The One with all the Consistency

Consistency. Reliability. That's all you need right?

*Tungsten Steel Burrs from Malkonig = most consistent & reliable burrs out there. 

Let's apply this to coffee; without the majority of these components being consistent and reliable, our business will fail and/or our coffee quality will suffer. (in no particular order):

• Roasted Coffee
• Customer Service
• Preparation of coffee
• Water - and all its variables
• Baristas
• Equipment
• Vendors
• Customers

How many times as cafe managers or trainers have we impressed the importance of consistency on our baristas? We sound like broken records! Tamp straight, don't over dose, weigh every shot, steam milk to the exact same temp every time, place the stamp on the bag in the right place, BE ON TIME, make sure that roasting curve is the same every time, the list can truly go on forever. Think about working bar and getting a new coffee, dialing it in and then focusing only on making it the absolute best espresso every time. What a sense of completion and accomplishment to be a consistently great barista! It's invigorating to feel like the Queen of the espresso bar, smiling at customers, and killing it in every way. That's why we do this right? 

Let's now apply this to relationships/romantic/friendship/business or otherwise, we want the following to be reliable and consistent, otherwise our relationships will fail and/or the quality of our relationships will suffer. 

• Friends
• Love
• Family
• Spouses/Partners
• Respect
• Clergy
• Neighbors
• Classmates
• Honesty
• Colleagues
• Customers
• Vendors
• Employers
• Business Partners
• Staff

Why can't we be the broken record in our relationships the way we do when working with coffee? I mean this in the best way possible. Allow me to explain; imagine if we were constantly pushing each other to be better. What if we applied the same type of commitment, care, persistency, love and energy into our relationships? What if we stood up and said more things like, "be nice to people, great job on holding the door open, thanks for the food, your service was excellent thank you for doing your job so well, thank you for sharing your experience with me, I've learned a lot" or "hey, I like you as a person, we should be friends, I've really enjoyed your time, you're really great at ________ and thank you for sharing that experience with me," or simply, "You can do it! I believe in you". 

Imagine a world, not just in coffee, but in this short span of life we have on this planet, where we truly meant and used these words everyday: "I miss you, Thank you, How are you?, I love you. I hope you are well" or simply, "Thank you for being my friend." 

Please know, I feel blessed by every one of my relationships daily, no matter how strong or distant, however; as I've aged, the struggle to love, if not simply respect, every human being has been the most challenging goal of my life. That being said, I am (to a fault sometimes) an extremely open and sensitive person, the rewards far out weigh the pain. But when it's painful, for me it's heartbreaking, I just have too much pride to show it sometimes, it's those friends that ask, don't judge or allow pride to scare them away. 

                                   

*Devorah and I became friends by risking to trust someone I knew nothing about, but that she was a superb barista and consistently was sweet to everyone. She's been one of my most reliable friends to date. #consistentlybeingfriendly

Allow me to now tie this back into coffee, service and hospitality. Remember working bar again, and you walk over to the customer that has ordered a cappuccino for the first time in your cafe. You are nervous if they'll like it, if they'll complain, etc., but you go over and ask them how they liked it anyway... right? You're curious if you did a good job, if they love the coffee as much as you and mostly that they'll return... right?  There's no pride in not following up with that customer, the pride is in following up, learning and growing from that experience right? 

I challenge everyone out there to follow up with all of your relationships that you cherish this week. Follow up with them the way you would with that novice cappuccino drinker. Why? Simply because that's how I fell in love with cappuccinos and wanted to be a barista. That barista that followed up with me changed my whole life, for one small reason. . . she was truly reliable, consistent and had my best interest at heart. She took pride and ownership in those two qualities; consistency and reliability. 

I challenge us all to bury our pride, before it buries us, just like that barista that changed my life. 

Just imagine what we could do. How cool is it to change someones life? Simply by doing what we do best = consistently taking risks and giving reliably excellent customer service. 

*Barista Camp Wisconsin - First time doing Acro-Yoga = brand new friend : ) #takingrisks

The One with the Podcast

Bottom line, I am a podcast junkie.

True story, I do not believe that we live in a generation of people that read the newspaper, watch the news or read books anymore. I know its tragic, but it's true. If you were to ask 100 people what they spend more of their time doing, watching television, listening to the radio/podcast or reading, the majority will say television.

I am guilty as sin on this note. I love to read, but I find myself so busy that I have even switched to listening to books on tape and adding more and more podcasts to my iPod, just to deal with LA traffic. I get a LOT out of them though, since I spend close to 20 hours per week in a car, might as well listen to something educational, heartwarming or inspiring... right?

Most recently though, I have noticed that there are not a lot of sources for audio media out there in the world of coffee. No one has taken the time or effort to convert some of the amazing texts out there to audio book and the podcasts on coffee that are out there, well they are boring! (Portafilter.net is exempt from this statement, but it's no longer around... so.. ) Not only are they boring, but the information in these said "podcasts" are archaic to say the least, let alone novice. I want something that appeals to the coffee professional of today, something exciting, inspiring, heartwarming and humorous. I want to listen to the conversations we have at expo and regionals, over and over again, but how?

Well, I decided during expo that I would have to take matters in to my own hands! Create a podcast that I would want to listen to and hopefully inspire others to do something similar in their lives. I do not have a whole lot of down time, but hey, what if I cut out 1 hour of television per day? (Yes I am willing to admit I watch and hour of TV per day, you know you do too).. Better yet, what if I ONLY watched television for 3 hours per week! Only 3 show I absolutely adore... or even better only 2 shows I adore and one hour of "research" on the Game Show Network?

So, that was in April and now, it's May, even though I'm HELLA busy and could probably enjoy more television or pick up another book, I decided to try and make this "inner circle" of coffee professionals more accessible to the greater coffee community at large!!

Today I recorded my second podcast. I hope to have at least 4 recorded before I start posting, so they can be posted regularly, like once per week. That's ambitious so, let's say at lead 2 per month!

We have so far covered topics like - Using "standards" in a cafe setting, why we started working in coffee and stay in the industry, and competitions - are they good or bad for the industry! I hope to cover a lot more, including processing, roasting, service, and opinions galore!

But how was I going to make this fun? How was I going to make this entertaining and not just boring? TRIVIA!! I hope that this podcast will evolve into the "wait, wait don't tell me" of coffee, or at least a high bred of that and the jeopardy of coffee! I think my first trivia guests really enjoyed the trivia and everyone is stoked to start listening!

So, my loyal readers, I ask you, please if you have any interest in being on the show, have topics for discussion, or trivia questions.. send them my way to stuffandthingscoffee@gmail.com or follow the podcast on twitter @CoffeeCrosstalk

Although it's a little costly, I am hoping that all of my friends and co-coffee lovers will love the show and some lovely folks will want to help sponsor.. but that is down the line. As of now, I need to give a huge shout out to my roommate, Tobias Renfro, who is (for now) donating his time and studio to mastering and editing the podcast. He is a digital NINJA!!

Thank you for reading and I hope to have you all on the line as we discuss "Stuff and Things; Coffee Crosstalk" and enjoy your tasty bevs... Stay tuned!

Cheers,

ALJ

The One About Nail Salons

Nail Salons are my happy place.

Much like the cafe is a happy place for many of our customers, I hold my local and all nail salons as a sacred and cherished place in my day. A place I go to make myself feel better, get pretty and have "me" time. 

What the hell does the nail salon have to do with being a barista? Or the coffee house and specialty coffee culture you ask? Well, I'm gonna tell you. . . 

Many of us, if not all of us as coffee professionals, has had a horrific customer experience at a cafe, whether it be the coffee or the customer service, 99% of the time, it's the customer service. With all these posts about the "Bitter Barista" and "How not to be a dick" articles, I thought I would respond with a different type of post. I am not usually the one to post in response to something, but in this case, I can't just turn a blind eye. 

