a cup of barista stories

This is Miranda!

How long have you been a barista? 5 years

Where? Starbucks, a place in college, Oddfellows, now hostessing at Oddfellows, as well as in finance at Nordstorms coffee bars

Why did you stop being a barista? Because I had carpal tunnel in my wrists, i either had to stop or had to have surgery and would still have to deal with the pain it wouldn’t go away, so I stopped. This has caused me to expand into other aspects, the business side of coffee.

Why are you interested in coffee? I love coffee, since I was four I stole from my Mom’s coffee, it was folger’s haha, had to take what I could get. When I was 15 Coffee Ranch opened and I didn’t know much, Laura Errington worked there and knew it was necessary to have good coffee and opened it up. My coffee knowledge grew from there, I travelled to Portland, I went to Coava, heart , Barista, I traded pecan pies for their vaccuum pot coffee, I was in Portland for 1 year. Matthew Heat from Coava, Redding, learned a lot from baristas then, cuppings, saw them grow, one on one time. Its really exciting to see them grow as they have.

I want to open my own cafe or a plantation. I love South East Asia, India. The people there have so little and so many are slaves. There are not many Asian coffees because of this, Americans don’t want to buy from slave labor. Its changing, they are developing beans now, need someone to treat them fairly. Bring Asian coffees to states or have their own cafe.

What is your favorite part of being a barista? The customers, interaction made day, if a customer is having a bad day, I love giving joy to people, There was an unlovable grumpy customer who others did not like. one morning I started singing to him, the good morning song from singing in the rain and he finished the song “to you” and they really bonded. My customers would often bring gifts back to her from their vacations, they sent me letters, became friends and got them excited about coffee. Customers  became like family , they even invited me to holidays. like fourth of July.

Where did you work in Portland? The starbucks on NW 23rd street, concept store, great atmosphere, had a fireplace, they were always trying out new things at her store.

Where are you from? Borger TX

How have you seen the culture change? I think that Shannon, John, Nathan and Aldi have been huge in bringing and changing coffee culture here, they have brought that spark, really changed it, culture now.

Thanks Miranda! I can’t wait to see how the culture continues to change and develop!