Prima Tamper - A tamper with an Angle

Koffee_Kosmo

Came across this a little product while ago but with work and such I forgot to post it

The reason I was interested initially is because I actualy had that same idea a few years back
At the time I had an injured wrist when I fractured my scaphoid bone

Here is the link of the story and a video on its use - http://www.dearcoffeeiloveyou.com/prima-tamp/

Brett_H

Interesting idea. I think that the price is fair given what quality tampers cost but I wouldn't be convinced without trying.

derrilex

Geez those Barista's are nancies. Oooh my joints flare up if rains or if its hot, oh my back and shoulders, the pain, the pain. Reminds me of Dr.Smith from lost in space :rofl:

danh

derrilex:

my joints flare up if [it] rains or if its hot

My wife, who appears in the video, is under the age of 25 and has severe arthritis. When a person has "flare ups," it's typically because they have some type of arthritic condition. Laugh all you want, it's an absurdly debilitating disease. Please have the decency to refrain from commenting on topics to which you are unfamiliar. Also, consider the fact that you are mocking your own market. If you're going to dis on someone, the very, very least you could do is leave your Tamper Stands out of it. More people than you realize read these forums.

UNM

Welcome to crema danh. I confess I am sceptical about the value of this angled tamper. I have always found a regular tamper works well as long as the bench is at a suitable height. True I do not suffer rheumatoid arthritis, but I am unconvinced angling the handle will help when vertical downward force on the puck is required. Also the angled handle would prevent my finishing polish by rotating the tamper. Care to expand upon the design philosophy and usability?

Ronin

I'm in the same camp as UNM The pressure is still on the wrist and the same angle regardless of the tamper or handle. My opinion is correct height tamp station, correct posture and a tamp handle that suits your hand (angled or not) is important with any repetition of movement. A handle that goes to the center of your palm can reduce stress on the carpels and transfer it more evenly to the forearm. Correct posture is paramount, 99% of people do not realize this I am not discounting the fact that it may help some

beanflying

I spent quite a bit of time with my father over the last few years looking at alternate handles and and making tweaking holding devices of all sorts due to some major ongoing hand issues. Amaloid build up in all the joints of the hands topped off with Arthritis and having had Carpel tunnels done on both wrists (one of them twice). To a fair degree this means he was unable to fully close his hands. I would doubt very much if he could have even gripped this narrow handle let alone use it. The resulting uneven pressure on the base would almost certainly have resulted in a poor tamp. The best result my Dad could get was with a low smaller handled but heavy base conventional tamper which worked in a reasonable fashion. In the end the best solution for him or people in a similar situation would still generally be a fully Auto :doh: or one of the press style tampers but the space taken up on the kitchen bench would be a pain for sure. If this angled Tamper works for some then great but it shouldn't be seen as a panacea for all people with health issues.

Bottom_Line

After pounding out coffee after coffee at events my back and neck used to get sore. I generally do the shots and the wife does the milk. The issue was the angle of my back when tamping. No issue if you are only doing a few coffees but many.... Problem - my shoulders were not parallel to the bench. Fix was to angle the group handle so the filter basket was no longer parallel to bench but my shoulders were. Won't work with a tamp stand, I use the edge of the bench to put the base of the group handle on (not the spouts).

Ronin

Bottom Line wrote:

The issue was the angle of my back when tamping. No issue if you are only doing a few coffees but many.... Problem - my shoulders were not parallel to the bench. Fix was to angle the group handle so the filter basket was no longer parallel to bench but my shoulders were. Won't work with a tamp stand, I use the edge of the bench to put the base of the group handle on (not the spouts).

Glad you realized it was posture related BL, so many things are

shape_shifter

I'm wondering how it would go for people with small hands. What I find with other tampers is that even with a smaller than normal handle it's still too long to comfortably fit in my hand. The angle might change the ease at which I can tamp as the handle isn't sticking straight into the palm of my hand.

