JDolezal wrote:Just as a side note: while letting ground coffee sit out may accelerate the de-gassing process, it will also leave the chemicals vulnerable to oxidation (staling). You could theoretically let your ground coffee sit for 15 min in a pinch (if you need to use freshly roasted coffee) but the oxidative damage will have already begun; by 2 hours, the grinds will have suffered significant oxidative degradation.

boar_d_laze wrote:There's nothing hard and fast which will allow you to say "that coffee's 42.6 hours away from 'best'" or anything like that. But the first thing you look at is crema -- during the pour and in the cup.

A tail which goes very thick and bushy right away -- sometimes called "gushing" -- can be a sign that the coffee could use more time; and that's what I spotted in your pour. In the cup, crema with large bubbles which collapses very quickly might be another.

As to taste, coffees which can use a little more time tend to be very lively and acid; as though they were under extracted. You can tame them a bit by doing things which move them towards over extraction, such as hotter temps, lower doses and finer grinds but be aware that tweaking an immature roast is not the same thing as dialing in and you'll have to keep tweaking until it hits maturity.

Of course, willingness to tweak is part of the day to day of "exceptional espresso." Some people find frequently massaging the parameters fun, others take pride in how little we have to adjust ... once we have dialed in.

Rich