Originally designed as an accessory for the HG-1 grinder, the Blind Tumbler has found a place on many a home and professional barista’s countertop. The Blind Tumbler has even appeared in competition during the SCAA’s World Barista Championships. Now a perennial favorite, it’s one of our best selling tools.

The Blind Tumbler has been designed to facilitate the re-distribution of grounds before tamping. Whichever machine you choose to use, grind directly into the Blind Tumbler then give the grounds a quick stir in order to achieve a homogeneous puck. Once the grounds are re-distributed and the volume of the coffee is reduced to fit into your basket, place the Blind Tumbler on top of your portafilter, pull the plug, tamp and pull.

For a good shot of espresso, the fine and coarse granules should be evenly dispersed in the basket. When water passes through the grounds, no one part of the puck is either over or under-extracted, and the result is an evenly balanced shot.

It’s the general consensus that all grinders require some amount of re-distribution, manual or otherwise. As grounds leave the burrs, they might pass through gates, chutes, funnels, screens or dosing chambers, all of which serve to re-distribute the coffee particles. Once in a portafilter basket, the barista levels and tamps the grounds, which also a form of re-distribution.

What do the terms distribution and re-distribution mean to us? Distribution refers to how the coarse and fine granules are spaced within the volume of the grounds, and re-distribution refers to the act of re-organizing the granules in order to achieve a more even spread.

Dimensions

With a set of flanges on the bottom, the Blind Tumbler is designed to rest evenly on top of your portafilter, supporting interior diameter basket sizes ranging from 49 up to 59mm and anywhere in between. To see if your portafilter will work with our Blind Tumbler, measure the inside diameter (the widest distance across) of your basket with a ruler or pair of calipers. If that measurement falls between the numbers in the diagram, the Blind Tumbler will fit.

Made to the same exacting standards as all of our other products, the Blind Tumbler is CNC machined from aircraft grade aluminum, and anodized for a protective finish. We recommend wiping with a damp cloth for cleaning. This product is not dishwasher safe, discoloration will occur. In commercial settings, most baristas use multiple Tumblers on the bar for faster service.