All this talk of tampers got me thinking. I’ve just ordered the normcore, an 18g vet basket and an ice hockey puck (saw them recommended as a good tamper mat for bottomless portafilters, and they’re only a few pounds).
I’d been considering it for a while, as my 58mm tamper does leave grounds around the side, and when i preinfuse it’s definitely wets around the edge first. The wetting round the edge could just be due to the impact of the basket wall on surface tension though, so it’s easier for liquid to flow.
I’m hoping the normcore makes it easier for others to prepare a shot as well. I don’t mind a standard tamper, but my in-laws visit fairly regularly, and are keen coffee drinkers. They’ve got a sage oracle at home though, where the tamping and milk steaming are done by the machine. That makes my more manual setup a bit intimidating for them to use themselves.