Why is DUMBO special?

I think it’s pretty fascinating and amazing that in such a large city, you can find such a small, tightly knit community. As I’m writing this, my seat is the concrete and my chair back is the outside wall of Starbucks. People pass by and I recognize nearly all of them. Even if I don’t, they will nod, acknowledge my presence, and even….smile.

Yes, DUMBO is a very atypical place in New York and I love it for that reason. A regular just walked by and gave me a high five. A Russian tourist just asked me for directions onto the Brooklyn Bridge. A fly keeps persistently flying around me. Well, the last part isn’t so great, but I’m glad I work in a community where people are meaningful to other people.

My break is over…I’ll post about the drinks later!

Some compliments, good news, and your first two featured drinks!

At Starbucks, it’s rare to get a compliment, much less a plethora of them in two days. Mostly, you just get many complaints and outbursts such as:

“Where’s MY DRINK?!”
or
“This tastes DISGUSTING!”

However, yesterday was different. Our afternoon crew was praised for our friendliness and a few people commented on how much they enjoyed our service. This is a very welcome change and we can all breathe a sigh of relief, even if it’s only a very small one. See, our customer satisfaction percentages are not all they should be. Nevertheless, climbing from 47% to 51% to 55% is better than getting worse or even staying the same.

Despite these dismal numbers, I received a much welcome piece of news yesterday: I am finally being promoted to shift supervisor. After over a year of being told there was no room for promotion, there finally is, as Bianca accepted a full time position at a hospital. This means that your very own BaristaJim will be ShiftSupervisorJim, although I don’t think that flows as smoothly.

And now, as promised, here are your two featured drinks. The first was declared the “Drink of the Summer,” as it has seen an incredible spike in popularity since last year. The second drink is rich, indulgent chocolate delight.

(image from Starbucks.com)

Blogging world, meet Green Iced Tea. Green Iced Tea, this is your adoring public.

Green Iced Tea is our best selling tea. It has a light, smooth body with a relaxed, minty flavor. It loves to be shaken with lemonade and is tasty either sweetened or unsweetened. Here’s Mr. Green Iced Tea’s recipe:
1 part concentrated iced tea (natural brewed fresh throughout the day)
1 part water or lemonade
1 level scoop of ice

The iced tea is then vigorously shaken and poured into a cup the size of your choice, ready to be enjoyed.

The second drink I’d like to introduce you to is the cafe mocha, more commonly referred to as just “mocha.”

Mochas are simple, yet decadent drinks. The dark chocolate mixes very well with espresso, leaving the drinker with a morning, afternoon, or nighttime treat. Hot or iced, many people choose mocha as their drink of choice daily.

How a hot Grande Cafe Mocha is made (steps are in order):

4 pumps of mocha sauce (prepared fresh every single day)
2 shots of espresso
Steamed 2% milk
1/4 inch of whipped cream

These are your delicious delights for today. Next blog: Caramel Macchiatos and White Mochas!

This and that…

The past few days have been a whirlwind. I’ve been running from work to college finals and back to work again. There are a couple of stories worth mentioning though.

The first took place three days ago when I was asked what kind of breakfast sandwiches we had. The openers had forgotten to put out the sign listing the various morning delicacies, so I slid it in and began explaining which sandwiches were which (let’s suppose the man’s name is Brad).

Me: “Well, sir, we have bacon and ham artisan rolls, spinach feta wraps, and piadinis. The only thing we’re out of is the reduced fat turkey bacon.”

Brad: “Eh?”

Me: “The reduced fat turkey bacon…it’s the only thing we don’t have.”

Brad: “Soooo, what about this turkey bacon? Do you have that?”

It’s very hard to hold back a face sometimes, but I’ve gotten pretty good at it over the past 18 months. Another such notable exchange took place on Thursday night, five minutes before I scurried away to the last in-class final of my collegiate life.

I was on bar and was called an iced solo macchiato (espresso macchiatos are very different from caramel macchiatos…they are made with just espresso and foam). When the woman who ordered it walked up to the bar, I asked her if she just wanted espresso and milk since it was iced, or if she wanted some foam on top of the ice (something that, in my opinion, makes for a very excellent contrast). However, instead of answering my question, the woman (let’s name her Danielle) picked up a venti caramel frappuccino and asked if it was her macchiato.

Me: “No, I’m sorry…that’s a caramel frappuccino. A macchiato is espresso with foam.”

*Danielle picks up the frappuccino again*

D: “This is my macchiato?”

Me: “No, maam. A macchiato is espresso with foam. That is a caramel frappuccino. That drink is like a smoothie…it’s blended with ice.”

*Danielle looks very perplexed*

D: “Oh…so this isn’t my macchiato?”

Me: “No. Did you want a frappuccino?”

D: “Uh…I guess. Sure, I’ll try one of those.”

Two final things: one is a future plan for the next few entries into this blog, the other is a quote from my fiance.

I am planning on writing some insight into the world of Starbucks after realizing just how clueless about it I was before I began working there. I hadn’t the faintest notion of what a cafe mocha was, was clueless as to how to tell the difference between a cappuccino and a latte, and certainly didn’t know it was possible to order the thirteen word drink “Iced Half-Caff Triple Grande Five Pump Cinnamon Dolce Breve With Whip Red Eye. Thus, I will explain a few things in the language of the people…a “Starbucks Simplified” handbook, if you will.

