> At times, Fourth Wave innovations verge into the realm of obsession, making you wonder how much real difference all of this precision makes to a cup of coffee. At the end (or beginning) of the day, coffee is a ritual. More than mere caffeine delivery, these technologies enable a multi-faceted sensory experience. Exploring the complexity of its flavors and aromas has transformed coffee from an article of consumption into an open-ended object of scientific and aesthetic experimentation.
There are certainly diminishing returns on many of the aspects coffee enthusiasts care about. But when I started experimenting with an Aeropress and some better coffee I found it interesting that there were many fundamental aspects I could easily taste. Temperature and grind settings can get very obvious quickly. And also the difference between roast levels or some kinds of coffee beans/preparation are not difficult to taste. And I don't trust myself to distinguish any of the more subtle tastes coffee enthusiasts talk about.
But once you e.g get into arguments on whether high-end grinders with conical or flat burrs are better you're far into the diminishing returns that might not survive a blind test.
> At times, Fourth Wave innovations verge into the realm of obsession, making you wonder how much real difference all of this precision makes to a cup of coffee. At the end (or beginning) of the day, coffee is a ritual. More than mere caffeine delivery, these technologies enable a multi-faceted sensory experience. Exploring the complexity of its flavors and aromas has transformed coffee from an article of consumption into an open-ended object of scientific and aesthetic experimentation.