way, actually) and a Reg Barber. Dennis asked me why I would buy a barista tamper if I dont feel that it will contribute that much to what is in the cup. I had no trouble filling up a post with ten good reasons to buy one - [/u]here[/u]. If you are interested, check it out, but I reiterate that that was not intended to be an impartial review of the finished product. It was intended to be me pointing out some of the obvious good features shared by the prototype and the finished product - I didnt mention any negatives. Id supplement the general point that Greg is generally an all around great coffee guy by drawing your attention to his gracious comments in this thread.

    ... continued ...

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