Tamper and naked portafilter for Arrarex Caravel and Olympia Cremina

#1: Post by **ravco** » March 11th, 2016, 4:09 pm

Hi,
I've been looking around for a nice Tamper for my Caravel. Bought the one from Francesco, which was cheap but only 42mm in diameter. Brooks has a tamper that is supposed to be a better fit (43,5mm?), but I don't like the look of the all-aluminum tamper an am worried it might be somewhat top-heavy. Just discovered a lovely 43,5mm tamper produced in a workshop of a German social foundation:http://www.werkstatt-kunst.de/Espresso-Tamper
Haven't come across this link on HB jet, so I thought I would post it. Please apologize if I missed it. I'm going for one anyway! They have a bottomless portafilter as well. Doesn't look as retro as the Brooks one but it isn't as deep, which will hopefully let me see more of what's going on.
Shipping within Germany is cheap. Don't know about the US.

#2: Post by **Locopavoni** » March 11th, 2016, 5:43 pm

For the Caravel, based on recommendations on home barista, I purchased a 43.5 Tamper from Sorrentina. Wooden handle with Aluminium base. http://sorrentinacoffee.myshopify.com/p ... m-zerowatt.

I would definitely recommend getting a 43.5 tamper. The tolerances are great with an original Caravel basket. However, the tamper is very tight on the aftermarket brooks basket.

The tamper itself is light in weight but does not feel top heavy, likewise the base does not feel heavier - It feels pretty balanced with relatively evenly distributed weight (or lack there off). However, overall it is definitely a lot lighter than my larger stainless steel tampers (for other machines).

The tamper feels well made and I don't mind the lack of weight as I don't tend to apply as much tamping pressure on the caravel.

#3: Post by **aecletec** » March 11th, 2016, 10:32 pm

Locopavoni wrote: I would definitely recommend getting a 43.5 tamper. The tolerances are great with an original Caravel basket. However, the tamper is very tight on the aftermarket brooks basket.

Is it still usable or should I interpret "very tight" as being not practicable? E.g. if I decide to get Brooks baskets in the future would I also need to get that tamper?
Thanks!

#4: Post by **Locopavoni** » March 12th, 2016, 1:24 am

Very usable, but I notice slight rubbing of the edges a few millimetres into the tamp. Quite possibly due to a slightly misaligned tamp on my part, but I suspect it is due to the very slight tapering of the basket.

#5: Post by **aecletec** » March 12th, 2016, 1:41 am

That's really helpful, thanks!