Yeah, who doesn't love that extra hour of babysitting a boiling pot of beans just to save a dollar... real time saver there.

Last month I found a little yellow blob in my snake plant pot and freaked out lol. It ended up being just a harmless slime mold that disappeared after a few days. I honestly think the soil is just too rich or maybe stays damp too long, but it's wild how mushrooms can just pop up like that. My roommate had a bright red one in her peace lily once and we were both terrified until we looked it up. They come out of nowhere and then vanish just as quick, it's kind of cool actually.

$200 a month adds up, but I only check mine when something feels off.

Don't agree about Hakko... I've seen way too many $100 stations fail just as fast as that hardware store iron.

Oh yeah, that bloom step makes a big difference. I had the exact same problem and slowing my pour to a trickle for the first bit fixed the bitterness issue for me too.