What is the act of compacting/compressing your coffee grinds before extraction called?

• A. Dosing lever
• B. Tamping
• C. Grinding
• D. Filtering

Answer: (B)

Tamping is the act of compacting the coffee grounds in the portafilter before extraction. The goal is to create a flat, evenly compressed puck so water can flow uniformly through the bed, giving you a balanced extraction. When tamping is consistent, you reduce channels where water would skim through, which can lead to under- and over-extraction in different spots. Using a tamper with steady downward pressure helps achieve that uniform resistance and a reliable shot. For context, grinding refers to the size of the coffee particles, which affects extraction; a dosing lever is a mechanism to control how much coffee you place in the portafilter; filtering is the process of separating liquid from solids. So the action of compacting the grounds before extraction is tamping.