Your Guide to Using an Espresso Tamper

Using an espresso tamper is one of the most important features of creating an excellent espresso.

The often overlooked art of espresso tamping is one that's rather important to the overall flavor of the finished drink. Without this essential step, espresso may be a bit too overpowering for most people, and if not prepared properly, even bitter or sour tasting.

For the absolute best results, after using freshly roasted and ground espresso that's been evenly distributed, the tamping process should begin.

Used to tamp down or compress finely ground coffee for creating the distinctive taste of espresso, tampers are conical shaped, and come in a variety of diameters and materials.

Preferably made from stainless steel, polished aluminum, or other light metals as opposed to plastic, tampers should just fit into the filter basket to create a firm, flat packing surface.

They should also offer a secure grip with a comfortable wooden or metal handle in order to achieve the right type of pressure that's needed to tamp the coffee correctly.

A quality espresso tamper will usually weigh somewhere near the one pound mark, with sizes ranging from 49 to 58 millimeters. The most common size needed for home espresso machines are either 49, 53, or 58 mm.

Without just the right size tamper, coffee grounds will never be evenly tamped down, ultimately altering the taste, as well as causing what is known as a twirling pour, or affecting the thick crema, that sweet layer that should be on the top of espresso. This important portion of effervescent bubbles holds the majority of the coffee's heady aroma and should be reddish brown in color rather than white, which will indicate that every integral step was done correctly during the brewing process.

How to Correctly Use an Espresso Tamper

Many people don't realize the importance of espresso tamping as they aren't aware of the scientific process needed to create that incredible tasting coffee. Luckily, tamping is one of the easiest aspects of espresso for one to master.

The purpose of tamping is to create a hard pellet of coffee for the hot water to pass through. Since this water is being heated under pressure, the coffee must be tamped evenly and very firm for the least amount of resistance as the liquid passes through, extracting the flavor on its way.

Always make sure the ground coffee is leveled evenly without any space around the basket's sides before tamping. Gently move the filter from side to side until you're sure of the coffee's even distribution, remembering to never press the grounds into the basket.

Now, holding the espresso tamper firmly with the base of the handle in the palm of the hand, keeping the wrist straight and the tamper extended straight out from the arm, gently press down into the coffee exerting about five pounds of pressure. You will have to lightly tap the filter with the tamper's handle to get the stray grounds that have stuck to the side of the basket to fall onto the flattened grounds.

In coffee lingo, you have just completed what is known as the first tamp.

Next, it's time for the final tamping, using even more pressure than the first time, 30 pounds of pressure to be precise, to finish off the already formed pellet.

Beginners will find it helpful to place an ordinary bathroom scale under their espresso tamper until they have a feel for the exact right amount of pressure necessary. After the final tamp, turn the tamper 720 degrees to polish off the surface of the pellet.

Some machines have an espresso tamper with a pressurized filter handle, complete with built-in technology that gauges how much resistance is being used. Although a beneficial feature, you should still be well versed on the basic principles of tamping when making espresso.

The entire process should generally last about 20 seconds, and never any longer than 30 seconds. While speed is an important part of tamping you'll want to take care to not go so fast that you accidentally bump the filter basket. Doing so will leave gaps, holes, or weakened spots within the coffee pellet, causing uneven extraction and altering the taste.

The force of the heated water will find weakened areas of the pellet, push through the coffee and extract too much flavor as it goes. This then leaves most of the coffee under-extracted, losing vital elements that contribute to the taste.

For the most flavorful and smoothest tasting cup of espresso, tamping correctly is just as important as the roasting and grinding process, if not more so. By taking the time to practice the art, you'll be duly rewarded with a perfect cup of delicious tasting espresso.