Normcore 2-in-1 Coffee Distributor & Tamper, Dual-Head Espresso Leveler with Built-in Spring Adjustable Depth, Fits 58mm Portafilter for Baristas and Home Use

I recently decided to dive into the hobby of making espresso at home. I am a professional cook so I was immediately drawn to the flair espresso ecosystem because of it's extremely manual shot pulling. This allows me to develop a new skill in the kitchen and ultimately gives me the ability to dial in shots with way more control and sensitivity. Well I'm not reviewing the flair so why do I like the normcore distributor so much? Well after owning the flair 2 pro for a little over a month now I feel like I have developed a work flow that is consistent and efficient, I feel like I have figured out grind size and how to dial shots as well. The one thing that I am still struggling at is the tamp. Flair gives you a decent tamper, it's not cheap but it's not amazing either. It's a bit too small for my big hands so I struggle to get a consistent level tamp that is also pressed evenly. I was noticing that it didn't seem to matter what grind size setting I was using, some shots would go through with little to no resistance and others wouldn't pull at all regardless of grind size. After about 30-40 shots pulled it became very clear that the only variable I wasn't consistent at was tamping. Enter the normcore products. When I bought my flair, I bought the normcore WDT tool with it because I figured that was important and not supplied with the flair unit. That tool works great. So I decided to buy the distributor tool and also their spring loaded tamper. I get that this tool claims to do both but I'm using this tool simply to flatten the bed out perfectly and then the spring tamper to press the same amount of pressure every time. Well I got these about 30 minutes ago and have already pulled two shots with them. I am actually shocked at how these have transformed my shot pulling. First shot pulled in 25 seconds with ZERO channeling. So I made one small adjustment to my grinder, pulled a second shot and it pulled at 34 seconds no channeling and was basically perfect. I am so excited now. I now feel like every aspect of my flow is dialed, I feel like I have control over the output of the shot and now I'm shopping for specialty light roasts and others because I know I'm not going to waste a ton of beans trying too blindly dial in this machine. If you have a flair espresso machine, you absolutely need a spring tamper and distributor. It's essential and normcore seems to make the most premium versions of these. I hope this helps explain why you need it to the newbs out there struggling with shot consistency.

This little device is fantastic. One tool to do two jobs and do them extremely well. With a good WDT tool, running the distribution puck and tamping with this tool makes for perfect puck prep for excellent, consistent shots. It takes a bit to size if you don't have another tamper but I completed the setup in five minutes or so. Like almost everything else normcore has to offer, this is one great tool to have in your coffee toolbox!

Really easy to use and helps get consistent results. At first I thought the spring was too strong, but after using it I realized it’s not meant to compress the whole way and it seems okay, maybe even a touch light. But I do with they’d sell it with the other springs like the standalone tamper. Other downside is that coffee gets into the grooves and you have to brush it every couple of uses, but that’s not so bad.

Works well, looks sleek. Biggest complaint is that you can’t adjust the tamping depth and coffee rides up the side of the tamper. I guess this really only matters if you are under filling your portafilter. Really only realized this because I just got a new machine and never had a 58 mm portafilter so needed to figure out new dosing without the portafilter telling me it’s specific dose. Cleaning isn’t a massive hassle.

This is the best dual purpose tamper. Not only does the leveler side work great it is very easy to adjust to ensure you are only leveling the bed of coffee and not packing the grounds to tight. Then the tamper side allows for an even tamp every time!! I have noticed less channeling spurting and gushing since using this tamper. My shots have been coming out amazing. Also being that it is 58.5mm it doesn’t leave and coffee along the sides of the basket and the fit is great. Couldn’t suggest this tamper enough.

I just returned one of these yesterday (July 21st, 2024) due to the tamping-head not working as advertised; which according to the product listing photos: there’s supposed to be a spring to help with leveling. I noticed there never felt like a spring action the two times I used it, and when I unscrewed my product: there wasn’t a spring inside. I thought maybe it was a fluke, but when you look at the product on Normcore’s website: the photos and description there do not indicate or claim there being a spring action. I think what happened is Normcore updated their product design and made those changes on their own website, but didn’t make the changes on their Amazon listing. Outside of this issue: the product did work well; both the leveling head and the distributor head. The build quality is nice also, good materials and everything felt sturdy. My only issue is: I was expecting there to be a spring to help with leveling (especially since the product listing photos show a spring), but there is no longer a spring function.

The Normcore set has really improved my ability to brew a perfect shot of espresso every morning. I had not considered the importance of a perfectly leveled puck in the past ten years, but I can now taste the difference. The leveler is great, and the tamper works perfectly as well. Well done Normcore.

I just started using an espresso machine and trying to figure out low to level and tamp consistently was a pain. This allows me to level and tamp consistent every time.