Well all I can say is thank you, kind internet stranger. I tried grinding finer, and got a really lovely sweet and balanced cup. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting anything, but it was like a completely different bean.
When I first got the bag, I tried grinding in the middle of the “pour over” range on the niche (35), which gave the results I describes initially. Ended up pulling back and settling on 40. It was pleasant there, but nothing special. This morning I tried 30, which felt extreme, but it was super nice!
I learned something new today thanks to your post!