I bring up the Nail Salon, my happy place, my home away from home. If you've ever been to a nail salon, the first thing they do is say "Hi! Honey" or "Hello my friend, what you need today?" Off the bat, a friendly greeting and an inquiry into how they can help you. 

Here is the rest of the interaction: 

"I need a mani pedi"

"Ok honey, you pick color"

I take my time, picking out the color I want, sometimes it takes one minute, sometimes up to 10 minutes depending on my mood and how indecisive I am that day. I choose my color and they are waiting patiently. 

"You go to chair number 4"

I sit in the chair, and they immediately go to work, sometimes on my hands first then move me to work on my feet, but %90 of the time they do both at the same time. Always smiling, asking me a variety of questions, "You work today?", "You have children?", and my favorite "You have boyfriend?", all just to be nice and have a little conversation and if I don't want any small talk, they pick up on it and still are just as polite as could be and any complaints I may have, they are easy to oblige. 

"Oh, there's an air bubbly thing, there in that nail, can you fix it please?" 

"Oh, yes my friend, of course."

Then when they're all done, they put my shoes on for me, take my keys out of my purse so I don't ruin my beautiful nails, they THANK ME, tell me to come back soon and I leave feeling just so amazing. 

This is the type of service that I've now come to expect from the salons. And you know what? No matter what nail salon I walk into, the service is always the same, always impeccable and always leaves me wanting more. 

Now, if that were a cafe, would I get that type of experience? Would I call it my happy place? I am sure baristas make better money than manicurists and don't work half as hard, and believe me, doing MY nails is a craft that is bar none, magical. 

I feel like making coffee is magical and would love for every barista to become more like my nail salon folk, that way I can have more happy places. 

The Traveling One

Travel: self-propelled movement

The above definition of the word "Travel" is, by far, one of the most eloquent and beautiful expressions of a word I have ever researched.

Travel defines the way I live my life.

A few months ago, I stopped blogging due to getting too busy for this form of "self-propelled movement" in my life. I write to maintain serenity and balance in my day to day living, in the hopes that  something I might write might touch someone else's life for the better.. at least that's the hope. The reality is that I write for selfish reasons ONLY. I want to, it helps me, and propels my life into growth.

With that being said, I would like to share a small, but inspiring conversation I had a few hours ago with a close friend of mine named Allison, but first, let's step back to almost eight months ago. . .

This past January, as some of you may know, I left my job. Not just any job, at the time I thought it was my "dream job", and really, at the time, it was. Below are the highlights of the last eight months:

January - Lost Job, went on a 24 day coffee tour from California to Washington via Toyota Matrix

January - February - Coffee Tour = 40 shops in 14 days in 3 states and numerous cities; made lots of contacts and friends in the coffee industry, posted on Facebook I needed a job, emailed anyone that would listen to me about being desperate to stay in coffee, emailed 113 resumes, handed out in person 32 resumes = received 6 job offers right away, and 10 others within the following 60 days.

February - Returned to Southern California, met a woman opening a new coffee house concept in my area, took the job as the Director of Coffee for a new start up company called Green Bliss Cafe, in Fullerton, CA.

February - March - Helped in opening Green Bliss, set up the first multi-roaster coffee house in Orange County, CA; got offered a job for a 3rd wave in LA that was opening 3 new locations, 2 in OC and 1 in Malibu - took the job, with the agreement I would be able to consult for Green Bliss at the same time.

March - South West Regional Barista Competition in Santa Cruz, CA - hosted by Verve Coffee Roasters -Had the honor and privilege to judge at the comp, placed 2nd in the SWRBC brewers cup competition, got MAD press = a huge amount of MORE press which = MORE CONSULTING GIGS... life gets super busy. Now I am helping to open 3 shops, and consulting for 3 more on the side, and the gigs keep coming in.

April - SCAA Event; Compete in Brewers Cup - didn't place but had an amazing experience in Portland, life altering experience, Green Bliss has it's grand opening and the coffee is amazing, people love it, I feel accomplished and now focus more on the consulting and opening the new shops I'll be managing + retraining all staff for my new company, Cafecito Organico.

May - Consulting has picked up so much, it's moved from the "hustle" category to "need a DBA" category, so I open up Red Sunshine Coffee, my new consulting and training business; while I am still helping out Green Bliss, Cafecito, and the other 3 clients I had at the time.

June - Opening up new accounts left and right, now opening up 5 locations at the same time between Red Sunshine and Cafecito; at this point I have now opened up a few accounts for some well known roasters, one of which being Verve. - Also traveling back and forth from OC to LA and the surrounding areas hosting BGA Member Driven Events, attending IDP's at SCAA to receive my Lead Instructors certificate and hosting, as well as attending more cuppings than ever in my life, I have officially started my introduction into buying green beans from an importer for a roaster, amazing experience = MORE press and being featured in the "On the Line" section of OC Weekly, which is usually reserved for well known chefs in the county. June was a super fun month.

July - Now all of my Red Sunshine clients are open, functioning well, and serving amazing coffee; my most passionate clients being at Candle Light Bakery in Norwalk, CA. . check them out, they're rad guys that just love coffee - I start having a conversation with Verve about a position they're hiring for in SoCal, sales, totally not my thing.. I say I'll keep my ears open and let folks know. - Conversation continues - I travel to Santa Cruz to meet with Verve about an "opportunity" - which I think is something along the lines of some extra cash for referring some wholesale clients to them in the LA area. . . that was three weeks ago.

And over the last 2 weeks .... - Build out is almost done at the OC location for Cafecito, only another 4 weeks BAM! Opening Day! - Hopefully. - Green Bliss is still crushing it in Fullerton, Candle Light rolled out their new coffee program, I signed another training account for Red Sunshine, and I received an offer letter to be the wholesale account manager for every Verve Coffee Roasters account south of Santa Barbara AND Cafecito's Malibu location opened TODAY! Go visit them, there is no other coffee in Malibu, and they are ROCKIN' that bar!

Today - I am going to help Cafecito open their new OC location, set them up for success and am currently working for Verve managing their SoCal wholesale accounts. . . Life is good, very, very good.


Now, I bet you're wondering, "What does this have to do with Allison?". . .

Allison and I had dinner tonight, and she is leaving her current job, has saved some money and is a bit lost, we began to discuss what she's going to do now, a question all of us young adults ask ourselves in our mid - late 20's when we transition from jobs.. "what do I really want to do?" . . and I told her the break down of my life, not just the past eight months or so, but my whole life..

I told her how I have driven cross country 4 times, my tours on the west and east coast, the people I met, the car rides, the cultures of other states, the beauty of our country, the food I ate, the coffee I enjoyed and most importantly, the liberation, independence, freedom and sheer self awareness and truth that comes from traveling alone across the country. . . remember "self-propelled movement".

When I look back at my life, all of my tipping points and paradigm shifts occurred on or around road trips and traveling; simply, getting in the car anne going way. Whether it was a good, bad, rational, impulsive, fear based or even a stupid decision, it was MINE! Without any of those decisions my life would have been stagnant, without motion. I would never had been married, traveled the east coast, been introduced to excellent coffee, or met all of the phenomenal people in my life. Nothing would ever change or move forward in my life. My world is enriched by the experiences I've had traveling all over the country alone.

Allison will be taking off 3 months of her life to make this journey. I am elated for her and overwhelmed with pride for her courage.

You see, without making that trip in January, none of the events that conspired since would have happened. Getting in the car, making the decision to just go out and enjoy my life, experience the unknown, even if it involved fear, I did it, I walked through it.. which set everything else in motion.

But you see, it was me, my decision, my choice to take the leap of faith, to start propelling my life into movement, which created kinetic energy that has manifested into my life as I know it today and my life is really rad. It's experiences like this that confirm what our parents taught us, "work hard, do your best, hard work pays off, do right and right will follow", etc. .

I'll close with this question; "What are you doing to propel movement in your life?"

The One At The Event-ish...

"The" Event.

