Equipment
Tamper
A tamper is the tool used to compress (tamp) ground coffee in the portafilter into a level, dense puck before extraction. Consistent tamping pressure and angle are critical for even espresso extraction and shot consistency.
Tampers come in different diameters (matched to portafilter basket size — usually 58mm in commercial machines) and weights (heavier tampers reduce barista effort and improve consistency). The shape of the base — flat, curved, ripple — affects how the coffee bed packs and extracts.
Modern specialty cafés increasingly use calibrated tampers (which apply a fixed pressure regardless of barista technique) or self-leveling tampers (which guarantee a flat tamp). Both reduce shot-to-shot variance compared to hand-tamping, where pressure and angle vary even with experienced baristas.
The tamping technique itself: gently settle the grounds with a finger tap, place the tamper level on the bed, apply roughly 30 pounds of vertical pressure, polish with a slight twist. The goal is a flat, uniformly compressed puck with no gaps for water to channel through.
Related terms
Keep exploring
Equipment
Portafilter
A portafilter is the handled metal basket that holds ground coffee during espresso extraction.
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Drinks
Espresso
Espresso is a small, concentrated coffee beverage made by forcing about 92–94°C water through finely-ground, tamped coffee at 9 bars of pressure for 25–32 seconds.
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Espresso
Channeling
Channeling is when water flows unevenly through the coffee puck during espresso extraction, creating channels through the grounds.
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Espresso
Extraction
Extraction is the process of water dissolving soluble compounds from ground coffee during brewing.
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FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How much pressure should I tamp with?
Are calibrated tampers worth the money?
Should I tamp twice?
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