For those just starting their espresso journey, there’s a lot of gear to consider. Choosing the best espresso machine for your needs is a must, along with purchasing an espresso grinder. Fun demitasse cups and espresso beans are also obvious choices. But tamping, which is arguably the most important step in espresso brewing, is routinely overlooked.
“The purpose of tamping is twofold: firstly, to compress the grounds tightly together, and secondly, to create a bed of grounds of consistent depth and levelness,” explains Madeline Jones, account manager and trainer at Rare Breed Coffee. Proper tamping ensures that the pressurized water exerted by the espresso machine flows through the grounds evenly. “If the grounds are not compressed enough, the spaces between the grounds will be inconsistent in size,” Jones says. “This allows water to flow more quickly through some areas of the bed of grounds and more slowly through others, which affects how much flavor is pulled from the grounds.”
Many home espresso machines come pre-packaged with a tamper. Often, they’re made from flimsy plastic and don’t properly fit the portafilter. If you want a good tamper, you’re going to have to buy it separately. I took on the task of finding the best ones, testing a few different styles at a variety of price points.
The Winners, at a Glance
This high-end tamper is a favorite among home baristas for good reason: It’s stylish, sturdy, ergonomically designed, and pleasantly weighty. Best of all, the handle length is adjustable. It’s pricey, but with a simple device like a tamper, the little details matter and the Pullman BigStep gets everything right.
Calibrated, spring-loaded tampers apply consistent pressure by just pushing in the handle. The Normcore’s build quality is top-notch with a modern, matte black finish and a sturdy, ergonomic, tapered handle. It includes multiple calibrated springs that allow you to adjust the pressure.
We’ve recommended this tamper before. The two-in-one leveler and tamper delivers perfectly leveled coffee and takes a lot of the guesswork out of the tamping process. For the coffee nerds out there, you can still tweak the depth of the tamp and the leveler using the internal threading mechanism to dial things in as precisely as you’d like.
This tamper from LuxHaus provides a more affordable alternative to the Pullman BigStep, but sacrifices very little in terms of build quality or design. It’s hefty and sturdy with a handle design that makes it comfortable to use. In our tests, it produced consistent results, with level pucks, no channeling, and delicious espresso.
The Tests
- Build Quality Test: While using each tamper, I assessed its build quality, noting its dimensions, shape, materials, and weight.
- Tamping Test: I used each tamper to tamp and then brew a shot of espresso, weighing the grounds pre-tamping to ensure consistency from model to model. I noted how long it took to pull the shot and whether the water flowed through the portafilter at the right rate. I also taste-tasted each shot.
- Back-to-Back Shot Test: Following all of the same parameters as the above tamping test, I tamped and pulled back-to-back shots using my winning tampers. I wanted to see if they could deliver the same results every time.
- Ergonomics Test: I noted how easy each tamper was to use and how comfortable it was in my hands. Though not likely to happen at home, injuries of the wrist and hand are not unheard of among professional baristas due to the repetitive motion of tamping. An ergonomically designed handle helps prevent this.
- Cleanup Test: For the most part, cleaning tampers is a simple matter of wiping dry coffee grounds off of the base, but when testing, I noted any design nuances or flaws that made cleaning more difficult.
What We Learned
Consistency Was Everything
Tamping is one of the most crucial variables in brewing espresso and by far the easiest step to mess up. The best tampers consistently and uniformly level and compress pucks every time. Any models that are cumbersome or don’t fit the portafilter well can lead to an uneven tamp and poor extraction. For example, tampers with uncomfortable handles made it more difficult to evenly apply pressure to the portafilter, which sometimes leads to channeling. Spring-loaded tampers avoid this by having a lip that keeps the tamper level with the portafilter’s walls.
Which Tampers Had the Best Build Quality?
If used regularly, a tamper is going to be subjected to a lot of force and needs to be able to hold up. The handle receives most of the pressure, so make sure to choose one that’s solid and sturdy. During my testing, I found that the best tampers had stainless steel bases. Not only did they have significant weight to them, which helped with applying the proper amount of pressure, but they were less likely to bend, warp, or break. “What to avoid is plastic or aluminum. They are too flimsy and lightweight,” Jones says.
Tamper Type Is a Matter of Preference
Of the three styles of tampers I tested, each had their own pros and cons. Ultimately, you should decide which works best for your needs and espresso machine, but there here are some things to keep in mind:
- The classic style of tamper is simple. It’s basically a handle attached to a wide cylindrical base and is the most widely used type. Because of its simplicity, it takes a bit of practice to use correctly. You need to make sure the tamper is level with the portafilter and apply the proper amount of pressure (30 to 40 pounds of force) by hand.
- Spring-loaded or calibrated tampers are built with an internal spring that, when compressed, delivers a precise, predetermined amount of pressure. Like a classic tamper, it still needs to be used correctly to get a perfectly level tamp, but it removes the pressure guesswork. However, if used improperly, it’s possible to push past where the spring stops and over-tamp the coffee. With heavy use, the springs can also break or dislodge. Because of their internal springs, calibrated tampers also cannot be washed with water.
- Palm tampers are newer to the home espresso scene. This style works by tamping to a predetermined depth in the portafilter instead of a calibrated pressure, which makes them very consistent. They often have a leveler on one side that helps ensure the grounds are even before tamping. Their tamping depth is adjustable.
Technique Was (and Is) Important
Ultimately, no tamper is foolproof. Learning how to use your tamper properly in conjunction with your espresso machine and grinder will help you pull consistently delicious shots. Here are some tips:
- Use proper form to prevent strain injuries. Keep your wrist straight and your elbow bent at about 90 degrees, applying pressure through your shoulder and triceps rather than your wrist.
- Ensure the tamper is level with the coffee bed before applying pressure to avoid uneven extraction.
