My pour-over ritual used to take 20 minutes, now it's 6

I used to grind beans by hand with this old ceramic burr grinder my uncle gave me, plus a gooseneck kettle on a thermometer I'd watch like a hawk. Last month I finally bought a cheap electric grinder and an instant-read thermometer for 30 bucks total, and it cut my whole morning routine down to about 6 minutes flat. The weird part is I was proud of the struggle, you know, like the slow process made the coffee taste better somehow. Now I just shove a button and pour when it hits 205, and honestly the cup is just as good. Has anyone else made a change that felt like cheating but turned out to be totally fine?

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1 Comment

hugo_hayes16d ago

The ritual was half the point, not the coffee, and you just traded 14 minutes of quiet focus for a button press and a number on a screen. That's not a hack, that's a loss, and the cup might taste the same but you're probably enjoying it less without the sense of doing something properly. Sure, it's cheaper and faster, but you've basically turned a craft into a chore, and that's a trade I'd never make.