<p>Lapavoni  ! I love mine !</p>
<p>The time it takes for water to percolate through the portafilter on tank pressure alone is the best measure of your grind/tamp combination. I shoot for 4 to 6 seconds. Then I let it drip (?pre-infuse?) for 10 seconds before pulling down the lever.</p>
<p>If water goes through too fast, make the grind finer or tamp harder. If water takes too long, make the grind courser.</p>
<p>There is a continuum of grind/tamp combinations that can give the 4-6 second effect. But too of a course grind with really hard tamp gives weak extraction. Also, you get very little crema.</p>
<p>There is nothing wrong with your 51mm diameter tamper. My tamper is 51.7mm, with only a few ‘thou clearance. I made it on a metal lathe for a custom fit. But even a small bit of grounds on the edge and it jams. I need to wipe the edge every time I use it.</p>
<p>I know many caffeine-heads poo-poo tamping scales. But you cannot get consistent performance without it. It doesn’t matter how hard you tamp, but it must be consistent. You can jerry-rig a scale. Get a wooden ruler and put a pink pencil eraser under each end. Put your portafilter half way and tamp until the ruler bends enough to touch the counter. If you want a harder tamp, move the erasers a bit closer together.</p>
<p>Another hint: The brew head is a big chunk of metal which will cool the water and under-extract if the head is not pre-heated. Run a full shot of water through the head to pre-heat before pulling the first shot.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-29T06:35:40.627Z
2022-10-29T06:35:40.627Z
Woody
<p>Water flow troubleshooting shouldn't start with your tamper.</p>
<p>I would experiment with grind size and amount. I found that if my grind size is the biggest contributor to water flow issues (either too fast or too slow).</p>
<p>To prove this, grind finer than usual and tamp it evenly until the flow is too slow and then dial it in from there.</p>
<p>Tamping consistency, as mentioned already, is the next biggest factor (e.g. channelling).</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-10-31T12:20:37.113Z
2022-10-31T12:20:37.113Z
Ash Zade
<p>I was solving roughly the same problem a year ago with my (then new) Europicolla (see here: <a href="https://coffee.stackexchange.com/questions/5619/espresso-how-much-can-coffee-choice-affect-the-porosity-of-the-coffee-puck">Espresso: How much can coffee choice affect the porosity of the coffee puck?</a> ). The problem was basically:</p>
<ul>
<li>bad coffee made around 50% of the issue. Is your coffee fresh, stored properly, and verifiably at most 2-3 weeks from roasting?</li>
<li>wrong roast was like 40% of the issue. Any medium- to less-roasted coffee (typically the acidic roasts) tends to make this much worse for me.</li>
<li>bad coffee measurement also didn't improve the situation much -- I now settled at around 15g of the darker roasts, deviating from that usually produces problems.</li>
</ul>
<p>I also improved the grinding a bit (upgrading from Porlex to Comandante), but that didn't really solve the flow-through problem, just improved the final texture.</p>
<p>Pro-tip: You can &quot;fix&quot; this issue manually for good&amp;fresh acidic roasts by letting a tiny bit of water through (around 1 second, much less than for normal pre-infusion) and then stopping the flow. The coffee swells up a bit, gaining the much needed volume and flow resistance.</p>
<p>PS I have a 51mm tamper and it's just right :]</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-11-03T08:28:37.313Z
I solved the problem partly with a 52 tamper. 
But the quality of the coffee plays an important role. I usually have good quality coffee (seasonal espresso) but after a few days the problem can return. I have to store my coffee better I think! 
And I make my espresso with about 7gr of beans :)
Hadock
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-11-03T13:46:12.047Z
Ah you are using the "half" basket -- that one is actually much more challenging for me, consider practicing on the big one first. (Maths: you usually get just over 1 oz of water with one europicolla pull, which in this case gives you a veeeery watery ratio of almost 1:5). I can confirm that the beans decay fast-- the problem returns for me if I leave the beans in a slightly open sachet just over 1 night.
exa
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-11-04T13:59:15.207Z
I use the big basket for two espresso, I think ^^
Hadock
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-11-02T12:22:24.193Z
2022-11-02T12:22:24.193Z
exa
<p>I've had a <a href="https://www.lapavoni.com/en/product/professional-lusso-wooden-handles/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Lapavoni coffee machine</a> for 2 years, but I can't get my espresso right.</p>
<p>The problem I have is quite simple: when I lift the handle to make the water flow, the water flows straight out. I think the problem is the size of my tamper which is 51mm whereas the portafilter is 51.5mm or maybe 51.6mm.</p>
<p>If I buy a tamper like <a href="https://www.bplus.biz/products/516mm-tamper" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this one</a> for example, will my problem be solved?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-21T16:20:54.877Z
I never use a tamper and just make sure no grinds are on the seal edge of the cup with my finger.  Tamping to full capacity only makes a tiny amount of less coffee for the same strength or slightly weaker for the same water that it would be hard to tell the difference.
Tony Stewart EE75
<equipment><tamping>
Is my 51mm tamper slightly too small?
Hadock
# Is my 51mm tamper slightly too small?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-09-17)

I've had a [Lapavoni coffee machine](https://www.lapavoni.com/en/product/professional-lusso-wooden-handles/) for 2 years, but I can't get my espresso right.

