Hi everyone!

I was wondering if anyone has the black HB Logo Reg Barber tamper (Tall Powder Coat Solid Aluminum) carried by the espressoparts.com? I want to buy one but I would like to know what it feels compared to the rosewood version. I emailed espressopart.com and they told me handles made of different materials have different weights. Is the weight difference significant when you hold them at hand? Do powder coated and rosewood handles feel signicantly different? I tried the rosewood version before so I know what it feels like. Unfortunately I didn't have a chance to try a powder coated version before. I know wood probably looks a littile better but I already have a short reg rosewood tamper so I want to try a different one. Thank you all.

puchang

Puchang-

The HB RB powdercoated aluminum handled tamper weighs in at about 470g, the handle with screw attached is ~178g. I believe it is heavier than the wood handled version, and the balance is perhaps a bit different, but still very nice. I do not own a rosewood handled tamper, but I recall the first time I picked one up to use it, I noticed it felt much lighter than my EPNW HB Compressore. The Compressore and HB Reg (aluminum) are close in weight IIRC.

From another member in the private Roadshow forum:

rjkramek wrote:Reg Barger HB logo'd

handle: Tall - African Rosewood
handle width: 1 13/16"
base: stainless steel, satin-brush finish
overall weight: 12 1/4oz
overall height: 3 1/2"

That's more like 350g for the wood handled version vs 470g for the aluminum, not allowing for differences in the piston (American curve versus flat in this instance).

Thanks for asking! There are four logo HB tampers:


Compressore ~500g (2), Reg Barber rosewood handle ~330g, Reg Barber aluminum handle ~440g

The HB Tamper Roadshow Reviews presented the Compressore and Reg Barber rosewood tampers. The Reg Barber with aluminum handle is noticeably heavier. Like the other two metal handle tampers, end tapping will damage the finish. Although it has the same classic shape, the ridge of the handle feels more distinct than the standard Reg Barber. It's a very classy looking tamper and looks sharp next to shiny stainless steel.

By the way, we conducted several weeks of double-blind tests and they confirm that the HB tamper's extractions are far richer and have more crema than those from the stock Bubinga.


From My HB tamper arrived today...

HB wrote:By the way, we conducted several weeks of double-blind tests and they confirm that the HB tamper's extractions are far richer and have more crema than those from the stock Bubinga.

I'd love to try one (the compressore)! (using a RB american curve at the moment)

I was reading the thread and looked at the photo and thought boy that machine looks familiar. Hay, that is my machine, LOL.

My HB tamper is still going strong and looks as good as the day I got it.



The machine has changed, but the results have not.