Motta Lightning Palm Tamper

Mettalurgica Motta is one of the top manufacturers of high quality stainless steel products in Italy. The brand, known typically as the abbreviated, Motta, is partly responsible for the rise in public appreciation of espresso over the last century. Since then, it has remained one of our favourite names in coffee accessories. Its Europa milk pitcher is simply one of the best on the market. In short, Motta's products are emblematic of the value that high-quality accessories, made with an eye for detail, can offer to the barista.

After an appropriate grinder, a good espresso tamper is one of the first accessories we'd recommend to anyone buying an espresso machine from Cape Coffee Beans. Most tampers adopt a very recognisable form factor, but tamping is also a space where there is room for innovation.

About Flat Palm Tampers

Traditional tamping comes with two potential pitfalls: inconsistency and injury. The first applies to everyone from home baristas to professionals. To make consistent espresso, you need to tamp consistently. This is more easily said than done. After all, just a degree or two of change in angle, or a slight change in pressure, can yield a very different puck, and this can sometimes lead to channelling and poor extraction.

Injury isn't generally a risk for home baristas when it comes to tamping, but it certainly is for professionals. Repetitive strain injuries of the wrist are disappointingly common. After all, pressing down at an awkward angle with several kilograms of force a couple of hundred times a day will tire out anyone's wrists.

This is where flat tampers or palm tampers come in. Rather than requiring you to grip a vertical handle, this style of tamper just needs to you to push down with your palm. This is more ergonomic, but it also doesn't require you to judge the angle or the force. You just push until the rim of the tamper has made contact with the basket, then you're done, and it's the same every time! You just need to adjust the height of your palm tamper to suit your coffee, filter basket and dose, but then you can tamp away consistently. This is super helpful whether you're tamping once per day or one hundred times per day.

About the Motta Lighting Palm Tamper

Like everything Motta makes, the Lightning flat tamper (or palm tamper) is built with quality in mind. The base is made from Motta's famous high-quality stainless steel and the handle is an attractive brushed aluminium, with Motta's iconic logo subtly engraved on the top. It is easily height-adjustable, but also designed to retain its height setting once you've calibrated it to your dose. In short, it's a perfect example of the palm tamper form-factor, one that you can trust to serve you well for many years, if not a lifetime. Buy one to make tamping easier and more consistent.

Motta Lightning Palm Tamper features & specifications

• Made in Italy
• Base made from Motta's high-quality stainless steel
• Size: 58.5mm base diameter (fits most 58mm portafilters)
• Weight: ~400g
• Height: 25mm - 33mm (incl. top)
• Matte black aluminium handle
• Adjustable height allows users to adapt the tamper for different portafilter depths and coffee doses, and ensures repeatable tamping results