Howdy,
I am very new at expressing flavor from coffee, as I got ~2 weeks ago a Breville 870XL and paired it with a Vario grinder.

I bought from SCG a bag of Kimbo superior blend - following all the good reviews,
coffee roast date is about 4 month back

I am dosing 18 grams aiming for 36-40g liquid in the double non pressurized filter.
Grinding at ~2O on Vario (tried going up/ down as well)
Pull time 25-28 sec (incl. pre-infusion)

I cannot get a decent shot of it, insufficient crema and It feels sour to me. Is this how it is expected to be?
I tried chewing some of those beans, and some of them are showing the similar sourness
Also I am noticing the puck is more wet than other coffees I've used before. It still comes off as a whole puck and does not show marks of the shower screen

I do not have a bottomless PF, but I feel there is some moderate channeling I cannot get rid of regardless WDT and leveling attempts.
I also tried to +/- the temp with 2F from the default.


Previously I used Kimbo Aroma Intenso which I really liked and I was able to get a very decent shot.


How would you guide a beginner like me on this journey?

Thx

A small update.

I brought up my issue with this coffee with Seattle Coffee gear - and they agreed my coffee may be stale and decided to make it right.
Kudos to SCG!

What is also obvious, is that that particular fresh ground coffee does not smell anywhere as strong and good as other coffees I've used-which is a pretty good indication of stale coffee.