I am looking at coffee tampers for the espresso machine, and find a lot of different sizes. Also, have been told several different sizes for the KitchenAid. Has anyone purchased a different tamper other than what comes with the machine, if so what size is it. Thanks KP
For awhile, KA was sending a metal tamper in the mail to purchasers of the Pro-Line. Mine is 56 mm, and has about 3 mm "loose" space total around the sides. I'm going to buy a 58 mm, since that's closer to the diameter of the basket down to the coffee level. The KA metal tamper is pretty good (much, much better than that plastic thing that comes with the machine), so you might want to check with them to see if it's still available.
I just ordered a 58 mm stainless steel behemoth from Sweet Marias (www.sweetmarias.com). It costs about $35, but it fits the basket perfectly, with no wobble, and you almost can't avoid making a perfect tamp.