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If there is such a thing as a perfect cup, then there must be such a thing as perfect taste. Only someone with perfect taste will recognize a perfect cup of coffee. However this unfortunate person with perfect taste is doomed to continual disappointment in his coffee because how often do we find perfection in this life? Once? Twice? Every morning? That’s simply not possible.

The person seeking perfection will be constantly throwing out the coffee at hand and brewing another pot, looking for the elusive perfection, disappointed yet again. “No,” they will think, “this is lacking in perfection. Can’t drink it. Not perfect.”

And off they will go on their fool’s errand of seeking perfection. You can imagine how awful life would be if there weren’t that morning cup of coffee to get the day started. And if you only wanted perfection, you would never have any coffee to drink. So the answer to the question is “no, there is no such thing as a perfect cup.” However, there are many satisfying imperfect cups, and we of the imperfect taste should be grateful. Lacking perfect taste, we will be eminently satisfied with the cup of coffee we find in our hand however we find it: perfect, imperfect, satisfying or just barely adequate.

Try to use newly ground, fresh coffee beans and brew in a spotlessly clean coffeemaker using filtered water. Pour and drink immediately. That’s a recipe for perfect coffee, at least as perfect as it’s possible to get today.

We could of course apply the biblical quotation to this question: “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” The meaning becomes an answer to the question thusly: “We may not live another day, so drink up and forget about perfection; today’s coffee is all we have, so just enjoy it.” And that’s a perfect philosophy for life, cynical though it is.