IMO it's the eta-reductions that are terrible for readability. I think the following is fine: Optional<String> x = Helper.functionOne()

IMO it's the eta-reductions that are terrible for readability. I think the following is fine: Optional<String> x = Helper.functionOne() .map((descriptiveName) => Helper.functionTwo(descriptiveName)) .flatMap((descriptiveName) => Helper.functionThree(descriptiveName));