IKAPECoffee Products, 53mm Coffee Distributor & Hand Tamper, Adjustable Depth Espresso Distributor Fits All 53mm Espresso Portafilter, Compatible with 54MM Breville Bottomless Portafilter (Silver)

Having one tool for both tamper and distributor takes up less space on my counter. Workmanship and finish are perfect. Weight is nicely heavy (441g) and feels good in the hands. Height adjustment on both sides is easy and the locking mechanism works perfectly. I have adjusted it several times and so far I have been able to loosen it and tighten it easily enough and it has never accidentally come loose. It took me a little bit of time to "dial in" the height but I think I've got it just right now. I just noticed that I do get a little bit of residual coffee along the edges where the distributor and the portafilter meet. That might mean I'm not pressing down evenly maybe? Humm. I'll have to watch that. I'm still a bit of a coffee novice and am not that fastidious in my technique so take my comments with a grain of salty coffee grind.

it was too big for the portafilter for my esoresso machine hence needed to return it, it looked good and felt sturdy

So when I say dial it in, you have to choose the right depth, in millimeters, for the distributor and the tamp. It is trial and error initially until you converge to the correct depth. It's great that the product has the millimeter markings on both ends because it makes it real easy to get the adjustment perfect.In my case I always use 18 g of coffee grinds. The distributor protrudes to the 9 mm mark. When I place it on top of my coffee that still looks like a mountain peak after grinding, I just spin about 8 to 10 times until the ikape adjusting ring makes contact with the basket rim.Then I flip it over and place the tamp onto the distributed coffee grinds. At this point there is about 1 to 1 and 1/2 mm space between the top of the basket rim and the adjusting ring. Tamp down to make contact and I'm done.That workflow has it consistent every time. And the coffee is tamped down such that when I put the portafilter in the group head, the coffee does not make contact with the shower head.Highly recommend. The biggest selling point that I mentioned above is the millimeter markings. Without those, the other products are just in guessing game.

Let’s get the bad out of the way: my 58mm, silver distributor/tamper only had depth measurements showing on the distributor side and not the tamper side. Furthermore, the depth readings are very faint and tiny, making them difficult to read. Good thing this is one of those set and forget things. If you need to constantly adjust yours (eg because you need different depths for different baskets, etc) then I wouldn’t recommend relying on these markings.Second, there are quite a few unfinished metal edges, and you can feel the sharp metal while using the product. It probably won’t cut you but let’s just say it’s not comfortable, especially if you’re using the tamper and have to place your palm over the distributor surface.Overall though, this is a solid choice and has a nice heft to it. It does the job for me and my 58mm Breville portafilter, and my workflow is made a tad more efficient since I don’t need to grab a tamper. While it’s not perfect given the shortcomings listed above, the price is decent and it’s probably good enough for most people, hence 4 stars.

Maybe I am going a little overboard here, but I have found it difficult to keep the puck level with just a tamper. With this tool, I start with a couple of taps on the counter to drop the grinds down a little. I set the jack (leveling) side of this to only go part way down, not far enough to count as a tamp. The flat side is set to the minimum drop to insure that the grinds are below the shower screen. If that side does not go all the way down, then I have to remove a few grinds. Once the grinds are level and low enough to clear the screen, I follow with a final tamp with a calibrated tamper to insure proper compression. I got the calibrated tamper (Dailyart) on Amazon too.

Good workmanship

I am new to making espresso at home, this has helped me so much with getting an even tamp and consistent shots. Very sturdy design.

If you have a finicky coffee maker and getting the exact amount of grounds is not enough but you need the perfect distribution and compaction to ensure consistent coffee and prevent tunneling, then this is for you. If you are balking at the price, I would suggest that if you already go through the process of meticulously acquiring the perfect grind and measuring it out precisely then you need this tool.Being able to perfectly adjust and set the elevation for distribution and then the same for compression (see tip below) is as essential in a consistent cup of coffee as a consistent grind and measurement. Be aware that if you want to use this two different filtercups, make sure they are made by the same manufacturer. Some may look identical but only after you use them with one if these tools do you realize that they are actually slightly different and the resulting compression is also different. (Experienced this first-hand) Tip; make sure to only do the compress the grounds in the filter cup with the filter cup in the portafilter. Filter cups are often dual layered with a small gap between the grounds chamber and the single hole-bottom chamber where the coffee comes out. If you put too much pressure on them when the bottom is against a surface it can compress them and damage or impede their performance. To prevent this damage, place the cup into the portafilter after you distribute the coffee (this requires no pressure so is safe to do prior to placing in portafilter) and then perform the compression of the grounds.

The distribution is fine, but the tamper is stationary, I would love to have a springloadrd tamper. Overlal wuality is great and it is adjustablr, so functionality is great, just the feel of the tamping side needs work

excelente tamper, ajustable y muy practico... se lleva un 10

Overall not a bad product, although I almost sent it back as the marking lines were so faint I could not see them without my reading glasses which I typically don't wear when I am making coffee. I finally found them, but still way too faint for my liking. If you want to continually change the settings and need reading glasses then this product is NOT for you. I did want to have the ability to accurately change the settings, otherwise I would have bought amuch cheaper local product.

Excelente calidad, muy funcional y la responsabilidad del vendedor cumpliendo la fecha de entrega, llegó antes de la fecha prometida.

Se adapta sin problemas a las canastas originales que vienen con mi delonghi ECP3630 y a una canasta IMS con que cuento. Se atora un poco en otras canastas genéricas que adquirí antes, pero creo que el problema lo causan las canastas, no este tamper. Volvería a comprarlo sin dudar.