ESPRESSO MY LIFE

Words, I’ve had a crush on them all my life, but coffee was my first love. It started slow, in tiny increments. My grandma would let me have espresso sized cups half-full of coffee (the other half I would fill with sugar and cream in that order). When we moved to Virginia, coffee kept me warm on all those bitter cold winter nights. I would curl up with a hot mug and a good book for hours. Slowly, I’ve become so dependent on my cup of java joe that I could not leave the house in the morning with out sipping down a mug or two. Then three, and soon I was moving onto a stronger version. Espresso.

I remember, very specifically, my first espresso drink. Actually, it coincides with my first Starbucks visit. What a memorable experience.

The first thing I distinctly remember was the smell. That amazing, seizing, aroma of espresso and steamed milk! Then, when I got to the register, I was completely overwhelmed. The incomprehensible jumble of different menu items was bewildering. So I ordered a latte, which I probable pronounced wrong. A scrawling conversation was written on the walls. I tried to read the whole thing once but the jumbled sentences verged on poetry and lost me immediately. I love the city and the busy down town setting only enhanced my awe.

No one experience since then has ever been as original.

Tips on My Mind

$106 million dollars is a lot of money.

That’s the amount Starbucks is giving back to all their barista’s in California in compensation for “illegally” splitting tips with shift supervisors.

Multiple customers have come in on every shift I’ve worked this weekend inquiring about the tip lawsuit filed against Starbucks. Most customers wonder if it will affect us. Others inquire more specifically about our opinions. Some, just think it’s great to read negative reports about Starbucks, like “Starbucks got caught with its hand in the tip jar”.

While some barista’s have no idea what’s going on, others, especially employees in California, have an opinion. Personally, I’m with the vast majority that thinks it’s all ridiculous.

Everything depends on how you look at it. According to California law, they were out of line. But every barista has to admit that shifts do everything (and more) that a barista does. Even my manager works on the floor with us. There’s no differentiating between us from a customers perspective. Nothing good is going to be accomplished by taking tips away from shift supervisors.

Fair Trade

Fair Trade had me puzzled. Even Bean Activist Chris O’Brian comments on the complexity of fair trade in his article The Wall Street Journal’s Fair Trade Faux Pas: “fair trade is complex enough as it is without the media complicating it further by making easily avoidable mistakes.” His criticism of the WSJ’s innocent mix up between “fair trade” and “free trade” is understandable. Yet, even from the naïve perspective of the WSJ’s article Tours to Fair-Trade Farms Help Coffee Sellers Spread Word, I was enlightened. The proposal of sending both potential buyers and committed customers of “fair trade” coffee to rural farms in third world countries intrigued me on whole new level. Granted, the business benefits from this set up would be profitable. However, what caught my eye was the endeavor to establish connections with people.

People are the heartbeat behind my love of coffee. When I see those in need protected as O’Brian commented, “justice and sustainability are important in their own right,” fair trade wins my devotion through its commitment to people. In statement made by Global Exchange, they believe “in a total transformation of the coffee industry, so that all coffee sold in this country should be Fair Trade Certified, or if produced on a plantation, that workers' rights should be guaranteed and independently monitored. Our view includes social justice and environmental sustainability.”

My first encounter with fair trade was while sitting in a Starbucks work shop. There they elicited your awe and praise by telling story after story of people and farms that they have saved with their participation with fair trade. As suspicious of it as I was at the time, the stories went to my heart. And after a little research were justified. I found documents establishing the alleviation of poverty in area’s of third-world countries where fair trade had been established. So, although, I may not know all about Fair Trade business, I respect and admire the justice and equality for individuals they are endeavoring to accomplish.

LATTE ART

Well here it is.

Latte Art.

Don’t be scared. Or terrified. Intimidated. Or impressed.

This basic, but well done example of espresso art is not as easy as it looks.

Actually its extremely hard!

Running Out of Steam

In my business this becomes problematic.

No steam, no milk, no froth, no latte, and defiantly no cappuccino.

But what can be more problematic is getting burned out mid-semester with multiple assignments, etc. due. So please excuse the long delay getting back into my blog after spring break. I expect I’ll be on track this week.