Hello,

I'm having trouble dialing in a lightly roasted coffee from DR Congo called Mapendo. It's an SL-34 coffee that in other cases has been tasty for me. This is what the shot looks like:

https://visualizer.coffee/shots/11aab11 ... 7942d54511

I'm currently getting intense bitterness along with savory and herbal notes and am wondering if it's a coffee issue or dialing in issue.

Good question Jeff, I get the following at cupping:

Goldenberries, some brown sugar sweetness, some citrus, tea like character. Citrus and tea in dry finish.

Forgot to address the ratio part. How much ratio are we talking here? I personally prefer being closer to 1:2 with rare coffees allowing me to go for an extra 2 grams output.

Especially with lighter roasts, a longer ratio brings out sweetness and reduces *bitterness. Try a 1:3 brew and see if it tastes better?

Based on the shot graph, your whole extraction is happening in 11 seconds? If true, strongly suggest grinding much finer to lengthen to minimum 18 sec, 25-40s+ OK. Yes, still with a 1:3 ratio. Consider dosing closer to 17g or so to conserve rare beans.

* Desirable 'bright bitters,' such as the tea character, will likely survive or improve.

For some reason with 64mm SSP-MP burrs I've never been able to enjoy shots longer than 15 seconds. I usually end up with a lot of astringency and ashiness with longer shot times with these burrs. Is it possible these burrs are more efficient at extraction?