Making espresso is not simple, even the smallest details can have a large impact on the results. You may find it simple as just squashing the coffee down and popping it into the machine. Well, some sort of tamping is at its core, but there is some detail that you need to remember to get the most out of your espresso. You may need to learn how to tamp espresso.
What is Tamping?
Tamping means creating a resistance using the compacted coffee and making the water work to push through it. This is the way the flavour is extracted. The key to getting the right espresso tamping is learning how the ground coffee is back into the basket or portafilter. To tamp your expresso properly you’re going to need a few things. That includes a good espresso machine tamper, espresso beans, a grinder, a scale, a portafilter, an espresso tamper, and a coffee tamper mat.
How to tamp espresso
As the tamping items are ready, it’s time to tamp the espresso!
1: Level out the grounds
You have to put the measured coffee into the portafilter, and run your index finger pushing off any extra ground. Make it even and level before putting any pressure on it, unless you’ll get an uneven extraction and less flavor. Give a few light taps on the side of the portafilter to ensure that there is an even bed of coffee throughout the portafilter.
2: Creating a compressed level puck
Hold your portafilter firm and level on the tamp mat or sand. Grasp your tamper as if you are shaking hands with a doorknob, and apply light, even and equal force to the coffee bed. The amount of pressure is not nearly as important as your consistency and ability to give the tamp perfectly level. For this keep your wrist straight and your elbow bent at about a 90-degree angle. With this technique, the power comes from your body rather than your wrists.
3: Apply pressure
Now apply light pressure so that a puck shape forms with the ground coffee. The result should be a flat surface here. An uneven surface will promote pooling and poorly extracted espresso. The pressure is about 15 Ibs or to start, to make sure it’s all working.
4: The second tamp pressure
After the puck compressed slightly for the first time, it’s time for the second tamp. Here you have to push harder, you want to use about 25 pounds of force. You want to slightly twist that Espresso Tamper as you remove it from the portafilter to knock any grounds off the sides during the second tamp. Don’t try to give a twisting motion when you’re applying force to the puck.
While applying the final bit of pressure, you can rotate the tampered through 720 degrees to leave a smooth, even finish to the compacted puck of coffee, you can call it polish but it's not necessary. You just have to pay attention to create a smooth, puck coffee. Check the puck to make sure that there are no visible gaps or cracks.
