The Meditative Joy of Slow Coffee

Faster is not always better.

In fact, I would argue that in our modern world of speed and efficiency, we’ve created an entire generation of people who suffer from a complete lack of patience.

The worst part is we don’t even realize it.

We don’t see anything wrong with it. We don’t know, or can’t remember, anything different.

We don’t know how to wait.

For anything.

Instant gratification has become so engrained in our culture that waiting 5 seconds due to slow wi-fi for a website to load on your iPhone that will let you find a ride share service near you, hail the cab, pay for it, then track its progress to your location – all from this magical little hand held device with no buttons or cables attached to it that lets you talk to it. And it listens. These 5 seconds feel like an eternity, and we grumble, yet we never step back to marvel at what’s actually happening and how amazing it is that what we are doing is even possible.

We’ve lost any sense of perspective.

And we are worse off for it. Our lives and our souls are worse for it. So I’ve tried to find ways during my day to slow down and intentionally build patience. Because as often as I tell my kids, “Just be thankful you have the internet. When I was a kid…” (Yes, I’m old enough to say those kinds of things now.) I suffer from the same lack of patience and am easily frustrated when waiting for anything.

Introducing slow coffee.

Much has been written about coffee. In fact, one of my close friends and neighbors is part-owner of one of America’s leading coffee brands and is much more qualified to speak on coffee than I am. So I won’t debate the merits of one brewing style over another, tasting notes, flavor profiles, or acidity of the beans. I use a French press for my slow coffee to reduce potential microplastic exposure from a drip machine or paper filters. Still, you’re welcome to use any pour-over method you like to enjoy the same benefits of slow coffee.

But what I do want to tell you is how transformative it has been to set aside 8 minutes in my morning to make my daily coffee.

4 minutes for the tea kettle to boil while I grab a spoon, measure and scoop the ground coffee into the French press, and get one of my two favorite mugs from the cabinet. Then the water boils, and I slowly pour the hot water over the grounds, stir gently with a spoon, and put the lid and plunger over the French press.

Now we wait 4 more minutes for the coffee grounds to mix with the water, then I slowly press the plunger down so all of the grounds are pushed to the bottom by the filter, then pour a cup of hot coffee and enjoy.

These last 4 minutes, while I wait for the coffee to brew and push the plunger down, are often among the most enjoyable of my day.

I pray, I think, I contemplate, I’m grateful, and I’m silent.

I’m happy.