WHAT ESPRESSO MACHINE IS BEST FOR YOU?
If you know for sure you love espresso, but aren't sure on the right machine style for you, take this quiz!
Espresso Machine Boiler Types
Learn everything you need to know about boiler types before assembling your espresso set-up.
Pour Over Brew Method Demystified
Learn the art of pour over. The end result is balanced, complex, and—if you’re lucky—a meditative state.
What is Drip Coffee?
Discover the nuances of coffee brewing and get the right brewer for you.
A Beginner's Guide to Coffee Grinders
Get a grasp on grinders. Know their burr type, materials, and the features your machine needs to brew a consistent shot.
Coffee Flavor Affected By Grinders
Learn about coffee grinders affect the taste of your coffee.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CHOOSING COFFEE
Start your journey into the wonderful world of specialty coffee and espresso with this diverse collection of beans.
Shop our collection of coffee products
Browse our extensive selection of gourmet coffee and espresso beans. Whether you’re looking for whole bean, pre-ground coffee, decaf, single-serve capsules or ESE Pods, we have it all.
Scale in Dual-Boiler Machines
For proper machine maintenance, we stock genuine parts and premium care products.
Support Library
Don't know what part you need? Check our support wiki for part diagrams and guides to help troubleshoot issues.
BWT Water Filters for Espresso Machines
Build the perfect coffee bar and make sure it stays that way with a state of the art water filtration system.
The Importance of Espresso Tampers
Choosing a quality tamper is often overlooked as an important consideration of brewing good espresso.
Technical Support
Discover useful specs, troubleshooting guides, and brewing tips from our huge support library.
Whole Latte Love on Youtube
With over 1,000 videos, our channel has everything from espresso machine reviews, tech and maintenance guides, coffee recipes, and more!
Machine Video Library
We’ve taken our expert YouTube videos and carefully collected them into specific playlists for each machine.
Profitec Pro 500 PID vs Quick Mill Arnos
It's time for another showdown between two great espresso machines, this time in the heat exchanger category.
Whole Latte Love Blog
Advice, staff picks, mythbusting, and more from the Internet’s leading coffee experts. Let us help you.
by Amanda Salzman Updated: August 26, 2019 2 min read
CLICK HERE to subscribe to our newsletter for exclusive promotions and regular updates on everything coffee!
Compressing ground coffee into a portafilter seems like it ought to be pretty straightforward. And no matter what anyone tells you, it is. The goal is consistency... do it the same every time! You want a consistent dose, tamping pressure and an even, flat surface to the compressed coffee.
Traditionally, a single espresso is made using 7 grams of coffee and a double is 14 grams. Using those exact amounts is not as important as using the same amounts every time. Probably the most popular and easiest dosing method is to simply overfill a portafilter and level it off with finger swipes. Alternate methods include timed grinding, measuring with a coffee scoop and actual weight using a scale.
However you get the coffee in, it should be relatively clump free and as level as possible prior to tamping. So if you didn’t finger swipe, give the portafilter a shake or knock with a tamper to level things off. Flow through the puck is determined by grind size and tamping pressure. If tamping pressure is consistent then grind fineness can be adjusted to change the flow rate. The standard tamping pressure is 30 pounds. You can use a bathroom scale to help you get a feel for what 30 pounds feels like. An alternative is using a calibrated tamper. A popular model from Espro is spring loaded and clicks when 30 pounds of force is applied. Simple.
Begin with the portafilter edges parallel to countertop. Angled handle portafilters will naturally rest in this position. With straight handled portafilters, raise the handle to make it parallel. With things lined up, push down using pressure from your palm while your fingers keep the tamper head flat. When you feel you’ve reached 30 pounds of force stop, release some pressure and give the tamper a twist. This polishes the surface of the puck and assures no coffee sticks to the tamper. Remove the tamper and check to see the coffee is level from side to side.
Tamping at 30 pounds is a starting point. Some prefer to grind finer and tamp lighter or go courser and tamp with more pressure. The point is to be consistent! Once you’ve developed a feel for tamping pressure you’ll be able to play with it along with other factors.
Sign up to receive Whole Latte Love emails and take advantage of our biggest sales of the year before anyone else, as well as receive email-exclusive coupons, content, and more.