To master the art of espresso making, there are a number of factors that you must consider. You must first know that your espresso must first be freshly roasted, properly dosed and distributed, it must be properly tamped, it should be freshly grounded, and it must be closely monitored during extraction. You should know that coffee is at its best when it is freshly grounded because the oils are released after the coffee has been grounded and the longer it is left, the staler it will become. Therefore, it is crucial that you tamp the espresso and have it extracted as quickly as you can.
Before you start tamping, you must first know that tamping involves a few things and that is the quality of your coffee grounds, the portafilter you use and the espresso machine itself. The Coffee ground quality is very important. To get good quality extraction for your espresso, you must ensure that it is freshly grounded. Invest in a good quality coffee grinder and make sure that you use the grounded coffee immediately as it gets stale in the air after a while. As soon as you have your coffee grounds, put it into the portafilter and prepare for extraction.
The key to properly tamping an espresso is to ensure that the coffee is not uneven as it will be after it is dosed in the porta-filter; therefore, to prevent it from being uneven, you need to use your hand to evenly distribute the coffee grounds without pressing into it or leaving any space for the water to pass through. After the grounds have been evenly distributed, you are ready to tamp your espresso.
Another great tip that you should know is to use your fingers to distribute the coffee grounds in the portafilter before tamping it. All you got to do is slide your fingers across the coffee grounds, clearing away excess coffee grounds while making sure that it is one nice flat surface just a little below the level of the portafilter. Once you have done that you can begin to tamp your espresso.
Then you can finally apply the final tamp by applying lightly presses to the pallet with 30 pounds of pressure and then you will have perfectly tamped espresso.
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