Tamper 58mm/58,5mm

58mm Tamper / 58.5mm tamper from Barista Essentials

We design our 58mm tampers based on years of knowledge and home barista experience.

You can choose from 3 different types of 58/58.5mm tampers:

• Classic Tamper: A tamper just as you know it, with a solid stainless steel base and a curved handle made of rosewood, plastic, or even more stainless steel.
• Calibrated Click Tamper: Internal mechanism that clicks when you apply 12 kg of pressure. This helps improve your consistency.
• Tamper & Distributor: Combination tool with a 58mm palm tamper and coffee distributor, ensuring you can tamp a nice, level puck.

What is a 58.5mm tamper?

A 58.5mm tamper fits on a 58mm or E61 brew group. You use it to properly compress the coffee grounds in your 58mm portafilter basket after grinding your beans.

This way, you create enough resistance for your espresso to extract correctly (between 9 and 11 bar). If you tamp too lightly (or not at all) the water flows through the coffee too quickly, resulting in an overly sour espresso.

58.5mm tampers fit seamlessly into portafilters from brands like La Marzocco, Rocket, Rancilio, and Bezzera. Some Sage espresso machines are also compatible, such as the Triple Heat and the Oracle

For other espresso machines, we also sell 51 mm tampers and 53 mm tampers.

Difference between 58mm tamper and 58.5mm tamper

We sell 58mm tampers and 58.5mm tampers. This may seem like a small difference, but it’s important to pay attention to.

Here’s why: our 58.5mm tamper is suitable for machines with a 58mm portafilter and brew group. This brew group is also known as the E61 group. Even though these portafilters are referred to as 58mm, they are actually a tiny bit wider.

That’s why our 58.5mm tampers fit better in your E61 portafilter than a 58mm tamper.

The 58mm tamper, however, is made to fit one machine perfectly: Quick Mill. These machines have a slightly smaller portafilter, which means our 58.5mm tools won’t fit.

In addition, we also offer 54mm tampers (for Sage) and 51mm tampers (for De’Longhi). Check out our full range of tampers here.

Does a 0.5mm difference really impact extraction?

Of course, you could buy a 58mm tamper for your E61 filter basket and accept that half a millimetre difference.

Still, we don’t recommend it, because you’ll quickly end up with a coffee puck in which the edges aren’t tamped.

And that means channeling: water flowing too fast through some parts of the puck (and too slow through others).

Who is this tamper for?

Our 58.5mm tamper is designed for home baristas with an E61 espresso machine.

These are machines with a 58mm brew group and are often more expensive than brands like Sage or De’Longhi.

Well-known examples of E61 machines include those from La Marzocco, Rancilio, Belezza, Rocket, ECM, and Gaggia.

Not sure if these tampers fit your machine? Check our size guide. You’ll also find which size coffee distributor or bottomless portafilter you can use.

And if you’re still unsure, you can always get in touch. We’ll be happy to help you personally.

Is 58.5mm also suitable for VST or IMS baskets?

Absolutely! As long as you’re using an E61 filter basket, you can use our 58.5mm tamper.

Our precision high-extraction baskets are also a perfect fit for 58.5mm tampers.

Can a 58.5mm tamper get stuck in the basket?

This can only happen if you use a tapered single shot basket. Luckily, these are rarely included with an E61 machine, since they’re not very useful anyway.

With a Sage Dual Boiler or Sage Oracle, you do get a single basket like this. Not only are these best avoided in general, but it’s doubly not recommended because your tamper won’t fit all the way in.

With double baskets, this problem doesn’t exist. They are always just as wide at the bottom as at the top.

Tips for better tamping

A good tamp helps you brew an espresso where all flavours are beautifully balanced.

Besides using a high-quality 58mm coffee tamper, these tips can help you tamp even better:

• Place your palm on top of the curved tamper handle as if holding a doorknob
• Rest your thumb and index finger on the rim of the portafilter while tamping to check if you’re tamping straight
• To keep your portafilter from moving while tamping, use a tamping mat or tamping station.

Read more here about the importance of proper tamping.