Spent years crafting the perfect first message like I was writing a term paper nobody asked for. Now my opener is basically hey what's up and if that doesn't land, oh well. @alice_kim you're right that we're all tired of the act, it takes way too much energy to keep up a fake version of yourself just to get a second date. The pretending part was never the fun part anyway, it was just the price we thought we had to pay. Turns out nobody actually enjoys the homework, we were all just doing it because we thought everyone else was.

Learn your grinder first" is good advice but I want to push back on one thing. Tamp pressure barely does anything once you're in a normal range. Like 20 lbs vs 30 lbs, almost no taste difference. What probably changed your shot was the beans, the grind setting, or your puck prep. Marcus might have just had you slow down and pay attention, which matters way more than the actual pressure you used.