Baristas may not love your sugary drinks, but they're happy you're happy
While in high school, Young's father introduced them to the French press, and soon they were hooked. A thermos of freshly brewed coffee accompanied them to school each morning, only to be guzzled down during the first period.
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Young has become a coffee connoisseur in their three years working in the coffee business and said they have developed a palette that favors bold over sweet, leading them to raise an eyebrow at some customers' orders.
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Young and other baristas we interviewed have noticed some patterns. 'Plain iced coffee is the Boston drink. The quintessential Boston person is just getting black iced coffee — all seasons,' they said.
Gracenote Coffee in downtown Boston.
Davina Tan
Mar Salinas, a barista at Gracenote Coffee in the Leather District, has worked at six different coffee shops over about six years. 'Cold brew is for gym bros,' she said.
Both Young and Salinas agreed that matcha is more commonly ordered by women, but Salinas added that the typical matcha lover is likely someone belonging to Gen Z and 'probably has a
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Ellie Culliton, a barista at
Don't be offended if a barista deems your order not coffee-forward enough, or your preferred drink puts you — in their mind — into a population where you don't fit. Baristas, themselves, are not immune to stereotypes: They're often the coffee snobs people expect baristas to be.
Luis Salmerón, who has worked at Caffé Vittoria for 10 years, said his favorite drink is a double Americano with the hot water replaced by black coffee — a drink sure to give anyone a caffeine kick. He said he sometimes — though rarely — adds a bit of sugar to counteract the boldness of the coffee and espresso and can easily tell the difference between 'a good espresso and a bad espresso.'
Caffe Vittoria in 2018.
Suzanne Kreiter/Globe STaff
Salinas said she most enjoys cappuccinos, but she herself is 'probably like an espresso tonic as a person. It's a very polarizing drink. I'm pretty outspoken.' She also said that working in specialty coffee has 'ruined' other shops' coffee for her.
Despite the lighthearted nature of boiling a customer's character profile down to a single drink, baristas said they ultimately want their customers to enjoy their coffee, regardless of how they like it prepared.
'If you like your stuff the way you do, by all means, go ahead. I'll drink mine the way I like it,' Salmerón said. 'Enjoy your cup of coffee, either espresso, double espresso, or iced mocha with a lot of sugar. Whatever you want … it's up to you, and we love it.'
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Because ultimately, Salmerón said, 'coffee is something that brings us together.'
Plus, the baristas said, having to make too-sweet drinks isn't the real frustration; it's the all-too-frequent lack of respect and patience from some customers.
A latte from George Howell.
Dan Watkins
Young said they will greet a customer, and instead of returning their greeting, some customers just begin ordering. 'It's a reminder that people are seeing me as this sort of less-than [job],' they said.
The baristas also said customers often order off-menu items, which can be frustrating, especially during a rush.
'Dealing with customer service, you kind of get exposed to the entitlement and presumptuous nature of people as a whole,' Salinas said. 'After working in coffee for so long, you just get desensitized.'
Young and Salinas both said that some older customers seem to view their job as 'unserious' and that can correlate to the amount of disrespect they witness during their brief interactions with customers. '[Baristas] here are fully paying their rent, paying their groceries, paying everything,' Young said.
Working as a barista is not as easy or glamorous as some think, Salinas said. 'It's not just pushing a button. There's thought and intention that's put behind it.'
But the positive customer interactions — ones where curiosity and kindness meet — are what make up for the negative ones, Young said. 'If you're super friendly with your barista, they'll be super friendly with you.'
Kelly Broder can be reached at
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