I made a clearly bad shot today, but before I tossed it in the sink before cleaning up to make a second, I tasted it. And for a second, I could taste all the subtle flavors culinary coffee people talk about: there was chocolate, a distinct berry taste, and a sweetness — then like I’d run into a wall, nothing but the most intense bitterness, enough that I spit into a sink and washed immediately.

My second shot was good, but I was thinking of that first taste of the first shot.