CREMA College of Coffee: How to Dose & Tamp Espresso

A tutorial from CREMA, Nashville's premier coffee house, demonstrating how to properly dose, tamp and pull two shots of espresso using a naked portafilter.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• coffee
• CREMA
• dose
• espresso
• tamp

[mallow005]

Was it just me, or was that a bad shot? I saw some spurting towards the front and the stream was lopsided to the back...

[jockc]

I agree, that huge spray did not look good.

[CREMANashville]

I agree. The video is geared towards just basics. I understand that pitting and spraying is not optimal. Most of the spray happened at the end of the extraction, where the shot blonds. We're constantly learning and upping our game with these bottomless portafilters.

[CREMANashville]

Was it a bad tasting shot? No, but you're correct with the spray. However, the lopsided-ness I am not sure how to deal with. Any suggestions? I've asked around in our coffee community, and read up on it, but it seems to be just a little off center.

[runfastest]

I don't like the distribution using the lid of the doser - you can't see the coffee grounds!

[CREMANashville]

We have adjusted our dosing technique since we did this video. Recently I judged a competition and people were using the lid, their fingers, or knives to scrape off the coffee. We've noticed that if we use a knife we tend to dose a little less than the lid, about 1-2 grams. Obviously this has an impact on the coffee, so we must compensate with grinding a little finer....the shot tastes a little sweeter. In a blind taste test, people tended to prefer coffee dosed with the lid. Interesting.

[luongdung]

she got that sexy eyes

[bander1023]

Regardless of any previous comments or what people think about coffee, I appreciate you guys taking the time to post this. It's really helpful to folks who are unsure of the process of making espresso to see a barista walking through the steps.

Keep it up!

[nssaquinas]

Hey, even if you don't like the way she makes the coffee, it's perfectly acceptable. I think her basics are all good; the rest is just being OCD.

I for one appreciate this knowledge being given out freely. And I appreciate the responses given by @CREMANashville; they demonstrate a dedication to improvement and critical thinking- next time I'm in town you bet I'll be there!

If anyone has a better way to make coffee with those cursed bottomless portafilters, please educate us with your own video!

[filthdollsynod]

"and... that's our espresso!"

[Smaitlin897]

You did so much to cause channeling actually...

[Smaitlin897]

@CREMANashville @CREMANashville you need to tap the head before you even out the dose. What you got was chanelling (where the water forces itself through the weakest points of the coffee). You need to tap th side of the handle a bit to try and prevent any annoying little air pockets, what you did with the lid is already packing the coffee before you tamp, so you'll have a REEEALLY unbalanced shot.

I knew what would happen to the shot before you even poured it.

And it would be a bad taste.

[Smaitlin897]

@CREMANashville you need to tap the head before you even out the dose. What you got was chanelling (where the water forces itself through the weakest points of the coffee). You need to tap th side of the handle a bit to try and prevent any annoying little air pockets, what you did with the lid is already packing the coffee before you tamp, so you'll have a REEEALLY unbalanced shot.

I knew what would happen to the shot before you even poured it.

[Smaitlin897]

@CREMANashville you need to tap the head before you even out the dose. What you got was chanelling (where the water forces itself through the weakest points of the coffee). You need to tap th side of the handle a bit to try and prevent any annoying little air pockets.

[jockc]

@CREMANashville I don't twist or tap.. I think both can mess up the pack. I think the tap is what causes the spray.

[nullquible90]

I can't live a day with my cup of coffee! I got some good blend tips at coffeeloverstipsandtricks (.) com

[RustyHingesSqueak]

Looks good to me,nice shot!