Zero-water rabbit hole: where do I stop?

[Masala Soil]

Brewer and filter: Clever Dripper large; Melitta #4 paper
Grinder, burr and calibration: Fellow Ode Gen 2; Gen 2 flat burrs; 5.1; chirp point checked
Bean, roaster, process and roast date: Ethiopia Chelbesa; Tim Wendelboe; washed; roast date 2026-06-30
Dose and water mass: 16.0 g coffee; 256 g water
Temperature and water profile: 92°C; Brita-filtered tap water, about 110 ppm TDS
Pour/agitation schedule: 60 g bloom for 45 s, then pulse pours roughly every 30 s to 256 g
Drawdown time: 4:10
Expected and perceived flavour: expected caramel and stone fruit; perceived cup is sweet but slightly muddy
Changes already tested: changed grind one step coarser; kept everything else fixed

I am trying not to solve this by buying another object. The symptom has repeated three times, and the current log is below. I would rather change one variable, brew again, and report back.

[Masala Soil]

I tested one change from the opening post and it moved the cup, but did not finish the job. Next variable: grind one small step coarser. Why: the current cup sounds more like excess late extraction than a lack of strength. Expected result: slightly more body without making the cup muddier. I will report the actual result rather than stack another change on top.

[Crowd Wok]

i’ve used Ethiopia Chelbesa on the same Clever Dripper large / Fellow Ode Gen 2 combination. Change: extend the bloom by 15 seconds. Why: the present agitation can be creating fines migration and choking the bed. Expected result: a 15–30 second faster drawdown and a cleaner finish. Keep everything else exactly where it is for one brew

[Radiorook]

Same Clever Dripper large and grinder here, different but similarly light coffee. Change: lower water temperature by 2°C. Why: this coffee may still be releasing enough gas to disturb the early extraction. Expected result: a 15–30 second faster drawdown and a cleaner finish. That should tell you whether the behaviour belongs to the setup rather than this exact bag.

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