- Focus on achieving consistent tamping pressure rather than measuring exact pounds, but a good rule of thumb is to shoot for 30 to 40 pounds of pressure per square inch
- If you need to adjust the extraction time, modify the grind size instead of altering tamp pressure.
The Criteria: What to Look for in an Espresso Tamper
Since they’re used to apply pressure to portafilter baskets, the best tampers are sturdy and have ergonomic handles. Most importantly, the top tampers deliver consistent results time and again.
Our Favorite Tampers
What we liked: The Pullman BigStep tamper is the Ferrari of classic tampers. Its build quality is top-notch and it’s ergonomic, with a great heft and balanced weight distribution. Best of all, it produced consistently tasty espresso over multiple tests. It also has spacers you can use to adjust the length of the handle to suit your needs.
What we didn’t like: At about $130, this tamper is likely to be too expensive for some. But, I wouldn’t recommend it if it was anything less than stellar throughout my testing.
Key Specs
- Materials: Stainless steel, rubber, aluminum
- Dimensions: 3.5-inch handle (adjustable with spacers); 53.3-millimeter base
- Weight: 12.5 ounces
- Cleanup: Wipe down with dry cloth
What we liked: Like most spring-loaded tampers, the Normcore is built with two springs and a lip that applies a steady, consistent amount of pressure every time. It also avoids spring-loaded tamper’s biggest weakness: It keeps the grounds level with a lip that fits over the portafilter and prevents the user from pushing past where the spring stops when tamping. The Normcore comes with replacement springs calibrated to 15, 25, and 30 psi so the user can select which pressure works best with their espresso machine.
What we didn’t like: The pressure applied to the ground portafilter is decided by the springs and is not a variable you can control. For some home baristas, that might be a downside, but with a bit of dialing in, the consistency is worth it.
Key Specs
- Materials: Anodized aluminum handle with stainless steel base
- Dimensions: 3.3-inch handle; 53.3-millimeter base
- Weight: 1.08 pounds
- Cleanup: Wipe down with dry cloth
What we liked: When it comes to consistency, this style of tamper is as dependable as it gets. This tamper has a distributor tool on one side, which can be used to level the top layer of the ground coffee. Once flattened, just flip the tamper over and press down to compress the grinds into a perfectly leveled puck. For espresso snobs, you can tweak the depth of the tamp and the leveler using the internal threading mechanism.
What we didn’t like: After using standard tampers with handles, palm tampers take a little getting used to. They compress the coffee in the portafilter basket to a specific depth instead of using pressure, so it’s possible to over- or under-tamp if they’re not calibrated properly. Thankfully, once dialed in, it produced the same results every time.
Key Specs
- Materials: Stainless steel and sturdy plastic
- Dimensions: 2.75-inch diameter by 2-inch height, 53.3-millimeter base
- Weight: 1.19 pounds
- Cleanup: Wipe down with dry cloth
What we liked: For an affordable tamper, I recommend the LuxHaus. The handle is well-shaped and feels sturdy and comfortable. Throughout my tamping tests, it created consistent, level pucks that pulled delicious espresso shots.
What we didn’t like: Although performing well, the weight distribution felt a little off, though it’s only noticeable when comparing the LuxHaus side-by-side with other tampers.
Key Specs
- Materials: Stainless steel, hard plastic
- Dimensions: 4-inch handle; 53.3-millimeter base
- Weight: 14.4 ounces
- Cleanup: Wipe down with dry cloth
The Competition
- The Force Tamper: This spring-loaded tamper worked well in my tests, but at nearly five times the price of our top pick, I didn’t notice a marked performance improvement.
- MATOW Coffee Distributor & Tamper: Almost identical to the top palm pick, the MATOW tamper performed similarly, but I found the Crema was slightly easier to adjust properly.
- IKAPE Espresso Tamper: Much like the Normcore tamper, IKAPE’s double spring-loaded produces even, level pucks of espresso. The Normcore performed slightly better in subsequent taste tests, but this tamper is a solid alternative.
- Rhino Coffee Gear Black Tamper: Though sturdy, I found the handle on this Rhino tamper to be cumbersome and top-heavy.
- FusedLine Sage Barista Tamper: This solid stainless steel tamper is built to last, but the handle was short and awkward to hold.
- CreativeWerk Espresso Tamper: I loved the ergonomic wooden handle on this one, but the weight distribution felt bottom-heavy. It would be a great fit aesthetically in certain kitchens.
FAQs
Should you tamp twice?
If done properly, tamping twice is unnecessary. “Definitely don’t tamp, knock the side of the portafilter with the tamper, and tamp again,” Jones explains. “Not only are you disturbing the evenly distributed coffee bed, you risk damaging the portafilter and tamper in the process.”
What size of espresso tamper should you buy?
Different espresso machines require different sizes of tampers. The size of the portafilter basket determines what size of tamper you need. “It is important to match the tamper to the grouphead, otherwise it won’t fit or will be too small to properly compact the coffee grounds evenly,” Jones explains.
Should you twist while tamping?
No, twisting can disrupt the grounds and cause an uneven bed. “Twisting while applying pressure creates sheared layers inside the portafilter,” Jones explains. “The goal of tamping is to remove air pockets and create a uniform bed of coffee.”
Why We’re the Experts
- Dylan Ettinger is a Serious Eats contributor who specializes in coffee, spirits, cocktails, and barware. With over a decade of experience in the specialty coffee industry, he has spent the last four years testing and reviewing coffee grinders, espresso machines, pour-over cones, and other home coffee appliances for a variety of publications.
- For this piece, he combined his experience in the coffee industry with that of Madeline Jones, account manager and trainer at Rare Breed Coffee, in order to determine what qualities make the best espresso tamper.
- Dylan tested 10 espresso tampers for this review.