4 Minute Timer

The clock is already set to four minutes, which is 240 seconds. The Quick start menu has no 4 minute entry, so it shows Custom time while the three boxes below hold your setting.

1. Check that Hours reads 0, Minutes reads 4 and Seconds reads 0. For a tea that wants 3 minutes 30 seconds, change Minutes to 3 and Seconds to 30.
2. Write a Label (optional), such as Assam or Set 1. It shows above the digits and in the message at zero.
3. Keep Play a sound when time is up ticked if you will be in another room, or untick it to count down silently.
4. Press Start at the moment the water goes on the leaves or the first interval begins. The same figure appears in the browser tab title.
5. Use Pause and Resume if you are interrupted, Reset to return to 04:00, and Full screen for big digits on a counter or a gym wall.

The keyboard shortcuts are Space to start or pause and R to reset while stopped, as long as the cursor is not in a text box.

Four minutes sits in the usual range for black tea. Many packs suggest somewhere between three and five minutes, and the printed time on the box is the one to trust because leaf size, cut and blend all change how quickly flavor comes out. Hotter water and smaller leaves extract faster, which is why tea bags often need less time than loose leaf. Green, white and herbal infusions follow their own rules, so set the minutes and seconds from the pack instead of assuming four.

Start the clock when the water meets the leaves, not when the kettle is switched on. Then take the tea out when the alarm sounds, because leaving it in makes the cup stronger and often more bitter. If you like it milder, a smaller number in the box is the simplest adjustment: try 3 minutes 30 seconds next time and compare.

Coffee has a similar rhythm. In a pour-over, a typical routine is a short bloom of roughly 30 to 45 seconds, then the remaining water, with the whole brew finishing around the three to four minute mark. A French press is commonly left for about four minutes before pressing. These are common starting points, not rules, and your grind and beans will change the result. Start the clock with the first pour and taste before you change anything.

If a recipe splits the time into steps, the clock reading is easy to plan from. For a four minute brew with a 40 second bloom, the bloom ends when the clock reads 03:20 and the brew ends at 00:00. A timer cannot tell you how a drink tastes, so use it to repeat what you liked, not to replace tasting.

A Tabata block is exactly four minutes: eight rounds of 20 seconds of effort followed by 10 seconds of rest. The timer does not announce the intervals, but the clock reading tells you where you are, so you can follow this table:

Each round takes 30 seconds, and 8 x 30 = 240 seconds. Put the page in Full screen and prop the device where you can see it. This style of training is demanding, so choose an effort that matches your fitness and talk to a qualified professional first if you are unsure whether it suits you. The alarm marks only the end of the block.

Four minutes also suits a short talk. At about 130 words per minute that is around 520 words, so a script of 450 to 500 words leaves room to breathe. Check the length of your draft in the word counter, then rehearse against the clock. Slides help too: one slide per minute gives four, which is plenty.

The page has to stay open, and it does not repeat. For a shorter limit, try the 3 minute timer, and for a slightly longer one the 5 minute timer. The minutes to seconds converter helps when a recipe lists its times in seconds.