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Friday, 08 July 2005 |
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This is an introduction of sorts.
I fell into maaking coffee quite by accident. My friends had opened The Black Drop a few months earlier and had been making it known they would be needing their first barista sooner than they had expected.
I casually mentioned I thought being a barista would be a cool job, too bad i knew nothing of espresso making. They said I could be taught, I submitted my rsume' and here I am, almost three years later, stiil pulling shots and loving it.
I'm not a showy sort and i don't have the temperment to pull off competition performances, but my goal is to make espresso fit for competition for the everyday drinker.
Viva! |
Written by Wills on 2005-07-08 20:43:46
sweet deal Duffy.
where's Black Drop?
| Written by AKA_Duffy on 2005-07-09 02:47:37
In Bellingham, Wa.
Our town is 4th overall of coffeehouses per capita, behind Anchorage, Seattle, and san Francisco.
The Black Drop has it's own LiveJourna as do all the barista/owners.
| Written by Wills on 2005-07-09 08:17:01
nice nice.
cool name too. Black Drop..hehe. thats genius  | Written by Wills on 2005-07-09 19:02:07
let me ask you something.
since i dont live in a area w/ a high percentage of coffeehouses ...
don't you think it saturates the market when a lot of shops are there?
I can see the pros and cons. but how is business there? | Written by AKA_Duffy on 2005-07-09 19:37:55
Uneven.
There are days when we are slammed and two people are taxed to get the drinks out and other days are depressingly slow. There are a lot of variables; school's in/out, it's sunny/rainy/snowing/windy...
But what we try to do is create our own niche (quality coffee and well-trained and knowlegeble baristas) and promote it. For instance, when Starbucks finally opened a downtown location, we used it as an opportuniy to showcase our own level of service and educate people as to what they're getting at Star $. We have a display of their beans vs. the beans we use (Hines Public Market for espresso/ a local roaster;Moka Joe for drip) and can chat with customers about the difference in quality.
It wasn't the owner's plan to saturate the market, rather to create a coffeehouse culture where each place has something different to offer, as well as raise the bar of quality and customer sevice.
| Written by Wills on 2005-07-10 18:55:32
ahhh totally.
so Hines is close to you guys? I always wanted to come to Wa and check out the many shops. ahhh some day  | Written by AKA_Duffy on 2005-07-12 23:07:17
There's about an hour or so drive to the south to get to Hines.
And Victrola as well.
I'm so spoiled, I almost have to go there for espresso outside of our own shop.
we have a stupid amount of shops up here, but sadly few are really, really good. There's a tendancy to encourage the
20 oz.hot milk drink with syrup, oh and here's an 16 second shot of espresso too, mindset. |
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