Tamping a single spout portafilter

#1: Post by **Cullen** » December 14th, 2012, 9:09 am

I recently bought an E61 espresso machine and have a single, double and bottomless portafilter. I like the single spout but I find it almost impossible to give it a 30 pound tamp while trying to keep it balance on the single spout. Is there any way to make it more stable while tamping

#2: Post by **RapidCoffee** » December 14th, 2012, 9:12 am

Several options:
1. Prep the filter basket outside the PF. This works best with ridgeless baskets, or if you remove the spring clip from the PF.
2. Rest the PF on the edge of your counter to tamp.
3. Get a tamping stand.

December 14th, 2012, 11:27 am

I have never heard of a "tamping stand" but after searching several sites I found and purchased one.

Thanks for the help,
Cullen

#4: Post by HB » December 14th, 2012, 1:08 pm

I like the small tamping stand from Cafelat, but you can fashion your own from plumbing parts as suggested in Tamping the single spout portafilter for less than a buck:

Paul Pratt's tamper stand is an elegant solution to the spout balancing problem:

You can also fashion a do it yourself version:

This is using a PVC fitting (less than $1), though it requires a portafilter with a nice flat bottom and short spout like the Rancilio commercial. The no cost solution is to put a towel over the edge of the countertop and "wedge" the angle formed by the spout and the portafilter against it while tamping. Or better yet, go with a bottomless portafilter and the world is your tamping surface.