The problem I have is quite simple: when I lift the handle to make the water flow, the water flows straight out. I think the problem is the size of my tamper which is 51mm whereas the portafilter is 51.5mm or maybe 51.6mm.

If I buy a tamper like [this one](https://www.bplus.biz/products/516mm-tamper) for username_4mple, will my problem be solved?

**Tags:** equipment, tamping

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I never use a tamper and just make sure no grinds are on the seal edge of the cup with my finger.  Tamping to full capacity only makes a tiny amount of less coffee for the same strength or slightly weaker for the same water that it would be hard to tell the difference.  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2022-11-02. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

I was solving roughly the same problem a year ago with my (then new) Europicolla (see here: [Espresso: How much can coffee choice affect the porosity of the coffee puck?](https://coffee.stackexchange.com/questions/5619/espresso-how-much-can-coffee-choice-affect-the-porosity-of-the-coffee-puck) ). The problem was basically:

* bad coffee made around 50% of the issue. Is your coffee fresh, stored properly, and verifiably at most 2-3 weeks from roasting?
* wrong roast was like 40% of the issue. Any medium- to less-roasted coffee (typically the acidic roasts) tends to make this much worse for me.
* bad coffee measurement also didn't improve the situation much -- I now settled at around 15g of the darker roasts, deviating from that usually produces problems.

I also improved the grinding a bit (upgrading from Porlex to Comandante), but that didn't really solve the flow-through problem, just improved the final texture.

Pro-tip: You can "fix" this issue manually for good&fresh acidic roasts by letting a tiny bit of water through (around 1 second, much less than for normal pre-infusion) and then stopping the flow. The coffee swells up a bit, gaining the much needed volume and flow resistance.

PS I have a 51mm tamper and it's just right :]

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I solved the problem partly with a 52 tamper.  But the quality of the coffee plays an important role. I usually have good quality coffee (seasonal espresso) but after a few days the problem can return. I have to store my coffee better I think!  And I make my espresso with about 7gr of beans :)  
> **username_4**: Ah you are using the "half" basket -- that one is actually much more challenging for me, consider practicing on the big one first. (Maths: you usually get just over 1 oz of water with one europicolla pull, which in this case gives you a veeeery watery ratio of almost 1:5). I can confirm that the beans decay fast-- the problem returns for me if I leave the beans in a slightly open sachet just over 1 night.  
> **username_0**: I use the big basket for two espresso, I think ^^  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2022-10-29. Score: 1

Lapavoni ! I love mine !

The time it takes for water to percolate through the portafilter on tank pressure alone is the best measure of your grind/tamp combination. I shoot for 4 to 6 seconds. Then I let it drip (?pre-infuse?) for 10 seconds before pulling down the lever.

If water goes through too fast, make the grind finer or tamp harder. If water takes too long, make the grind courser.

There is a continuum of grind/tamp combinations that can give the 4-6 second effect. But too of a course grind with really hard tamp gives weak extraction. Also, you get very little crema.

There is nothing wrong with your 51mm diameter tamper. My tamper is 51.7mm, with only a few ‘thou clearance. I made it on a metal lathe for a custom fit. But even a small bit of grounds on the edge and it jams. I need to wipe the edge every time I use it.

I know many caffeine-heads poo-poo tamping scales. But you cannot get consistent performance without it. It doesn’t matter how hard you tamp, but it must be consistent. You can jerry-rig a scale. Get a wooden ruler and put a pink pencil eraser under each end. Put your portafilter half way and tamp until the ruler bends enough to touch the counter. If you want a harder tamp, move the erasers a bit closer together.

Another hint: The brew head is a big chunk of metal which will cool the water and under-extract if the head is not pre-heated. Run a full shot of water through the head to pre-heat before pulling the first shot.


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2022-10-31. Score: 0

Water flow troubleshooting shouldn't start with your tamper.

I would experiment with grind size and amount. I found that if my grind size is the biggest contributor to water flow issues (either too fast or too slow).

To prove this, grind finer than usual and tamp it evenly until the flow is too slow and then dial it in from there.

Tamping consistency, as mentioned already, is the next biggest factor (e.g. channelling).


---

