A Tale of Two Coffees: Lessons in Delayed Gratification

Let’s discuss two scenarios, one common and one less common. Let’s start with the one common to most of us: you’re running a bit late to the office. You grab the to-go mug, a coffee pod, and wait the required 30-40 seconds it takes to run a stream of hot water over the pre-ground portioned cup and into your travel mug. You praise the simplicity and speed of the coffee machine and then think nothing more of it as you head out the door and to your appointment.

In fact, you think nothing more of the liquid you’re consuming from the mug either. There’s nothing memorable or uniquely flavorful about it—it’s just something you do because it’s something that can be done quickly and without thought or effort. Rinse, repeat.

Now, consider a morning free of obligation. You turn on the temperature-controlled kettle and set it to 96 degrees Celsius. As the water heats up, you dose out 15 grams of freshly roasted whole bean coffee and grind it there on the spot. The delicious aroma of fresh ground coffee immediately prepares your senses in anticipation of the perfect cup you’ll soon be sipping.

You place your dripper over a double-walled glass mug and wet a biodegradable #2 filter now that the water in your kettle has reached temperature. The water removes some of the paper fibers and taste from the filter and heats the mug in the process. You discard the water, funnel your grounds into the dripper, and bloom your coffee with a steady pour of water, waiting about 45 seconds before beginning your first controlled pour. This allows the grounds to soften and unlocks maximum flavor from every ground of coffee.

Once you reach your total weight in grams (I prefer a 15:1 water-to-coffee ratio), you throw out or compost your filter and spent coffee grounds and allow your coffee to rest a minute or two. The first sip is exquisite: the fruity and cereal notes commingle in ways that your tastebuds are never fully prepared for, which delights your senses and provides not just a caffeine boost but a dopamine hit as well.

What other aspects of daily life have become joyless because you’ve over-optimized a process that should be handled with precision, care, and presence of mind?

The whole process takes about 10 minutes compared to 1 minute for that instant coffee pod you grab too often throughout the week. For such a rewarding experience, perhaps you should make a point to wake up 10 minutes earlier on the regular? Afterall, faster definitely isn’t better when it comes to coffee. Maybe it isn’t so for most other things as well? What other aspects of daily life have become joyless because you’ve over-optimized a process that should be handled with precision, care, and presence of mind?

Then you suddenly remember: you were supposed to meet your work colleague for a “quick” coffee in the break room before that meeting with the boss at 8:15 to go through the edits you’re proposing to the new client presentation. You rush to work and grab a coffee pod as you and your friend converse about the edits. 30-40 seconds later, you’re drinking that bitter, mechanical-tasting concoction with disdain. No longer is it even a convenient pleasure anymore. Now that you’ve tasted the best, you can’t embrace even the convenience of the act with the same level of pleasure. Cutting corners is no longer an option.

You tell your colleague you think you might have contracted E. coli and dismiss yourself, much to their dismay. You race back home and shudder with joy when you find the last half of your expertly brewed cup of coffee on the kitchen table, still warm in its double-walled thermal glass mug.