As a fellow LSM / Sake fan- Saka Gran Bar on an Alex leva / niche - I found that with enough pre infusion to saturate the puck (ie drops all over the screen),it was not great taste wise and meant the shot flowed very fast, with a very pronounced “bad robusta” taste. Best for me is v brief pre infusion phase (3 secs) then release the lever over 2-3 seconds, and extract 14g beans into 20-25g espresso in about ??25 seconds. I also use medium-hot temperature despite what the home baristas Saka fans say.
So I vote that you grind finer and pre infuse minimally
I found Top Selection has a larger sweet spot - maybe try with that first?
I am also not getting the same great taste I got in the first few days of opening the bag - its a bit muted- despite freezing. I think it might be like my experience of illy in a tin - ok a first but stales very quickly and becomes generic.
I’m curious to see what parameters you settle on, in the hope I can learn from your experience.
Good luck
