Thank you. bz

Hi, buzzon, did you ever purchase a tamper and did you end up with 58mm or 57mm? I am trying to buy a tamper for my father in law, who recently acquired a La Cimbali Jr. D that must be the same as yours, also about 20 years old, and I've been trying to help him learn to use it.

Coincidentally, I also have been using an Astra Gourmet for the past 3 yrs. so we may have 2 machines in common.

Let me know if you figured it out. I couldn't find any more info w/a google search and am concerned about ordering the wrong size of an expensive tamper online only to have to pay to ship it back.

Thanks!

cprice88 wrote:Hi, buzzon, did you ever purchase a tamper and did you end up with 58mm or 57mm? I am trying to buy a tamper for my father in law, who recently acquired a La Cimbali Jr. D that must be the same as yours, also about 20 years old, and I've been trying to help him learn to use it.

Coincidentally, I also have been using an Astra Gourmet for the past 3 yrs. so we may have 2 machines in common.

Let me know if you figured it out. I couldn't find any more info w/a google search and am concerned about ordering the wrong size of an expensive tamper online only to have to pay to ship it back.

Thanks!

You are not locked in to any sort of tamper. Stock Cimbali PF baskets should accept a 58mm tamper. If your basket does not accept such a tamper, then it would cost only a few dollars to replace it with a generic 58mm basket, which will fit your Cimbali Portafilter. I used Cimbali Junior machines for about 15 years with an assortment of different baskets, and seldom used the ones that came with the machines.

Cimbali did not consistently supply the same baskets with their machines over a period of years; they changed. The baskets supplied with my 1995 vintage pourover "S" model differed significantly with the baskets that came with my D1 machine purchased about 7 years ago. The newer baskets would accommodate more coffee than the older ones, although the diameter (for tamping purposes) was the same at 58mm. Both machines were purchased NEW, directly from authorized Cimbali dealers.

If your machine was purchased used, you have no assurance whatsoever that the baskets in the portafilters were the ones supplied with the machine when purchased. PF baskets are regarded as disposable, consumable items, and they are frequently replaced. The only thing you need to be concerned with is that the shape of the Portafilter basket's "lip" will seal with the shape of the group gasket you have installed in your machine (there are at least TWO compatible gaskets out there, and their shape is not the same, one is flat and the other conical, where it meets the PF basket).

ken