When you want to make a great espresso, it’s important to tamp properly. By tamping your coffee, you create a small space between the coffee puck and the group head while also making the puck compact. If you don’t do this correctly, water will always follow the path of least resistance, creating small channels through your coffee. This is also known as channeling. The result is a weak espresso that often tastes sour.
So the question is: how do you tamp properly? To tamp well, three things are important: distributing your coffee first, tamping straight, and tamping consistently with the right pressure. Below, we’ll explain these three aspects so you can use your tamper perfectly.
Distribute your coffee before tamping
Officially, this isn’t part of tamping itself, but it’s incredibly important! If your coffee isn’t distributed properly, there’s a good chance the coffee in the center will be denser than at the edges, causing channeling.
To distribute your coffee, we recommend two techniques. The “tap” technique is perfect for beginner home baristas. Lightly tap the side of your portafilter a few times with the palm of your hand to spread the coffee as evenly as possible throughout the basket.
For more consistency and perfect distribution every time, we recommend using a coffee distributor. You can adjust the depth of the distributor yourself. By placing the distributor on your portafilter and rotating it a few times, you’ll get an even distribution every single time.
Tamping straight
If you don’t tamp straight, your coffee puck won’t be level anymore. As a result, most of the water will flow through one side of the puck. Tamping straight can be difficult with a classic tamper, but it’s definitely possible.
Hold your portafilter firmly and try to keep it as level as possible. A corner tamping mat can help with this thanks to the built-in holder that supports your portafilter while tamping.
Hold the tamper as if you’re shaking hands with a doorknob (see photo). This creates a solid grip and allows you to feel with your fingers whether you’re sitting straight in the portafilter. Try to keep your wrist and elbow aligned in a straight line and apply even pressure from above.
With a palm tamper, tamping straight becomes much easier. Just like a coffee distributor, you can adjust the depth using rotating discs. Because the edge of the palm tamper rests on your portafilter while tamping, you can be 100% sure you’re always tamping straight and with equal pressure.
How hard should you tamp?
The amount of pressure you should use while tamping is a heavily discussed topic, but honestly, you don’t need to worry too much about it. We’ve never met a barista who stresses about it, and you shouldn’t either.
The most important thing is that you apply enough pressure to make the coffee puck compact. Besides that, consistency matters most. Apply even pressure and try to repeat that same pressure with every espresso. That way, if your espresso suddenly tastes different, you can rule out tamping as the cause.
As mentioned earlier, if you want more consistency and less guesswork, a palm tamper is perfect for applying consistent pressure.
Do you still have questions? Our goal is to help fellow home baristas, so feel free to get in touch with us!
