I use an Autotamp, I had it imported to the UK from the US. It is superb! It is very sturdy and does exactly what Autotamp said it would i.e. consistently tamp at the exact same pressure. It is the final piece of kit for my coffee shots to be exactly the same each time I use my Isomac. It took a little time to adjust my Mazzer so the grind was correct. But now I have, I make far less mess when making coffee and the work top is no longer cluttered with tamping boards, tampers and coffee grinds. Most importantly my coffee tastes better than ever since using the Autotamp. It also quickly showed me that I was using far too much pressure when tamping and my partner wasn't using enough. Also my grind was far too coarse. Now anybody can use my set up and make great coffee. I didn't go for the Macap as I had read reports of the bearings going and the Autotamp seems made to last.

Seriously, in a home environment, I just don't understand the idea/need behind an automatic tamping device such as those illustrated above. Something like a "click tamper" training device, yes. OK. But not an automatic tamper . . .

I'm with Dan -- bathroom scale, and then muscle memory. I've found tamping is the least important part of the routine.

Oh, well.

Cheers,
Jason