Espresso: What you need and need to know. Part four:Tamp

     The tamp is important because it compresses the ground coffee into a tight puck, which is needed for a proper extraction. Too much pressure applied with the tamp and the shot will be short, too light, and the water will flow too easily thought the puck. Also, if the tamp is uneven the water will not flow evenly through, under extracting one half of the puck and over extracting the other.
     How do I get a good tamp? You should use a bathroom scale to make sure that you are applying the right amount of force, that is 30lbs. Secondly keep your arm straight, eventually you will get to know the feel of 30lbs and you will not need the scale. Does the tamper I use matter?, yes and no. Yes, don’t use the one that came with your espresso machine it is likely to be one of those cheep plastic things, just throw it away and buy a real tamper. No, any tamper that is steel or aluminum, heavy and is comfortable to use, is a good one. Sure, you could spend over $70 on a custom wood  handle and finish. Will this make your espresso better, no, but it sure looks nice. Also be sure that the tamper is the right size for your basket.


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Espresso: What you need and need to know. Part four: Tamp by Noah Brewer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.