| You may have notice the barista at your favourite | | | | its way through all of the coffee. This way you |
| coffee house doing it; he or she grinds the coffee and | | | | maximise the potential of all of the coffee that you |
| dispenses just the right amount into the portafilter (the | | | | have placed into the porta filter. |
| handle with the cup on the end that receives the | | | | So how do you tamp? |
| coffee and attaches to the espresso machine). With | | | | It's really quite simple and should only take 30 seconds. |
| me so far? Good. | | | | Once you've dosed the right amount of coffee into the |
| Then what happens? The barista uses a plastic or | | | | portafilter, you are ready for the first tamp. Place the |
| metal device that looks a bit like an old fashioned | | | | tamper (use a metal tamper; not a plastic one) on top |
| rubber stamp and pushes it into the coffee. Or at least, | | | | of the coffee and press gently (apply about 5lbs of |
| they should!!! | | | | pressure). Once you have done this, you will notice that |
| This step is known as tamping. Tamping results in the | | | | some of the grounds will stick to the side of the |
| coffee being pressed firmly into a condensed layer | | | | basket in the portafilter. Knock these back onto the |
| within the portafilter. If you don't usually do this when | | | | tamped coffee by tapping the whole porta filter gently |
| you are making coffee at home then this is a quick | | | | against your hand or something solid. |
| and easy way to greatly improve the quality of the | | | | Finally, you need to apply the finishing tamp to |
| coffee you produce. | | | | incorporate these grounds into the tamped coffee |
| So why does it make any difference? | | | | mass. This time you can press much more firmly |
| It's to do with what happens when you attach the | | | | (apply about 30lbs of pressure). You can practice by |
| portafilter to the machine and turn it on. The water (as | | | | tamping on some scales until you are comfortable |
| steam) will be forced through the layer of coffee that | | | | achieving the right amount of pressure. |
| is sitting in the porta filter. It follows the path of least | | | | Make sure you tamp as evenly as possible. If you |
| resistance; any unevenness in the layer of coffee | | | | want you can rotate the tamper to give a smoother |
| provides a route for the steam to move through that | | | | surface to the coffee. |
| bypasses a lot of the coffee that you have paid for | | | | And that's it! Your coffee is now properly tamped and |
| and placed there so lovingly. What a waste!! | | | | ready to make you great espresso with a rich flavour |
| By tamping you foil the steam's sneaky attempts to | | | | and fantastic crema! |
| find an easy way through; it has no choice but to work | | | | |