Handcrafted

Good morning... What can I get for you?

Well, as you can see, we started a new promotion and changed all of our displays around. Actually, the new look is just a tribute to the old way of being a barista and connecting with customers the old fashioned way... by handing them a handcrafted beverage.

The La Marzocco machine was all it was cracked up to be. It was hard to learn to do it the right way. Grind some beans, dose it, tamp it, wipe, pull a shot... hmmm... 10 seconds... make it finer... try again... 14 seconds... dang... finer... 17 seconds... oh, so close... finer... 29 seconds... DOH! You'd do this until you got it just right for your tamp. Then the sun comes up or the AC kicks on... then all grinder hell breaks loose. It was a constant battle in a Starbucks store to keep the grind/shots going well for the speedy service. But somehow we all managed... A few got carpal tunnel, but that was the way we did things... and we liked it. We walked to work uphill... both ways... in the snow... so to speak.

Not sounding so fun huh? Well the fruits of the effort was that the customer got to watch the magic happen of 2 caramelly, thick strands of coffee juice pour into a couple of shot glasses, like a Guinness pours into a pint glass. Then the thick, foamy, steamed milk followed. Anticipation for their drink. For the barista, it meant an intimate experience with the espresso beans as they tried to find the right grind... the smell of freshly ground beans... the tamp which built up their tamping arm muscles... the black tar-like stain on their wiping hand from all of those shots pulled... then the satisfaction of those first few moments where the shot appears to be going right.

Now it's all gone... I was a manager when the switch to push-buttons happened. I tried to embrace "the new" while at the same time knowing that "the new" meant the disappearance of the experience... No OPS bulletin could convince me otherwise. I knew when the customer couldn't quite see the barista that the show was over.

So ask yourself... was the change good? At the time the argument was that reduced injuries and coffee yield improvements were going to help the profits... It'll be great!!

So why the bottle of Mazagran as a picture for today? Why not a picture of the old style bar? Cuz there's some Mazagran up for sale... and nothing says "All the hype, none of the flavor.. like a Mazagran"

We'll see you tomorrow for your usual... I've got a great one about a super barista for you.

Pat Nerr...