The Bold One

"Hello! How can I help you today?" - Me

"Um, I would like a really 'Bold' cup of coffee. Do you have anything that is really 'BOLD'? Do you do that here?" - Customer


Bold.


Bold means absolutely nothing. Bupkis, if you will.

Bold is a font, a statement, an action.... not a descriptor of coffee varietals.

Not to mention that "bold" has a different meaning to every Tom, Dick and Harry that walk into my shop, or any shop for that matter!

Whenever I teach a coffee class, give a lecture or host a tasting. I go around the room and ask each person what "bold" means to them. Everyone has a slightly different answer, or they follow it up with another pet peeve of mine and say "strong". Fuck my life! Seriously? That is also an extremely ambiguous statement! Do you mean strong in caffeine? Or taste? Or body? Or acidity? Or flavor clarity? Or finish? etc. etc. etc.

Bottom line, learn what you're asking for. Even if it is a cup of coffee, ask for what you want and if you don't know (like most people - bless their hearts, most of the time they come around to be great regulars) then please, just listen to the talking person on the opposite side of the counter and respect what they are telling you! Ask questions when interested, learn something new and enjoy! These are not difficult steps to follow, especially if you happen to have a barista that is willing to walk through a decision making process with you.

In my opinion a good barista will ask you series of questions to help you to decide on a varietal of coffee for you to enjoy; however, that is assuming that the shop you are in is offering multiple varietals at that time (at my shop we have 5 to choose from), more importantly that the barista cares about the coffees and knows them intimately. These questions may include asking about acidity, body, flavor notes, etc. This job requires patience and love to help a customer choose the best cup for them on any given day, so please, pretty please with cherries on top, treat those baristas with the same respect they give you and the coffee they are serving.

I was chatting with a customer of mine the other day, one of my favorite regulars, she's in every day! We were discussing dating and I mentioned to her that in the past month I have asked out two different guys and have been rejected both times. The conversation was light hearted, not deep in anyway. I was doing my best to make light of my embarrassments, but also gain some insight as to what I was doing wrong! I said to her, "What's my problem? I'm decently looking, pretty even, I'm extremely outgoing, I have a great job, WTF!? I'm a catch! Why am I getting rejected left and right?", and she said "Where are you meeting these guys? Under what kind of circumstances did you ask them out?", at this point I figured she thought I was trying pick up lines at a bar or something, so I declared, "Here!" - - which is true. I met both of them through the shop, and one was my "crushtomer". I don't get out much and I work at least 60 hours per week and I don't really believe in internet dating, so of course, I meet people at the shop, some of my good friends I met through shops, why not a date? Suddenly she replied "Wow, you're BOLD"! Bold, really?

I guess I am kind of.... bold.

But what does that mean? Again, it's such an ambiguous term!!!

All my life I've been told that men want strong, independent women, non clingy women, out going women, confident women, right? So do those attributes not encompass the meaning of the word "bold"?

We continued our conversation for a bit longer when another one of my staff came in and joined in the conversation. As we wound down, she looked at me and said something I've heard my entire life, "Well, you just have a really strong personality and that can be intimidating".

Specialty coffee can be intimidating. Choose a coffee, choose a brew method, understand extraction,  know brewing ratios, understand grinding, water temperatures, agitation, timing, dosing, etc. But a person, a female going out on a limb to ask you out? Is that intimidating, really?

If that was the case and coffee was as intimidating as I am perceived to be, then I would never have fallen in love with my job and learned so much! Why can't someone take that chance on me? Or is that question a bit too, bold?