Tamping Supplies
Importance of a Good Quality Tamper
Most espresso machines do come with a tamper, but most of the tampers they come with are not good quality and most are made of plastic. If the espresso machine you use comes with a good quality tamper with a metal or wood handle and a high quality aluminum or stainless steel base, you may not need to purchase an additional tamper, but if your machine only comes with a plastic tamper it would be a good idea to consider purchasing a high quality tamper. Without a high quality tamper you simply will not get good results when making an espresso.
Tamper Size Recommendations
The following tamper sizes are for reference, but we don't quarantee them as manufacturers change things without notice and there are numerous machines on the market, so it's hard to be specific about every one.
| Suggested Tamper Size | Machine Brand | Home/Commercial |
| 49 | Delonghi (Old models) | Home |
| 49 | La Pavoni Lever (Pre-mel) | Home |
| 49 | Cremina | Home |
| 49 | Olympia Club | Home |
| 49 | Olympia Express | Home |
| 51 | Bodum Granos | Home |
| 51 | Gaggia Factory Levers | Home |
| 51 | La Pavoni Lever (Post-mel) | Home |
| 52 | Starbucks Barista | Home |
| 53 | La Spaziale | Home / Commercial |
| 53 | Faema Family | Home |
| 53 | La Pavoni Lusso, Pisa, Si | Home |
| 53 | Saeco | Home |
| 53 | Solis | Home |
| 55 | Mokita | Home |
| 55 | San Marco | Commercial |
| 56 | Asta | Commercial |
| 56 | Aurora | Commercial |
| 56 | Unic | Commercial |
| 57 | Ascaso | Home |
| 57 | Innova | Home |
| 57 | La Pavoni Napolitano | Home |
| 58 | ECM | Home |
| 58 | Rocket | Home |
| 58 | Espressione | Home |
| 58 | Gaggia Semi Autos | Home |
| 58 | Kitchen Aid Proline | Home |
| 58 | La Valentina | Home |
| 58 | Rancilio | Home / Commercial |
| 58 | Quick Mill | Home |
| 58 | Astoria | Commercial |
| 58 | Bezzera | Home / Commercial |
| 58 | Brasilia | Commercial |
| 58 | Bunn | Commercial |
| 58 | Cimbali Junior Casa | Home / Commercial |
| 58 | ECM | Commercial |
| 58 | Elektra | Commercial |
| 58 | Expobar | Commercial |
| 58 | Faema | Commercial |
| 58 | Grimac | Commercial |
| 58 | Isomac | Home / Commercial |
| 58 | La Marzocco | Home / Commercial |
| 58 | Nuova Simonelli | Commercial |
| 58 | Pasquini | Home / Commercial |
| 58 | Synesso | Commercial |
| 58 | Wega | Commercial |
Calibrated Tampers
The Espro calibrated tamper is a great tool to help you tamp consistently. Consistency is important when making espresso - when you try to change something such as grind size, you'll know it's the grind size that made the difference in flavor, etc, not the tamping pressure. By always using the same pressure it eliminates tamping pressure as a variable. Here is a link to the Espro Calibrated tamper page: https://www.espressooutlet.net/espro-calibrated-tamper-58-mm-flat-base/
For many years it was said that 30lbs of pressure was the best tamping pressure and that's what the Espro calibrated tamper is set at. Recent studies have shown that 30 lbs isn't that critical, especially with machines that have preinfusion. What is important is evenness, and as mentioned before consistency of your process.