Well, I think I'm getting close.

I brewed two doubles of Red Bird's Blue Jaguar Espresso blend, 5 days post-roast. For both shots, I got:
15g dose
30g output
29-31s brew time
203-201 brew temp

I took a sip of each shot prior to putting them in my mug for my latte and I could taste a hint of syrupy sweetness. With these shots, my latte is subtly sweet -- probably the best I've ever made. Now that I'm pulling these shots consistently, I'm going to work on down-dosing to 14g and grinding finer to compensate.

One thing I discovered in all this is that updosing to 16.5g was somehow masking some poor technique that only revealed itself when trying to brew at the normal 15g amount for my 15g VST basket. Initially, I was getting really bad channeling at 15g and couldn't figure out why. It turns out that I needed to be more gentle with my WDT and ensure the grounds were more evenly distributed prior to tamping. I ended up having to make one of those level-coffee-distribution-tools by grinding a tri-axis pattern into the bottom of one of my old tampers. That did the trick, and now I'm getting perfectly even extractions with no channeling at 15g doses.

I'll report my results after dosing to 14g. Thank you all for your help!

Good to know! I am brewing Klatch WBC and this stuff is a SOUR BOMB!!! It's like drinking dry red wine, not coffee.

I need to try Blue Jaguar I guess.

Thanks!

Ok, pulled 3 x 14g doubles today:
14g dose
28g output
32-34 sec brew time
202-200 brew temp

Like yesterday, I took a sip of each shot prior to putting it in my mug for latte (one double goes in my wife's latte, 2 go in mine). As a shot, these were pretty good. Smooth, noticeable sweetness, with just a hint of sour. I'd consider this drinkable as a shot. In the milk, however, the espresso got lost. It tasted like I was drinking warm milk with a subtle hint of espresso (my milk volume remained constant throughout this process). So apparently my palate prefers bolder shots in lattes, and less bold shots stand-alone.

Good work! You may also notice sipping the shot as it cools changes the complexity and adds flavors into the shot. Sounds like you are doing well and stay at it!

RNAV wrote:Ok, pulled 3 x 14g doubles today:
14g dose
28g output
32-34 sec brew time
202-200 brew temp

Like yesterday, I took a sip of each shot prior to putting it in my mug for latte (one double goes in my wife's latte, 2 go in mine). As a shot, these were pretty good. Smooth, noticeable sweetness, with just a hint of sour. I'd consider this drinkable as a shot. In the milk, however, the espresso got lost. It tasted like I was drinking warm milk with a subtle hint of espresso (my milk volume remained constant throughout this process). So apparently my palate prefers bolder shots in lattes, and less bold shots stand-alone.

I find that if I taste a milk drink after tasting a straight shot first, the milk drink will taste weaker than if I tried it first.

something about removing the shot yield = weaker drink

BillBurrGrinder wrote:Good to know! I am brewing Klatch WBC and this stuff is a SOUR BOMB!!! It's like drinking dry red wine, not coffee.

Thanks!

Have you been able to pull a shot that isn't sour with anything yet? Your experience with Klatch just seems extreme.

Also take a look at the water you are using. It can have a massive impact on what you can and cannot extract.

RyanP wrote:Have you been able to pull a shot that isn't sour with anything yet? Your experience with Klatch just seems extreme.

I have 2 blends on the way here and 1 local picked up today...I'll let you know!