Works as an Organizer, but Our Gaggia Portafilter Won’t Sit Level for Tamping
When this tamping station arrived, I initially thought it was mislabeled. My portafilter wouldn’t seat at all, even though it’s a 58 mm. The ruler (see photo) shows why: with the sleeve in place, the portafilter holder recess was too narrow.Since there were no directions in the box, I assumed the screw was simply adjustable up and down. The product photos only show the screw with arrows, not that it must be removed entirely to release the sleeve. After some trial and error, I discovered the holder has a removable sleeve (see photo) that pulls out once the screw is taken out.With the sleeve removed, the opening widened to the 58 mm spec so the portafilter will fit correctly. You then replace the screw, which is intended to adjust upward and support the handle so the portafilter can sit level for tamping.However, on our Gaggia portafilter, the screw does not rise high enough to level the handle. That means we can’t actually tamp in this station — our portafilter handle tilts downward no matter how far the screw is turned. This may be specific to our Gaggia, but users with similar handle geometry may experience the same issue. Since the primary purpose of this product is to function as a tamping station, I removed two stars for lack of utility. In our case, it ends up being an accessory holder than a usable tamping base.The last mystery is the T‑shaped extrusions on the back; perhaps they’re meant to hook onto another machine type. Clear instructions would have helped here as well.Pros: Clever sleeve design; ABS material cleans easily.Cons: No instructions; the leveling screw does not rise high enough for our Gaggia portafilter, making tamping impossible. Works only partially as intended - as an organizer.