Bottom_Line

Ronin wrote:

Glad you realised it was posture related BL, so many things are

Very true, so many/most things are.. but not all and not for all. Like Danh, my wife has arthritis. She got when she was only 14. Fortunately she has found a drug that has stop the arthritis (but not reversed). Before she couldn't lift 5kg but now can lift up to 40kg. 3-5 days a year the arthritis flared up were she couldn't really get out of bed. I changed a lot of things around the house like converting door knobs to levers, bigger easier light switches,etc. Also kept all moving parts lubed and freely moving. Things that "jolted" in their movement caused her pain when she operated them. I can see why Danh responded the way he did (rightly or wrongly.... if you wish to judge?). You don't really understand what these things are like until you deal with or see it day in day out. I guess the point I am trying to make is that not all tools are suited to all people. I don't think this tamper will be for me but if it helps or suits someone then I am all for it.

derrilex

danh wrote:

derrilex: My wife, who appears in the video, is under the age of 25 and has severe arthritis. When a person has "flare ups," it's typically because they have some type of arthritic condition. Laugh all you want, it's an absurdly debilitating disease. Please have the decency to refrain from commenting on topics to which you are unfamiliar. Also, consider the fact that you are mocking your own market. If you're going to dis on someone, the very, very least you could do is leave your Tamper Stands out of it. More people than you realize read these forums.

Settle down tiger. It was a joke. If you cant take a joke you are in the wrong place

danh

Welcome to crema danh. I confess I am sceptical about the value of this angled tamper. I have always found a regular tamper works well as long as the bench is at a suitable height.

Thanks UNM! I see your point. I would say that having appropriate bench height is quite challenging, not because there is not an ideal height, but because the height of a Barista is different (some times drastically so) in comparison to another. Again, I'm no expert, but I see the adjustable feature as beneficial for variant heights. Just a thought, take it or leave it from someone who knows about this stuff vicariously and superficially!

beanflying

Bench ergonomics are an interesting one. Most machines would be better higher than the bench best for tamping. In my case differences between me and the Staff are 12+" so it is a compromise on that front. On Tamper handles similar variations in diameters/heights are important so using one that suits the user or even BYO if your in a commercial setting makes a lot of sense.

primacoffee

Glad y'all are talking about this! We're crazy about this tamper and think/hope that you'll come to appreciate it too. Check out this infographic, which should answer some of your questions and explain the actual purpose of the tamper. Our blog says a bit more: Yes, but we'd prefer you say it here 😉 (edited: Brett H) <img src="http://prima-coffee.com/sites/default/files/media/prima-tamp-infographic/prima-tamp-infographic-full.jpg" alt="Infographic: The Benefits of the Prima Tamp by Prima Coffee Equipment" title="Centered force, Grabbable handle, Natural Form, and a Comfortable Grip make the Prima Tamp unique" width="800" height="1535" />

Koffee_Kosmo

A question with the side by side comparison photo Not all people cradle the normal tamper in that way My holding / tamping style differs to the photo where I push the top of the tamper with the palm of the hand and use my fingers as a guide So my wrist to arm line is pretty much the same as the prima tamper KK

UNM

My scepticism remains. Not to say it is useless, just that I am not convinced of its value. If I could actually use one, that would help me to check if it worked for me. While there are some things I will happily buy online sight unseen, this ain't one of them. So to the good folks at prima tampers, you may wish to consider local Aussie stockists of your products, such as some of the crema sponsors. Or even send one over for evaluation and review by one or more of our members. Although I would be happy to, at a couple coffees a day, I am probably not the best candidate to really give one a workout. Could suggest someone though.

Brett_H

Spot on UMN! It looks like a step in the right direction for people with mobility/strength issues and would be so much cheaper than a tamper-stand. Accessibility assistance is a noble thing so keep up the good work Prima!

askthecoffeeguy

I'd be happy to demonstrate / bench test it at my cafe We're doing 5 or 6kg of coffee per day during the week and double that on the weekend - which is a fair amount of use for a residential cafe And I always have four or five tampers on site so that I can vary my usage so as to minimise the likelihood of RSI At my last cafe we were doing 1000 coffees per day and I developed a ganglia on my wrist the size of half a golf ball - directly attributable I think to my coffee routine at the time It took a long time to fix my wrist (which I think I've mentioned in previous discussions) but I also did as a consequence a lot of research into how I could vary my coffee making routine so as to have minimal impact upon my body, whilst at the same time producing the best possible extraction, without compromising quality control So I'm pretty well versed in the ergonomics of coffee making, and my routine is very stripped back, but I think most who've tried my coffee would agree that the end result is justified and good! Anyway - I'm happy to put my hand up to be a guinea pig, is all I'm saying I'm also with KK in saying that my tamper action is a more straight up and down movement, with pressure applied to the top, as opposed to the side, of the tamper handle Cheers, aCg

primacoffee

Great thoughts, folks. We'd love to send tampers over but for now let's just use our imagination. 😉 We chose that particular tamping technique for the side-by-side because we believe that it's the most effective. It can be difficult to explain, but hear us out. When force is applied to the top of the handle