To tap or no tap? Looking for clarity
Since I have been a barista, I have followed the method of loading the portafilter, evenly distribute and swipe back into the dosing chamber, light leveling tamp with the tamper then (here is the part in question) a light, easy knock on the cleat of the portafilter with the handle of the tamper to settle the espresso off of the sides of the basket, followed by a harder polishing tamp before loading into the group.
Even if I deliberately try not to do the "tap" it is just muscle memory reflex and I do it anyway. Pros, cons, good, bad??? Whats the deal, please post your position.
Happy tapping!!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Phil Roberts on
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I suppose you should start by asking yourself the question "Why do I tap?" if the only reason is out of habit or muscle memory, then you should stop.
Aside from that, tapping only creates opportunity for channeling. We have found that the instances of channeling is greatly reduced by getting rid of the tap. The only reason, I believe, tapping the portafilter was introduced in the first place was to settle the small amount of grinds around the edges of the basket. We studied this for a bit and found that the small amount of grinds did not affect shot quality.
The short answer would be, stop tapping. Question everything you do when it comes to technique and habit! You also don't want to ding up those expensive protafilters!
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Permalink Reply by Brady on
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Don't tap, for reasons stated above.
Don't worry though, it'll probably only take you two shifts or less to get rid of the "muscle memory" part.
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Permalink Reply by Brandi Heath on
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water is lazy. when you tap the portafilter like that, you're creating a tiny (unnoticeable but still existent) space between the espresso and the wall of the portafilter. water being as lazy as it is will push out the sides and not extract properly.
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Permalink Reply by Robert Smith on
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I say don't tap. In my opinion all it does is introduce channels.
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Permalink Reply by James Perini on
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I was told not to tap the side of the portafilter because it could dent it and furthermore isn't necessary so I tend to fill, then tap the the handle on the bench to settle the grinds then a firm tamp followed by a polishing tamp.
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Permalink Reply by Kevin Ayers on
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Recently I changed where I work and at this time I also stopped tapping. Took a bit of getting used to but now that I did I am happy with the results. Agree with most of what was said above.
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Permalink Reply by Daniel Williamson on
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I'm very much a fan of NOT tapping for many of the reasons stated above. That said, if you decide you simply have to tap it (not sure why you would, and whatever reasons you give I will disagree with) please use the handle and not the base! I've seen people tap with the base and it makes me cringe! Not only are you ruining the puck and portafilter, but you're also ruining you tamp! Then none of your shots will taste good.
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This is why I like it when people have and train with bottomless portafilters. It moves the dialogue from talking about what should happen to talking about what does happen. Observations > claims.
Buy and train using a bottomless portafilter. If you notice problems with your extractions, change what you do until they go away.
Todd Campbell said:Had this conversation with a barista at a shop in town last night. Couldn't get him to change his mind on tapping. He claimed a follow-up tamp should clear out the channeling. Not really buying that.
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Permalink Reply by Paul Yates on
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What about the settling taps on the forks of the grinder? Wouldn't that also encourage channeling? It seems the popular method these days is to grind, tap on the forks, grind a bit more, then tamp with no distribution. Seems like channeling would be likely?
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Permalink Reply by Eric Tomeo on
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.::I have wondered this same thing. If tapping before a tamp does not induce channeling, why would tapping after the tamp induce channeling if you tamp again? My observation is that channeling does occur more often when you tamp, tap then tamp again. So my only guess would be that when you tap before tamping it settles and distributes... to a certain degree... because the grounds are loose. If you tap after a tamp, the coffee puck cracks and pushing down does nothing to right that wrong. It is like cutting something in half and then smashing it... Does that make sense? That is my guess.
I think you just have to try different things in order to know what works and what doesn't::.
Paul Yates said:What about the settling taps on the forks of the grinder? Wouldn't that also encourage channeling? It seems the popular method these days is to grind, tap on the forks, grind a bit more, then tamp with no distribution. Seems like channeling would be likely?
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The direction of motion in a carefully-executed settling thump is vertical. The ground coffee particles' inertia should force them downward, filling in voids and perhaps affecting size-distribution of the particles.
The direction of the force that results from a tamper tap is from the side. If done carefully, it can break loose that rim of grounds. If done with too much energy, it can kick the puck to one side or crack it. Since the tamper force is downward, it may not be able to force the puck back against the basket wall.
If you're looking for a comparison, it seems like the side tap would be more like whacking the portafilter up into the bottom of the doser than dropping it down into the forks...
The biggest difference, though, is that the settling thump works to improve shot consistency and quality while the side tap doesn't. We can speculate about why that is, but that is really the bottom line.
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Permalink Reply by Jason Haeger on
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I've always explained it like this:
If you really wanted to ruin the sidewall seal of the puck, and you wanted to ensure a bad extraction while still focusing on proper distribution, how would you do it?
The inevitable answer is to tap on the side of the portafilter. The next question I always ask is, "Then why do it?"
The usual response has something to do with the human's OCD about whatever remnant grounds are left clinging to the upper side walls of the filterbasket. The fact of the matter is that the initial water contact breaks grounds loose from the surface of the puck anyway, and while these things may make keeping the equipment spotless only slightly easier, the coffee (in the cup) doesn't care either way. The coffee cares more about even resistance for an even extraction than whether or not the filterbasket "looks" right.
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