Felt this hard. Dropped $80 on a fancy tamper because the internet swore it would fix my channeling issues. My old plastic one from the starter kit does the exact same job and I can't taste any difference in the cup. Coffee gear marketing is basically just convincing us we're missing some magic upgrade.

Used to think concrete was pretty forgiving if you just kept it covered and wet. Always figured air temp was the main thing to worry about during a pour. But reading through this thread really flipped my thinking on that. Ground temp being off can mess with the cure just as bad as a bad mix or not enough water. Never really gave much thought to frost still being in the ground under a tarp. Sounds like that would make the bottom set differently than the top, which would explain those thin cracks people see.

So you're telling me lazy cooking is the secret move here.

Did you see that report from the AAPA journal last month? They did a whole test on tooth counts in sandy soils and the 3 tooth setup actually created less vibration in the cut.

The 7 day break thing changed everything for me too. I did it with TikTok last year and by day 4 I was honestly shocked at how little I cared about opening it again. My brain just kind of reset and now I only check it once every few days without even thinking about it.