Methodology

How we test coffee tampers

Five criteria separate a coffee tamper that steadies your shots from one that ends up in a drawer. Here is each one, and how the Tampden tamper answers it.

Our criteria

1. Fit before anything else. A tamper is judged first on whether it matches a basket, and the measurement that matters is the inside diameter of the basket. A tamper that is 2mm undersized leaves a channel around the rim, and no amount of technique closes it. The Tampden tamper comes in 51mm, 53/54mm and 58mm, and the size guide lists which common machines take which size.
2. A fixed, known load. A calibrated tamper is only useful if the load it delivers is the same every time. This one gives at 15 lb, and that load is fixed rather than adjustable. The numbered collar sets depth, not force, and that distinction is the single most common misunderstanding about this category.
3. A base that releases cleanly. The 304 stainless base is machined with fine concentric grooves rather than left flat, so it lifts off the bed without pulling a divot out of the puck.
4. Depth you can set. A knurled collar marked 6 to 14 sets how far the base travels into the basket, which is what you adjust when you change dose or move to a deeper basket.
5. A handle you will reach for every day. The straight handle is tapered and suits a palm-down push; the rounded handle is a bulb and suits a wrapped grip. Both carry the same base, the same spring and the same depth collar.

What backs the order

Every order carries a 30-day money-back guarantee, so the judgment that matters is the one you make with the tamper in your hand. If it does not fit your basket or does not suit your grip, send it back and we refund it.