Friend said I was choking my shots by over-tamping - changed everything

I always pushed down hard on my tamper, like really leaned into it, thinking more pressure = better espresso. A buddy watched me pull a shot and said "you're making a brick, not a puck, back off like 90%." I dropped from using full body weight to just a light level press, probably 10 pounds instead of 30, and my shots stopped channeling completely. Now I get 25 second pulls with proper crema every time. Anybody else get told they were using too much force and had to unlearn bad habits?

2 comments

2 Comments

jason_robinson4h ago

Didn't I read somewhere that tamping too hard actually hurts extraction?

sandralee2h ago

Oh yeah, absolutely, @jason_robinson you are totally right. I was the same way, I used to crank down like I was trying to crush a can of soda. Thought more force meant I was doing it right, you know? Then I watched a video online where some guy showed how you can just press until the coffee stops moving, maybe 10 pounds, and any more after that is just wasted effort. It blew my mind how much better my shots got once I stopped trying to murder the puck. Feels almost wrong at first, not leaning into it, but the results speak for themselves.