Briefly, a big thank-you to those that have contacted me regarding the kick-off post. I’ve been surprised and touched by some of the responses thus far, and it does mean so much to me that anyone could decipher my bean-counting with something approaching my own joy for the subject.
The informative portion of this one’s a relative quickie. Appropriate, as one would need to move fast in order to take full advantage. Also appropriate in the sense that there are many acronyms ahead, which follow that ironic tendency of acronyms to take longer in their repeated explanation than would be spent simply relaying the entirety of their abbreviation.
(…Perhaps I lied about your quickie.)
The Ristretto (short shot; espresso prepared with less water/time to exaggerate flavor): For the professional barista passers-by, please note that the Barista Guild of America, AKA the BGA, is having a “Recession Special” until the first of May. New members can join for one year at the cost of $25, as opposed to the usual rate of $45. Renewals are free!
Run along and join, or stick around for…
The Full Pull: No doubt many readers, by this point, will have exclaimed to themselves – “There’s a barista guild?” To which I proudly say, “mai guildz, let me show u it”.
Founded in 2003, the BGA became an official trade guild of the SCAA (the Specialty Coffee Association of America, which is the world’s largest coffee trade association). There was a certain amount of shrugging on behalf of the community itself as to if a guild of the notoriously non-conformist would stand solid. As the BGA website states quite poetically,
It’s not necessarily intuitive that a grassroots organization which intends to weather the winds of change requires a solid infrastructure built on a foundation that will last the tests of time.
Since its inception, however, the BGA has made several notable contributions to the craft, all of which are reasons to consider signing aboard if you haven’t already. This includes running ongoing skill-building workshops, officially sanctioning regional barista jams (the “barista jam” is an informal gathering of coffee-peers to share knowledge, a beloved barista event!), offering members discounts with training schools and on training products, as well as deals on equipment and even a network of coffee houses which provide members with free drinks and discourse. (For a full listing of member discounts, see here.) As one would hope, the BGA has fostered the sharing of knowledge and a sense of solidarity between its motley members. But perhaps most importantly of all, the BGA contributes to something which coffee craftspersons are well due for yet is amazingly short in supply: recognition of legitimacy.
It boggles me that for as much training, talent, hard work and pure love that coffee preparers pour into their trade, even with the coffee industry being as large as it is, the general public has little concept of what a barista is or what they really do. A bartender or sommelier command their varying respect by their traditions, yet a barista is often confused for the fast-food worker of coffee. True, I would gauge the process of making a pre-conceived single batch of drip coffee as demanding a chore as dunking a basket of french fries. There, however, the similarities thin.
Drink recipes are, for anyone who has witnessed a dozen-syllable beverage order, more malleable and custom-made than even the most having-it-their-way McCustomer. A barista, in the strictest sense, is a master of hardware and gadgets, a smooth small-talk operator, a host, a performer, a scientist, a foodie, a translator, a fashion plate, an artist, and an agent of counter-culture. Even those with push-button espresso machines in the most corporate regimented coffee establishments are required to maintain standards of sociability and product knowledge well above that of a burger chain. It’s a bit more elaborately caffeinated interpersonal mandala than the answer-null, sufficiently mind-emptying “fries with that?” koan. (And here, I bolster for McDebate. McChuckle.)
An encapsulation of the after-school special moral to be found within this post is: by supporting the BGA, a barista propagates the infrastructure of their trade, opens new avenues of learning for themselves, enhances public perception of barista-kind via the demonstration of their organization, and thereby improves the lot of all coffee brethren.
And right now, you can get in on the cheap.
Have at it, spro pros.
For next time, I have reviews of canned and bottled coffee products I’m buzzing to share.
It’s true, before knowing you, I never figured that baristas might consider it a career — but the comparison to bartenders and sommelier really makes sense to me. As much as coffee fans love drinking coffee, why wouldn’t coffee creators love preparing it? Now it makes total sense. Thank you for opening my eyes in more ways than one. ^_^