My name is Andrea. I live in New Mexico with my husband and my cat. We just moved to Los Alamos from Las Cruces and are learning to live our lives without all our old friends nearby. I'm a Starbucks Barista and am working on loving being in a small town.
Here you'll find an amalgamation of my many passions and pursuits. I am an aspiring photographer. Please check out my SmugMug and what you think of my shots. You can even buy prints for a nominal fee.
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So the other day, a regular customer ordered a coffee traveler (a big box of coffee) for 6:45am. He came in early, at 6:15am, for his own coffee and newspaper. I said, “I’m working on getting your traveler ready right now!”
He said, “Surely, you don’t have it ready yet.”
I said, “No, but I’m working on it. And don’t call me Shirley!”
Silence.
My manager, the other barista, the customer, and the two customers behind him didn’t get it. In what world do people not get this joke? I don’t think I want to live in it.
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I absolutely love following Hair Romance! Also, she’s great at responding to email if you have more in-depth questions. I attempt stuff like this for work all the time… not sure if this would be pushing it, though!
(via A twist on an old braid)
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I look forward to this every morning. A serious perk to working where I do!
(Source: dietcokeandasmoke, via che-amore)
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This is most definitely espresso coming out of Starbucks’ Mastrena model.
(Source: trollingforunicorns, via che-amore)
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Starbucks at Disneyland!
I have a scoop, thanks to Mel pointing it out to me at work!
There was a press release yesterday put out by Starbucks and the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. We have easy access to it on our portal computer at work. Six new Starbucks cafes will open at the various Disney parks, including one at the newly renovated Disney California Adventure’s Buena Vista Street this summer.
“At Disney California Adventure, Starbucks will be located in the Fiddler, Fifer and Practical Cafe on Buena Vista Street, a place that transports guests to 1920s Los Angeles when Walt Disney arrived in California and a cup of coffee was the perfect way to jumpstart a busy day. The store’s location plays off the Spanish/Mexican architecture of the period, and baristas will wear 1920s-inspired attire.”
Okay, peace out Los Alamos, I’m going to be a barista for Disney now, kthxbye.
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Work Frustration
Putting this under a cut because I’m embarrassed and experiencing some serious self-loathing.
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Joe and Benny. This pet adoption drive was absolutely fantastic… I can’t wait til the day, hopefully soon, when we can bring home a Sirius Black dog just like this! Joe was so wonderful with him!
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Your job is now your Time Lord name. The last digit of your phone number is the current regeneration you are in. The nearest clothing item to your right is now the most notable item in your current wardrobe. The last person you texted is your current companion. Your favorite word is now your catchphrase.
- The Pharmacy Tech
- 6th regeneration
- A shirt covered in stars
- A coworker
- MEGAWEAPON.
Uh
- Student (unemployed?)
- 9th regeneration
- Waistcoat
- Cherie
- NYAAAAAAAN
- The Banker
- 6th regeneration
- Violet pants
- Erm… The notification of the status of this month’s phone bills?
- SQUUUUEEE!!!
- The Babysitter/Knitter/Artist/Student?
- 3rd Regeneration
- A mustard yellow coat
- Rose (srsly.)
- Ersatz!
- Time Lord Name: Official Tumblr Blog
- Regeneration: 0th
- Wardrobe: Dalek t-shirt
- Companion: The Doctor Who SMS Club
- Catchphrase: “Quality”
- “The Barista” is my Time Lord name.
- I’m in my 2nd regeneration.
- A bright yellow scarf is my most memorable wardrobe item!
- My current companion is my manager… =\ dislike. Well, at least he’s snarky.
- “Lovely!” is my catchphrase.
(Source: moonwafflez)
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My hands as of yesterday.
As of today, the skin under my index fingernail has broken open into two clear cuts. Currently wearing gauze and tape.
My life.
