V4 Coffee Tamper

The Normcore v4 Tamper is a game-changing evolution from traditional tampers in several ways. First, it auto-levels to your filter basket. This solves the most common mistake of uneven tamping of coffee grounds. Second, it has a calibrated spring to ensure you are always applying the correct pressure. Sure, there is the Force Tamper selling for 4x the cost of this one which does it for you with a pop, but that might be overkill for a home barista who makes a few drinks a day. This tamper allows you to get similar results manually and with repeatability. Anyone who makes espresso knows how important it is to eliminate unnecessary variables on the road to great coffee. I use this tamper many times every day and cannot recommend it highly enough. **Post-Prime Day Update** Although I stand behind what I wrote above concerning the Normcore V4 Tamper, someone recommended I try a similar tamper from another Amazon company, MHW-3BOMBER. I found I preferred that tamper over the Normcore for the following reasons: 1. It is a knockoff of the Force Tamper, which means you don't have to press too hard and hear/feel a click when tamping is done. Considering the Force Tamper is $200 and the MHW-3Bomber is a fourth of that price, it's a really good deal for that functionality. 2. The Normcore Tamper has a flat base whereas the MHW-3Bomber has a beautiful rounded ridge pattern, which looks like it might help distribute the grounds a little bit. Again, it's like what is offered on the Force Tamper. Otherwise, they are very similar. Both offer self-leveling while tamping. I will keep the MHW-3Bomber tamper, because it doesn't require as much downforce as the Normcore, which can help avoid any repetitive injury while making several shots.

So I recently made the decision to get into the hobby of home espresso and because I am a professional cook and apparently love to struggle. I decided on getting into the flair espresso ecosystem. What I love about flair is that it is extremely manual in nature. What that gives me is the ability to learn a new skill in the kitchen which I love but ultimately being so manual it gives me the most control over the end product which as a professional I find essential. Anyways, this isn't a flair review but all of this will help you understand why I feel the way I do about this tamper. So I have had the flair for a little over a month now, it's my first espresso machine ever and I have pulled roughly an entire bags worth of shots with it. In the month I have owned this, I feel like I have developed a consistent and efficient work flow, I feel like my form and understanding are to a point where I should be able to pull good shots but in reality, my shots couldn't be more inconsistent. It became very clear to me after a couple dozen shots that the only thing I'm inconsistent at is the tamp. The flair pro 2 comes with a decent tamper. It's not terrible. But it's not great either. It's kinda small and I think if you aren't already a pro at making espresso, you are going to struggle with it and I definitely do struggle with it. It didn't seem to matter what my grind setting would be, coarse or super fine, some of my shots would go through with little to no resistance and some I couldn't even get to pull at all. I found myself randomly trying different things, super hard tamps, super light tamps, wild swings on my grinder and it all felt just super random and I was just flailing in the dark. As a pro this was unacceptable for me. So I decided to address my tamping issue and get the normcore distributor and this spring tamper. The two things I struggle most with the flair tamper is getting level bed and getting a consistent tamp pressure. The distributor works great and I have written a review of that too. This tamper has solved the problem I have. Like 100% solved it and it did it instantly. I received the tamper about an hour ago and immediately pulled a shot with it. What I got was an 18g shot pulled in 25 seconds with zero channeling. I then made a small adjustment to my grinder and pulled a second shot. That 18g shot pulled in 34 seconds, no channeling and was basically perfect. I now feel like I have complete control over the flair and I couldn't be more excited. I'm already shopping for some specialty light roasts and other expensive beans as I am no longer worried about wasting a ton of beans trying to dial in shots. If you are a novice to espresso, a spring tamper is essential and normcore seems to make the most premium versions of these tools. If your story is similar to mine and you can't see consistent results, buy this now. It will instantly fix your issue.

Espresso tamper that completely takes the guesswork out of making the perfect, tasty espresso shot! Spring loaded making it impossible to over or under tamp. It uses the perfect amount of pressure and isn’t awkward or sticky at all. Self leveling. Creates a solid puck with no channeling or tunneling. Easy to use! Consistent results. Has a small base to sit inside. Easy to clean—just wipe off with a dry cloth after using! No complaints.

I’ll admit, I was skeptical about spring-loaded tampers. My barista friend even told me they were just a gimmick. But after using the Normcore V4 58.5mm tamper, I can confidently say this thing is the real deal! The extra 0.5mm makes a difference—it fills my 58mm portafilter perfectly, leaving no gaps and ensuring an even tamp every time. The spring-loaded mechanism applies consistent pressure effortlessly, making my tamping more uniform and repeatable. I compared it to my iKape palm tamper, and the Normcore outperformed it in both comfort and precision. The build quality is fantastic, with a solid, premium feel in hand. If you’re on the fence about getting a spring-loaded tamper, take it from me—this one is worth it!

