From the mouth of an underpaid barista

Reblog. Click the image, and Enjoy.

Tue, 03 May 2011 20:53:48 -0600

omg

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

Fuck yeah

Love your blog. I too, am an underpaid barista.

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 10:34:42 -0600

Thank you!

We underpaid baristas need recognition!

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.

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 10:34:21 -0600

Yeah - the cherry has lemon in it! So, the acid was the problem. As long as its mixed with espresso first it’s good to go!

i wish i could say i made this! // Me too! That’s...

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 23:54:30 -0600

i wish i could say i made this!

Me too! That’s amazing!

My first ever good-looking rosetta! Made at home :)

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 23:53:47 -0600

My first ever good-looking rosetta! Made at home :)

we miss you! // I’m back!

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 23:53:23 -0600

we miss you!

I’m back!

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

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 23:52:53 -0600

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 employees making more money than Starbucks wanted to pay them. I don’t know if I believe that but…I fill out Starbucks applications every couple of months. Even locations inside of Grocery stores. I have the experience to work as barista or shift supervisor…But what I want to know is do you think when I put that my current wage is $11 they figure they wont match it, so they don’t consider my application? What is the starting wage there for barista and supervisor?

// Can anyone help out here?

I have applied to starbucks a few times, and have also never even gotten an interview. So, this is an interesting thought!

baristabro: Second decent but stillreally bad tulip attempt

Sat, 12 Mar 2011 15:00:08 -0700

baristabro:

Second decent but stillreally bad tulip attempt

Syphon Coffee

Sat, 12 Mar 2011 14:00:07 -0700

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 best as a black coffee but it is so clean and crisp and it leaves NO aftertaste(only if your barista is good)! no coffee after taste. it is crazy!!!

im practicing latte art, our pitchers have a very tiny spout,...

Sat, 12 Mar 2011 13:00:08 -0700

im practicing latte art, our pitchers have a very tiny spout, barely anything, but i managed to make a dragon! haha.

>///< I love your blog...

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

Sat, 12 Mar 2011 12:00:07 -0700

Thanks! Annnd sure?

Blog abuse...

Sat, 12 Mar 2011 09:24:14 -0700

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 and have to talk myself out of calling up my boss and just saying I’m done, and I’m not coming in.

As I’ve said before, I work for a locally owned place and the staff kind of built it from the ground up - we made the policies ect, ect. Unfortunately, there is no sort of management system. At all. This job has turned into a joke for so many people who work here, and for those of use who care - we’re doing ten times the work. This has been brought up to the owner numerous times, but he isn’t “inclined” to set up any sort of discipline system and people take advantage of that.

It’s unfortunate, because I truly care about the business - I want it to go well. But, people here take this as a job that they don’t have to do anything. because if theres a mess - and it’s not cleaned up, it doesn’t matter. Nothing happens. So, me, and one other employee here are constantly cleaning up after everyone, dreading the messes that are going to be made and getting paid the same as everyone else. And, the owner thinks it’s funny.

Also - if I’m honest about everything the business isn’t doing well. At all. Our biggest day has been 450.00, and that isn’t… something to be proud of. We don’t have a blender, we have limited syrup flavors, and we’re getting our small bit of business from college students - and it’s almost summer. Right now, it’s Spring Break and we’re doing horrible. Again - the owner doesn’t seem to care.

So, I’m entirely burnt out and desperately applying to other places because I want to be at least okay with going to work, instead of getting here in the morning and wanting to scream. It isn’t really a good feeling.

But - on that note, I’m going ——

I would just like to say I was interrupted while typing by a customer hitting on me and asking for my number. Wow.

—

Anyway - I’m going to start queueing up submissions again and please keep submitting to keep me sane.

Several Customer Conversations

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 13:00:07 -0700

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 any better.

The customer immediately following him:

“Did you say your name was ***?”
“Yes.”
“My name is ***! It’s a great name and makes great people!”
“It sure does!”

The customer immediately following that:
“Are you Ms. *********?”
“Yes?” (As the light dawns on me that one of my students is probably in the back seat, I stick my head out the window to see better) “Who’s back there asking for me?”

Quite a combination!

// Thanks

http://kitenarie.tumblr.com/ !!

on the topic of cherry and steamers, sorry my advice didnt work all that well. May i suggest two...