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Dear Tumblr,
I have been a barista for a relatively short amount of time (a year and a half), but I have heard the entire gamut on how confident people are in ordering their drinks from us. Many have ordering anxiety and will go so far as not saying any of the words in their drink and hope that we can decipher what drink they’re talking about. I am here to help! I understand why some people are so nervous about getting it “wrong”— I have a brother-in-law and a sister who are terrified by perceived social ramifications of speaking incorrectly at a restaurant. The barista at Starbucks is here to help! We know the code, the lingo, the language, so you don’t have to. However, if you want to sound just like us and order your drink as quickly as you can (without making our brains explode by speaking too quickly), read on!
Reading Down the Cup
Every “green bean” (trainee partner) at Starbucks learns to go “down the cup”. When a green bean is having trouble calling out a freshly made drink, we tell them to “read down the cup”; that is, in order from top to bottom. You may notice above that it seems like there are too many boxes! That is because we have a few unwritten or invisible boxes that must be called when we hand the drink off to you when it is finished*. So I have included those in the graphic I made above. The invisible boxes are:
- Iced?
- Size (See Appendix A below for sizes)
These are not left out just to confuse customers and partners alike. They are left out because the cup makes it obvious! When a customer orders a 16 oz. drink in a plastic cup, you are immediately presented with the information that it is an iced grande drink, without it being written down. We have to call those things out in a certain order, but we do not have to write as much.
When you “read down the cup”, you address each of the boxes with anything written in them. So, in an “iced half-caf quad grande vanilla with steamed soy easy water americano”, we would write:
(You may not have any clue what any of the example drinks that I use are, but I’m afraid that’d fill up many more posts beyond this. If you want to know what all that was, just ask me via my “ask” box.)
Now, that drink was iced, but you’d never know it from reading the cup. That would be implied when we handed over a clear plastic cup. Also, you would never know from that that it was a grande-sized drink- again, implied by the cup itself. Just know that if it is “iced”, that word ALWAYS comes first. The size ALWAYS succeeds the amount of shots of espresso you want and precedes the syrup you want in there.
Now that I have addressed the “invisible box” problem, we can read down the cup and mention what each box means.
- Decaf: Already tweaking? Is it 10PM? Have a heart condition? We put a big “X” in this box if you want it to be a decaffeinated drink. Almost anything we make, with the exception of Chai and other black and green teas, can be converted to decaf. Also, we can make a drink “half-caf” by putting a 1/2 there, or even “two-thirds decaf” by putting a 2/3 there.
- Shots: Solo/Single, Doppio/Double, Triple, Quad, and beyond. The standard on most espresso drinks is that shorts and talls get one shot each, and grandes and ventis get two. We don’t mark anything on the cup if you want those standards. You can modify that amount by adding more (or taking some away, too). Additionally, many drinks don’t come with formal espresso shots, but many people want an extra kick in them. In particular, people like to add shots to chai tea lattes and frappuccinos, so if they want to add 2 shots in a grande vanilla bean frappuccino, we call it a “double grande vanilla bean frappuccino”. We indicate that by writing a numerical figure in the shots box. In the example above, there were four shots, so I wrote a “4”.
- Syrup: We have a plethora of syrup flavors, especially around the holiday season. They are listed below in Appendix B. If you want the standard amount of that flavor in your drink, just say the name of that flavor. If you want it more sweet (more pumps than usual), or less sweet (less pumps than usual), we can change it for you. The standards are: 2 pumps in a short, 3 in a tall, 4 in a grande, and 5 in a venti. In an iced venti drink, it is six, and in an iced trenta drink (which only comes in iced tea and iced coffee), there are seven pumps.
Let us know if you want only two pumps of mocha in your grande mocha! Say that you want a “grande 2-pump mocha”. Or do you want to add a little hazelnut to your vanilla latte? Request a “venti vanilla 3-pump hazelnut latte”. We didn’t change the amount of vanilla (five pumps), so we left that alone, but specified exactly how much hazelnut you wanted to add in.
