Let’s talk…..
A simple everyday expression that holds a ton of meaning and potential context.
Allow me to use it for the title of the 2nd instalment of the why behind The Drumming Barista.
Fancy talking face to face over coffee?
Let’s talk about coffee.
Oh no here we go, another blog post from a coffee professional telling me about flavours notes, extraction, acidity, sweetness and coffee origins. WAIT. Allow me to instantly take this conversation down a different route. I want to talk to you!
First of all, this is not aimed at anyone, cafe, coffee brand in particular. It is purely my thoughts written down from a 5-year stint as a full-time barista.
Secondly, I would like to apologise for the times as a barista I have made you as the customer/coffee consumer overwhelmed, feeling a bit stupid, not cool enough, unknowledgeable and unable to approach me to ask questions that have allowed your 4 - 6 bucks to be spent on something that could have changed the course of your day, week, month year or dare I say it ‘life’. In the past year, I have spent a lot of time as mentioned in my previous blog post refining the mandate for The Drumming Barista. That mandate is simply ‘Make coffee approachable for everyone.’ Note that it doesn’t say speciality coffee, that is because in my personal opinion of nearly 5 years as a full-time barista the moment you use the word ‘speciality’ it scares people away. It unfortunately and undoubtedly turns any non-coffee professional off from any further interaction with coffee!
So Sean why do you think this?
Because of this one question I hear almost every day when at work:
So, Can I just order a flat white?
We all hear that question right?
Pay attention to the ‘so’ at the beginning. Picture yourself as the customer who has walked in, looked at the big menu on the wall at the cafe with all the amazing coffee’s that you can try ranging from a house blend to a washed Ethiopian that tastes like black doris plum and cherries, to a natural Colombian that is pinging of pineapple, lime and strawberry. Both of those sound incredible right? Yes, yes they do. But all you’re thinking is, can I just order a flat white in a takeaway cup and carry on with my day.
OF COURSE, YOU CAN! Here is your flat white, I hope you have an amazing day and we hope to see you again tomorrow.
Sean, The Drumming Barista
So what are you saying?
As a barista, I have seen you. I have seen you from behind the machine, walk-in, stare for a very long time at a menu trying to figure it out. The next time you come in, I will remember you, greet you and ask how the coffee you bought yesterday or the other day was?! I won’t ask you about flavour notes, because I know the moment I do, you will get this anxious knot in your stomach, your palms will become sweaty and your mouth will open and no words will come out. I will simply ask you if you enjoyed it and if it made you smile. What I am doing is sussing out what your palate is liking and wanting more of when drinking that beautiful coffee to help kick start your day. After a week or 2, I will spark the conversation with you about the other coffee’s that we have on offer and see if you would be keen to try a single origin espresso or filter.
This is a problem that has been around for a long time and it will always be around.
Coffee is a product that is handled, consumed, and loved by so many different people, experiences, backgrounds, cultures, desires and choices. Everybody has their own take on how it should taste, look and feel.
It is safe to say that within the last 2 years the desire to learn more about coffee from everyday people has risen and is inspiring. I feel that it is now time for us as baristas and coffee professionals to brush up on our knowledge, confidence in talking about our craft and working on our sales pitches. Baristas have you stopped to realise that a big part of your job is sales focused?!?! That upsell of the extra bag of beans could be the pinnacle moment for you to explain why it pairs so well with the v60 or aeropress the customer is about to purchase from you. This will then plant a seed of excitement in the customer and they will be pumped about coming back to tell you about the experience they had and what coffee you would recommend next. Is this all making sense? I hope so!
“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”
― Socrates
I love the above quote. It doesn’t need to be explained, it hits home and makes you pause and think for a second.
Mind Dump:
Maybe cafes need to rethink menus and how much information they have on them.
Roasters that have cafes linked to them possibly need to communicate more with the cafe team about the whole picture of the coffee.
Head Baristas possibly need to realise that a big part of their role is to communicate with the rest of the team about coffee, getting them stoked about the coffees on offer, stoked about a new recipe, a new release. Communicating about processes, varieties and origins.
Curveball - Customers who want to be open to learning about coffee and tapping into the passion of the barista and cafe team! Ohhh…..I bet you didn’t see that one coming!!
I am waffling, so let’s wrap up.
Thank you for coming on this journey of my thoughts with me. I appreciate you sticking it out. I hope it has educated you, inspired you, got you thinking and made you feel ready to take a deeper plunge into the wonderful world of coffee.
If so let me know in the comments below I would love to hear your thoughts. Have I touched on points you as the customers think about? Have I offended you (baristas, coffee professionals), or have I made it easier for everyone to understand what is going on in a baristas mind when we ask multiple questions!
Enjoy the rest of your week, wrap up warm, make sure you say hi to someone, drink incredible coffee and remain in #TheBaristaGroove.
Proud of you and your journey. Encourage everyone to be a customer x
Awesome post. I love that you've channeled the customer here so well - "So, Can I just order a flat white?". The other key word in there is "just". It almost comes loaded with a sense of letting down, or being embarrassed for, the cafe or Barista - 'these are all great, but I'm afraid, so JUST something simple for me'. Great post.