I'm not a card-carrying member, but I'm considering it. But first I would like to simply ask in the most respectful manner: why? I would gladly join a guild which is the unified, powerful voice of barista labor; but there is no organization in America that represents the collective bargaining power which would vie for fair wages and treatment of baristas in the industry.

Other than providing a much-needed sense of community, what is the role of the Barista Guild in the SCAA? What opportunities for involvement - besides regional jams - are available to members of the Guild?

I am also very interested in access to the research library. How extensive is the selection of publications available?

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If you are serious about using your standards as a "starting point", then I am under the impression that you would not mind forwarding them to an ex-"card-carrying member" of the guild to look over. (i.e. - me )

(the lack of standards or external reason for paying dues to a bureaucracy with good intentions being the cause for tardiness or neglect for renewal of membership status)
Yes, I am thinking of adding clear explanations to each of those coffee drinks, so that others can see the reasons and find out the problems.

It is only for starting it, not a fixed one.
Any comments about the IASC's barista certification program, or graduating from the ABC? Are these or should these standards (or similar ones) be applied to members of the BGA? I think the point that I'm trying to make is that there are already "standards" and certifications within the Specialty Coffee industry, so why try to reinvent the wheel when we can simply incorporate it into our practices. Perhaps the local BGA representatives should start examining potential or current members with written/physical exams, if nothing else to give us all a common starting ground. Maybe Matt would like to chime in on this . . . or Dan, or another BGA/Barista Trainer.
It is here, and please let me know your idea.


Kaffa Standards of Coffee Drinks

Espresso
A single bowl of coffee grounds, to make 40~45 ml of coffee in a 60~100 ml cup.
Note: If you prefer to make your espresso shorter, in 25~30 ml, please refer to “ristretto”. It means that you can make it, in the name of ristretto, but not espresso.

Espresso Doppio
A double bowl of coffee grounds, to make 80~90 ml of coffee in a 100~120 ml cup.
Note: If you prefer to make your Espresso Doppio shorter, in 50~60 ml, please refer to “Ristretto Doppio”. It means that you can make it, in the name of Ristretto Doppio, but not Espresso Doppio.

(Espresso) Ristretto
A single bowl of coffee grounds, to make 25~30 ml of coffee in a 60~70 ml cup.

Ristretto Doppio
A double bowl of coffee grounds, to make 50~60 ml of coffee in a 90~100 ml cup.

Caffè Macchiatto
A shot of espresso, with a dollop of milk froth, in a standard espresso cup.

Caffè con Panna
A shot of espresso, with a dollop of frothing cream, in a standard espresso cup.

Caffè Latte
A shot of espresso, pouring in a glass (300~350 ml) of hot milk, without milk foam.

Cappuccino
A shot of espresso, plus half of hot milk and half of milk froth, in a 160~200 ml cup to full.

If there are other coffee drinks, we should get an agreed recipe, for each of them.

The most doubted can be the cup volume of espresso. If we look back the info in the past, we can see they make espresso in around 1.5 oz for most cities in Italy. If desired, a shot in 1.0 oz can be made in the name of (espresso) ristretto.

A changed cappuccino and caffè latte can be made in the name of “cappuccino in ‘your own’”. For example, Cappuccino in Kaffa for twelve zodiacs, or Kaffa Cappuccino for 12 zodiacs.


This is a scheme for discussion, only.

If any comments or suggestions, please contact Kaffa Café, in terms of the following email address,

pstam@163.com

or contact 86-10-84048779 / 86-15920564774 / pstam_kaffa (skype phone).
Great questions Joe,

the best answer to your question I think is that the members of the BGA Executive Council all work hard to make the BGA the best and most relevant trade organization for Barista's in the US. This is not to say that there is not work to be done, and we all are working hard for the BGA to do more for its members. The EC is working now to make the Barista Guild an ever increasing part of SCAA education and to give baristas a more powerful voice within our industry.

More importantly to us is....
what do you think the role of the BGA should be?
what opportunities for involvement would be beneficial to you?

there is no lack of people asking questions....who wants to be part of the group that starts producing results!
Amen to all of your response Dan! Couldn't have said it better myself.

