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Espresso Tamping Techniques: How Much Pressure to Apply with Coffee Distribution Tools

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, A video tutorial on coffee tamping techniques - the appropriate pressure for coffee distribution tools can be determined by observing the espresso extraction process. If coffee flows too quickly, completing 30cc in less than 20 seconds, then the tamping pressure is likely insufficient (assuming other variables have been properly addressed)

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FrontStreet Coffee shared in the article "The Importance of Distribution and Tamping" that in the preparation steps before espresso extraction, whether the coffee grounds are evenly distributed in the portafilter and whether the tamping force is applied evenly will affect the extraction and influence the taste of espresso. However, since it didn't mention how much force should be used for tamping, many friends have privately messaged FrontStreet Coffee in the background: How much force should be used for tamping?

In fact, FrontStreet Coffee has previously shared several test articles about tamping force, but because the articles only contained experimental comparisons, I believe many friends couldn't understand them thoroughly. Therefore, today FrontStreet Coffee will focus on sharing: how the force of tamping the coffee puck affects extraction, and what exactly is the concept of the coffee machine's 9bar pressure. Why mention the coffee machine's pressure? You'll know as you read on!

Extraction Experiment

So first, let's get straight to the point and see what changes occur in the time of espresso extraction and the taste of espresso when the same amount of coffee grounds is tamped with different forces. The coffee beans used are the store's standard FrontStreet Coffee Warm Sun Blend, which is a medium-dark roast coffee blended from two specialty origins: Honduras and Ethiopia. It has rich and dense crema, and can be used not only for espresso extraction but also as a formula for making moka pot coffee at home, with distinct notes of vanilla, cream, cookies, and whiskey aroma.

The amount of coffee grounds used is 20g, the target liquid weight for extraction is 40ml, with tamping forces of 2kg for light tamping and 18kg for heavy tamping respectively. To ensure stable results, FrontStreet Coffee extracted a total of 6 espressos and then took the average extraction time, with the following results:

The average time for three espressos using 2kg light tamping was 33s. The average time for three espressos using 18kg heavy tamping was 34s.

In terms of flavor performance, there was almost no significant difference between the two: balanced sweet, sour, and bitter, with prominent flavors. But the story doesn't end here. FrontStreet Coffee went on to extract two special espressos. What makes them special?

The special thing about these two espressos is that they were not tamped after distribution but were extracted directly. And their extraction results were also the same, taking 33 seconds. From the extraction time, we can see that whether it's light tamping, heavy tamping, or no tamping at all, the extraction time did not change significantly.

This might be somewhat different from most friends' understanding. FrontStreet Coffee also used to believe that when we use more tamping force, the coffee grounds can be compressed more tightly, and the extraction time will be relatively extended due to the increased resistance of the coffee puck, thus improving extraction efficiency. In fact, this is not the case. The reason is simple because many people overlook the extraction method of coffee machines.

How Strong is the Extraction Pressure of a Coffee Machine?

As we all know, espresso machines use pressure to quickly make a cup of coffee in a short amount of time. Generally, during the espresso extraction process, the coffee machine will use 9 standard atmospheres for extraction, which is what we commonly call 9bar.

Perhaps because the number is a single digit, many friends cannot understand how strong this force is. It doesn't matter; let's do a simple conversion: 1bar from a coffee machine applied to the coffee puck in a 58mm portafilter is equivalent to about 27kg of force, so 9bar is about 27*9=243kg, which is equivalent to the weight of 4 adults. It's easy to see why coffee machines can extract substances from coffee so quickly.

So we can know that no matter how hard we tamp, it's nothing in the face of as much as 9bar of pressure. But this raises another question: why do we need to tamp at all? If tamping is ineffective, wouldn't it be better to extract directly after distribution?

Why Do We Need to Tamp?

This question is actually very simple because we need to reduce channeling. As the saying goes: water flows downhill. Because water has inertia, it will flow to places where it can flow easily. The same is true during the extraction process! Without tamping, there will be many gaps between coffee grounds. These gaps will allow hot water to concentrate through during the extraction process, thus causing uneven extraction.

The reason why FrontStreet Coffee didn't share the taste experience for the no-tamping extraction above is because the uneven extraction caused negative flavor performance. Therefore, we need to eliminate gaps as much as possible through appropriate tamping to allow hot water to extract more evenly. The force doesn't need to be excessive; moderate is sufficient.