Like the extra spring options it comes with, I prefer 15lbs on my tamps so this works great. First precision baskets well

Really like this tamp due to it keeping the puck super level and the tamp spring variability. Only downside side is that coffee can get trapped between the top of the tamp disc and the bottom of the leveling platform, but it’s super easy to clean!

I have been loving normcore products and I needed to add this tamper! I love this spring loaded tamper! It has made tamping so much easier and more even! Great weight to it, easy to use, durable and sturdy! Amazing addition to your coffee ritual!

I have a very nice, heavy tamper that I've used for 19 years. Recently I got intrigued with the idea of a spring loaded tamper because I never had any idea what force I was using manually. This particular tamper is costly but well worth it, in my opinion because of how it's made and because it also had 2 springs, as well as a total of 3 inner springs to determine tamp pressure. Beautiful, heavy, solid construction. The 25 lb spring that comes pre-installed works best for me and I don't see myself changing it. The design with the leveling plate makes it all quite easy to press down enough. Some reviews complained about the lack of an audible "click" but that isn't necessary. With the leveling plate on top of the filter basket, you just press down the entire distance that you can push and that's it so no click needed. What I've realized though all this is that I was never tamping hard enough with my manual tamper. In addition, when I would press it down hard the tamp would not be even, and one side would usually end up higher than the other, and this led to channeling. It's important to properly prepare the puck. I measure bean weight and grind into the portafilter basket. I use a funnel collar and and WDT tool to distribute the grinds well and break up clumps. I then use a distribution tool, which smooths everything out before the final tamp. Then comes the tamping which I can now do with a consistent, level pressure. I have my grind fineness pretty dialed in at this point and haven't needed to change that up much. Since implementing the puck prep described above, every single time my coffee has turned out perfect. Before doing things this way and without my new tools (i.e. previously using only finger smoothing and tamping with a manual tamper) I had a lot of misses and wasn't usually happy with the espresso I got. I'll say it again....the quality of your shots depends on good, consistent prep of the puck. This tamper is a very necessary part of that prep, I now realize. I recommend this particular tamper very highly. Last comment: You can get the same tamper with a circular ridged bottom. I can't see there would be much advantage to that, and the ridged bottom would definitely catch coffee in the ridged areas, making cleanup a bit more annoying. With this smooth tamper, all it requires is a quick wipe on the bottom (usually nothing there anyway) and then there is a nice little matching cup to set the tamper in.

Es el tamper de 57 MM que tu cafetera LELIT necesita, no hay muchas más opciones en 57mm, y esta es la mejor, no tienes que pensar, siempre haces la misma fuerza, la pastilla sale perfectamente equilibrada, eliminando todos los errores humanos del barista casero.

I am new to the world of "proper" espresso and wanted to look for an auto tamper to remove variables from my workflow Very easy to use and consistant results - which has helped increase the consistancy of my shots.

Top 1 in tamping

This is built like a tank and helps me achieve a level tamp each time, effortlessly. Yes, it’s more expensive than an inexpensive conventional tamper, but it’s worth the price difference based on product quality and how well and easily it performs the task at hand. It comes with three springs, each associated with a different level of pressure, however, I found that all that is needed is the smallest / lightest and job’s done without any fuss. Easy to disassemble and easy to clean. I would recommend.

Ein tolles Teil! Liegt schön schwer in der Hand. Im Vergleich dazu fühlt sich der mitgelieferte Tamper meiner Profitec Pro600 wie ein Spielzeug an und der normcore in 58,5 mm passt auch noch eine Idee satter, ohne zu verkanten in die Siebe. Mit der stärksten Feder (30 lbs, entspricht 13,6 kg) habe ich festgestellt, dass ich vorher viel stärker getampt habe, was sich aber als unnötig herausgestellt hat. Super finde ich, dass das Kaffeemehl, dank des auf dem Siebträger aufliegenden Randes, schön gleichmäßig, eben und auf eine Höhe verdichtet wird. Damit hat sich für mich die Anschaffung eines Levelers und ein zusätzlicher Arbeitsschritt erübrigt. Absolute Kaufempfehlung für alle, die kein 250€-Luxusmarken-Tropenholz-Staussymbol, sondern einen tollen und praxistauglichen Tamper für ein akzeptables Preis/Leistungs-Verhältnis suchen.