with these precision baskets, targeting a shot time first seems to go out the window. Like you also say, go off taste is what i try. But then changing variables don’t always result in my intended effect.

I like to believe i have my puck prep pretty much dailed in, at the very least consistent.

An obvious variable many like to point out are good quality fresh beans. I always buy from reputable local roasters. Buy in batch, rest for 1-2 weeks, freeze, and take out a week’s worth of beans as i go. There might be a bad batch occasionally, but i seem to screw up on the simple blend roasts too.