I'll tell you what, SCAA did a great job at marketing this years expo! I mean, simply calling it "The" Event? That's pretty epic and genius. Think about it. What hipster barista doesn't want to go the this!? It is the elite, the cream of the crop, the top of the food chain, well, at least when it comes to coffee.

Then there's me, I feel like a good coffee professional, even a very good one at best, but I want to be.. Excellent, even excellent plus! Never perfect, I always want that room for improvement.

I am truly, truly blessed to be here today, blessed I have do many amazing folks that help me get here, and blessed that I get the opportunity to be a part of this superb community of coffee professionals.

I've had a hell of a time with my coffee for brewers cup, and I'm exhausted, ready for some different coffee in my life.

Cheers - and stay tuned for updates from men, to you, regarding the vent of a lifetime..

The One With Happy Accidents....

Accidents or Fate?

Was this meant to happen? Or, was this an accident? A coincidence of sorts?

How many times have we as adolescents, then teenagers, now young adults, have we asked ourselves these age long questions of why and how things transpire in our lives?

I would like to make this post a "mash-up" of my travel through Santa Cruz on my coffee tour in January, and the recent trip up to the SWRBC (South West Regional Barista Competition).. since it was entirely an accident, or fate, the way this whole journey has been weaved together.

On my "tour", which I've so lovingly referred to my road trip through coffee along the west coast, I had the very brief opportunity to stop in at Verve Coffee Roasters in Santa Cruz, CA. I pulled in to SC late one night and was delighted that Verve was open until 11pm, they were polite, friendly and the coffee... well, simple and delicious, just the way I like it.

Fast forward three months, and it was time for the South West Regional Barista Competition, which I had the honor and privelege of  volunteering as a judge for the first time. The event was held at the top of the Ritt building in the downtown area of SC and one and a half blocks down from the Verve location I got to visit on the tour. I also had the amazing experience of competing in the 2nd annual Brewers Cup competition, which is a new addition to the regional competition circuit.

Let me be honest, the one and only reason I decided to compete in the Brewers Cup was because I told someone I was going to, when I was at my previous job. So, when I registered for the event, I was employed, when I was on tour I was still weighing out options for employment!

This is where fate vs. accidents come in.

About 2 or 3 weeks before the competition, I was still unemployed, I had signed on to do some consulting work, but for the most part, I didn't have coffee lined up, transportation, funds, a brewing method, nothing!! I was simply too proud to turn away from the competition, because somewhere on tour, I opened my big ass mouth about what a bad ass I was at brewing, and I would rather go broke, beg, borrow and steal to get to compete rather than bow out. My auntie always tells me, "Girl, you better bury that pride before that pride buries you!".

I was brewing some coffee at a friends house one morning, the same friends that encouraged me and gave me gas money to go on tour, and was showing them how to use their V60, grinder, and scales properly, and in my mind, I was having the debate on which job offer I was going to take, non of which were in my area of Southern California, I was moving to either Portland, Sacramento, or San Fran.. Ani and Jason were helping me with my pro's and con's list of what to do! I was torn and knew in every essence of my being tht this was one of those tipping point moments in life; whatever decision I made, it was going to change my path in life and in a very dramatic way, especially if I was moving hundreds of miles away from my from friends, family, and everything I had built up since my divorce. Was a ready to make that huge of a change again? The only thing I knew for certain, was that I needed to stay in coffee, at whatever cost.

I sat down and allowed Ani to give me a facial (I had a pretty big interview that night with Stumptown; and was really excited I might be able to just move to LA and not to NorCal or out of state). As I sat in that chair, watching "How I met your Mother", waiting for the goo on my face to dry, I scanned craigslist for any opportunity worth pursuing near home, and I saw it... an ad for a new 3rd wave opening up in MY city, a little less than 2 miles from my apartment! I sent over my resume, and right after the goo had been removed I had received a reply back from the company, Cafecito Organico, that already had 2 locations in the LA area, they're 3rd location was coming to Costa Mesa, less than 2 miles from me!

Was it fate or an accident that I happened to look at craigslist that day? I already had job offers, and had checked everyday for a month with no success, what encouraged me to do so that day? Why at the very last possible moment did this place decide to open up, right before I had to make a decision to leave or stay?

Now, I had a coffee company willing to sponsor me to go to the competition, really great coffee, and a plan in place for brewing, with a little help from a lot of friends I met through the tour, all over the west coast.

I showed up at the comp, and was just in awe to be there, no intention of winning, I just needed to make sure that my pride was in tact, that I did what I said I was going to do.

Standing at the top of the Ritt, in Santa Cruz, Ca, on Saturday night of the competition, waiting patiently to hear the finalists called for both brewers and barista competitions, I heard my name,  and just lost it! I ran up to the front of the crowd and was just elated! This was the pat on the back that I needed that said to me "hey, you're really good at brewing coffee!", I had no intention of every placing and now, I was accepting a Skate deck designed with Verve Coffee Roasters logos. At one point, another finalist, Ant from Sightglass looked at me and said "I'm so glad you look like I feel", and when I saw the photo's later, I looked like an excited five year old on Christmas morning, I felt RAD.

Now, because I had no faith in my brewing capabilities, I did not attend the amazing Mad Men themed 50's party Verve hosted that night, and I went back to my hotel room and contemplated what my soundtrack should be, and what the hell I was going to say in the presentation I was expected to give the next morning. I was unprepared, and of course, I had to perform first in the morning. Thank god my road dog for the journey, Neil, had competed before and helped me to prepare for the next morning and helping create my sound track.

Sunday morning, I do a quick run through of my presentation and before I knew it, my time had come to present before the judges.

Half way through my performance, I probably did either the best or worst thing ever for my career and decided it would be a good idea to compare my coffee to my ex-boyfriends, and getting so caught up in the performance, and the laughter I started to drain my coffee ON TOP of my pre-heat water!!!! So all my hard work, preparation (or lack there of) was futile. I had officially fucked up my coffee, it was diluted and now I had one minute to finish, I called time.

Nick Cho, the King of manual brewing complimented me on my performance and I proceeded to clean up my station and run around frantic to try the coffee I had UN-officially ruined! It tasted ok, but diluted and sweet at best. Even though my colleagues were supportive, I really just wanted to jump off the top of the Ritt at that very moment.

I had lunch at my favorite sandwich shop in SC, Erik's Deli, and awaited the results, my plan was to see who won, collect my swag and catch my flight to Vegas to work for the day..

The closing ceremonies came, and I was as restless as  kid in church, I just wanted my embarrassment to be over with. They Verve boys called up all six finalists and started to call the top 3, if I was going to place it was going to be third... it wasn't my name.

This is where it gets surreal... I painted my face with my most graceful losers smile, you know the kind you see on all the nominees at the awards show, and then it happened, they called my name!

I really wished I had a photo of my face, because I literally jumped up from the excitement!!! I walked up accepted my award, and did my best to hold back my tears.

Was the "accidental bypass brewing" supposed to happen? Would I have won if that hadn't happened? Would I have place at all if I had actually drained that water?

The whole scenario was the happiest accident I've ever had in my life. It was like falling in love, winning the big game, and graduating all at the same time.

Now, can I recreate all those happy accidents? Or was this all just fate? Or, was I supposed to place second the whole time?

Well, whatever the reason, I get the honor and opportunity to learn from my mistakes and do it all over again in Nationals in Portland in 9 days...

Wish me luck! or wish me more happy accidents along the way..

The One With The Wild Card...

One of my most favorite lines to say to someone is "Man Mac, you sure are a wild card!", or "Damn, DJ, you're a wild card!"... I say this line to people that I miss judge on the first meeting.

For example, I met my friend DJ a while back, and I had him pinned for a pompous jerk that was living on his parents money, a womanizer and a lazy yuppie. I was dead wrong! This guy has had the same girl for going on five years, is hard working and damn near one of the most down to earth people I've ever met, and I jumped to a conclusion based on a first impression and a stereotype I had run into before in this area. I guess that's why they say to never judge a book by it's cover, right?

