Does all machine need tamping ?

[hanytrade]

Do all machine need tamping ?

iam confusing some , so my question does all espresoo machine must need to tamp the coffee or there are some no need to tamp

 

[BrianR]

Yes, it is a must for all espresso machines, since the water from the espresso machine is under pressure, the espresso pellet must be hard and evenly tamped.

 

[hanytrade]

thanks for your reply , and i asked that question because i see some barista dont tamp the portafilter and got great espresso

 

[hanytrade]

i found that words :

Adequate tamp
While some people claim tamping your espresso ground coffee isn't necessary - let the dispersion screen (that screen in your brewhead of your machine) do the tamping - I say this is false and bad advice. So do most modern day espresso experts - tamping is a variable you must control on your own to get consistently great shots. Don't give up the variable. One noted expert, David Schomer, recommends a 30 pound tamp. The book Espresso Chemistry, by Andrea Illy, also recommends a suitable (and heavy) tamping for proper brewing controls.


How do you know what 30 pounds of pressure is? Take your tamper and portafilter to the bathroom, and tamp on the scale - see what 30 lbs of pressure is like. Why tamp at 30 pounds? 20lbs or less allows too much water to find a "path of least resistance" around your grinds, instead of fully saturating it. The result is less extraction from your grounds. More than 30 pounds shouldn't be necessary, unless you're compromising for a coarse grind (see below). Note, Schomer's commentary is based on commercial grade machines, but is a good rule for home machines as well.

 

[PinkRose]

thanks for your reply , and i asked that question because i see some barista dont tamp the portafilter and got great espresso

I was under the impression that there are some automatic espresso machines that do the tamping for you. All the barista has to do is insert the ground coffee into the portafilter, and the machine does the rest. Could the baristas that you've observed been using one of those machines?

There are automatic machines that grind, tamp, and brew the espresso, and all the barista has to do is push a button.

 

[shadow745]

PR you are indeed correct on some machines doing all the work. Below I have listed how each machine type is viewed in the industry.

Semi-auto - A machine that requires the user to control the water flow by activating/stopping the pump manually.
Auto - A machine that allows the user to control the water flow manually as well as having some sort of flow sensor mechanism
that controls the flow for the user.
Super Auto - A machine that grinds, doses, tamps, extracts, dumps the puck and even steams milk based on settings controlled by the user.

 

[shadow745]

i found that words :

Adequate tamp
While some people claim tamping your espresso ground coffee isn't necessary - let the dispersion screen (that screen in your brewhead of your machine) do the tamping - I say this is false and bad advice. So do most modern day espresso experts - tamping is a variable you must control on your own to get consistently great shots. Don't give up the variable. One noted expert, David Schomer, recommends a 30 pound tamp. The book Espresso Chemistry, by Andrea Illy, also recommends a suitable (and heavy) tamping for proper brewing controls.


How do you know what 30 pounds of pressure is? Take your tamper and portafilter to the bathroom, and tamp on the scale - see what 30 lbs of pressure is like. Why tamp at 30 pounds? 20lbs or less allows too much water to find a "path of least resistance" around your grinds, instead of fully saturating it. The result is less extraction from your grounds. More than 30 pounds shouldn't be necessary, unless you're compromising for a coarse grind (see below). Note, Schomer's commentary is based on commercial grade machines, but is a good rule for home machines as well.

I have found the actual tamp pressure to be less important than simply being consistent with your tamping. Try to keep all variables as consistent as possible and make changes with the grinder and/or dose. I will tamp less if I can feel the coffee is a bit too fine, but if too coarse no amount of added tamp pressure is going to compact the puck enough to slow the flow down within reason.

I personally would never let the screen do the tamping for me as you need a bit of head space for puck expansion and proper water flow for total puck saturation.

 

[hanytrade]

Could the baristas that you've observed been using one of those machines?

There are automatic machines that grind, tamp, and brew the espresso, and all the barista has to do is push a button.

it was not automatic type but it.s design may be not require tamping ! may be .
we are at 2014 and all thing is poosible

 

[hanytrade]

I have found the actual tamp pressure to be less important than simply being consistent with your tamping. Try to keep all variables as consistent as possible and make changes with the grinder and/or dose. I will tamp less if I can feel the coffee is a bit too fine, but if too coarse no amount of added tamp pressure is going to compact the puck enough to slow the flow down within reason.

I personally would never let the screen do the tamping for me as you need a bit of head space for puck expansion and proper water flow for total puck saturation.

that is right the dgree of grinding is important than tamping , and may be the design of the machine allow abit tamp just when plug the portafilter

 

[CCafe]

Not that I'm trying to advocate not tamping but I thought I would throw out this little tid bit just to screw with the notion of not tamping at all!

http://nuovasimonelliusa.com/images/Aurelia Marketing Discription/Aurelia White Paper.pdf

Not that they say you shouldn't tamp but you don't have to tamp with an Aurelia in order to produce good espresso.

 

[shadow745]

I have to challenge Nuova Simonelli in that case. I pulled thousands of doubles out of a 2 group Aurelia and while the soft infusion system has its merit some level of puck compactness was needed for a decent extraction. Otherwise you end up with serious channeling once pressure ramps up.