Tamper mats - useful or useless? (2024)

I've never used a tamper mat, not sure if I need one. With our SL70 I always have had 5 spare filter baskets, I fill, level and tamp directly in the baskets then put them in the PF as I need them (this speeds drinks along). Since the baskets are flat bottomed I've never seen the need for a tamper mat. However, as we are moving to a Vetrano, I won't be using multiple filter baskets as I assume knocking out a dry puck and refilling is about as fast as having prefilled filters baskets ready to go (I hope).

Just wondering what the consensus is, useful or useless?

Very useful if you tamp on a wood counter top. I have a small and thin rubber puck I put on a tea towel I have folded into quarters. It keeps the bottom of the naked basket, or the double spouts from cutting or denting my work surface.

Other than that, I don't think there would be any improvement in the quality of the tamp.

Fr. John wrote:I'm pretty sure that the formica is going to take a beating if I continually tamp on the double spouts.

Not if you go bottomless. I don't like the spouts to touch anything including the countertop, even though it's tolerated in barista competition if followed by a wipe. So instead I'll lay a towel over the edge and tamp with the portafilter pressed against it. The LM spout is great for this usage:

HB wrote:From research notes from the Buyer's Guide to the Elektra A3...

Notice that I changed the portafilter spout to the squared-off La Marzocco open-style spout. The narrow distance between the spout ends allows it to easily catch the two streams in a single cup, plus as an the added bonus, the spout acts as a nice "ledge" for tamping on the countertop's edge. This avoids the possibility of picking up grinds and who-knows-what by tamping with the spouts directly on the countertop.

I have a rubber mat and it shows the dents of a lot of tamping before I switched to bottomless and countertop edge tamping.

I use a bottomless PF and I still like to use a mat. I guess the biggest reason I like a mat is the quieting effect. No sound on the counter from the PF or tamper. (I also set my tamper on it between shots). I use a gasket on my knockbox for the same reason- it really makes a big difference in cutting down the rapping. All right, all right, maybe I'm just a little grouchy to all that banging noise first thing in the morning before a couple of double ristretto's...

I have some indentations in the mat from the PF, so I'd think it does protect the counter top and the milled bottomless PF edge to a degree. Downside is, the mat is one more thing to clean up.

I'd say for $7, why not give a mat a try. See what you think-

BTW, I got mine from the good guys at EPNW. Here: http://www.espressoparts.com/product/6030

What, me worry?

Alfred E. Neuman, 1955

Bob Craige

LMWDP #7

http://community.webshots.com/photo/406 ... 6244MLWjpJ

Um, look at that counter top.

You can see why I care less what goes under my bottomless portafilter when I tamp.

Oh - this is an old pic, my Mafac sits where Rocky used to.

Ann