Barista Magazine is your home for the worldwide community of coffee and the people who make it.
Issue link: http://baristamagazine.epubxp.com/i/60686
Coffee CV: Barista, Top-a-Tapps (Lake Tapps, Wash., 1 year); Barista/ manager, Espresso Lane (Puyallup, Wash., 3 years); Barista/manager, Sheraton Hotel Coffee Bar (Tacoma, Wash., 1 year); Barista, Starbucks (Puyallup, Wash., 1.5 years); Sales/business development, Dillanos Coffee Roasters (Sumner, Wash., 10 years) What's a particularly special coffee memory you can share? In January of 2010, I had the privilege of visiting the Chacon Family at the Las Lajas Estate in Costa Rica. I can still remember the first time I laid eyes on the drying patio, and it clicked for me. This industry that I had been a part of for so many years was finally brought full-circle, and I was overcome with emotion. Spending a few days with the Chacons learning first hand all of the steps that go into processing coffee as well as seeing how long it takes to pick coffee cherries, increased my understanding of and respect for these beans we were putting into our hoppers. From that moment on, it was my personal mission to relay that information and instill a respect into my customers for the product we all use every day. For every two coffee beans, someone's calloused hands picked a cherry from a tree! How can you not respect their hard work? What advice do you have for newcomers to this industry? Drench yourself in coffee and the people in coffee. It is there that you will begin to really connect with our community or, as I see it, our coffee family. Also, don't be afraid to put yourself out there as someone new and willing to learn. You'll find that those who have been in the industry a long time and really love what they do will never tire of talking about coffee. Also, try looking up coffee pros on Facebook and Twitter! It's a great opportunity for a quick bit of advice or info as well as becoming more aware of local events like Thursday Night Throwdowns (TNTs) taking place that you can participate in. Another great resource is Barista Exchange (baristaexchange.com). That allows you to find baristas specifically in your area and pick their brains on questions, ideas or experiments you've thought of. You can typically get a great response from people on there. To what do you attribute the fame surrounding the Pacific Northwest coffee scene? I think there are a lot of areas in the U.S. that are making great strides in specialty coffee, not just the Northwest. However, I do feel like we are typically at the beginning of the trends. Since specialty coffee really started here, people look to us to see what's next. I think things have changed though and there are some pockets of the U.S. that have caught up, and we're all neck and neck. Overall, I think the fame behind it is that we are an area where specialty coffee really started. How many people can say that they've been to Seattle and seen the first Starbucks? You just have to go there. Also, our climate and environment almost forces you to indulge in coffee every day just to stay warm! Where do you see yourself in five years? 10 years? In five years, I see myself as a career mom continuing to build the company I'm currently working with and spreading whatever knowledge I can about specialty coffee, the products I represent and my recommendations on how those two can be blended well together. Ten years? Sheesh—five years was tough enough to imagine! Your guess is as good as mine, but I definitely hope to be older and wiser and continuing to support this incredible industry made of up some of my dearest friends and "family. " "Drench yourself in coffee and the people in coffee. It is there that you will begin to really connect with our community or, as I see it, our coffee family.'' www.baristamagazine.com 57