# Tampers and tamping tecniques....



## LeeWardle (Nov 16, 2008)

Following on from Glens packing thread:

IAbout a year ago I read an article about tamping on Coffeegeek.com (in between my party-hard active life obviously!... ahem...) It totallt change the way I think abouit espresso and the processes we go through enumerate times hourly to make them.

The article was talking about tamping techniques. In short La Marzocco were developing an auotomatic doser/tamper that dosed into the porta filter as it tamped. It was set to 30lb's right away and the espresso wouldn't extract at all! I think in the end they had it down to about 8lbs of pressure to get extraction. They looked into it and found out that the auto tamper was adding progressive pressure throughout the dose in complete contrast to a normal tamp which transfers energy from the top of the cake. Anyway, after some research it was found out that under normal tamping the compression energy is lost and only actually compresses a couple of mm at the top of the cake. The rest of the coffee underneith remains loose!

THis then brought about the thinking of the normal "tamp, tap, tamp/twist & polish" thing that we pretty much all do. THe suggestion was that tapping the portafilter (now we do it for an important reason - and it's still obviously a good thing) was loosening the cake evenmore and detremental to the extraction.

The guy writing the articledid loads of ressearch and found that using a comvex tamper 2 mm smaller that the diameter of the basket gave the best results. Instead of tapping the side of the portafilter he worked out a technique to rotate the tamper on it's convex all 360 degrees. This meant that the tapping wasn't needed and the cake wasn't disturbed.

This really intreuged me.......Basically at was a big eye opener to...er....keeping your eyes/mind open to new things and not get stuck in the "my way is the right way" thing.....

I would love to hear any theorys that you guys have and the tampers you prefer.

Cheers

Lee


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## SeamusMcFlurry (Jul 9, 2008)

I'm loving my Reg Barber. At work we had a 57mm Bumper, which was lovely, but to cement my ambition to be a pro barista I bought myself an RB from the man himself. Short ball handle in rosewood with a stainless steel, 57.5mm flat base, and 'Seamus' engraved into the top. $120, Canadian, after shipping, and worth every penny.

As for technique, I dose, groom (depending on how the coffee has fallen into the basket; our grinder isn't the best, I'll admit), then tamp lightly, tap the side three times with the handle, tamp hard, tap once, tamp again. I then clean the wings and the spouts and lock it in. Works nicely for me, though I do sometimes have to make the grind a little courser than my work mates do. Still, I get a lovely, honey-thick espresso which only blondes after 15-18 seconds, ending at 21 seconds, and has a gorgeous, thick, hazelnut crema.

And now I really want an espresso...oh well, I'm at work from 6:45am to 5:30pm tomorrow.


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## James Hoffmann (Jul 24, 2008)

I've gone round and round on tamping, and have theorised and philosophized, experimented a lot and worried al ittle but in the end I think it is one of the most over-emphasised and simplest parts of the espresso brewing process.

Push the air out of the coffee and make it flat.

I stopped tapping about 3 years ago, because I couldn't find a reason to do it that was better than the reason for not doing it.

My tamper choice is about ergonomics - I like RB Radical Pro handles because I have big hands and they sit nicely in my hand. I generally want a tamper that fits the basket as closesly as possible because in an ideal world I only want to tamp once - though I usually end up doing it twice out of odd habit.

More important to me than faffing about with the coffee is being able to tamp in an ergonomic and sensible way hundreds of times a day.

I assume you've all tried the tamping vs no-tamping shot times? It is amusing to see how little difference it makes (2-3s usually) though you usually do get more sourness.


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## LeeWardle (Nov 16, 2008)

I don't really agree that tamping has over-emphasis. Various tamping techniques do produce different flavours - highly notable changes in acidity in some cases. I know quite a few baristas that only tamp once, but how do you stop the extra grinds floating about above the puck? The tap on the side of the portafilter re-distributes the grounds that have built up around the side of the basket... But then I suppose if you use a ridgeless basket than presumably a snug-fitting tamper will negate the need for tapping.

Regards

Lee


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## SeamusMcFlurry (Jul 9, 2008)

I tried the radical pro in Copenhagen and loved it, but I've never got the cash to buy one









As for tapping, it's force of habit for me. If I don't do it the shot just doesn't feel right, if that makes any sense. But I've tweaked it so that I don't crack the cake, but do shake the loose grinds off the side, so at least it's not causing channeling.

As for not tamping, I've tried it a couple of times and it tends to make a mess of the shower, but that could easily be me not having a clue. And besides, tamping just looks cool and there have been a few times when people have asked what I'm doing, which lets me launch into coffee geek mode









Mind, having said all of that I'm a bar barista, and James was the '07 WBC lol.


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## James Hoffmann (Jul 24, 2008)

LeeWardle said:


> I don't really agree that tamping has over-emphasis. Various tamping techniques do produce different flavours - highly notable changes in acidity in some cases. I know quite a few baristas that only tamp once, but how do you stop the extra grinds floating about above the puck? The tap on the side of the portafilter re-distributes the grounds that have built up around the side of the basket... But then I suppose if you use a ridgeless basket than presumably a snug-fitting tamper will negate the need for tapping.
> 
> Regards
> 
> Lee


As I mentioned above - insufficient tamping will ramp up the acidity, though not necessarily in a pleasant way.

As for fines floating around the puck - I've seen a glass portafilter extraction and nothing is floating about above the puck as the brew water is pushing everything downwards at around 130psi - you get a layer of crystal clear water sat above the cake during the extraction - it looks very cool, and makes sense when you think about it.

Analysing pucks afterwards - for me anyway - is pretty much a waste of time as they are so disrupted by the pressure release through the solenoid.

As I said - I am only anti tapping because for me the potential negatives outweigh the potential positives.


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## LeeWardle (Nov 16, 2008)

Hi James,

I agree with your points, I'd love to see the glass portafilter in action! I understand the potential negatives from tapping, as I said it the first post, it's very difficult to change something you have been training and doing forever!

What is the official WBC standpoint on tamping teqnique? In other words, what actions are given points/or not!?

Regards

Lee


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## SeamusMcFlurry (Jul 9, 2008)

The glass portafilter sounds awesome. And I think I remember reading somewhere that tamping is around 30-40lbs of pressure, and the pressure of the water is somewhere around 500lbs. Just a random fact for you all lol.


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## Gwilym (Aug 15, 2008)

dose as grinding,

no grooming (timer, good fall from grinder),

tamp once,

habitually tamp 2nd time (cannot get out of habit),

upturn to get rid of loose bits

wipe,

insert.

watch shot

pretty simple but customers keep coming back


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## chrisweaver_barista (Jun 14, 2008)

Funny you mention that James. it's something I showed my boss at work the other day. Two portafilters, one merely polished, and one tamped with all my body weight. 2 seconds difference. Though the polished one showed slight channelling (due to the crap grinder being clumpy).

The most important part will ALWAYS be the the quality of the grinder, meaning the way it distributes, lack of clumps, and I imagine the consistency of the grind.

I tamp hard, because in my head, it means that when the water hits it, its slightly more prepared for it, resulting in a more even distribution!

Chris


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