pstam Senior Member Joined: 27 Jan 2004 Posts: 2,253 Location: Beijing Expertise: Professional
Espresso: ECM, SAN MARCO, EURO 2000 Grinder: MAZZER Vac Pot: YES Drip: YES Roaster: YES, HOME STYLE
Posted Mon Oct 3, 2005, 8:44pm Subject: May I suggest ......
If a professional barista is working, he/she should drink the espresso made by himself. If he cannot love his drink, not to do that work. In this way, he will try to make it as good as possible, and make effort to improve it as much as possible. Not cappuccino, not caffe latte, only espresso.
{Addin} It can be also a Standard Regulation for the coffee shops for quality control, or management.
Do you think that it can help a bit to improve the situation?
Peter
Peter in Beijing ------------------- http://www.kaffa.cn/ ------------------- I am looking for the way and the place to extend our trainning courses.
Jasonian Senior Member Joined: 8 Aug 2005 Posts: 3,856 Location: Lubbock, TX Expertise: Professional
Posted Tue Oct 4, 2005, 11:57am Subject: Re: May I suggest ......
Oh boy, do I!
That was one of the frustrating things about working at a *$ kiosk.. I cared a lot about the quality of the drinks I made.. but I'm pretty sure I was the only one.
Alot of our regular customers would say things like, "but.. who's going to make my drink?" upon learning that I was leaving to go back to school. It's really sad knowing that arguably MOST PBTC's don't really like espresso at all, yet they serve the stuff all day long without a clue of the quality.
I think that if you're going to pull shots for a living, you need to like the shots you're pulling. If you don't like them.. who will?
(note: this is partly why I don't think I'm qualified to open a cafe yet.. I've had a lot of people ask me when I plan to open it.. since it's a long-term goal of mine, and I tell them I don't think I'm skilled enough to provide the kind of quality standards I'd demand)
If only the boss does not care too much, and it is also for the quality of espresso, I would have all baristas drink their espresso everyday. It is not only for their better work, but also for the quality of espresso. Let them to love their espresso together with the clients.
Every Coffee shop should follow this rule, I hope.
Peter
Peter in Beijing ------------------- http://www.kaffa.cn/ ------------------- I am looking for the way and the place to extend our trainning courses.
duckman Senior Member Joined: 30 Oct 2004 Posts: 97 Location: Las Vegas, NV Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Gaggia Carezza Grinder: Solis Maestro Plus Drip: Bodum Brazil, Kenya, and... Roaster: Wear-Ever PopcornPumper
Posted Thu Oct 6, 2005, 11:48am Subject: Re: May I suggest ......
Jasonian Said:
(note: this is partly why I don't think I'm qualified to open a cafe yet.. I've had a lot of people ask me when I plan to open it.. since it's a long-term goal of mine, and I tell them I don't think I'm skilled enough to provide the kind of quality standards I'd demand)
I get the same comments from my mother-in-law about opening a business that would provide computer support to small businesses. I have a great deal of knowledge about the field but don't feel I have the knowledge I would want someone to have if I hired them to support my business' computers.
pstam Said:
Every Coffee shop should follow this rule, I hope.
It seems they should, but it isn't the same in other fields either. There are many business owners out there that don't know what they should, or they don't have the passion for the field. Unfortunately it isn't true that you need the passion for the field for your business to succeed.
Jasonian Senior Member Joined: 8 Aug 2005 Posts: 3,856 Location: Lubbock, TX Expertise: Professional
Posted Thu Oct 6, 2005, 12:29pm Subject: Re: May I suggest ......
duckman Said:
There are many business owners out there that don't know what they should, or they don't have the passion for the field. Unfortunately it isn't true that you need the passion for the field for your business to succeed.
pstam Senior Member Joined: 27 Jan 2004 Posts: 2,253 Location: Beijing Expertise: Professional
Espresso: ECM, SAN MARCO, EURO 2000 Grinder: MAZZER Vac Pot: YES Drip: YES Roaster: YES, HOME STYLE
Posted Fri Oct 7, 2005, 3:21am Subject: Re: May I suggest ......
duckman Said:
It seems they should, but it isn't the same in other fields either. There are many business owners out there that don't know what they should, or they don't have the passion for the field. Unfortunately it isn't true that you need the passion for the field for your business to succeed.
For most other business, both the employee and the clients know what is good and what they need. But now, for coffee, this is different. There are many employee and clients who do not know the real good espresso and other coffee drinks.
In this case, one should have a right way to promote and to guarantee the quality.
For example, in a restaurant, the chefs and the clients know what they want very well. They make the key judgement for the quality of the food.
At least, I think so.
Peter
Peter in Beijing ------------------- http://www.kaffa.cn/ ------------------- I am looking for the way and the place to extend our trainning courses.
I think so too. I believe it was mentioned in one of the earlier podcasts that the SCAA (or BGA, or similar organization) should have a certificate or label for restaurants and cafe's. Having such a "mark" can at least give some assurance of the intent to serve good coffee correctly. You can extend this to the point where the businesses have to periodically renew this certification by demonstrating their continued commitment. Finally, the certifying organiztion can have a member registry, so that people like us can find these establishments.
Hmm... Sorry if something like this already exists! :)
Kinerry Senior Member Joined: 17 Feb 2005 Posts: 112 Location: Council Bluffs, IA Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Sat Oct 8, 2005, 2:46am Subject: Re: May I suggest ......
A) I always tested my espresso and adjusted the grind when I was working in the field. I remember spending 3 hours adjusting the grind on decaf only to realize that I was forgetting to empty the grinds from the previous settings (I didn't think grinds were left in mahlkoenigs). I always checked the espresso while everyone else dealt with customers. At one point the manager got so frustrated by the constant adjusting that I got wrote up for being "lazy and not attending to the customers needs". That reminded me of the movie Erin Brockovich where she spends a week of pouring her heart into her work and really digging where no one else will and then gets fired on her return to the office. It's rediculous that people can be criticized for having true passion in what they do. Let your Baristi test, their skill level will go up and you will gain loyal customers as well as a good name. Yes it will cost you some wasted beans, but in the end the cost is easily justified.
B) I have the same issue with opening my own store, I want to do it some day, but I don't think my skill level is up to par. Hell I don't think I'd be at the level I wanted until I won the USBC. I've actually changed my goals over that time. I know what I want and I know what is missing in the local espresso community. If I could make a living doing it though, I would just Barista until the day I died and never open a shop. There's no passion in owning a shop unless your skill can grow and be used (Lava Java is a perfect example of what I want).
Posted Sat Oct 8, 2005, 12:42pm Subject: Re: May I suggest ......
Peter, this is an idea that I am almost insistent on. When I left my previous cafe, I tested the espresso throughout the day, ensuring the grind was on and there were no off flavors from anything. The replacements for me? People who didn't even drink caffeine. I shook my head at that one. Lately I have heard that it is really difficult to get people as obsessed with espresso as ourselves to work at a cafe, so that's a problem right there. I think that liking and drinking espresso should be a prerequisite for getting hired at any coffee shop (an impossibility, but a theoretical ideal).
And yes, I had been criticized for similar things, being inattentive, or wasting too much coffee. I would usually throw some figures at the cost of the shots I was pulling.
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