Delonghi coffee tamper fits all Delonghi portafilter baskets because they are all the same size with a diameter of 50mm
Portafilter baskets (where the ground coffee goes) come in different sizes so it can be confusing to find the right tamper for the coffee machine you are using.
And there also isn’t any room for error as it needs to be correct to the millimetre. If you get one that is too big then it won’t fit and you won’t be able to tamp the coffee at all.
If you get one that is too small then it won’t cover the whole bed of coffee and it won’t compress the coffee correctly.
Getting the coffee compressed correctly is crucial to the quality of the coffee that gets delivered into your cup.
If the coffee is not tightly packed into the portafilter then you risk “channelling”.
Water gets forced through the coffee at high pressure to produce espresso and in order to get the right flavour it needs to be evenly distributed through the coffee grounds and into your cup.
If it is not compressed properly all the way to the edge of the portafilter then water will creep down the sides and into your cup without absorbing the coffee and will make it taste bitter and diluted.
Delonghi provides you with a tamper when you buy the machine but in order to keep the overall price of the machine down, they give you a really poor plastic tamper.
Delonghi does really good coffee machines but the tamper leaves a lot to be desired and for a small outlay you can get something much more substantial that will make a decent difference to the quality of your coffee.
The plastic tamper that comes with the coffee machine feels like a feather when you hold it, it almost feels like it weighs nothing and as a result, you can’t press down as hard as you need to because it feels like it might break.
In fact, you may be reading this in the first place because the one you have is broken and it’s no surprise because they are very flimsy.
Verdict
This one could not be further away from the plastic one they supply with the machine in terms of quality.
It looks good and it’s heavy. The stainless-steel base and wooden handle are manufactured to be strong and sturdy. This is made to last and it will certainly outlive your coffee machine, that’s for sure.
It weighs in at 281g which is substantial enough that you notice the weight when you pick it up but it’s not too heavy to make it fiddly.
The important thing with tamping coffee is that you consistently do the same thing and apply the same pressure every time.
You need to be able to feel the weight in your hand in order to get a good tamp and this delivers.
This Delonghi coffee tamper is specifically made for Delonghi coffee machines and the ergonomically shaped handle and well-weighted base make it perfect for tamping down ground coffee into your portafilter for an evenly compressed bed of coffee.
Last update on 2024-03-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