I use this example with DJ as an interlude to my visit to my state's capital, Sacramento, California! I knew of only one good shop in city, and that was Temple Coffee! I was ultra excited to visit here because I had met the owner, Sean, at Camp Pull a Shot this past year, and just adored him to no end. Later that week he was to be the first of many to offer me a job, but above all, he was the first person in the industry to truly treat me like a professional, and I'll forever hold a special place in my heart for him and Temple because of that interaction. There is no better feeling than being treated the way he treated me, with respect, dignity, grace, friendship, professionalism and love, I felt like I was exactly where I needed to be.

Anyway, my road dog, Chris, and I rolled into Sacramento around 6pm and we high tailed it to Temple! I received a wonderful Panama on the SO, and we left, I had happened to come to town the ONE DAY OF THE YEAR that they were closing early for a company appreciation party! What luck!? But, I had heard of this place called Insight, just about a 1/2 mile away, so Chris and I threw some change in the meeter and headed down to Insight!!!

When we arrived I was overly impressed by what I saw! Being in the coffee industry, I know what to look for in a good shop, and this place had it all, up to and including an in house roaster, piston style lever espresso machine, a wonderful pour over bar and most importantly delicious freakin' coffee!!! Insight was arguably the best brewed coffee I had on the trip! Their El Salvador, Finca de Anconcagua, was well rounded, juicy bodied and simply perfect in every way. Ben was kind enough to send me away with a bag, and all of the fellow baristi I shared it with later in the trip were in agreement about just how simply wonderful that El Sal was! Immaculate, is the word that I would use to describe that coffee, or even more simply, it was divine! Thank you again Ben for my little piece of heaven found in Sac Town!

The more research I did in Sacramento, the more wonderfully delicious coffee I found! There are 4 excellent shops in the small downtown city of Sacramento! Temple (which now has 3 locations!), Insight, Chocolate Fish (which is located inside the city building next to the cafeteria) and Broadacre which apparently is in an old Temple coffee location downtown as well!!!

The Broadacre boys were super rad and were serving up the likes of Stumptown, Intelli and Verve, an impeccably clean and funky shop with an amazing array of artwork from a Long Beach artist who's name escapes me at the moment, that I hold near and dear to my heart!

Chocolate fish, these guys I can not wait to see at the western barista competition! This shop by far had the most amazing staff! Not owners, not management, the staff, the low on the pole baristas, (YES! THEM!), these guys and gals took the home the trophy for the whole trip in the category of customer service!!! AND, not just to me, every person that walked in the door was treated like a king, I am really excited for their shop to grow and for their roaster to refine his craft. The coffee was super good, but I think will a little more time and practice by next year it will be excellent!!! I know, I know, with a name like Chocolate Fish, it's a little uneasy to get coffee their for all you folk with dirty minds, but regardless, stop in and grab a cup, the experience itself is worth the detour!!!

All in all, when Chris and I had first pulled in to Sacramento, I had to admit that I had assumed that this place was going to be the low spot of the trip, but HELL NO!!!! The crew at Chocolate Fish even set us to some of the best damn sandwiches of our lives!!!!! Hit up Dad's if you're ever in Sac, the food is unbelievable and cheap!!!!

I judged Sacramento, before I had ever even visited there, a prime example of contempt prior to investigation! If it hadn't been for my baby brother getting ready to have a baby in April, I am very sure that I would have relocated to Sac Town, drowned in fantastic coffee and gained 60 pounds eating at Dad's everyday!!!

I am always the one that is talking about how I get so irritated that people judge me, my family, my friends, or every Tom, Dick and Harry by the way they look, talk, act, race, color, creed, and religious beliefs, but aren't we all subject to judging others, so we don't have to look at ourselves? How dare I judge and ENTIRE CITY!!!! Sacramento was my wild card of this entire trip.

 Another lesson learned. another truth about myself brought to the surface for me to see, another city to check off the bucket list, and above all another city closer to the boarder of the state!

Although Sacramento may have been the wild card of my trip, my next stop was definitely the full house that won my heart.... Until next time Sacramento, please, from the entirety of my soul, keep making great coffee and I'll keep coming. Cheers!

The Long Road One...

The road doesn't just get longer, it narrows.

In my "professional" opinion, especially in coffee, not only is the road to success long, agile, expensive, heartbreaking and romantic all at the same time, but above all, it narrows with time.

As baristas, we all start at the bottom, somehow, somewhere, we get just another job, and whether it's the experience, or the people, or the coffee, we fall in love with the romance that is becoming a barista. Then, like all other professions, we strive for a better job, with a more progressive company, a more stable company, more money, more opportunities for growth, just more, more, more! At some point, the day comes when we wake up and realize that the job we're in isn't enough, we've now reached the glass ceiling, which can mean a variety of things; for example; maybe we've gone from barista to trainer, trainer to shift lead, shift lead to manager, and manager to ... there are endless possibilities in coffee, but what people don't talk about is the business side of things. Folk get crazy behind the almighty dollar, I know, I've been there, I've been the "man", the bad guy, the business guy, the yes man, and I've done well at it. If you do your job well, shouldn't you be the first to get the promotion, the opportunity to learn new things, to grow? In a perfect world, yes, in the business world it seems as though that the mindset is "if it's working don't fix it", etc.

So, what's my point right? Let's say that you're a great barista, great trainer, great manager, and like me, you want to learn all areas of the industry, as a business owner, wouldn't you want to promote that person to green bean sourcing, or roasting, or whatever if they have the passion to learn? Or, are you going to try and keep that person in their current position because they do the work that it would take 2 or 3 people to do and pay less for it? I guess that's up to the owner, and now what do you do as the employee? Do you go else where? Do you just do more and more in hopes for a change? Do you stop doing so well because you resent the decision? I guess that's up to the individual.

When I was growing up, I was told that if you work hard, love what you do, are honest, admit when you're dishonest or wrong, learn from your mistakes, and treat people well and above all take initiative and do more than your peers, that I can do whatever I want to. I still believe this, above it all, above all my dissapointments, above all the hard work and no pay off, I still believe what my mother told me, now, just to find the job to agree to help me do this, that is willing to help me grow, right?

I've thought I had found this before in my life, sometimes, most of the time, I am the one to screw it up, self imposed crisis, misplaced ego and pride, maybe too honest and blunt; and on the other end, I've also been pigeon holed into what I'm "good" at and never moved from that position because perhaps I am doing too good there to move to another position.

Either way, this is what I mean that the road narrows. In coffee, knowledge is never ending, education is never ending, and this is what I absolutely adore about the industry. However, now that I have all of this experience, as a barista, as an educator, as a manager, sales, wholesale training, competing, etc., the next step for me, my hopes for myself are to learn roasting, learn about green bean sourcing, taking trips to origin and continue to manage, educate and compete! Seems logical, right ? Does this mean that I want to be a roaster? NO! I just want to know how to do it! Why that is important to the coffee, what it does to the molecular make up of the bean, how it effects the taste, how to identify defects, and most importantly, how to taste the roast profiles properly, identify opportunities for change, to make the end cup better, not to become a roaster; I just want to know how. I want to go to origin and learn more about the process of growing and harvesting coffee, what micro climates, region, and farming practices do to the bean. I want to learn how to grade, judge, and source green coffee because it's important to how the roasting will be done, and most importantly how to the end result, how the coffee will taste! And etc., etc., etc., !!! It's like an architect that knows how to a contractor and all facets of that industry, not because they want to do the manual labor, but so they know how, they can relate, and therefore, makes them a better architect, right!?

Here's my point. If I am an employer, am I going to take that passion, that drive and help it grow? Or, am I going to go with the sure thing, and keep the barista a barista because I am afraid of them going to the competition? Afraid of them outgrowing my company and looking elsewhere for work? Am I going to offer them more money so I don't have to have turn over and train a replacement? These are all business decisions, not people decisions.

