9:45:00 AM
CAFE
9:45:00 AMLast year I worked in a local cafe and found out everything (or almost everything) about a job I have always wanted to do. You see it on TV...
Last year I worked in a local cafe and found out everything (or almost everything) about a job I have always wanted to do.
You see it on TV, in the movies, you read about that in books...working in a cafe is romantic and fun. Or at least I thought so. The reality is sometimes the same as in my dreams, but somedays were just so crazy I was glad when I was closing at night and headed straight home to bed.
However, I am really glad I got a chance to work as a barista and I felt like a main character in a romantic film. I also learnt so many things about myself and about this profession and now I want to share it all with you.
That was me when I came last year into a local cafe and asked for a job. And I got it. And that's where the story begins...
First thing I started with was coffee preparation. Until that I knew only one type of coffee: my homemade instant Nescafé I loved, but suddenly I found out there are so many types of coffee: Americano, Espresso, Cappucino, Doppio, Lungo, Ristretto, Flat white, Irish Coffee, Caffe latte, Turkish Coffee and also very special ones such as French Press, Chemex, Cezve or Moka pot...
My head almost exploded. I didn't even know how to prepare the basic espresso and I didn't know the difference between espresso and ristretto. Or which mug/cup/glass is suitable for them.
Second thing I learnt was how to make steamed and foamed milk. Oh my Gosh! If rememberign all types of coffees and their preparations were hard, this was like stepping on the Moon for the first time. I had no idea what I was doing. You use steam to transform the cold milk into steamed or foamed milk and you have to find just the right angle and just the right time of heating. If you boil the milk you are screwed, if you have the wrong angle you probably make so many bubbles and to be honest, it took me some time to learn all this.
You see it on TV, in the movies, you read about that in books...working in a cafe is romantic and fun. Or at least I thought so. The reality is sometimes the same as in my dreams, but somedays were just so crazy I was glad when I was closing at night and headed straight home to bed.
However, I am really glad I got a chance to work as a barista and I felt like a main character in a romantic film. I also learnt so many things about myself and about this profession and now I want to share it all with you.
Beginnings
No experience in cafe before, just quiting college and looking for a second part-time job, enthusiastic about learning how to make the perfect coffee, positive and very kind.
First thing I started with was coffee preparation. Until that I knew only one type of coffee: my homemade instant Nescafé I loved, but suddenly I found out there are so many types of coffee: Americano, Espresso, Cappucino, Doppio, Lungo, Ristretto, Flat white, Irish Coffee, Caffe latte, Turkish Coffee and also very special ones such as French Press, Chemex, Cezve or Moka pot...
My head almost exploded. I didn't even know how to prepare the basic espresso and I didn't know the difference between espresso and ristretto. Or which mug/cup/glass is suitable for them.
Second thing I learnt was how to make steamed and foamed milk. Oh my Gosh! If rememberign all types of coffees and their preparations were hard, this was like stepping on the Moon for the first time. I had no idea what I was doing. You use steam to transform the cold milk into steamed or foamed milk and you have to find just the right angle and just the right time of heating. If you boil the milk you are screwed, if you have the wrong angle you probably make so many bubbles and to be honest, it took me some time to learn all this.
Customers
Another thing that is inevitable if you work in a cafe is contact with customers. In majority of cases it was amazing, people were kind and nice, but I also experienced few mean and not very symphatetic ones. However, if you are kind and positive, you can handle everyone. Or at least, that is my experience.
Money
As a barista, you work with money. If you like Math and you can count it is okay. And if you don't and can't, you can learn it :-) The more important thing is: TIPS. My salary was, I'm not going to lie, low and if I wanted to earn some extra money I had to rely on my skills and hope that people would appreciate it.
Closing
Let's start with the opposite: opening. I went to work 30 minutes before opening and prepared everything - turned on the lights and all the machines (dishwasher, coffee grinders), checked that everything is clean and ready for opening, turned on the computer and unlocked the doors and waited for the first customers.
And now I will present you the closure: first of all: lock the door and then clean everything (floor, kitchen, tables, dishes, coffee machine, toilets), turn off all the machines, count the moneym turn the light off and go home. If I was super fast the closure took me less than an hour. Of course it was paid, but it meant leaving at 10, 11 or sometimes even after midnight if there was some party, so I usually came home exhausted.
Pain
I am not a lazy person, I like sports and I workout, but my legs, oh my Gosh, they hurt. I was walking the whole day and I wasn't ready for this, because at school you sit and you sit a lot. So my legs were paintful and I felt like hiking the PCT.
To sum up, working in a cafe was fun, but there were also days I was totally exhausted (for example when I worked two 13 hours shifts in two days). My legs hurt, but on the other hand I had cheaper coffee and an opportunity to eat leftovers. So without doubt it was a percet experience, but not a right full-time-all-my-life-lasting job.
Kate
