Don’t Make Coffee Machines Efficient
Sitting at Gaea, enjoying my usual Big Rabbit coffee, I was looking at everything that was happening around me. It is one of the coziest spots for coffee in Fitzroy. It’s also one of the few where colors, space and pace seem synchronized.
One of the ladies was waiting for her coffee with her dog (Rottweiler). While the barista took her own sweet time making her cup of coffee, I watched this lady and the dog casually. The dog would pass a loving look to all the bypassers, inviting them all to pet him. Then he would retreat in his mom’s feet for comfort. Then he would glance from between the legs to eventually come out again. A sausage dog passed by and he absolutely lost his shit. The sausage dog’s mom saw the dog almost fly on his leash with anger. I thought to myself “See — the smallest ones make the most noise. The bigger ones don’t need to.”
The second lady waiting for her coffee with us looked relatively gloomy — maybe it was the Melbourne weather or maybe it was life — who knows. I saw her waiting for her coffee until her glare eventually settled on the dog and she passed on a big smile as he slyly gestured for more love. Her and I passed a glance and smiled at each other — seemingly connected through the common love for the dog. We continued to watch the dog pick up everyone’s spirits then retreat in his mom’s shell again. His mom gave him a few pats and his confidence was reinvigorated yet again.
The sun softly shone on all of us and I sat in the most advantageous corner, soaking up all the sun. I’m a sun hoe so I shut my eyes and smiled widely as I soaked up all the sun (in their faces). I opened them to see both the ladies smile at me and soak up some sun themselves. By this time, the barista had made the coffees. She came out with those little cups and both the ladies went their way. At this point, I sat there wondering at all the subtleties of life that got squeezed between the time the coffees were ordered till the time they were delivered. All of this latent magic that manifested at the cue of ordering coffees. If the coffee machines were merely efficient, the coffee would have come out as quickly as it was ordered and none of us would watch this unfold. I realized at this moment that coffee machines should not be made faster. As unintended this consequence is, it’s also one of the most magical — it makes us pause. So until the barista hits play again, the world is our oyster.