This is how the road narrows. All shops want a passionate, talented, efficient, friendly and hardworking baristas

The road narrows, because I have been told, I am too qualified for a position. The road narrows because the fear of the new employers is that because of all of my assets, I might get offered a job from the competition. The road narrows because they ask, "would you be happy as a __________?", "are you sure this won't be less challenging for you?", etc., etc., etc.,

The road narrows, for people like me, because I don't know when to keep my mouth shut, my experience might be my detriment.

The road narrows, because I continue to believe that if I work hard, if I am passionate about what I do, if I learn from my mistakes, I can do anything I want to, and what I want to do now, is walk the narrowing road to success and smile graciously at the ones that said, "you can't", the ones that said "you won't", and most of all the ones that said, "you're good at this, don't worry about that".

The road is long and narrow, and God damn it, I'll tight rope walk that bitch all the way to where I want to be, even if I'm still learning what that is, but mark my words, I'll be brewing, drinking and serving the entire way ... 

The One That Has Insight. . .

Traveling = Insight.

Traveling gives you insight into why you left on the trip, why you chose to go to your destination, why you chose not to choose a destination at all, why you postponed the trip for so long, why you don't do this more often, and most importantly traveling gives you insight in to you and your bubble of existence, perspective into what you're missing in your bubble. Granted, this is all my opinion and why I travel, and my God, it's liberating. I believe the most liberating thing about traveling for me is the plunge into the unknown. Every single time I have taken that plunge I have emerged with a new sense of self discovery than before I jumped.

Let me explain. When I was 18 years old I walked into the Santa Ana train station and asked for a one-way ticket to the furthest away destination, which happened to be Atlanta, GA for $105. That trip, I learned what it meant to be a grown up, what racism truly was, what it was like to travel alone, what life was like outside of Southern California and how the rest of the country viewed Californians, how to trust the kindness of strangers, and how to take chances. When I was 22, I traveled to Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, and so on; I learned what Yankees were to Southerners, I learned what it was to live and work in different states, what real winters were like, what it meant to be on a trip as someones wife, and most importantly on that trip, how to be one among many in a family. At 24, I took one of my many drives across the country on I-10, and I saw our purple mountains majesty and amber waves of grain; I learned how to ask for help, how to to keep long distance friendships, how much I loved books on tape, what it meant to grieve a divorce and find places I wanted to see in the country and most importantly how to embrace change and love from a distance without reservations or conditions. These are just a few trips that I've made in my short life, but the lessons I've learned about me and my passions are irreplaceable, I've learned most importantly, to thine own self be true.

So, with that being said, here on this journey up the west coast, I left Modesto, and headed straight into Oakland. I am not too familiar with Oakland, but I knew there was a Blue Bottle there where I could pick up some good beans, I was out and in need of coffee to brew on the road. I had never been to an actual Blue Bottle location before, so I was uber excited! Unfortunately, I was slightly disappointed with the visit.

One thing I cannot stand about the coffee world is arrogance. Specialty coffee should be approachable to all people, regardless of their coffee knowledge, and my road dog, Chris (until this trip), was anything but a coffee person. We walked into the shop, no one greeted us, and when I inquired about their offerings and single origin espresso for the day, the staff seemed irritated that I was interested in the coffee, and the shop was not busy, not that being busy is an excuse for frustration, but hey, I'm a barista, I understand. However, when your shop is slow and someone is actually interested in the coffee, that should be an invitation to talk about coffee with passion, not pretencion. The coffee was good, but not great, and in my opinion, it has everything to do with the experience. I truly believe that you can serve the best coffee in the world, but if you're an ass, it's going to taste mediocre at best. Your coffee can be good and not great, but if the experience is amazing and you feel good about the coffee, it's going to taste incredible, because the experience was incredible! This experience, was disappointing, and therefore, made the coffee disappointing, especially since Blue Bottle has such an amazing reputation for great coffee.

I bought some beans, the Oaxaca, which were wonderful when I brewed them at home, and departed onto our next location. When we got in the car, Chris looked at me and said, "I don't think you should work there". When I asked why he responded, "those guys were jerks, total DB's, you're better than that, you still like coffee", when I heard that I giggled a little, and thought to myself, "yeah, Blue Bottle is one of the 'best' but do I want to work with people like that?". The staff was, well, apathetic. When I turned in my resume, it seemed like a huge inconvenience. I reserved final judgements, because I knew there were a few more locations in SF that I wanted to hit, so I told Chris, not to fret, maybe that location was a fluke and we'll have a better experience at the next one.

Next on the list? REMEDY!!!

Super exciting, before we left Oakland for Sacramento, we stopped at Remedy Cafe, which serves Ritual Coffee Roasters, again, I had tasted Ritual before, but never been to a shop that served them, so I was again, excited! Pleasantly surprised, I had by far the best shot of "regular" espresso there! SO delicious! The beautiful young lady behind the counter was friendly, welcoming, and when I handed in my resume, she was engaging and most of all welcoming. She asked questions about where we'd been and where we were going, what coffee we enjoyed, how the trip was! Excellent customer service and she was engaging  while she dialed in the espresso, tasted it, then pulled another shot for me to drink. I think the one of the most important skills of a baristabev, she kindly asked me, "how was your espresso?", she took such care in preparation of that espresso, and was so proud when I told her it was absolutely delicious and perfectly pulled.

I drove out of Oakland and my faith was renewed in baristas all over. My stomach, unfortunately had just realized there was no food in it, and way too much coffee!  We headed further north towards Sacramento, and at that moment, when I saw that the bay was to my left, that the temperature had dropped, and that I'd been away from home for over a week, that this was still the beginning of what was to become the most insightful journey of my life thus far.... and how appropriate that the next shop on the list, was Insight Coffee Roasters, Sacramento, CA......

The "Where the hell is Modesto?" One

Let's get one thing straight, Fresno is boring.

I also have a love/hate relationship with Yelp. Yelp is awesome for finding good coffee, good food, even a good place to get your oil changed! But as a barista, I also hate yelpers that think they know something about coffee. "They didn't have a Carmel Macchiato, and NO syrups whatsoever!! How lame, I am giving them 2 stars until they can get it together", or "I'm not really a coffee drinker but...", these are the type of reviews that make up the hate portion of my relationship with Yelp; however, when it comes to the 5 days I spent in Fresno, that's part of the love relationship I have with Yelp, it lead me to Cafe Corazon.

I partially hoped that there might be a great coffee shop in Fresno, and I would have a reason to move closer to Chuck and Jill, so I anxiously drove over to Cafe Corazon. The reviews had mentioned single cup brewing and roasting in house, so I was mighty hopeful. Unfortunately, what I found at the cafe was not what I expected. Don't get me wrong, the coffee was roasted well, brewed well, and the staff of one, was a super sweet man that was obviously enjoying learning about coffee. The roaster was small, maybe a 3 kilo Deidrich roaster, they brewed on the Clever, with scales and all, and they had just received a small single group espresso machine. They weren't serving espresso yet though, they really were working on dialing in to serve good coffee. This place made me happy to have a spot to frequent in Fresno, but sad that they weren't bigger to offer a career coffee position. I bought a cup of the Honduras, which was just roasted the day before and  went back to Jill's to sleep before our trip the next morning.

We woke up, played a couple games of dominoes and headed north on the 99 towards Oakland.

While en route to Oakland, I decided to start compiling a list of all the spots I wanted to hit on my tour, and when I looked up I saw a sign that declared "Modesto 18 mi". Modesto? The last time I had even thought about Modesto was when I attended a conference there 10 years ago with my ex-boyfriend. I enjoyed it there, thought it was a cute town and loved the t-shirts they were selling that said "Where the f*ck is Modesto?". Then it hit me! I had heard that there was great coffee in Modesto! I saw an article on a place there in a Barista Magazine article last year at Coffee Fest! I Yelped it, and sure enough Serrano Social Club came up!

