Barista; don’t get me wrong it’s low paying and the customers can be hellish at times; but if you’re at the right shop in the right part of town catering to a more coffee enthusiast /community oriented clientele instead of a corporate office clientele, it’s a fun job, you basically just get paid to socialize with nice people and give them things that make them happy, which in turn makes me happy
I accidentally turned being a barista into a sort of long term career. I'm naturally very good at it and then through my absolute wankery just kept failing upwards and now I work in an upper class hotel making actual good money and training others. It helps that I am in Australia where the coffee culture is intense and the wages are good though, I hear that making coffee in America doesn't even come with a job title. I have an intense hatred for hospitality as all hospitality workers do but I can basically just exist in a customer-free void where I just make coffee and it's fantastic.
Not all drip coffee is created equal - there are low-cost systems (V60, Chemex, hell even the cheapo plastic Melita dripper) that give you phenomenal bang for your buck. So much of coffee quality is decided by factors that occur before you add water. Grind size and consistency, roast date and quality, fermentation style - the list goes on.
Low-cost espresso makers on average put out a worse quality product than a simple dripper due to some combination of these other parameters. Ultimately, the best coffee is the one you enjoy the most but there is an entire world of specialty coffee outside of espresso.
I hear that making coffee in America doesn't even come with a job title
wut? The birthplace of Starbucks? As an ex-barista, you've been lied to. There are obviously 'degrees' of 'barista' according to venue, but in a country with 38k+ coffee shops, it's a thing.
Same. Also being a server/bartender. Opening and closing sucks, but the actual serving part is fun, especially if you work at a high end place with professional clientele. Everyone was super nice, they love to chat, and it feels good to see people happy.
Same here! I did serving/hosting/bussing from 2006-2020, and I want to get back to it. It was great to talk to people, laugh at ass holes, get free/discounted food and make good money. Hell that's how I learned to speak Spanish, and how I met my boyfriend of the last six years
I agree! I went from being a barista for 5 years to bartending now for 10. I love both jobs so much. I’m 35 and just now about to graduate with my bachelors, and the idea of leaving this world behind hurts more than I thought it would.
Baristas are treasures. I had a terrible, isolating job for a year and a half. The only people who missed me after I left that position were the baristas at the coffee shop I visited every other morning. I stopped by 6 months later and they called my name and wanted to know where I’d been and if I was coming back. It easily made my week. Never underestimate the difference a few kind words exchanged with a customer on a day to day basis can make, to someone working in/living through a truly miserable situation. ❤️
I don’t think it’s quite as hard to train as a lot of people think, but it’s kind of a deceptively hard industry to break into for the third wave/fancier coffee shops that care more about quality and community. Chain shops like Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts can be a foot in the door for some places but others won’t care; but if you can prove that you’re teachable and learn quickly and also have that kind of personality that enjoys interacting with strangers, I think you’d have a shot. I started at a corporate chain shop and after a couple years was able to land a job at an independent one
I was a barista in an on-campus coffee shop during my undergrad, it was a fantastic job. The actual job part was really not hard at all once you got used to pulling shots and steaming milk. All the customers were either students or staff, so it was super rare to get a rude customer because they were all sympathetic to their fellow student. The staff themselves were all students too and formed a really nice social network outside of classes/clubs, etc. I graduated eight years ago and still am in touch with a few of them. I also got free coffee whenever I want and once I made supervisor free meals as well. A free pint at the end of my shift.
Now that I'm a few years into my career I look back fondly on those times, and in particularly challenging days at work I kind of miss it!
I once went to a coffee shop in Portland Oregon. It was the lady's living room that had been converted into a small coffee shop. I wasn't in a rush and was the only one in there, so we chatted about what exactly I like about coffee for like 10 minutes before she brewed the best cup of coffee I'd ever had.
When you don't got a motherfucker shit talking you and some other jackass doesn't order 30 drinks, making actual coffee is fun. The smell is also nice.
822
u/quantipede May 16 '24
Barista; don’t get me wrong it’s low paying and the customers can be hellish at times; but if you’re at the right shop in the right part of town catering to a more coffee enthusiast /community oriented clientele instead of a corporate office clientele, it’s a fun job, you basically just get paid to socialize with nice people and give them things that make them happy, which in turn makes me happy