I received a Reg Barber tamper in African Rosewood for Christmas.  I picked
it up from Reg himself in Victoria, British Columbia.  He sells them
directly on his web site.  As Tom does not sell these, I will provide a
link.
www.coffeetamper.com
They are a pleasure to use compared to the tamper that was supplied with my
Giotto.  I have not tried the other tampers such as the ergo packer, but I
am very pleased with mine.
As they say...........YMMV,
Don
homeroast mailing listhttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast

I hate to demonstrate my ignorance so openly on-line (I suppose as opposed
to walking around daily doing it) but can a tamper REALLY make that much
difference in the shot?  With all the variables of grind, roast, bean etc.
can one tamper increase my results over another less expensive (the thing
that came with the machine)?

Yes, it does. The Ergo Tamper I got is perfectly shaped for my 
portafilter. It's also quite a nice chunk of stainless steel, and 
allows one to precisely tamp with one move. It also has lines on the 
sides that let me make a perfectly level tamp. Highly recommended. I 
noticed immediately that I was getting much more consistent shots.
Ciao,
                Renaud
<Snip>
homeroast mailing listhttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast

Yes, absolutely.  A tamper that properly fits the portafilter basket will give a better, more consistent pack, as well as allowing better visual reference to a level puck while tamping.  Then, a good tamper allows the final polishing twist before loading the portafilter into the machine.
You can get fine shots with those cheezy plastic tampers, but a good tamper does wonders for consistency and ease.
Chris
homeroast wrote:
 With all the variables of grind, roast, bean etc.
<Snip>
Get your own FREE, personal Netscape Webmail account today athttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast">http://webmail.netscape.com/homeroast mailing listhttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast

At first, I thought you guys were over the edge with this tamper business
but, I have to hand it to you. I bought one (thinking I was going to prove a
point) $87.50 for Reg's 24 caret  gold plated (the one with the tinny
emeralds embedded around the edge)  How could this make soooo much
difference in my coffee!!!!.  I think it must be the internal resistance or
the coefficient of friction or something... any way no mater, I'm sure Ryuji
can explain.  I'm just glad to find the final touch to making Coffee with
the French Press.
Hell, I don't even roast the beans anymore, just grind-um and tamp.
Thanks guys :)
Jack

<Snip>
That was good.  But I shouldn't read this kind of post until AFTER
my first cup of coffee.  I was rubbing my eyes trying to figure out
what was going on, until I got to the last line.  :-)
JKG
homeroast mailing listhttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast

Now I feel better!!  Thanks all - especially Jack!

better than reading it with a mouthful of coffee... now where is that
wet/dry keyboard vacuum....

You got me tamp dancing!
steve
<Snip>
Subject: RE: +Espresso Tamper
Now I feel better!!  Thanks all - especially Jack!
homeroast mailing listhttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast

on 6/22/01 10:21 AM, Steve at steve wrote:
<Snip>
   All this discussion of tampers got me to thinking about merging two
hobbies.  I'm now looking for a piece of jade suitable for  carving a tamper
out of.  All I needed was another project.
   Jim Gundlach
      Roasting over a pecan wood fire (still no word on my application to
patent fire)
        in Shorter, Alabama
homeroast mailing listhttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast

I have to chime in on this one.
My Starbucks Buon Caffe came with an ill-fitting plastic tamper that barely
does the job. I also have a $2 rounded wood tamp that fits darn-near
perfectly. It does have a the rounded bottom, but I can get a good polish on
the puck.
Not wanting to part with $20-40 for a rosewood tamp at this time, and none
of the espresso supply places having  the right size for my portafilter
(53mm), here is what I did:
I took my portafilter basket to Salvation Army and Goodwill and used the
basket to check flat-bottom shot glasses until I found one that fit
perfectly. I also found one with a 6 point "star/petal" thingy on the bottom
that when the basket is packed with exactly 14gms of grounds and it is
pressed til it stops on the rim, gives a perfect tamp.
Whatever works...
The patterned glass is certainly unorthadox, but the flat shot glass makes a
very nicely polished puck, and it cost all of .25 cents. Wow! Icould fill it
with concrete and insert a little polished brass medallion in the top for
the "finished" look and the perfect weight...
Tony Reynolds
homeroast mailing listhttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast

 
I don't think you should tamper with good espresso.
-- garyZ
homeroast mailing listhttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast