From the mouth of an underpaid barista: Archive

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omg this game was banned in my school because people would just play it over and over again in the library Fuck yeah

May 4th

193,609 notes

hayleybeee asked: Love your blog. I too, am an underpaid barista.

Apr 8th

1 note

Anonymous asked: Just my 2 cents on the cherry/milk dilemma. I know a lot of time milk will curdle when mixed with fruit because milk is a base and fruit is an acid. I'm not sure if the syrup they were using was pure cherry, or if it was a sweetened cherry flavor. I don't know. Just a thought.

Apr 8th

3 tags

Apr 7th

22 notes

4 tags

Apr 7th

5 notes

4 tags

we miss you! // I’m back!

Apr 7th

3 notes

3 tags

They say they are hiring, but they wont hire me?

This goes out to the Starbucks employees. I’ve been working in the Coffee biz for going on 6 years. Ideally I would like to work for Starbucks. Especially since the locations hiring are a lot closer to my home and it’s pretty much the last known company I have yet to work for. Recently I trained a girl who said she got laid off from Starbucks because they wanted to wipe out all of the...

Apr 7th

1 note

3 tags

Mar 13th

15 notes

4 tags

Syphon Coffee

I don’t know if any of you have heard or seen the process of A Syphon coffee but it is a whole new experience in the coffee world! Take a look at this clip and it shows you what it’s method is and the instrument for it, which is pretty cool looking http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHz-NIPTvf0 If you haven’t tried a coffee from a Syphon before i really suggest you do, it is...

Mar 12th

4 tags

Mar 12th

7 notes

macapan asked: >///< I love your blog...

Roses are red
Coffee is brown
You seem real sweet
Be my Tumblr Prom date?

Mar 12th

2 tags

Blog abuse...

I have been severely neglecting this blog - and I’m sorry for those of you who were reading it regularly. I would sit down to come up with something but honestly - I am just entirely burnt out and I have a few submissions to post and I’ll continue to post those - but my job right now is… pretty close to soul-sucking. It’s to the point where I wake up on days I have to work...

Mar 12th

1 note

4 tags

Several Customer Conversations

Three cars in a row at the drive thru: “Thanks honey.” … “I didn’t mean that offensively… you see, that’s how I grew up. It was okay back then.” “No worries, I understand. I wasn’t offended at all.” Then this man tells me a story about his grandmother saying racist things basically because she was old and didn’t know...

Feb 25th

on the topic of cherry and steamers, sorry my advice didnt work all that well. May i suggest two more thing try chocolate and cherry together ( make it a special or something) and or try using amaretto in place of cherry. That one steams better at the shops I have worked at. // Ah don’t worry at all! I was at a total loss myself. I’ve discovered the problem though! The cherry syrup...

Feb 25th

3 tags

Hey you might just need to have the milk not go to the full temp for the milk and cherry. Also like I said earlier it would be easier to let the espresso be mixed in first. With ones that dont require coffee, use a different milk that has helped me before. Good luck // Thanks http://choochoo11.tumblr.com/ !! I messed around with different milk, different technique and determined that...

Feb 24th

writteninsanity asked: Yes. But I don't. I can't stand drinking hot things that much so I usually just complain about the tea being too hot until it's like an hour later and I don't want the tea.

Feb 24th

writteninsanity asked: I just thought I would let you know that I am allergic to coffee. It's sad.

Feb 24th

4 tags

A horrible night.

I’m a barista at a bux in kc, mo (good to see you survived the snow storm too) Funny story. Last night i felt like i was in the twilight zone. I had a crazy lady come in, i couldn’t place her accent. My shift asked her in spanish if she spoke spanish and i asked her if french. It was something odd. She ordered “one american coffee” and “one american espresso coffee...

Feb 24th

2 tags

http://geniusbeauty.com/gift-ideas/24-ingenious-ide... →

caramelspoon: Need a gift idea? Here’s one for the coffee/tea lover! Check out the website, it has tonnes of innovative coffee cup designs!

Feb 23rd

2 tags

Feb 23rd

26 notes

Feb 23rd

5,404 notes

4 tags

Drink of the Moment.

This morning - I am dragging. So bad. I leaned my head on the counter and had to remind myself that I couldn’t go to sleep here. So. I’m making my “WAKEUP” coffee. Four shots of espresso - two pumps of sugar free vanilla, one pump of sugar free hazelnut, a tiny bit of skim milk and some agave sweetener. This all goes in an 8 ounce glass, and it’s even classier if...

Feb 23rd

4 notes

2 tags

Feb 23rd

11 notes

3 tags

Pay it forward.

One of my favorite places to work was at the coffee kiosk in a hospital. The hospital was very close to brand new when I worked there - had some of the best doctors in the world joining their staff and it is still an amazing place. Amazing things happen there. They have the best heart center in the region and everyone who works there is genuinely nice. My customers were a mix of doctors and staff...

Feb 22nd

9 notes

2 tags

Feb 22nd

29 notes

3 tags

Favorite customers!

I complain a lot about customers - I know. So, perhaps we should all talk about customers we adore! Right now, sitting at the coffee shop are two sisters. They own a restaurant a few blocks away and they started coming in here when we first opened. They have the same thing every time they’re in here, a french press with our light roast coffee - a small pitcher with 1/2+1/2, and a small...

Feb 22nd

3 tags

willbarrett: The Linje Espressomaker from Oystein Helle Husby. Made of wood. Well. I need that. Its just so pretty!

Feb 22nd

4 tags

On the note of pissing us off....

I am not personally a Barista but I do work in customer service so.. I’m sorry, but despite the fact that I ask how you are doing every time you come up to the counter to order something, I don’t actually care. The whole idea of “How are you.” is just to get the response of “great” so I can tell you to have a nice day so you can walk away and I can get paid. I...

Feb 21st

2 tags

Feb 21st

4 tags

A typical sunday at the E-BAR

A woman orders an iced latte. Mmm my favorite. I gladly make this drink with love. Hand it to her, watch her sip it and make a horrifying face. She hated it. So she comes up to me and says, “I want this drink, only sweet.” (heads up, we don’t carry simple syrup) So I start naming off flavors to her. She says no to all of them, and the tells me, “I want the drink to be the...

Feb 21st

5 notes

4 tags

Feb 21st

5 notes

Feb 21st

2 tags

Feb 21st

4 tags

More things to do to make your barista mad:

I feel like this list is never going to end - because every day, among all the very nice and very friendly customers there is that one that makes me want to lean across the counter and slap them. - Don’t argue with a barista if they are trying to explain something. When you come in and order a vanilla mack-ee-ah-toe you sound like an ass. If they didn’t laugh in your face,...

Feb 20th

6 notes

2 tags

Feb 20th

4 tags

Actual conversation

This really happened: “If I ask you for an iced caramel latte, does that make sense to you?” “…yes…is that what you wanted?” “Yes.” It turned out that she was new to the whole experience of going to a coffee house for her coffee and she wasn’t sure how to place her order. She was very nice but it was definitely a weird experience to have....

Feb 20th

3 tags

Whoops!

I’ve been overwhelmed at work and my queue was full of pictures and such (thank goodness for that!) and I usually mixed in stories and such between them - but I’m back! With stories! A little more alive now that I’m not working doubles. Ouch.

Feb 20th

Anonymous asked: So what I've been in the barista business for a bit now, but I'm totally unfamiliar to the debate about cocoa powder and creating contrast. What exactly does this mean, and why do some think it's contrast cheating?

Feb 20th

melovecoffee asked: For the bar towel question.

I think that's what it boils down to, barista responsibility. If I jump on bar and things are messy or my towels are milky, I will switch them out. Typically I like to keep the towels semi-wet with sanitary water just to eliminate drips and messes. Whenever I train, I always emphasize keep your bar and bar towels clean. It all comes down to a...

Feb 20th

4 tags

Sanitary steam wand towel suggestions?

I’ve always wondered how to properly store a steam wand towel. I’ve even googled it, but have found nothing. What better place to ask than in a barista blog! Now, I have worked at 3 coffee shops and they’ve all done the same thing. You steam the milk, wipe the wand off with a damp sanitized towel, and then put the towel on a plate on top of the espresso machine or under it. And...

Feb 20th

2 tags

☮⚓⚜♻: A TRUE DRIVE THRU STORY. →

whatsupalyssa: C: MAY I HAVE A SMALL ICED PASSION TEA SHAKEN PLEASE ! Me: Sure, would you like that sweetened or unsweetened? C: Hm…. IT DOESN’T MATTER! ME: IT IS TWO DIFFERENT THINGS! WOULD YOU LIKE SUGAR IN IT OR NOT? C: WHAT IS THIS THING SUGAR YOU SPEAK OF? I DONT…

Feb 19th

7 notes

4 tags