How to Tamp Coffee

Baristas and cafe owners alike know what it takes to make a great cup of coffee, and in most cases, that involves applying pressure to the coffee grinds. This compression is known as tamping, and can be achieved with a manual tool or an automatic coffee machine tamper.

Let’s take a closer look at the history of tamping, the importance of coffee tamp pressure and how to make the most of your tamper so your machine can pour the perfect espresso shots.

What is Tamping?

Tamping is a method to compress coffee grounds into a tight, coffee puck.

The history goes back as far as when Luigi Bezzera, an Italian mechanic, got a patent for his “coffee making machine.” He wanted to share how to make a delicious cup of coffee with single-shot espresso. His mechanism involved using a large boiler with built-in burner chambers to heat water that would eventually pass through a coffee puck – an item that was tamped into the perfect shape.

Why is Tamping Important?

Coffee tamping is essential for so many different reasons. This method allows the water to evenly disperse throughout the coffee, providing a rich and robust flavour.

It also creates a pocket of air between the coffee and the screen of your espresso machine. Since the coffee grounds expand when the water touches it, it needs room to breathe. Without tamping, you could find yourself dealing with a big mess.

Achieving the perfect cup of coffee starts with applying pressure to the grounds. Here’s how to tamp coffee the right way if you’re using a manual tamper:

Clean your group handle to make sure it’s free of old ground coffee before getting started.
Using a tamping mat or another flat base, set your group handle down and add the coffee grounds.
Grab your coffee tamp and start with a light amount of pressure. Let it rest, then tamp again, applying a firm amount of pressure.
To polish the shot off, rotate the tamper.

Using an automatic tamper eliminates most of these steps; stepping away from a manual tamper can save you and your team time and effort in the long run.

Looking for Commercial Coffee Tampers?

If you’re searching for a coffee tamper with automatic settings, the PuqPress Precision Coffee Tamper can help you produce a high quality cup of coffee in a short amount of time.

The diameter of this coffee tamper can be 58mm, but customised down to 53mm. Its features include non-stick coating, compatibility with naked portafilters, fine adjustment and extraction optimisation. With every use of the PuqPress Precision Coffee Tamper, you’ll get a perfect level tamp for every espresso shot.

For more consistency in your coffee, consider an espresso tamper. Get in touch with our friendly team at Complete Coffee if you have any queries, or browse our range of coffee equipment for more.