As for the quote, it came after sending a picture or two of myself drinking my morning chottie.

“I’d like my coffee with an extra shot of frantic love, please.”

Go ahead and poke fun at us, but even our love is coffee infused 🙂

We failed this morning.

We were the pig in the slaughterhouse, the fish who swallowed the hook, the emperor with no clothes…..and we had to utter the five words that plague all barista’s dreams: We are out of coffee.

You see, Starbucks’ corporate offices recently decided to implement a new brewing strategy that would virtually eliminate all possibility of running out of regular, bold, or decaffeinated coffee. Essentially, the innovation is a bright idea based on a rotation of urns with a new type of coffee being brewed every eight minutes. However, what this new system doesn’t fully take into account are the variations in demand for coffee during the morning rush. Thus, by the time it’s decaf’s turn to be brewed, we’re already out of regular, and any sidestepping of the new strategy throws the rhythm completely out of sync. Apparently, there are still some kinks to be worked out with the new method of brewing, but we’ll get it down soon, I assure you. A side note for all you coffee experts: there will be a subtle freshness added to the flavor of our coffee, as it is now freshly ground before each batch rather than all at once in the morning.

The details above lead me to recount a customer interaction I had this morning while on register around 9 a.m., smack dab in the middle of our busiest time.

A semi-regular customer (let’s name him Phil) walks up to me and asks for a grande Pike Place. Apologizing, I inform him we are clean out of regular coffee and ask if he wouldn’t mind waiting a few minutes for it. Phil begrudgingly mumbles an assent and once again buries his head into his Blackberry. Hating to not have coffee available, I tell Phil that he can have his morning brew for free in exchange for his waiting. However, this seems to vex Phil all the more and, without a word to me, he leaves, complaining to Amanda (a fellow barista) that the story is always the same in DUMBO Starbucks.

Phil, I’m sorry we ran out of coffee this morning. I promise you we’ll amend this new brewing system until your ears never have to hear the words “We are out of coffee” again.

In other news, I redecorated my hat…it was looking a bit grungy.

Rwanda is delicious…I’ll review it sometime very soon.

Spread the word! 🙂

Who can resist?

The “Chottie”

My beloved caffeine enamored friends, it is time to introduce the chottie, the delectable drink pictured above (which, coincidentally, was quickly consumed by me this morning). The idea of the chottie was born on one of our monthly customer satisfaction reports when we read the comments left by an apparently satisfied customer.

The transcript is recorded as follows:

Question: “What was your favorite thing about this visit to Starbucks?”

Respondent: “That I went in for a vanilla bean drink and left out with a special hot chottie.”

Immediately upon reading these words, several questions came to mind. Why is it a good thing that this customer left with a drink other than the one he or she wanted? I suppose a barista might have convinced them to purchase something different, but even if this is true, it is impossible to ignore the next two queries: What is a hot chottie and why is it special?

Not being able to sufficiently explain either of these, a few of my fellow partners and I decided that a chottie should be anything the maker of the drink wants it to be. Thus, if I’m thirsty for something delicious, I’ll ask the barista on bar to make me either a special hot chottie or a special iced chottie.

And you know what? It’s always good. Maybe this mystery customer was on to something after all…

There’s a sleeper cell in my latte…

Matcha, essentially, is powdered green tea. Matcha is very useful for mixing with milk or cream base to make “delicious” lattes and frappuccinos. However, what happens when BaristaJim is subjected to this fluffy, green substance? He gets sick. Very sick. I’m not talking about a little sniff here, a little sniff there. I’m referring to sore, debilitating, closing throats.

Thus, what happens when somebody orders a Strawberry Banana Matcha Vivanno? I find myself handing out a drink trying not to fall on my knees while groping around blindly for some Benadryl. Besides, there’s just something about mixing green tea with strawberry and banana that doesn’t sound appealing to me, even if it weren’t a sleeper cell.

Maybe it’s just the matcha fumes playing tricks on my mind, but I’m starting to believe there’s a bounty on my head. Someone even ordered a Banana Chocolate Vivanno with matcha. There’s just so much holding my breath I can do while making drinks, DUMBO.

The First….

I’m usually perplexed as what to write when I start a new website, blog, homepage, or the like. Thus, instead of permitting my thoughts to meander around, I will hone them in and focus them on all things coffee.

You see, working at Starbucks presents the simultaneous blessing and curse of working with the public. It offers a venue for great conversations, connections, and networking. However, it also makes this barista vulnerable to many conjectures about something he’s devoted a year and a half to perfecting. It also opens the door to many questions and answers such as, “I didn’t order a grande latte!!!” “Well, that’s not your drink then.”

Real life scenario (let’s suppose the customer’s name is Sam):

BaristaJim is making several drinks one moderately busy afternoon and places a fresh drink on the handoff platform.

BaristaJim: “Are you waiting for a caramel macchiato,sir?”
Sam: “Yes.”
B: “Well, here you go!”
S: “Ok, thanks.”
*Sam briefly leaves, takes a sip, then returns*
S: “Is this a caramel macchiato?”
B: “Yes, sir, it is.”
*Sam looks a little shocked and places the drink back on the handoff platform. A few more seconds go by and I inquire as to what Sam is waiting for.*
S: “I’m waiting for a caramel macchiato.”
B: “Well, that’s it right there.” (Pointing to the same drink)
S: “Oh, ok. Thanks!”

More stories, taste reviews, and reports of strange happenings to come.