Dan Streetman said:
Great questions Joe,

the best answer to your question I think is that the members of the BGA Executive Council all work hard to make the BGA the best and most relevant trade organization for Barista's in the US. This is not to say that there is not work to be done, and we all are working hard for the BGA to do more for its members. The EC is working now to make the Barista Guild an ever increasing part of SCAA education and to give baristas a more powerful voice within our industry.

More importantly to us is....
what do you think the role of the BGA should be?
what opportunities for involvement would be beneficial to you?

there is no lack of people asking questions....who wants to be part of the group that starts producing results!
My disclaimer is as follows: I kind of skimmed these posts and replies, not reading the entire board word by word. Nevertheless, I think I got the jist of it and thought I would make my own, small contribution.

As BGA members, I think that it is great that the guild has, until now, had very little direction, policy, enforcement, etc etc. This is because I revel in my autonomy. I like the idea of directing the guild myself. The guild serves a similar purpose as BaristaExchange.com, really. That is, it connects people in the industry loosely enough to allow them to group themselves as they see fit.

Therefore, I suggest we create newer, smaller, more niche guilds under the umbrella of the BGA. Folks who prefer drip over espresso can chew gums about the nuances of their preferred method. People in California could from the BGC. Etc. Niche guilds will enable we baristas to study what we want and contribute our findings to the larger guild community.

That said the BGA is really a niche group in itself. It is an organized community of Baristas- the population of the BGA is probably far smaller than the population of Baristas in America. Therefore, just by organizing, we have the competitive advantage over those not involved.

In truth, WE ARE THE FUTURE OF THIS INDUSTRY. Mostly, baristas are young people who are trying to scrape by in life and we are people who don't want to remain "just baristas." So, by contributing to the BGA and its members and taking from it, we can strengthen our positions in this industry.

That is what I want from the BGA. I want to feel like its purpose is not to improve cafe profits so much as it is to serve as a networking device for coffee-career minded baristas with a desire to have a world impact.
Zech, I agree with your thoughts, and appreciate you sharing. There's some good stuff in there to chew on, and I think we are all on the same page.
Back to this discussion. Not a card carrying member? Wonder why you should? http://baristaguildofamerica.net/
I'm not a "card carrying" member either. I've been in the guild for years and I've never been sent my card!
Rachel, send me you info directly, and I will make sure you get your goods. We very much appreciate your support of the Barista Guild!

Rachel Schaefer said:
I'm not a "card carrying" member either. I've been in the guild for years and I've never been sent my card!
If members do not think that the guild is speaking loudly enough I believe that they shuold do somthing to change it. That's what this is all about right? Coming together to do what we love, support eachother and help the coffee industry keep evoling? Just a thought

Jason Haeger said:
Peter, I don't think that you are wrong.

I know several people who haven't joined primarily because they just don't see the benefit.

The guild, to be honest, I don't think is doing all it could to be the voice of the barista.

A friend named Chris constantly calls for standardization of drink recipes, parameter tolerances, and the like that just don't exist in the industry here. And rightfully so.

This is not to declare that I suddenly believe that there is a standard, but I do think we need guidelines. As it stands, joining the Guild means you are committed, and that's about the extent of things.

Being a part of the Guild should entail so much more. With only, what is it now, 500? members, I'm not sure we have the muscle required to take the lead on these issues, and Lord knows the SCAA is having a hard enough time on its own trying to spread the gospel to the unwashed masses.

So, really, to join the discussion, I must ask.

What exactly is it that we, as a guild, DO? I still haven't figured it out. (and it just dawned on me that I'm way late on renewal dues. probably almost a year.)

I joined because I wanted to be a part of something bigger. Something more significant that is a significant piece of the career I'm trying to carve out. I haven't found that to be true. Not unless you go to conventions. Not unless you spend the hundreds of dollars needed to travel all over the place.

Honestly, how many working baristas CAN afford to do all that? So, for the average barista, what's the real benefit?

I'm not saying that there aren't good things going on higher up in the food chain, but we down here in the lower end certainly don't hear about it.

Communication is key. (I feel like I say this more often than "hello", for a variety of scenarios)

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