it would appear to this marveler that what espressocraft does is flout an assumption, generally held amongst tamper designers, that you want to relay the pressure of the barista down a uniform cylinder, then distribute that weight outward, in a downward slope, so that it is flatly and evenly applied to the surface of the coffee bed. instead, our marvel does the opposite — collecting the barista’s pressure into a narrow center through a severely tapered handle. a slight dip in the top of the tamper base allows the fingers to slip in — not out — further centralizing the pressure, which is tranferred to the middle of a curved tamper surface, pushing through the center of the espresso bed first and splaying the pressure outward as it moves down. middle-and-out, instead of flat and uniform.

clearly, i don’t know what i’m talking about.

obviously, ardent followings have since sprung up around other, more craftsmanlike tamper makers. and they sure look pretty! but i don’t really get it. beefy, flat-bottomed tampers that transfer force through a cylinder don’t seem to do the same thing, physically speaking, at all.

with winter upon us, the thing now obliterates all sensible views — and elbow room — around the coffee bar. which prompts a sort of indoor seed/cup dilemma: stash the tree to maintain a diverse brewing bar, or favor the tree and shelve the second (syphon) grinder? on the one hand, only one of them is aliiive. on the other hand, only one delivers warmth.