Metric Coffee · Colombia Carlos Efrain Cortes

Grind 26 delivered a clean, balanced shot — balance 4, 4 stars, even flow throughout with a natural color transition from dark to light brown. No asymmetric spout behavior reported this time, which is a meaningful improvement over the partial channel at grind 27. The bean's limoncello/blackberry character isn't clicking for Diego personally, but the extraction is landing where it should.

Shot time 24s (Fast) with a Normal ratio at 2.2. Both are consistent with previous best shot at grind 27 — slightly slower pace, same taste outcome, but with cleaner flow. The 10g drip lag is normal for the Bambino. Taste matches numbers: balanced, no linger, which is exactly what a well-extracted light washed bean should produce.

At 14 days post-roast, this bean is solidly in its peak window, and the stability shows — cleaner flow and consistent extraction across back-to-back shots. The limoncello/blackberry/cocoa profile of this high-elevation Nariño is doing what it's supposed to do; if the notes aren't landing for Diego's palate, that's the bean, not the extraction. Worth noting for future reference when evaluating bright, high-acidity single origins from this altitude range.

Flow is the cleanest it's been on this bean — even throughout with no spout asymmetry, a real improvement from the partial channeling at grind 27. The dialing-in arc on this challenging light roast (40 → 34 → 29 → 27.5 → 27 → 26) is a good example of working systematically through a dense bean.