I was craving espresso, I had been without for almost a week! So we pulled of the exit and made our way to the Serrano Social Club! We walked in and the Baristi were super friendly, the ambiance was very "punk rock" and the coffee simply delicious! They serve multiple roasters and I had a wonderful espresso from Insight I believe, and a V60 that was brewed beautifully. The staff was super funny and intrigued with my tour plans and helpful with selection. They were even super sweet to by boy Chris, who had never been told no to a red eye, he gracefully accepted the espresso, on the side and the staff graciously sweetened his coffee with agave, he was enthralled with how good the coffee was. So much so that when we stopped on the way back, after the tour, he was drinking the coffee black, and asking questions about brewing at home, which made the staff at Serrano Social Club super happy!

All in all, Central California is vacant when it comes to good coffee, but with places like Cafe Corazon, and Serrano Social Club, I see great things in the near future for these areas, if not, I see myself frequenting these places on road trips, and recommending them to a whole lotta folk along the way.

What these first two shops showed me was this; that good coffee doesn't just happen, just like SCAA says, it takes work, and passion. Passion being the number one asset in that equation. I believe if you love whrat you do and work hard enough to become great at it, then you absolutely can not fail at following your dream. This is why while at Serrano, I dropped another resume, said my good byes and continued along the tour, not because I needed to find a job, which I did, but because I needed to find where my passion was going to fit into the scheme of things. I needed to keep going to truly discover why this journey was necessary, which is why I continue to lap my lip over great cups of joe, and continued to head north on the journey to finding out how passionate I truly am about this phenomenal industry we call Specialty Coffee...

The One Where I Ran Way

As of January 3rd, 2012  I was officially unemployed.

I've been here before, unemployed, scared, wanting to stay in coffee.

I guess a benefit of loving what you do for a living is that you know where to look for work. On the flip side of that, the coffee industry, at least the specialty coffee industry, is a hard egg to crack. Once you've worked somewhere that is "doing it right" it's nearly impossible to live with yourself and take a step backwards in to a cafe that is still serving hazelnut flavored coffee on tap, or even a place without an option for a pour over bar for that matter.

SO... the question was.. what now? I have a degree, I can go back to the corporate world of pushing paper and living 40 hours per week in a cubicle.. sure, it pays the bills; however, the movie Office Space was made for a reason.

What happens next in this tale is very typical of my life.

I left my job on the 3rd, slept all day the 4th, and on the 5th of January I made a decision to run. I packed up my good old duffel bag, which has traveled all over the country with me, loaded up my car - complete with my on the road brew bar, some snacks and I hit the road.

My intention was to pick up two of my buddies in Riverside, CA from Costa Mesa, CA and drive to Fresno for a couple of days to visit a friend of mine who just moved there with her family. They haven't been in Fresno long and were lonely for some company, so why not, right? The plan was to just visit, surprise Chuck and Jill, wait for Saturday when five more of our friends could join the party, turn around and drive the 3 hours home... simple, or so one might think.

En route to Riverside, I decided to stop at my friend Ani's house in Huntington Beach. Ani, her husband Jason and I became friends at my old shop, they had heard I was sad and distraught about work and wanted to help in anyway they could. I stopped in and we began to discuss options. I kindly explained my situation and how its super difficult to get into a good shop, even with a ton of experience. I went on to explain how small the coffee community is and even though I have a lot of connections, they were spread all over the country and I had no idea what was in store for me and my coffee future. The next thing I know, they are offering to fly me to San Francisco and Portland. Wow! They still have more confidence in my than I do...

Suddenly, I had a moment of clarity, perhaps stupidity, I'm still not sure. "GO!" is what they shouted! "Go find good coffee and apply!".. Then the hamster wheel in my brain started to accelerate. I have all my bills paid, and a severance coming, why not go? Ani and Jason handed me gas money and off I went.

I spent a week in Fresno with my friends and hit the ground running.

While in Fresno, I brewed so much coffee for my friends, talked about my career, about my dreams and aspirations and everyone of them revolved around coffee.

The decision was already made for me when I got a call back from Seattle and had an interview on that upcoming Friday... So I went. 

This is just the introduction to a series of blogs about my west coast coffee tour. . . 40 cafes in 10 days.

Fresno, Modesto, Oakland, Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, LA and everything in between.. Stay tuned for my experience, reviews, compliments, complaints and journey of a lone barista looking for work and finding so much more in this amazing community that we call.. Specialty Coffee.

Cheers and enjoy the coffee. 

The One WIth All The Holiday's

Anyone that works in retail knows that the holiday's are incredibly stressful.

Not including family, working in service during the holiday's in general sucks, we all want it to be over.

Sales are great, tips get better, treats are delivered DAILY, and these are the upsides to "the holiday's", the downsides are just the same for the consumer as they are for the service workers; long lines, over crowded shops, waiting lists for items on back order, and of course, there is always the never ending stream of bad Christmas music. Don't get me wrong, I adore Christmas music, but there are only so many renditions of Jingle Bells out there!

Working in coffee is great during the holidays for multiple reasons, but tonight I am focusing on one - EXPOSURE!!!!

The endless battle of finding the "perfect gift" is the biggest challenge that most people face when shopping for their friends and loved ones.

(I have my own opinions on the consumerism of Christmas, but  nonetheless, I have found myself amongst the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Rushing from store to store, ordering gifts online, stressing out on what to get my boss (who has everything), and I am currently on hold with UPS because apparently they've never delivered to my work address through amazon.com - which is a total load of crap because I sign for packages from amazon.com EVERY DAY!!!)

So.. when folks wander into our shop during this season, it seems obvious to buy some coffee for gifts! Yay! However, there is no such thing as a Christmas Coffee! Sorry to let you down out there, but it's all going to taste like coffee, not Christmas, and whomever said that Christmas has a particular "taste" I'd like to sock them in the jaw. I envision Christmas tasting like Rosemary and Lindgon Berry in an herbal tonic, or like gingerbread, or eggnog, but that's all subjective and none of them are tasting profiles that I would find in coffee, even if it is call "Holiday Blend".

We also get folks that come in on a budget and want to purchase brewing equipment as a gift! Even better, I would love to have people learning and experiencing manual brewing at home! The downside is then having to explain to every customer why purchasing just a V60 is not going to work with a tea pot at home, so we refer them to a brewing workshop gift card and the cycle continues while the line (which is never ending) grows at a frightening rate!!! Nonetheless, it's exposure and we are getting specialty coffee and quality brewing into the homes of our customers, it's an amazing feeling to see that happening and that our craft is being appreciated and attempting to be duplicated on the home front.

Awesome..... work is always my highlight this time of year! People are excited about giving gifts and happy to have the help in picking them out.

I am a gift giver, I absolutely love gifting, even when it's not the "season" to do so. Most of the time I am squirreling away gifts that I find for folk all year. I am a terrible gift giver in the sense that I can not wait for you to open it!!! I never make it to Christmas.

The holiday's are also a time for reflection for me and my life as a whole. Even though I don't celebrate most holidays, I always have a list a mile long of invites and people to spend the days with. I am truly blessed, although, I don't usually feel that way. I do at work.. I feel blessed all the time their, and I think it's because I am simply doing what I love to do. So why wouldn't that seep over into my personal life, right?

After some deep thought on the issue, I have come to this conclusion. I am just lonely, but I am choosing to feel that way. Like many of us, I compare my life to my peers around me, and most people I know my age are married, with children and have "a plan". As of right now, my "plan" is about 4 months long and involves winning a regional barista competition! Big plans in my mind, but not so much in the minds of my non coffee peers. I am around so many people, I have many good friends and a ton of family, so why am I the one that feels completely alone in a room filled with people that love me?

This will be my 4th Christmas/Holiday Season as a divorcee, the first 3 were all about getting reconnected to my immediate family here on the west coast, or finding somewhere to go where I wouldn't be alone. Now, this year, it's more about being where I want to be, which may very well end up being alone. Thus we grow. It's not until now that I realized, I was letting myself feel lonely, because deep inside, I thought I needed a man to make myself feel good about the holidays, that spending it with someone would make it that much better, and in turn would make me feel better, in short I was having a pity party, party of one.

