Tamper for a low end espresso machine

[gibbletest]

I have a Mr coffee dual shot espresso machine. Eventually I want to upgrade to something nice but it’s what I can afford for now. Just curious about a tamp. Does it matter much with a cheaper machine? The one that came with the machine is a plastic tamp and coffee measure. Does it help to have a nicer tamper, I heard it doesn’t matter much. I’m new to espresso and espresso making but I am hooked. I have 3 or 4 a day on the weekend and 2 on the weekdays. I really enjoy making them as much as drinking them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[gibbletest]

Thanks! I really appreciate the help. I can check the temp. I think the pressure is automatic on my machine, and temp too but I can check what comes out. I’m really looking forward to getting a machine where I have more control. Again thank, it really helped out!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Musicphan]

Don't waste your money... most low end espresso machines use a pressurized portafilter which tamp pressure has little impact on shot extraction.

 

[shadow745]

Don't waste your money... most low end espresso machines use a pressurized portafilter which tamp pressure has little impact on shot extraction.

Spot on and something as simple as the bottom of a shot glass (or similar) just lightly pressed to smooth the ground coffee bed is really all you need.

With more involved machines that have proper pump/piston pressure, standard baskets, a fine/consistent grind the tamp is more important, but once the puck is compressed it's compressed. Tamping harder really does nothing. For years I've been grinding finer and tamping less, maybe 12-15# max. Most important thing is prepping the puck to consistently restrict the flow to extract the flavor.

 

[shadow745]

A 'rock hard' tamped puck won't let water through as the excess pressure will simply be diverted via the OPV (if the machine has one) or will just stall the pump.

Jura can call it what they want as it's just preinfusion. They can claim it's to maximize the flavor of every crystal in the puck or whatever, but really it's just a crutch to make up for lousy puck preparation. When a ground coffee puck is too thin, not level/or consistent in thickness or has poor particle distribution because of an insufficient grind quality/distribution, hitting the puck with a bit of water lets the puck expand a bit to hide those flaws to give a decent extraction. If everything is done in a decent manner to begin with, preinfusion is really a waste. A 30 second preinfusion as mentioned is a bit much and far from needed. Then again you're talking about Jura and for real espresso they still haven't figured things out.

 

[shadow745]

There is no case to be closed as tamping is just one variable, not the do all/end all technique people want to believe. I can grind toward Turkish fine and not tamp at all and still crank out a 45-50 second 1 oz. double ristretto.

Believe what you want, which seems to be the case when people spend a crazy amount on a less than great item, but Jura on an absolute best day won't be close to what I would do at my worst. In a technical aspect, most super autos really shouldn't even be called espresso as the dose, pressure, flow is on the weak side and the end result is fairly diluted.