By Christopher Vasquez PORTLAND, OR— A barista at one Portland cafe came face-to-face with his own shortcomings when it became apparent that he had spent the last six months calling regular customer Mark Wilde by the wrong name. The customer is reportedly both unoffended and unphased. According to witnesses, barista Eddie Wong had called out, “Hey Scott,…
PITTSBURGH, PA— This week at a high-volume university cafe, two baristas were fired after playing Alanis Morissette’s classic album “Jagged Little Pill,” during the mid-morning lull. The altercation began when university professor Jill Redkin came over to complain about the music, which was playing at a moderate volume in the space. “I asked them if it wasn’t…
Stanford graduate, entrepreneur, and barista Clement Jones recently launched a Kickstarter for his ambitious new venture, Third Wave Gum. I was lucky enough to sit down with Jones and ask him some questions about why he believes Third Wave Gum will change the specialty coffee industry forever. RJ: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk…
This piece is dedicated to Umeko Motoyoshi, our excellent Patreon supporter whom we love and appreciate. By Colton Kirby NEW YORK, NY— Over the weekend, eager new barista Freddie Stapp read a blog post by a former world barista champion regarding extraction percentages and TDS numbers. Heavy with the knowledge that his cafe was failing to utilize, Stapp showed…
By Sam Stoothoff SALEM, MA— A local cafe was enveloped in a shroud of darkness early Wednesday morning when barista Erin Valor pulled what baristas across the world know as the “devil shot.” According to reports, onlookers heard a deep, sickly, rumbling voice described as coming, “from the deep,” and being, “profoundly upsetting.” Patrons we talked to…
DAVIS, CA— A new study released by UC Davis’s Coffee Campus this morning shows a shocking trend: an average of 97% of baristas laugh at the term “cupping” the first time they hear it. According to the report, the term “cupping,” which coffee professionals use to refer to a simple and standardized immersion brew used for assessing quality,…
JACKSONVILLE, FL— Barista Maria Alexie recently came back from her first-ever trip to a coffee farm, and according to sources, she now “really gets” that it’s difficult to pick coffee and is “so impressed” by what farmers do. “Whenever I would hear green buyers talk about working with producers on making sure to pick only ripe cherry, I…
By Robert Galbraith SANTA CRUZ, CA— Having recently been promoted to green buyer at a mid-sized West Coast coffee roastery, Desmond James was nervous about his first trip to origin. “After one of the importers we work with found out I had never been to origin, so they invited me to come on their next buying trip.…
MELBOURNE, AU— Entrepreneur and three-time Australian barista champion Stephen Volpe recently announced the launch of a new water additive that will “finally make it possible to brew great coffee with water.” “As many of you know, coffee is 98% water,” he told reporters in a recent press conference. “So the water matters. But right now, the water we…
PHOENIX, AZ— Inspired by her favorite erotic bakery, local entrepreneur and regional barista champion Maisy Kean recently launched the country’s first erotic cafe. We attended the launch party to see what all the buzz was about and found a happy, spirited crowd sipping free espresso bevs. “When I lived in SF for school, the best bakery in town…