Espresso Tamper

Equipment, technique, or just drinking the stuff

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Espresso Tamper

Postby michel » Wed Nov 19, 2003 9:48 pm

Since I have Giotto (and no money left at the moment for a proper tamper) I've been using old tampers which are way to small for the Giotto. What I need is a 58mm tamper (which I had once, but gave to my friend who bought Silvia from me...).
So here I was, tamping with whatever I could find in the house which had some sort of the size and flatness I needed...
I was getting pretty desperate as nothing seemed to work... So I went for the fridge and took a beer...
:idea:
I tried the bottom of the beer-bottle, and you know what..?
It fits almost exactly, and the grounds are tamped in a slightly round way as the bottom is a little bit 'hollow'... The shot's are great and I think now I have discovered a new thing to get a patent on... The round/heaping puck in stead of the hollow-puck which should match curved filterbaskets.

In fact I think that a slightly-heaping-tamped-ground which rounds a bit gives more resistance to the water (round is stronger than flat) and as most pressure is in the middle of the grounds, it's a good thing to have slightly more coffee there... (this should apply only to flatt filterbaskets)

But I'm not a scientist, only enjoying a discovery which probably (if I stay content with it) saved me 35 euro...

Michel
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Postby DrZeus » Wed Nov 19, 2003 9:50 pm

Tell you what. You buy the beer, you send me the beer, I'll drink the beer, and I'll send you back the bottle so you can use it as a tamper. Deal?
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Postby michel » Wed Nov 19, 2003 9:51 pm

Deal!
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Postby michel » Wed Nov 19, 2003 9:58 pm

John,
I have an even better idea:
I send you bear and beans (as I understand it's hard to get beans in Portugal) and you send me some port/porto (single vintage would be fine... :wink: )

Michel
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Postby DrZeus » Wed Nov 19, 2003 10:03 pm

Considering...

(Is there a downside to this?)

You mean you can't get vinho do Porto? If I were you, I'd be looking for Moscatel. Now that is a great dessert wine! Highly underrated compared to Port.
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Postby michel » Wed Nov 19, 2003 10:17 pm

John,
Port is easy available over here. But the better/extremely good/ ports like a LBV (late bottled Vintage), costs over 35 euro in the Netherlands (while a Ruby/Tawny can be purchased for only 4,50 euro a bottle...).
So if you have excess to a LBV for a reasonable price... I would be happy to exchange some goods with you... (my mother-in-law loves the stuff and this would be just the perfect gift to her for chrismas...).

On the other hand there is the issue of posting-costs... and I'm not familiar if Portugal-Netherlands is expensive in such a matter that it is not profitable for both of us...

Michello Quinta da Romaneira
(not familiar with Moscatel... but will try sometime...)
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Postby carolynb » Thu Nov 20, 2003 12:38 pm

I have very fond & very hazy memories of a visit to a port lodge in Oporto. It was a lunch time just as everywhere was closing and we arrived at Vasconcellos (maybe spelt wrong) and were invited in for a tasting. The guy let us try some fab ports including 50 year Tawny. It was the best hour long liqiud lunch I have ever had and we still have some of the port that we bought there - maybe I'll open some this Christmas...
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