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 12:00:07 -0700

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 has lemon in it! So, the acid in the syrup messes up the milk. Adding a few pumps of vanilla tones it down and it works!

Thank you http://choochoo11.tumblr.com/ !

Hey you might just need to have the milk not go to the full temp for the milk and cherry. Also like...

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 12:00:06 -0700

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 I’m just not going to use Cherry in steamers.

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.

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 00:35:27 -0700

Iced tea?

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

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 18:26:59 -0700

That is so sad!

Can you drink tea?

A horrible night.

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:00:06 -0700

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 drink” so i made her an americano and a double shot of espresso after much debate on what it was she was actually wanting. She paid, took the drinks and came back 15 minutes later and asked me to put sweetner in it. I put in some classic syrup in each, approperiate to the size of the drink and figured that’s cool we’re done. 30 minutes later she comes back and asks for more water in them, so i put more hot water in them, starting to get really weirded out. Another half an hour or so gos by and she comes back and asks for “hot milk cream”, at that point i was like “i don’t know what to do anymore for you sorry” since we were running low on half and half anyway. “i should have charged you for your syrup and i can’t steam milk for something like that since you’ve left three times and you ordered it over an hour ago” I didnt know what else to say. She went over to the condiment bar and grabbed a handful of splenda and walked out. Weird.

Later that night we had a latin-american couple come in, stand at the register and proceed to make out in the most unapporperiate way possible. I asked them if they needed a minute, they didn’t respond. I skipped them, got the rest of the line (at least 6 people) drinks and made them. The couple was still making out. I coughed, loudly and asked them if they were ready. They ignored me, so i ignored them and finished stocking the pastry case. They walked up to the register after a good 15 minutes of this shit and ordered a french vanilla cappuccino (ut oh) and a caramel frappucino. I made them and called them out, placing them on the bar. They ignored it, knee deep back into lip sucking. I brought it over and put it on the counter by our register, within arm’s reach for them. They ignored it still. My shift was staring at me out of the corner of my eye as they walked over to the bar which is out of my view behind our espresso machines (im barely 5’2”). My shift’s eye got wider and she stared at me as they went and sat down (great) in our cafe. She told me later that he was taking a stir stick and poking it into her mouth over and over. Fantastic, exactly what you should do in public.

Why do people leave their houses sometimes i just dont even.

much love to you, laugh at my struggles and fight the good fight~

(ps i am learning latte art, or the best we can do with our less an par pitchers, tips are always welcomed!)

Thanks http://mdorn.tumblr.com/ !!

As for the latte art, the main thing is to get your wrist motions right. As long as your pitcher has a pour spout and isn’t just round - you should be good to go!

http://geniusbeauty.com/gift-ideas/24-ingenious-ideas-coffee-mugs/

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:00:06 -0700

http://geniusbeauty.com/gift-ideas/24-ingenious-ideas-coffee-mugs/:

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!

lushlady: Top Chef night calls for an Espresso...

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 13:00:06 -0700

lushlady:

Top Chef night calls for an Espresso Martini!

Vanilla vodka, chilled espresso, creme de cacao, and dash of cinnamon. A nighttime frappuccino.

Photo credit: Lush Lady

We had a company party and we made Espresso martinis, and other amazing things. Like, chai with baileys and Kahlua!

From the mouth of an underpaid barista

Reblog. Click the image, and Enjoy.

Love your blog. I too, am an underpaid barista.

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.

i wish i could say i made this! // Me too! That’s...

My first ever good-looking rosetta! Made at home :)

we miss you! // I’m back!

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

baristabro: Second decent but stillreally bad tulip attempt

Syphon Coffee

im practicing latte art, our pitchers have a very tiny spout,...

>///< I love your blog... Roses are red Coffee is brown You seem real sweet Be my Tumblr Prom date?

Blog abuse...

Several Customer Conversations

on the topic of cherry and steamers, sorry my advice didnt work all that well. May i suggest two...

Hey you might just need to have the milk not go to the full temp for the milk and cherry. Also like...

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.

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

A horrible night.

http://geniusbeauty.com/gift-ideas/24-ingenious-ideas-coffee-mugs/

lushlady: Top Chef night calls for an Espresso...

>///< I love your blog...

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