About Tamperguide

Why I Started This Site

I got tired of watching great espresso beans die in bottomless portafilters because someone bought the wrong tamper.

After fifteen years behind the bar and thousands of shots pulled across Rome, Melbourne, and Chicago, I've seen every extraction problem you can imagine. Nine times out of ten, when a home barista is fighting channeling, uneven extraction, or sour mystery shots, the culprit isn't the grinder or the machine—it's a $15 Amazon tamper that doesn't fit their basket, or a distribution tool that's just pushing grounds around instead of actually leveling them.

I built Tamperguide because the coffee equipment space is flooded with "best of" lists written by content farms where the author has never touched an espresso machine. You deserve reviews from someone who has actually choked a machine with a bad tamp at 7 AM during a rush, who knows what 0.2mm of variance feels like under your palm, and who can tell you whether that $120 calibrated tamper is worth three times the price of a basic one. I test these tools with real extraction metrics, not unboxing photos.

About Marco Bellini

I started my career in Milan, training under third-wave roasters who treated tamping pressure as a variable worth calibrating to the gram. I spent six years working commercial cafes—twelve-hour shifts where consistency wasn't optional because customers were waiting. I learned to feel when a tamper face wasn't perfectly perpendicular to the basket, and I watched how a poorly designed distribution tool could ruin a $40 bag of Gesha beans faster than you can say "pre-infusion."

Three years ago, I shifted into consulting for home espresso setups. That's when I realized the gap between commercial-grade accessories and what's marketed to home users is built on marketing, not mechanics. I've dialed in machines ranging from $200 Gaggia Classics to $6,000 commercial La Marzocos. I've seen how a precision-machined tamper with a 58.5mm diameter transforms extraction compared to the standard 58mm that leaves a ring of dry grounds around the edge. I've tested WDT tools on high-speed cameras to see exactly how they break up clumps versus just stirring them.

I don't read press releases and rewrite them. I use these tools until they show me what they're made of—usually across 200+ shots, multiple bean densities, and varying humidity levels. If I recommend something here, it's because I've fixed channeling issues with it, or because I've measured its flatness with calipers and verified it actually improves extraction yields.

What We Cover

This site is for home baristas who are done guessing and want precision. You won't find drip coffee makers or capsule machines here. The focus is narrow because espresso accessories require specialized knowledge:

Whether you're fighting spurting bottomless shots or trying to decide if that titanium WDT tool is worth the premium, the content here is written specifically for your setup.

How We Test & Review

Every tool on this site gets at least two weeks of daily use before I write a word. For tampers, I measure base flatness with feeler gauges and check diameter tolerances with micrometers. Then I pull fifty-plus shots—some with light roasts, some with oily dark roasts—to see how the tamper performs across different particle densities. I use naked portafilters and shot mirrors to verify puck integrity and look for signs of uneven extraction.

For distribution tools and WDT devices, I test speed of workflow and consistency of results. Does the tool actually level the bed, or does it just make it look pretty? I time prep routines because a distribution method that adds thirty seconds to your shot isn't practical for morning routines.

Here's the important part: Tamperguide runs on affiliate commissions. When you buy something through my links, I earn a percentage. But that relationship never influences the score. If a tamper is poorly machined, has sharp edges, or causes side-channeling, I say so. I've returned products to manufacturers with notes on why they failed. I disclose affiliate relationships clearly because trust matters more than a single commission.

Get In Touch

Have a question about your specific setup? Found a tamper that changed your extraction game? Want to argue about the optimal needle count for WDT? I'm always interested in hearing from readers who care about precision as much as I do. Drop me a line at info@tamperguide.com—I read every email, and I'll get back to you with advice based on real bar experience, not generic recommendations.

Questions? Reach us at info@tamperguide.com