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Coffee ☕️

9/28/24

At the coffee shop this morning. Ordered a Macchiato. It's been a while since I've had a more simple espresso based beverage. It has a deep intensity, but also a kind of complexity I feel like I haven't recognized before. The acidity and deep fruitiness is something that was likely masked by the overall bitterness before. It is a wonderful thing that taste changes, and foods that I used to not enjoy I can now begin to appreciate.

The production of coffee is a strangely engineered process (as with a lot of food). Its clear why people fall in love not with the process of making coffee, purchasing expensive toys to produce what others might consider a fairly mundane product. Its similar to how I view audiophiles. Some people just have a lot of money, and allocate those dollars attempting to extract the perfect "shot / pull" or setting up the perfect hifi audio setup. All to experience the sound the way the "artist" or "engineer" truly intended. I do have a respect for these crafts, because out of great efforts, one certainly can craft beautiful experiences. When I went dancing in Chicago, I heard the most clear and beautiful sound system in my life. The wooden floors allowed the bass to move through my feet, while the large cones that surrounded the space were perfectly placed and tuned so that no matter where I stood, I could experience the energy and liveliness of the music.

There is a science behind pulling a perfect shot of espresso, or a perfect sounding night. Quantitative points like temperature, volume, humidity, spectral balance all guide the decisions that make these processes work . But in the end, it all comes down to taste and experience. Music and food are really both art-forms that have to be actively produced and reproduced to be enjoyed. While the recipe books or the score can certainly guide the reproduction of a piece of media, it's just an abstraction.

With both music and food, I question whether I should really strive for a perfect cup of coffee, or a perfect sound setup in the ways that obsessive hobbyists do. I am certainly not being paid to produce coffee, or setup music in my home. But if I acted like I do, maybe that would push me beyond the mindset of things being "good enough," accepting mediocrity. The headphones I have used for over four years have been "good enough" for me. I likely just have not placed myself in a context where I need to strive for something better, either for my own enjoyment or the enjoyment of others. My coffee has certainly gone cold by now. I'm just reminded that these things matter even when my more mediocre experiences are good enough in my daily life.