In Tokyo, there is what is known among espresso aficionados the best coffee shop in the world (it hurts me a little to say this, because I am half-Italian...), but I am not surprised because Japanese are known for pushing the limits and aiming for perfection in whatever endeavor they undertake. Owner Eiichi Kunitomo sources his beans primarily from Ethiopia, El Salvador and Brazil and has them roasted and blended to his specifications by a specialty roaster in Kyoto. He says that each shot is pulled for a full 40 seconds on a classic red La Cimbali espresso machine, partly because he says he doesn’t tamp the ground beans. “When the beans are pressed, it requires too much pressure to extract, and you get unwanted flavours and excessive bitterness due to the stress.”

I can understand the reason for doing this. However, I can't understand how to pull a 40-second shot whether on a pro Cimbali or on my home Gaggia Classic, especially if I don't tamp the ground beans. If I tamp the coffee too much, it will certainly take 40 seconds to pull a shot, but it will ruin my machine. If I don't tamp them, it will take 4 seconds to fill my demi-tasse with brownish water.