solid cakes from Portafilter

Hi everyone, I have a question. Recently one of my baristas told me she was frustrated because when she empties the portafilter, the coffee falls apart rather than coming out in a solid cake. At first I suspected it was the grind. I pulled a shot and it was fine and the coffee grounds came out in a cake. So I then thought it was her tamping. She showed me how she was tamping and I made a couple suggestions. She watched me tamp and then tried again but still her coffee is coming out loosely. It really looked like she was using plenty of pressure. What is going on here? Julie

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