Important note: Let’s clear up some confusion. Shots do NOT equal pumps. Don’t ask for vanilla latte with an extra shot if you want extra vanilla. Instead, you will get an extra shot of espresso! Always, always, always indicate syrups by using the word “pump” instead of “shot”. Each syrup is usually marked by its first letter (or by adding “SF” before the letter if it is sugar free). In the example above “V” stood for vanilla.
- Milk: This one’s pretty easy. See Appendix C for milk types. We can also mix milks to make things like 1% milk, but it is inexact. In the example above, I used “S” for soy. Note that americanos do not usually have steamed milk in them- just hot water, so I added a little degree symbol to indicate that the customer wanted us to put some milk on top that was steamed to be warmer.
- Custom: also known to me in my own head as the “crazy” box. Starbucks has excellent standards, but some people just want to tweak their drinks a little bit, and that is totally understandable. All the crazy stuff that isn’t indicated in the above boxes goes here. Want your frappuccino to be a different consistency? We can double blend it and write “2x blend” or “dbl blend” here. Want extra room for cream in your americano? We write “EX R” here. As for me, my favorite drink to make gets a “VB” here, because I like it when we steam the vanilla bean powder into milk to get vanilla flavoring, instead of using vanilla syrup. I’d say the single thing I write in most here is “
WC”, for “no whipped cream”. In the example above, I used “EZ H2O” because the customer didn’t want as much water as usual in her americano. Basically there is no set rule for how to use this box, so we write all kinds of crazy, made-up, often not-standard stuff here.
- Drink: Finally! The easy part! Latte? “L”. Mocha? “M”. Caramel frappuccino? “CRF”. Iced green tea? “GT”. Chai tea latte? “CH”. There are a lot of drinks to memorize, and all of that just comes in time. Above was an americano, so we just write “A”.
Few people actually customize as much as you think they are going to. Our standards seem to leave people pretty pleased. Come in and order a grande latte, and all we do is write “L” on a 16 oz. hot cup, and that’s pretty easy.
And so, dear Tumblr, I have tried to give you the most concise way to order, but also give examples, which I hope have not served to confuse you any further. If there are other Starbucks baristas out there who notice anything I’ve missed, let me know and I’ll add it in! And, finally, don’t hesitate to ask me or your favorite barista to coach you on this information if you want to know more- we love to educate people on what we do! And I’m happy to help you with YOUR favorite drink, too!
Your friendly, neighborhood barista,
AndreaPS: Please pass this on! I worked hard on it and I know a lot of people are curious.
Appendix A: Sizes
- Short/Kids: 8 ounces. Not available iced.
- Tall: 12 ounces.
- Grande: 16 ounces.
- Venti: 20 ounces.
- Iced Venti: 26 ounces.
- Trenta: 30 ounces. Not available hot.
Appendix B: Syrups Currently Available (as of March 2012)
- Vanilla (available sugar-free)
- Hazelnut (available sugar-free)
- Caramel (available sugar-free)
- Cinnamon Dulce (available sugar-free)
- Mocha (available sugar-free)
- Frappuccino Coffee Base (available sugar-free)
- Toffeenut
- Chai
- White Mocha
- Caramel Brulee (seasonal)
- Frappuccino Roast
- Frappuccino Creme Base
Appendix C: Milks
- 2%
- Nonfat
- Whole
- Soy
- Half-and-half (which we call “breve”)
- Heavy whipping cream
- Want almond or rice milk or some other alternative? Bring in your own milk and we can steam it for you in a sanitized pitcher!
*There are a few more “invisible boxes” you may be interested to know of: we also have to call out the number of this drink if there are multiple, and we also have to call out if it is in a “personal” cup that someone brought in to be green. For your ordering purposes at the register, you probably don’t need that information. It’ll be common sense for you to say if you want two of a certain drink, and we’ll know when you set the cup down in front of us if you’ve brought your own personal cup.
