If you read the Normcore V4 Tamper post, you’d know that I had high praise for it. It served me well in getting good shots of espresso. It was consistent and did what it was made to do. I bought it after reading good reviews from an online espresso aficionado community. This post might seem like I’m throwing the Normcore tamper under the bus, but that’s not the case.
It’s not even about the Normcore spring-loaded tamper, it’s about all spring-loaded tampers.
My contention is that a regular or manual tamper, even the stock ones like the Profitec Go are much better in certain circumstances. It comes down to control and with spring-loaded tampers there is only so much that you can control.
You may be able to change the springs and the pressure applied will differ, but that is the extent of the control you’ll have.
So how does a regular tamper differ from spring-loaded tampers. With spring-loaded tampers, you simply tamp down regardless of physical pressure that you apply, and they will tamp according to the spring installed. If a tamper is loaded with a 30lb spring, it will tamp at 30lb.
With a regular tamper, you are not restricted to any fixed pressure. You can apply as soft or as much pressure as you want while tamping coffee grounds.
So why am I adding another tamper if the Normcore is working well?
With the Normcore, I realized I had to adjust my grinder setting based on the coffee type and the quantity that I grind. For example, I had to dial-in finer and finer to pull a good shot of espresso with certain coffee grounds. Using a regular tamper, I don’t have this issue. I can tamp two varieties of coffee grounds at the same grinder setting by applying different pressure.
Also, using a pressure spring tamper for a double shot of espresso will not necessarily give the same results using a triple shot basket. This is my experience, and if you look at the VST baskets you’ll notice that the triple shot basket is constructed differently than the single and double baskets.
Adding another tamper, one with more weight is not taking anything from the Normcore. It’s adding flexibility to workflow. It takes trial and error to tamp without the help of a spring-loaded tampers and that’s worth considering.
For me, it’s inevitable that a quality tamper like the 58.4mm Motta is added. With more knowhow, the less reliance we’ll have on products that aide us in pulling shots. Again, the spring-loaded tampers will have their place in just about any workflow especially especially when pulling shots using a variety of coffee grounds.
The Normcore can be for specific coffee grounds, weight and basket because it does pull great shots with my favorite medium dark roast coffee using the double shot basket. For other varieties, and when experimenting I’ll use a manual tamper.