I've been using this machine for a while and, yes, it is actually very important to add the coffee such that it gets wet but floats undisturbed above the water. If you stir the pot or, worse, put the ground coffee in first, it takes a verrrryy long time for the coffee to drip through the filter after it is brewed. It is literally a drop every few seconds rather than the slow stream you get when you set it up correctly.