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Who wants a lesson in how to order at Starbucks?
You probably don’t need one, but if you do, prepare yourself for the post that’s gonna rock your world! Because what I do on my days off from Starbucks seems to be talking about Starbucks…
(Also I know this exists, but I wanted to take a crack at making it a bit more concise. And with pictures!)
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Oct. 7, 1956: Yogi Berra’s hands were the focus of an article titled “Hands of Catchers Take Battering,” published five days after the photo was taken. “These catchers’ hands will win no beauty prize,” the reporter wrote, “but as functional implements they rate special awards.” Photo: The New York Times
I feel like these are my hands, all day every day. I’ve been thinking a lot about the differences between me and people I know who have never had to work with their hands as much as I have to make a living. My hands are a bit of a nightmare, and constantly in some new form of pain. Why, just yesterday, I got a papercut. That shouldn’t be a big deal, but imagine soaking your hands every few minutes in a bucket of sanitizer, washing your hands after every other monetary transaction, and stretching the cut back open every time you open your hand too much because the skin is tender and dry from all you do with it.
I know people who still have soft hands. Sure, their hands are strong and could probably do the work just as well as mine could. My husband, for instance, has quite beautiful hands compared to mine. I’ll admit, though, that I wear the skin on my hands as a badge, and I’m not ashamed of them anymore.
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Random things on my mind lately:
- Making friends is really difficult for me now. Whereas I once reveled in the fact that I was surrounded by a group of 15 friends everyday, I am reviled by the idea of inviting even one person out to do things. I can still handle people— I don’t think I’ve become more introverted, necessarily, I mean, look at where I work— but I just have become more terrified that I am putting myself “out there,” so to speak. And that’s harder when the people I might invite out are people I work with, and would have to see even if I embarrassed myself afterward.
- In the last two days, I have seen two people (customers) roll their eyes at me. One, when she thought I wasn’t looking and I was just being a little silly, and the other right in my face. Am I one of those really annoying people who doesn’t know it?!
- One of my coworkers and I have been writing on our daily offerings board lately and we’ve been getting complimented on our work. It’s nice to know random strangers think we’ve got talent!
- I am a cheese addict, and it is totally killing any semblance of a healthy diet I’ve got. Ughh.
- Stephen Hawking is an amazing writer, and I’m really excited to be reading one of his books. When I am working long shifts, it is quite a respite to sit down and be intellectually stimulated. I’ll admit, I really miss academia and using my brain. I can’t wait until this weekend when I will be visiting Taos with Joe and Zack. While they go out and ski, I will drink tea and read books (hopefully by a fire).
- I’ve been really excited for snow, and as my weight fluctuates, I’m happy to be able to cover up in plenty of clothing. However, I adore fall and spring— and, dare I say it, I’m looking forward to warmer weather, finally.
- This may sound crazy to a bunch of my tumblr followers, as I am older than many of you, but I am kind of wishing I could get pregnant and have a child sometime this year. We’re not in a bad or good place financially, we’ve been married three years now, and I want to start having kids before I’m 30. Kind of a scary idea, or a scary thing to admit.
- Speaking of my age, I’m going to be 26 in less than a month! 27 days, I believe! I’ll be in my late 20s. Or at least in the latter half of my 20s. That is a little scary. I usually can find a reason to be excited about an age, but this one is harder… I guess 26 is two times thirteen, my favorite number/birthday. So there’s that.
Well, that’s probably about it for tonight.
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Tea tasting: Tazo Joy Tea. It’s a really interesting tea because it’s a combo of many kinds of teas, without the flavors fighting with one another. It includes darjeeling and oolong from Sri Lanka, green tea from China, and Assam black tea from India. My review…
This tea turns a beautiful shade of orange-red when steeped. Dry, the tea smells of apricots. Steeped, it smells spicy, in a very light way. The fruity, citrus addition of flavor to black tea is wonderful— this tea does not need any lemon.
