TODAY’S COFFEE roasted in San Diego on 4/22/24:
NOTE: A short essay on the baristi’s job appears at the end of today’s listings.
ASCEND: Agaro light roast; Loloru dark roast; Night Cap half decaf. http://ascendroasters.com
ACENTO: Ethiopia Sidamo; Brazil Fazendo Rios; Media Luz half caff blend. http://acentocoffeeroasters.com
BREW SPOT: Indonesia Java medium roast; Ethiopia Shantawene organic; Peru Juan Santos. http://brewcoffeespot.com
LATITUDE: Costa Rica Terrazu; Papua New Guinea dark roast. http://latitudecoffeetraders.com
ZUMBAR: Nicaragua Finca del Poste, Bourbon, Maragogype, Pacamara, Maracaturra varietals, washed process, late harvest (April).http://zumbarcoffee.com
STEEL MILL: Ethiopia natural process medium roast. http://steelmillcoffee.com
WORK AS A BARISTA: YES, IT’S A REAL JOB: A recent move by Better Buzz baristi (Hillcrest) to unionize in face of low wages and unacceptable conditions has sparked the usual backlash by local media against organization by workers of any kind against industry of every sort. The move to protect safety, pay, job conditions and against unfair treatment by employers tends to be met by rejection by some organizations that inexplicably insist that being a barista “is not a real job” and that “coffee pourers” ought to be content with whatever scraps they are thrown by management, as though they are no better than peons lucky to have somewhere to go eight hours (or more) per shift and able to make whatever pocket change employers are willing to let them have.
ESPRESSO knows far better and now sets the rhetoric straight: For over 40 years, staff here has been part of and worked in the coffee and coffeehouse trades and knows a few things about being a barista. The most important of which is that everyone in this trade who’s anyone, including virtually every commercial coffee roaster/business operator, started out behind an espresso machine, slinging shots and learning the ropes about making a fine espresso. Torrey Lee at Cafe Moto, Arne Holt at Caffe Calabria, the Ryan Brothers and over 230 more CEO heads of coffee businesses got started as baristi somewhere. Most of the many wholesale coffee brokers here are veterans of long hours behind the espresso machine, and trace their beginnings in this business to teenage jobs in some cafe somewhere where they fell in love with coffee. Even ESPRESSO had its beginnings decades ago, when yours truly worked at Quel Fromage Coffeehouse–and discovered a direction that led to the world of publishing for Cafe Society and to the world wide coffee trade. Coffee is an addiction and the work itself is compelling to some, who either remain with it or grow from it with roots in the most basic and important element in the business.
There is no more important job in a coffeehouse than the barista’s. None. A cafe can survive indifferent management for a long time or other bad conditions imposed on the business by various causes. It cannot survive bad baristi unable to create a fine coffee beverage on demand, consistently. More coffeehouses have gone under from slack management skill than any other cause in San Diego, and poor management is always reflected in lesser-than skill and motivation by staff that is either unable or incapable of doing the job they’re hired for properly. The buck stops at the top, just as it does in any organization or business.
Lack of training, lack of motivation, lack of the kind of encouragement and spirit that undermines the worker behind the espresso machine is a killer of cafes everywhere. The antidote to that has always been for management to show some respect for the barista’s job; to the barista him or herself, and to the public that supports the business. It also helps to cultivate among staff a sense of grace similar to the will toward excellence that wait staff abroad have traditionally shown for generations. Legions of cafe operators, especially the wealthier and larger ones often fail at this, and its why its necessary for baristi to unionize to protect themselves from rampant disrespect by business owners.
It’s an unfortunate reality that American sensibility doesn’t regard the people who make society go as “respectable” and is a place where people can say out loud that workers aren’t worth the money they’re paid, as if the workers who keep them caffeinated, breakfasted and coherent aren’t essential. Perhaps that’s in part the legacy of large chain coffee operations that minimize the worker’s importance and strives to automate every aspect of their trade. But that effort makes places as attractive as a vending machine and its public nothing more than a sucker willing to give money to a shell game. Being a barista is a far different thing; it’s a job that takes care of people, stimulates their senses and adds a bit of humanity to a client’s day. It needs to be respected, honored and well paid.
John Rippo at ESPRESSO