Coffee Lab & Roasters · Coffee Lab & Roasters Huila Decaf

Shot 69 on the Coffee Lab Huila Decaf at grind 38 — 35 seconds, 2.05 ratio, balance 3 with lingering brightness. The flow pattern tells the real story: alternating spout restriction throughout the shot, which has now appeared consistently across this bag at multiple grind settings. This is a puck prep issue, not a grind issue.

Time (35s) and ratio (2.05) are both in Normal range — on paper this looks fine. But balance 3 with lingering acidity on a light roast decaf that's 17 days off roast (peak window) suggests under-extraction despite the numbers looking clean. The alternating spout channeling is redistributing flow unevenly — some grounds are over-extracted while others stay under, which explains why the shot reads decent numerically but tastes dull and bright. The 0.2g retention is negligible. Lag was 6g, completely normal.

This is a light roast decaf, and the history on this bag confirms it — it choked at everything 27.5–33, meaning the bean demands a significantly coarser grind than expected. Grind 38 is the first setting that hasn't choked, which is consistent with light roast density dominating over the decaf processing effect. At 17 days off roast it's in peak window. Lingering brightness at balance 3 is partly bean character (lemon/bright acidity in the flavor notes) but the channeling is amplifying it — clean extraction would likely push this toward a truer balance 3–4.

Grind 38 is the breakthrough setting on this bag — first shot that ran without choking and produced a real extraction. The puck prep pattern is now the clear remaining variable.