Hydraulic Tamper

mimmo124

After reading a few posts regarding the use of hand tampers vs the one on the side of the machine i noticed that some people were using scales whilst tamping to make sure they obtained a perfect 15kgs of tamp pressure.

Would it be possible/necessary to make a hydraulic style press to do this?? a press could be set at the desired pressure setting to obtain that 15kgs of tamp pressure and would create a consistant 15kgs all the time. As a barista is a human being, over the course of a long shift, he or she may tire and therefore gradually not be tamping at a consistant 15kgs.

I have thought about this and decided that the hydraulic press may be a little far fetched in terms of cost, ie price of the object would be greater than the gain. So i thought up another idea, what about a manual press like those used in rifle cartridge reloading. Many of them have built in torque gauges, as an over compressed rifle cartridge can be an extremely dangerous thing.

What i am basically getting at is how important is it to obtain a PERFECTLY tamped cake of coffee. Will a few hundred grams, or even a kilo of lacking tamp pressure cause a significant change in the espresso quality?

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

Domenic

ristretto

Mimmo, Hand tamping is generally superior to more mechanical forms because there are some things that the human hand can achieve that any machine, no matter how well made will not be able to replicate. Why the bathroom scales, 2 reasons: 15kg is the not the Holy Grail of pressures, like everthing else with espresso it can be blend dependant. Whilst bathroom scales allow for constant pressure, which in and of itself is a great reason to use them, there is an even better use for them. I use scales as much for OH&S reasons as for training and consistency.  Scales are just a spring loaded weighing device.  Therefore, instead of tamping onto a hard surface and eventually completely destroying your elbow joint the arm is now cushioned, or shock absorbed during the tamping process.  At the end of the shift the arm is in good condition and will remain so.   Ristretto     8)

mimmo124

I have only been hand tamping for the last 6 months or so, after joining this forum and reading a few posts on it. I was never showed or instructed to use the hand tamp, but have found it to be just what i needed to make better tasting espresso. This pressing on a hard surface does give me a sore elbow and shoulder after a long shift, but i find gentle stretching to be a big help. The funny thing is the other day whilst i was tamping a coffee my boss was there with a worried look on his face. I asked what was wrong, he said "you don't need to press that hard, all you need to do is to give it a gently press like this", whilst he said that he barely smoothed the coffee in the group when he pressed it with grinder mounted tamp. I am not convinced by his methods, whilst he is in the bar and tries to assist me when i am flat out, he more than anything gets in the way. I have watched him work when i am on my break, and am convinced my methods are better. The disorganisation that is apparent is mind boggling, not to mention the mess that is made. Spilt milk, chocolate all over the bench, spilt coffee, crusty steam wands, all this in only 5 minutes, its amazing. heheh oh well, i better keep all my hints to myself and use them to my advantage when i hopefully open up my own cafe one day. regards Domenic

over_extracted

Dear all i do belive in the 30ps tamp preassure becouse i have achieved the same results with less effort i believe you all should concentrate on getting a better grind good luck and keep you arms in one piece .OE

FreshCoffee2

Mimmo, a) the hydraulic thing has probably been done already; b) if you really wanted one, mechanical bench mounted coffee presses (something like your cartridge reloader) can be sourced in the industry but dont expect them to be  reasonable price. c) I use a bathroom scale as an educational aid in coffee classes, they're good for teaching students, they raise a smile and wake the sleepy heads up. Tamping is important, but with a little patience and time you too can be consistent in the way you press/tamp by hand.

FreshCoffee2

Mimmo, your last post raises some technical points. If the grinder has been set to drop a certain dose ***in consideration of light tamping with the press on the dispenser*** and the grind has also been set accordingly to achieve a particular result, then you come along and press much harder by hand, you are compressing the dose into a smaller space/dose than is required. The filter is then underdosed and the grounds overpacked and the extraction is not as was intended by the person who set it up. Conversely if the grinder has been set to grind and deliver coffee in conjunction with hand tamping, and your boss uses that on the dispenser instead, the grounds arent compacted enough, the filter is effectively overdosed and the group handle either wont engage onto the group head or there is a total mess as grounds are pushed out around the group ring etc etc. The result, yuk. You either do it one way, or you do it the other, but you cant tamp both ways for the same grinder settings and achieve a consistent brew. The beans, machine, grinder, and operator are a tuned system. Consistency in your technique is the key.