I got this 51mm force tamper because I wanted a tamper that was just the right size for my 51mm IMS Hugh H26 18g espresso basket that I use in my Delonghi Stilosa EC260 espresso machine. When you press it down, it levels the coffee in your basket out and applies a consistent amount of pressure every time, so it functions well even if you don't have the perfect tamping technique. For a relative newbie like myself this is great. The design is very weird in my opinion. I do not like the combination of wood and metal, and I think they should have stuck with just one. The wooden top cap does make it nicer to use and improves the feel in the hand, but the wood also looks cheap and diminishes the sense of overall build quality due to the inconsistency. So it's more practical than pretty. The wood also makes it harder to clean because it shouldn't really get wet. One must also stretch back the leveling collar in order to clean underneath it, as with all of these, and even though the possibility of exchanging grounds from under the collar is remote, some may find the prospect of such contamination intolerable and refuse to use a tamper like this. Such is the tradeoff for this design.
I think it's a good value for money for me because it is the perfect size for my espresso basket. It also creates a pretty tight puck every time. I do not like the rippled bottom. It should be flat, because ripples promote channeling. It's OK though, because it actually allows for a good tamp unlike my other one which is ever so slightly too large and sticks in my basket. So kudos to a functional tamper. I hope it serves you well as it does me.
Cheers and happy tamping!
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