From Beans to Build Times
How a day-long flight through three brewing methods sharpened my focus, sped up my CI pipeline cleanup, and reminded me why the smallest rituals matter.
07:00 — Defining the Experiment
The goal was simple: renovate a bloated continuous-integration workflow that had crept from eight-minute builds to a lethargic sixteen. To keep myself honest—and awake—I paired each work block with a different coffee style, noting alertness, mood, and tangible progress.
07:15 — Pour-Over Pragmatism
Brew: 18 g washed Colombian, V60, 3 min total. First sip: Crisp citrus, gentle bloom of sweetness.
The slow, meditative pour mirrored the first audit pass through my pipeline steps. I listed every redundant cache key, overlapping test suite, and uncompressed artifact. The clarity of the cup matched the clarity of purpose: identify, don’t optimize yet. Energy level felt focused but not jittery—perfect for wide-lens thinking.
10:30 — Espresso for Rapid Iteration
Brew: 17 g blend, 36 g yield, 25 s pull. First sip: Cocoa punch, short finish, instant wake-up.
With priorities set, I needed speed. Espresso’s concentrated jolt synchronized with rapid-fire tasks: deleting dead stages, upgrading the base images, and shaving idle seconds off parallel jobs. My mind felt like the shot itself—short, intense bursts. Git history shrank; build logs slimmed. Drawback: the sharp spike meant a noticeable crash after ninety minutes.
13:00 — Cold-Brew Consistency
Brew: 1:7 ratio, 14-hour steep, served over a single cube. First sip: Smooth chocolate headline, zero acidity, slow caffeine release.
Post-lunch drowsiness loomed, so I switched to cold brew’s marathon fuel. Its steady buzz carried me through the most tedious part: re-sequencing test groups and fine-tuning cache paths. This was heads-down, headphones-on labor, and the low-acid profile kept heartburn—and context switching—at bay.
16:45 — Results at a Glance
- 🔄 Build time: Dropped from 16 min to 6 min 45 s.
- 📄 Pipeline file lines: Trimmed by 42 %.
- 📊 Subjective focus (1-10): Pour-over 8, Espresso 9 (but crashed to 6), Cold brew 8 steady.
- 💡 Most productive window: 10:45-12:15, right after espresso peak.
What Brew Fits Which Task?
| Task Flavor | Ideal Coffee | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|
| Big-picture audit | Pour-over | Steady release, encourages patience |
| Rapid-fire fixes | Espresso | Sharp focus for short bursts |
| Long refactors | Cold brew | Even caffeine curve, reduces fatigue |
(Skip the espresso if your work sprint exceeds two hours; the slump can nullify gains.)
Beyond the Cup: Three Takeaways
- Ritual beats willpower. Knowing a fresh mug awaited each milestone created micro-deadlines that kept procrastination in check.
- Match energy to task type. High-intensity caffeine during rote work leads to restless tab-hopping; save the jolt for quick wins.
- Optimize the pipeline, optimize the day. Every minute you cut from CI is a minute you get back—enough for a second pour-over or a short walk to reset.
Closing the Laptop
By sunset the pipeline purred, and my desk smelled faintly of three distinct roasts. The exercise cost about five dollars in beans and paid itself back in hours saved each deployment. Next refactor cycle, I might swap espresso for a classic macchiato—or maybe experiment with matcha for the afternoon stretch. Either way, the lesson stands: the brew you choose can shape the build you ship.
Happy brewing, and even happier building.