Now, as I sit in the center of my bedroom floor, with gifts and wrappings strewn about, happy that all my shopping is done, I feel complete and excited for the first time in a long time about the holidays, I am not dreading them, cursing them, or hoping that they go away. Why the change in attitude? I changed my mind about it and realized what this time of year is all about ... Sucking it up!

Besides, I needed some positive thinking to keep getting all this rad exposure.

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?

The One With All The Confidence

In life confidence is paramount.

When I first became a barista I had very little confidence in making coffee. It was a new job, I didn't know what I was doing and the first shop I worked at provided little to no training. After working at several shops (non that would not be considered specialty coffee), I was pretty confident I could work anywhere that served coffee.

The Dripolator, in Black Mountain, NC changed that for me. I walked into that shop very full of myself. I was convinced that I could do anything that was thrown my way. Then, I saw my very first Rosetta. I was no longer confident in my skills whatsoever. I was determined at that point to be the best. My Grandmother used to tell me that old saying, "If you're going to be a ditch digger, be the best ditch digger you can be", or something along those lines. SO, I did.

I became a youtube junkie! I watched every video on latte art I could find. From free pour to etching, throw downs to regional competitions! I went as far as to purchase a $70 training video dedicated strictly to latte art.

My coffee knowledge grew, my art got better and before I knew it I was the best in the shop and winning our throw downs! I started training others and helping them to improve their skills. My confidence in coffee was higher than ever! So much so I started competing in regionals and landed better jobs with larger and higher quality shops and roasters.

In my personal life I am damn confident, at least that's the front I put on. On any given day I could really care less what people think about me, unless you're a good looking guy that catches my eye, then I  do my best to act like I don't care what you think, while trying to get you to think about me.

Here's the kicker; as long as I am behind the bar, I'm fine. I am charismatic, funny, intriguing, flirtatious, calm, cool, collected and above all confident; however, the moment I step out from behind the counter my spine turns to jelly and I get goosepimply all over. My composure is non existent and I go into that very uncomfortable realm of trying too hard. Once in that realm there's no coming back. My mind begins to race and I immediately feel guilty for all the times I've judged and ridiculed others for their interactions with the opposite sex. The hope is that on the outside, I am portraying confidence, not the extreme fear of rejection.

Let me preface the upcoming story with this; I have been divorced for 3 years. I have dated one guy, and that wasn't until this past year, before then I lived in yoga pants and did nothing for my appearance, the vibe I was putting out was, "stay away"! Since then, I've come back to reality - form fitting clothing, showers, make up and confidence.

At work when I pull a perfect extraction of espresso, pour a perfect rosetta, glide through jamming out 30 tickets with no long ticket times and every one walks away happy, I have the overwhelming sensation of, "I'm good at this". It's probably the way Kobe Bryant feels when he scores for the Lakers and makes the perfect pass, perfect three pointer, etc. Just over flowing with confidence.

Also at work, the few women there have come up with an awesome name for the customers that we think are good looking, they are our "crushtomers". Given that I work 50-60 hours per week I don't get out much, work it where I meet people.

Well, in short, I mustered up all the confidence in my being to ask one of my crushtomers to hang out with me outside of the shop. Jimmeny Crickets!!! First, I felt empowered and, of course confident! Then I immediately regretted the decision and fell into the awkward realm. Worst of all, I was so ambiguous about the invitation, I'm not even sure he realized what my intentions were. Regardless, confidence went right down the drain. Why can't this be as easy as pouring a five heart tulip in a six ounce cappuccino cup?

Regardless of what happens, I feel as though life is full of unknowns and challenges, therefore, risks and rejection are what help us as individual grow into where we're suppose to be... which is right where my feet are, the here and the now. I mean, c'mon, what would've happened if years ago I had no confidence to try competing at Latte Art Challenges? I wouldn't know where to improve on my craft, I wouldn't know how to maintain my composure and move with grace and dignity while competing. Now, if my crushtomer could just give me a score sheet on how I did: points I missed, skill set, presentation and where to improve, I can get more practice and try again next time. Too bad there's no $70 instructional video on this on Amazon.

The One Where Everybody Knows My Name....

Walking into a coffeehouse is like walking into my own living room.

No matter which shop it is, no matter if I've been there before, no matter if the coffee is terrific, or terrible; whenever I walk into a coffee establishment a sense of ease and comfort encompasses my entire being.

Another reason that I LOVE being in the specialty coffee industry is that it's a community. As a barista, and a Barista Guild of America member, I get to visit all types of shops around the country, especially here in Southern California. LA is definitely NOT San Francisco, Portland or Seattle, never mind Orange County! With that being said, we have some amazing shops that I've had the privilege of attending.

Intelligensia, Cafe Dulce, Spring for Coffee, Paper and Plastiks, Coffee Brew Bar, Alta, ad infinitum. Whenever I walk into these shops (among many other independents) I feel at home, because I get to see these houses of coffee worship in the eyes of a barista, or a coffee deacon if you will.

I get to check out all the different equipment, how they use the equipment I have, taste new coffees, compare techniques, share experiences, teach something, learn something, pour lattes, taste signature beverages, swap competition war stories and common customer complaints, complain about customers, tell stories about our favorite regulars, debate EVERYTHING and discuss industry standards (and criticize the standards and how they are just that, standards, not the end all be all of coffee - but that's another blog all together). The best comparison I can make is this - a barista walking into another coffee shop is like a fanboy walking into Comi-con San Diego... we've arrived amongst OUR people, finally! Yes, I just called us all geeks, but I am proud to be a coffee geek.

The coffee industry is also a very small community. It may not seem like it to an outsider, but we are! Those of us that are involved with the BGA or SCAA, we all know each other, know of each other or will meet each other because our events and conferences are attended by "regulars". The same way we have regulars come into our shops, this is the way we all attend these events, regularly! For example, once you've joined the Barista Exchange (which is like a Facebook for coffee people) you'll notice the same people responding as well. If you subscribe to Fresh Cup, Barista Magazine or other coffee media, a lot of the same people submit articles! People that win competitions, work for awesome importers, give certification exams, respond to posts on the exchange, write books, submit articles, host lectures, teach classes and attend SCAA and BGA events; theses are all the people that we as mere baristi remember. I personally remember other baristas that have challenged me, inspired me, had incredible talent or simply stood out from the crowd! The really "famous" ones, like Pete Licata, Heather Perry, Mike Philips, Lorenzo Perkins, Chris Baca... I like to call these folks "coffeelebrities".

Walking into another shop that knows me is the kindling to the fire in my soul.

I am definitely NOT a coffeelebrity... yet, but I do my part to visit a lot of shops, participate in events, host classes, guest barista and participate in growing our trade - in short, there are people out there that know me and treat me like a "regular" in the industry. That feeling is indescribable.

En route home from Las Vegas last week, after I saw the shooting star and after having my moment of clarity about my life, I made an executive decision - I was taking a 40 mile detour to Redlands to visit the amazing crew at Augie's Coffeehouse.

I was still pretty emotionally drained from all my new found realities about my life, but as I pulled into the parking lot of Augie's, that sense of ease and comfort came over me... I was home.

Please, keep in mind that I had only met a few of the Augie's crew just a week or two before at the throw down my shop hosted. They were really cool people and they gave me the most amazing compliment! - Some of the staff told me I was "Winnie Cooper" hot! Slap me silly and call me Winnie! For my generation, that's super sweet! I am suppose to host lecture and guest barista there sometime this month, so why not stop and get the lay out, right?

I walked into the shop and two of the four folks I had met were there to greet me. I was greeted with smiles, hugs, excitement and so much coffee love!

All of the discoveries I had made about my life came to materialize in that very moment. Nothing mattered but playing on their machine, making drinks, swapping brew method theory, trading coffees and enjoying the here and the now, with a completely delicious espresso (which Augie's has!).  I had such fun with the Augie's crew and their coffee was awesome! Nothing beats great service with great coffee to compliment a cozy environment, not to mention, they are geeks, just like me. I even got invited to a Harry Potter Christmas party!! Isn't that delicious??!!

