Traveling Barista Picks: Coffee Shop Playlist
Check out this playlist of coffee/cafe-themed songs created by me — a coffee enthusiast and former barista!
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Coffee Shop Etiquette 101
There are some things you should never do in a coffee shop. You may think your behavior is totally normal, but you might be royally pissing off your barista. Who cares, you say? Well, not only will your baristas secretly dread seeing you, you may actually be slowing down the pace of the cafe for other patrons. So many people (most of them good people) are guilty of such bad etiquette that I thought I’d list some items here for all to see.
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Local Isn't Always Better — at least not to their employees
One of the biggest problems with bad bosses is they don’t know they’re a bad boss. I was excited to work for a local small business in Nashville. I thought this was my chance to learn “real” coffee and make latte art; to work for a place that didn’t use processed foods and artificial sweeteners….
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Back in the Barista Swing
Find out about my transition from commercialized barista to local cafe manager!
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The Broken Home of Corporate Coffee
It’s been almost 2 months since I have stopped being a barista. Part of me jumps for joy at all of the mental and physical freedom I have. Another part of me feels homeless. Not just because technically, while traveling cross-country, I am without a home. I walk into a Starbucks, and I feel like an…
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Traveling Barista: Cutting The Apron Strings
Well, last week was it — my final week as a barista. After 9 years, I thought I’d feel more sentimental. I figured I’d cry. As I blended frappuccinos on my last day, I reminded myself that I would never do that again. You know what? That made me happy. I guess I’m sad I’m not sad. Does that make sense? How can I turn away from something that’s been a part of my life for so long and not shed a tear?
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Sometimes You Want To Go Where Everybody Knows Your Name
Traveling Barista, Sandy Lo discusses why she will always be drawn to coffee shops.
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10 Things That Miff Your Barista (Correction: Your Vegan Barista)
I’ve seen plenty of lists of things that annoy baristas on sites like Buzzfeed.com. Most of them consist of complicated orders. For me, I could care less how complicated your order is. Baristas are guilty of the most complicated of orders. It’s all in how you order. It’s also in how much sense your drink…
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5 WTH Barista Moments
Let’s face it, when you work with the public — you see a ton of crap. Sometimes it’s good crap, sometimes bad, and sometimes, you think, “What the hell just happened?” All walks of life love coffee, it seems, or at least, they pretend to. Don’t fool yourself into thinking your extra caramel, extra whip…
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No More Miss Nice Barista!
8 years…8 long years of working with customers and co-workers, most of whom I loved, some who I dreaded dealing with… Working with the consumer public and co-workers in a confined space for so many hours a week, for so many years takes its toll on even the most patient of people. I was always…
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A Barista’s Top 10 Customer Crushes
From charming regulars and a mysterious ghost to famous musicians, these memorable customers made my barista shifts much more interesting.
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Traveling Barista: How It All Began
Health insurance was what lead me to the unnamed coffee giant. I was in my early twenties working as an office manager of a mechanic shop–which highly stressed me out with all the men screaming at each other, and sometimes me, for no good reason. I developed chronic hives that brought on other autoimmune problems. …
