Brew Analog, Brew Better

It seems like every week, a new “must-have” coffee gadget hits the market, promoted with FOMO-driven marketing and influencers promising to “elevate your coffee experience by X% if you buy this new 88mm burrset—use code BTD20%.”

Here’s the reality: we learned to brew coffee using visual cues, handwritten logs, and without social media hype. Back then, scales weren’t part of our daily espresso and filter routines. Analog brewing is what the specialty coffee world needs—a return to simplicity.

Analog brewing focuses on fundamentals: quality beans, clean water, calibrated grind size, and a go-to brewing recipe as a starting point. With these basics and visual cues to guide you, you can consistently brew great coffee without breaking the bank. My own setup? A $300 hand grinder, $50 scale, $40 dripper, and any available kettle or filters. Nothing fancy, just reliable.

The industry’s obsession with gadgets has made specialty coffee intimidating and expensive. Every week, there’s a new tool marketed as essential: “These burrs are 5mm larger!” or “Dash 3 drops minerals to enhance sweetness!” While interesting, these are secondary to the fundamentals. Focus on consistent, fundamental brewing, invest in quality beans from a reputable roaster, and treat yourself to exceptional coffee—you’re worth it.

I often see baristas obsess over burrsets and water chemistry but brew with sloppy, inconsistent techniques and no standardized recipe. It’s like a golfer insisting on the best clubs without practicing their swing. Fundamentals—like the driving range—are where skill is built. Secondary tools enhance performance but don’t replace a solid foundation. When learning to brew, approach with the same movements every time, fold your filter the same way every time, rinse the same way every time, until this all becomes muscle memory.

Too often, people blame tools, roasters, or farms for subpar coffee: “I spent $100/kg, why can’t I taste the notes perfectly?” Without the fundamentals, even the best coffee can’t reach its potential. Secondary and tertiary elements can raise the ceiling, but 90% of your success in brewing comes from mastering the basic fundamentals and following the structure.

Imagine you’re a golfer and you’re insistent on playing with the nicest clubs and playing on the most expensive course, and yet you’ve never been to the driving range to practice your swing. The driving range is where you’ll learn and practice the fundamentals of the game - the primary needs of brewing, the analog. The clubs are your secondary elements, they’re wants, not needs - with great fundamentals, you can perform with any provided tools. Playing on the nicest course are the tertiary elements - a great golfer should be able to make a great round on top-, mid- or bottom-tier golf courses, because they understand the fundamentals necessary to adapt their game.

Sure, high-end tools can refine your brew, but they shouldn’t define it. Great coffee starts with understanding your beans, utilizing your standard recipe, and understanding how to modify through visual and sensory cues. When you master the essentials, you gain an deep understanding for brewing—trust your senses over gadgets. Don’t focus on the 1% improvements until you’ve mastered the 90%.

So this year, we recommend to skip the FOMO-driven upgrades and focus on the timeless fundamentals of coffee: the ritual, the beans, and the brew. Spend more time and energy researching roasters and how they approach their coffee roasting and sourcing, or researching farms and they’re stylistic approach to production.

Reading: World Coffee Research (WCR) has announced a renewed $10 million commitment from over 190 member companies across 29 countries to advance global coffee breeding and strengthen seed systems. This investment aims to develop climate-resilient coffee varieties, enhance farmer prosperity, and ensure a sustainable coffee supply.

Watching: Dave started an entertaining new series called Guess the Drip, a coffee game-show, where the contestant tries to guess the Aroma, Flavour, Origin, Varietal, Process and Farm, through a blind tasting of a brew. Do you think you, could Guess the Drip? Fun and showcases just how hard coffee truly is!

Listening: On this day, LEGO patented its iconic interlocking brick, laying the foundation for a global phenomenon. For a deeper look at how LEGO continues to innovate and inspire, listen to Our LEGO® Stories, the podcast exploring its impact and creativity worldwide

Brewing: no scale, just visuals baby. Lot’s of espresso this week, as we’re in Tokyo doing some consulting and coaching work!

respond with a photo of your brew bar or get creative with an AI generated scene and we’ll feature and share in an upcoming week of BTD

Distance: Buy the Drip run club. Clocking some kilometers. Help us push a few more kilometers through this week?

Want to join us as we hit the road? Let’s connect on Strava! or, join our Whoop group - just respond to the email and let’s grind together!