Barista Magazine

FEB-MAR 2018

Serving People Serving Coffee Since 2005

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75 www.baristamagazine.com notes to engage the consumer through mem- ory? How do tasting notes or quality become standard across an industry?" Attendees were excited to learn about different processes, chemical reactions, and craft elements that create the best of each item. The vendors also enjoyed talking to people who could draw intimate parallels with their own craft. BARISTA CALIBRATION Washington, D.C. Hosted by: DMV Coffee Barista work is physical, but according to occupational Pilates instructor Marcia Polas, it shouldn't hurt to do your job. The Barista Calibration event, arranged in conjunction with the Washington, D.C., preliminary U.S. Coffee Champs event in September, showed baristas how to use occupational Pilates to prevent and even cure work-related ailments like barista wrist, thumb pain, neck pain, and knee pain. Marcia teaches these classes up and down the East Coast for bartenders, but this was her fi rst calibration specifi cally for baristas. Daps Salisbury of Blue Bottle, who organized the event, was inspired by a gap they noticed in coffee education: "One of the unfortunate realities of work on bar is the physical and emotional toll it can take on you," Daps says. "Few training programs instill good ergonomic habits in us, proba- bly because the majority of us already have chronic pain issues from dysfunctional move- ment by the time we are in a position to pass knowledge down." Marcia's philosophy is that it shouldn't cost money to take care of yourself, and it shouldn't take more than a few minutes a day. A staunch believer that barista work should be a sustainable career path, Daps hopes others will start to host events like these in their own communities. To learn more or get in touch with Marcia about hosting your own barista calibration, you can visit her website at www.polaspilates.com. Do It Yourself, Everywhere The best thing about these 10 events is that any one of them could happen anywhere in the country and benefi t the local communi- ty just as much. In every region, there are organizations that can share valuable skills applicable to the barista profession for free or cheap, just waiting for coffee folks to stumble upon them and engage their services. These 10 events are revolutionary for the coffee industry because they create less waste, have low overhead, and trade in skills that add new meaning to what the coffee profession and its associated career paths can become. The aforementioned activities and gatherings don't rely on expensive venues or big-name sponsorships to engage coffee people; instead, they look at the communities around them and interact with their issues and needs, identifying the gaps in education, access, and engagement, and fi lling them. EDITOR'S CHOICE The author of this article, RJ Joseph, her- self cohosted an event called QC: Queer in Coffee in early December in the San Francisco Bay Area, which is particularly notable (though it would be odd for her to include it, which is why I'm doing it). The crowdfunded queer-centered cof- fee event group, founded by RJ and Ellan Kline, held its inaugural event at Counter Culture Coffee's Emeryville training center on December 2. The event, which featured snacks from Bartavelle Coffee + Wine Bar, Bump City Cookies, and Pig Out Vegan Foods, and attracted more than 100 local coffee professionals, was created by RJ and Ellan to fi ll a void for queer coffee workers who may not always have their needs met at indus- try events held by organizations with a broader focus. After a short speech from Ellan on the necessity of community organizing and a reading of the code of conduct by RJ, the event moved into a panel discussion called "The Future of Coffee: Where We're Going and What It Will Take to Get Us There," moderated by RJ and featuring panelists Rosi Quiñones of Royal Coffee; Paba Mihindukulasuriya of Alchemy Collective; Dani Goot of Bell- wether Coffee; Izi Aspera of Wrecking Ball Coffee; and Umeko Motoyoshi of Sudden Coffee. Hot topics for the panel included rising income inequality, the necessity of sharing information, and the importance of creating opportunities that don't currently exist. ÑSarah Allen - F R O M E S P R E S S O P A R T S - Knockbox EPKB665, EPKB6R Frothing Pitcher, Lined Measuring Glass EPPITCHER12, EPMEAS Side Spray Rinser EPPR724 Bocote Wood Espresso Tamp 30COMP_BOCOTE, 30EP5_BOCOTE Connect with us today! EspressoParts.com info@espressoparts.com or (800) 459-5594 @espressoparts /espressopartsnw @espressoparts

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