When you buy a bag of coffee at the grocery store, or the coffee shop, they always ask if you want your beans ground. It’s the default action.
Yet if you talk to any coffee snob, or the barista themselves, they’ll probably admit that this is a bad idea that leads to stale, bitter coffee. Meanwhile coffee ground right before brewing is far fresher and more flavorful.
We know this when we order a cup of coffee, but for some reason the concept doesn’t translate to the home. Maybe it’s because of the convenience. But I think it’s mostly because it’s hard to know what stale coffee tastes like if that’s the only way you know it.
If we don’t take time to notice, routine will happily keep us stuck on one track, blind to the better path right in front of us.