The only question is usually: “Can you draw pictures like that?” Then I talk about latte art and nobody understands what I’m talking about because I’m such a nerd. But people mostly find it kind of cool. You don’t need more questions because I start texting people myself. The topic just grabs me.
What I like about the job
I love making coffee. That’s when I have the most fun. Everything works perfectly in the café: the grinder grinds exactly the right amount of coffee, the carriers are set precisely and the exact amount of water runs through the coffee with the same pressure.
Imagination vs. Reality
Small roasting plants and the people there are such a hipster cliché: fisherman’s hat, second-hand cargo pants, tattooed and pierced, of course. Sure, these people are drawn to it too. I don’t want to exclude myself from that. All in all, the people here connect above all good coffee, sustainability and transparency. Once a year we publish a report detailing exactly what we buy where and at what price. In series, the job of a barista always seems pretty relaxed. In reality, it’s pure stress. On my first day on the machine I had to ask a colleague to take over because I wasn’t fast enough.
That’s what a barista deserves
As a mini-jobber, I earn minimum wage. This makes me flexible and I can easily combine my work with my studies. At the end of the month I end up with a salary of around 500 euros. In addition, there is an average tip of 160 to 180 euros. We are a cashless café, so almost all customers select the pre-selection with a ten percent tip on the card reader. Working full-time at the café would be too tiring for me. But to try new beans in a roastery, to think about how best to roast them, and to spend the whole day with coffee, that would be nice.
How not to drink coffee
Stay away from cheap coffee. For the flat machines jungle and reap masses of bad beans. People and nature are exploited. The end result is not a good experience other than getting caffeinated. So if you can afford it, treat yourself to good beans. For starters, it helps to stick to recipes: Weigh the beans, grind them and control the amount of water and the throughput time. But at the end of the day, everyone gets what they want.