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The moment that made you the barista you are today???
I would love to know this from you all...the more I learn and become involved in this industry/ /culture, the thirstier I get. So do tell of your defining moments, lessons learned, lightbulb epiphanies, taste awakenings, etc.
I've had some...but still looking for that big bang you know? I guess this post could be a poorly diguised fishing for "you've got to try THIS" suggestions.
OK...go!
I've had some...but still looking for that big bang you know? I guess this post could be a poorly diguised fishing for "you've got to try THIS" suggestions.
OK...go!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Daniel King Pizzutti on -
Everything has been a gradual progression. I have never gotten that "enlightened" moment. However, for the sake of this thread. Having worked with George Howell and Vince Fedele (of extractMOJO) taught me a lot about what it means to be part of the long road of great coffee. The future is indeed interesting and exciting, and it's a great feeling knowing that if I work hard, I too can be a part of it.
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Permalink Reply by Brett Lanyon - Moto Coffee on -
Lots of little moments for me including you pull a coffee and you taste flavours that you haven't before. Reading a magazine and you realize how little you know about the subject, coffee forums asking questions you thought had already been settled but then realise how little everyone actually knows, and my personal favourite a customer asks a simple question and you realise you don't have the answer so you write it down and go and see if anyone else has it figured out. The journey is a fun one and you can take it as far as you like, I feel like I could spend my whole life in coffee and still be excited about the unanswered questions when I kick the bucket. Anyway thats my current experience.
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Permalink Reply by Danny on -
My first encounter with the espresso machine and standing beside an Italian barista who is so caught up with the passion and effort to pull a perfect espresso. The joy and seriousness in pulling a simple 1 oz shot of coffee was baffling to me and got the better of my curiosity. When I started pulling my own shots, I never looked back as I began to understand the passion in the pursuit of the perfect shot. There's so much to learn about coffee and it's taste. To get a perfect cup is always a challenge not to be taken granted for. Till today, my motto to all my students when I train them is : Perfection comes with Passion coupled with Perseverance, practice and patience. It my own 5 Ps to achieving a delectable cup.
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Permalink Reply by Alexander Stephen Root on -
1) Messing up the order for my first regulars at my old cafe' job drove me to always improve on making drinks.
2) I'm a curious little bastard, so I'm always trying to find out how other coffee houses/baristas work their craft.
3) One day, I want to open my own coffee house. I need to be the best I can be for that to happen, right?
It all REALLY began to kickstart once I took a visit to the guys who roast the coffee my last job purchased from. The guys were great, and they really new their stuff. So I got more "into" the craft and kept stopping by to pick up coffees and get the knack of tasting different origins/blends. They eventually let me tour the roasting areas.
Honestly, I'm just a coffee nerd that's constantly looking for the next high.
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Permalink Reply by Chris on -
Traveling in Europe as a kid, I got expose to the idea that coffee was for everyone, not just for adults. First lovely coffee was in a Dutch bed and breakfast buffet (think long oaken table laden with fresh fruit, pastries, and breakfast goodies lit only by the early morning sun banking through the doors at one ends reflected off the water.... mmmm....) and then Italy. Coming back to the states, coffee returned to Folgers percolated, Folgers Crystals, and the occasional cuppa at Pop's Army Mess.
And then office coffee, behind the bar coffee, backstage green room coffee, and various and sundry other forms of bean torture in shades of murky brown.
And then, out of the blue, a girlfriends mom bought us a Plasti-Kraps™ Steamtoy for christmas, and it's been downhill ever since.
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Permalink Reply by Daniel King Pizzutti on
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Well, Chris. That was very encouraging to an aspiring barista. I'm sure of it.
:sarcasm:
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Permalink Reply by Svinarski Jovan on -
However if you are behind the bar, make the people happy, with your espresso, smile smile and smile………
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Permalink Reply by Khristian Ortiz on -
The moment I knew I had a calling to continue doing this is when my dad told me he was proud. As cliched and sappy as it sounds, my dad is a very traditional straightlaced starch republican. He always thought coffee was a fuufuu drink. I started volunteering at a friends shop so I could learn, next thing you know Im working at the local town hotspot to get coffee. One day I showed my dad a rosetta I pulled and he said he was proud. I had kept it a secret that I had a job making coffee and it was cool he was amazed.
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Permalink Reply by Jay Caragay on -
Mine was more of a moment when I realized that I was a "barista" and could actually "handle" a situation:
http://onocoffee.blogspot.com/2006/12/day-i-became-barista.html
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Permalink Reply by Jeff Jaworski on -
Khristian Ortiz said:my dad is a very traditional straightlaced starch republican.
^lol.
My epiphany happened after increasingly despising the whole uppity Starbucks crowd in "Beverly Hills of the South" North Dallas, only to find myself being a slave to that place each and every day because I so desperately needed my caffeine fix. After one particular New Year's morning spent driving all around town looking for one that was open, and tallying up in my head what kind of cash I'd been dropping there every year, I'd finally decided that enough was enough and I took the plunge on a used Valentina and Major shortly thereafter.
...and I've never looked back since!
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Permalink Reply by Brady on -
There were a couple for me.
The first time I got hit with a line to the door while working a solo shift. That brief panic when I understood that I was totally screwed really surprised me, yet I somehow got it together, took a deep breath, and powered through. This taught me that I could get through it, introduced me to the rush you get in the heat of battle, and motivated me to work every day to get better - faster, cleaner, more consistent, more efficient.
That first well-made macchiato. At some point in my first year I'd decided that I was a good barista. I knew what I was doing. I was the best at my shop. This espresso thing wasn't so hard. One day, I stopped in at another cafe to talk shop with their top barista and he served me this beautiful little drink with art on top. This drink blew my mind - it was smooth, chocolaty, and delicious. The espresso wasn't harsh, bitter, smoky, or unpleasant - and the way it looked coming out of the spouts was unlike anything I'd ever seen. In one sip I realized that I hadn't even scratched the surface yet.
Then I started hitting the BGA forums, looking for information. There was a discussion about where to find cappuccino spoons, I'd just found a decent one and shared my source. I'll never forget Troy Reynard's reply: "I'd rather be beaten to death with a portafilter than use a spoon to make a cappuccino." This lead to a discussion about real cappuccinos which confused me quite a bit at the time... but from that day on I never scooped foam onto another cappuccino. Wish that thread was still around.
Lots of little things guide us on our way.
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Permalink Reply by Erin Elizabeth on -
Thanks for sharing! I can only imagine this storm of a show you found yourself in...
Jay Caragay said:Mine was more of a moment when I realized that I was a "barista" and could actually "handle" a situation:
http://onocoffee.blogspot.com/2006/12/day-i-became-barista.html
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