Agree with all your conclusions except that with the Ascent pack, I would be interested to know how much time and water you're using.These are delicious as well but I think of them as a fancy hot chocolate. For those that want “just coffee” they are not a good choice.
Dark Timber also has Ascent Packs which are filter bags full of coffee. I found it difficult to get a strong cup with these. I found that the bag rips easily too if you try to extract more out like a tea bag.
The Gravity Pack is their best option if you are looking for just plain coffee. It’s basically a make-shift pour-over filter. I thought the coffee was flavorful and the filter was sturdy. You need a taller cup, otherwise your coffee rises up to meet your filter.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The other component that may be hurting you is temperature. If brewing vessel loses too much heat during brew, less extraction happens. If your stove has a simmer setting to keep water warm while brewing that might do it. Or if you're brewing in a cup you could try brewing in the pot before heat gets lost to the cup.
No problem! Brew temp, brew time, and water to coffee ratio are all directly proportional to the amount of extraction that occurs. Grind size is inversely proportional, but you don't have control over that here You can use whichever variables you find practical to manipulate to control extraction level.