In short, through all the emotional chaos I had been through that week, all the soul searching, tears, laughter and discovery, all I needed to do was go home to where everybody knew my name, Alex, Ms. LittleJohn if you're nasty!


Thanks to Augie's for being my kindling on a cold November evening; the fire will live to burn another day.

The Delicious One

Delicious. 

Everything that is good in life can be described in one word - delicious. 

"That guy is SO delicious", "What a delicious Costa Rica!", "How was everything? - Delicious!"

I get into these funks where I use one word WAY too much. When I was 20, I said "word" after everything. In college, my favorite adjective in college was "uber", and last year everything I thought was worth talking about was categorized as "legit". Nowadays, everything is delicious. 

Why delicious? Food, coffee, smoking, a good looking guy, a car or a sweater I want, all are described as delicious for one reason, I am hungry. 

The greatest thing about being a barista and being a part of the specialty coffee industry is that there is always something to learn, try, change, make better, debate and essentially do in your own way. 

Years ago, when I was first getting into the realm of SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) standards and amazing coffee, I was STARVED for knowledge. Not only was I starved for knowledge, but I was starved for someone to step in and teach me. For the knowledge, I became full quickly, it was a   lot to digest, but for the teacher she never came. Now, don't get it twisted, I had a lot of wonderful people in my life that pointed me in the direction for an education on coffee, but mostly they all had opinions that they were portraying as facts. They were putting on a hell of a front too! In the position I am in now, I do my very best to let folk know that what I am teaching them is strictly my opinion and that opinion was gained from experience and experience alone. 

Back to being hungry. 

Now, especially if you know me, you know that I am WELL fed, and am not malnourished in anyway, especially in the realm of coffee. But it's not about being well fed, or just full enough in my opinion. In coffee, it's like eating chinese food, you're always hungry in a few hours. So, I search, I ask questions, and I encourage the people I work with and my friends and family to seek as well. 

In the area of needs being met, I am never going to go hungry; that includes, food, shelter, even most of my "wants" are met; except when it comes to that companion of the opposite sex. Please, don't look at this as a cry for you to set me up with your friends, or introduce me to that other person you know is divorced to see if we have sparks!!!! However, it's been almost 3 years since I've been divorced and my gut is GROWLING for some of that kind of attention! 

How do I know that this is just hunger of a want an not a need? - this is how:

Last week over the holiday, I went to Las Vegas. I went by myself and spent the majority of the 4 days I was there solo, and I had a ball! I did everything I wanted to do, when I wanted to do it, of course with my entire home brewing kit with me!

So, the last day I was in Vegas I knew that if I did not get on the road early it was going to take me at least 6 hours vs. the 3.5 hours it usually takes to get home, but I got a case of the "F-it's! I decided instead to sleep in, make myself 3 cups of Brazil Micro-lot (from the Minussi Estate), watch TV (since I don't own one myself), and order in room service! After breakfast and check out, I went to the Bellagio to see the seasonal "Bellagio Gardens". It was magnificent! The only problem with traveling alone is being forced to ask strangers to take your picture, but no problem, everyone I asked politely took the shot and rejoined their families. 

While at the Bellagio, I took 2 hours to stroll the gardens, walk through and appreciate a photography exhibit, and attend the Monet gallery. With my coffee by my side, I got lost in the art and beauty of the hotel. On my way out I treated myself to my first taste of gelato, pumpkin-deliciousness!!

I embarked on my journey home to find the expected traffic jam. At that moment I started to reflect on my trip. I had a ball, yes, but there was no one there to witness this fun I was having. Did I need someone to validate my fun? Was I lonely? No, just comparing myself to others, which never ends well. 

I stopped at Peggy Sue's 50's diner, and by this time, I was well into self-pity via morbid reflection at that point in the trip.  I stopped there because I wanted to see the Diner-saur park that I had seen on my many drives to Las Vegas, plus I had just dressed up as a dinosaur for Halloween!  Fun, right? 

 

Yes, it was fun, but I started to see everyone traveling with family or a significant other. They all seemed as though they were enjoying the trip SO much more with someone to enjoy it with. Then, like all good hopeless romantics, I started to think about my ex-husband. The week before Thanksgiving I had found out through the family grapevine that my ex-husband was getting remarried to a 22 year old, that he also knocked up; that they were very much in love and he was elated with the news of being a father. 

Walking through Peggy Sue's I began to romanticize the marriage I once had. I thought of how much in love I was, how good he looked, how happy I was, and how much I wanted children. It seemed like a life time ago and in the Brady Bunch section of the gift shop I began to cry quietly to myself.,

Suddenly it hit me and my head started talking to me, "HE would have hated the diner, HE would think it was cheezy and lame, HE hated Las Vegas, HE never would have LET me stop, HE did not appreciate coffee the way I did, and HE was getting what he wanted! I should be happy I dodged the bullet and didn't end up pregnant and 22 in North Carolina! Where would I be then? Still waiting tables at the Cracker Barrel, with 2,3 or 4 kids, broke and working at the local coffee shop... simply for sanity and to not forget the smell of it brewing early in the morning, or what a portafilter smells like after it's been cleaned with puro-caff!" - My mind works quickly like that sometimes, one extreme to the other in under 10 seconds. So I bought a hand dipped malt, chocolate, and walked out of Peggy Sue's go head home. 

Immediately after leaving Peggy Sue's, I put on my favorite Old Crow Medicine Show song, and sang at the top of my lungs! I missed the South, but I loved my life! I would not starve myself spiritually to feed another persons needs for completion. At the very moment I started to think of how hungry I was for a delicious man in my life, a shooting star appeared right in front of me! I frantically searched for a wish that was worthy of such a rare sight! - Regardless if it loses it's merit, I will share with my readers that my wish was to stay at my job forever and win the World Barista Cup!!! - I guess I am not as starved for a mate as I thought I was. 

If in a frenzy of honesty, wishing upon a star I wished for THAT? Coffee forever? World Champion? - Now, isn't that simply... delicious? 

The First One

Coffee is not a real job. 

It's true. When I tell most people what I do for a living, their immediate response is "OH! You work at a place like Starbucks?", and my immediate answer is, "No. Nothing like Starbucks". 

Conversations like the example above, are the main reason why I believe the general public is just plain dumb at best. Don't get me wrong, this is not necessarily a bad thing. I have an elder that always tells me, "Baby, they'd do better if they knew better". Simply put by a man way more wise than me and it gave me an idea for a blog. 

Here it is; this blog is #1 for MY thoughts on life, regarding coffee, our industry, and our standards, but #2 to inform other women and men in their 20's that, yes! You can do something you love and make a living, even if our elders and peers may not see us as having the "real jobs". 

My Aunt is a longshoreman, makes a ton of money and wanted me to work at the gas company, electric company,  police dept. etc., somewhere with a union, benefits and retirement. But why not in coffee?  Because its not a real job? Well, considering that coffee is the 2nd leading commodity in the world, why can't people like me, who LOVE it, make a decent living following that passion. We can and are all over the world, one cup at a time. 

So, let's have the general public (AKA my facebook friends for now) learn about what we do on a daily basis to make sure those "real job" holding individuals are highly caffinated and ready to sit at a desk all day. 

Along this journey, I will also be discussing daily life as a 28 year old divorcee, and the challenges of starting over at a young age. YES! STARTING OVER! Believe it or not, no matter what age, it's a challenge, and a wonderful expedition into finding out what I love and expanding on it.

If you are young, single/divorced, don't know what you want to do in life, struggle to know who you are, and maybe want to learn a little about me and coffee, please read. 

Perhaps this will only be a place to journal and document my life. I have been told to write a book, so let's try a free blog from google, right? 

So, sit back, relax, grab a V60 or your other favorite brew method for brewing at home, and enjoy the madness that I call living. 

Cheers, 

A