Luckycat · Maomi Blend

Grind 32.5 landed you squarely between the two extremes — 38 seconds, ratio 1.96, balance 3 (Slightly Sour). Taste confirms it: slightly sour, more balanced than recent shots, no hard linger after a minute. This is real progress. You've effectively found the narrow window on this bean.

Time at 38s is Slow by your labels, and sits at the upper edge of the industry good range (25–35s) — technically slightly slow but not a problem. Ratio at 1.96 is Short, which is consistent across your Maomi pulls and hasn't hurt flavor. Balance 3 is the best score you've hit on this bean, and the notes back it up — slightly sour but not lingering, which on a low-acid bean like Maomi signals you're close to fully extracted. The left spout fast-dripping throughout is a mild flow irregularity worth watching, but the shot extracted intact and tasted coherent, so it didn't cause catastrophic channeling. Grinder retention at 0.1g is clean — no retention variability this time.

At 22 days post-roast the Maomi is firmly in peak window — freshness isn't a factor here. The balance 3 result is consistent with a low-acid bean approaching full extraction: you're not dealing with bean brightness, just a hair of under-extraction. The intact puck sticking to the shower head is normal for your Bambino workflow and not a concern. The narrow grind sweet spot on this bean (31 = bitter, 32 = sour, 32.5 = nearly balanced) is characteristic of blends with heavier body components like PNG — they compress quickly.

Balance 3 is your first 'Slightly Sour' on this bean — every previous Maomi shot was balance 2 or worse. The systematic bracket of 31 → 32 → 32.5 is exactly the right dialing-in process. You're one adjustment away from locking this in.