I read through the comments and replies here… have you considered that it’s just aged out or a bad batch somehow?If it does not extract, show some reaction to boiling water, or darken the water, there is a problem. If this is pre ground it could be >6m old. Not sure there’s another explanation here.

In one comment you mention that it “actually tastes good”… How do you know this if it’s not properly “mixing” with boiling water? Diluted coffee tastes not great, so it’s a confusing thing to say

More complete overview below, but basically, it can move faster through phases, can’t be judged as well by color, and can reach crack at lower temperatures. It’s totally possible to get a great outcome! Dialing it in is the fun IMO Link

Decaf beans are harder to roast well (IMO) so it tends to be that the mass distributed ones won’t be great since they’re in less demand. You can find small locals that do decaf runs sometimes, or order green beans and do it yourself. Remember, darker means less caffeine, so if you’re pulling medium roast beans and have no good decaf source, try something dark that you can tolerate and see whether it helps

Yep, exactly! Single origin is fun and all, but roasters know that blends make for a more consistently well rounded cup. Blending batches is even a thing between different roasts of the same bean. If you enjoy the taste, it’s always the right call!

For what it’s worth, wetting paper filters is usually done with near boiling water in the chemex, so it IS preheated with the regular process. Preheated steel also won’t retain as much heat. I don’t disagree with your post as written, it just doesn’t match the reality of what’s usually done

Nothing wrong with that, look up “coffee sock”. It’s used exactly as you describe, except they put this filter down first, then lift it out with the grounds after it’s done brewing. All the other methods mentioned here are valid too, coffee is coffee!

When I see posts like this I just remember those old crotchety engineers who would gripe about “scrum bad”, then would absolutely refuse to participate in collaborative planning activities with their fellow teammates. They tended to be the primary source of bad vibes and work breakdowns