Why are we now supposed to call people that work in coffee shops making coffee not "people that work in coffee shops making coffee" but, instead, "baristas?"
"Barista" is an italian word meaning "bartender," and, evidently, its newly-common usage is SO new that it has yet to be adopted by most dictionaries. That's cool. Most coffee-related words are Italian in origin, but why NOW? Is it because there 789 billion coffee shops in America these days?
Now, I don't have a dog in this fight--I don't even drink coffee--but it seems odd to me that there is, all of a sudden, a hip new job title for people that work in coffee shops making coffee. What's next? Are we going to call the line cook at Waffle House a "spatulista?"
Don't get me wrong, there is NOTHING wrong with doing this job. Heck, I worked food service for ten years. It just seems more like a pain to me, actually.
Can you imagine how many times they have to have this conversation?:
Person 1: Hey, what do you do for a living?
Person 2: I'm a barista.
Person 1: Oh yeah? What's that?
Person 2: I work in a coffee shop and make coffee.
Person 1: Oh. I didn't there was a word for it.
Person 2: Yep. There is.
Words are weird.
Posted by colrus at September 21, 2004 04:43 PM | TrackBackI absoluty refuse to use any coffee shop lingo, Its not a "grande" its freaking medium cup of coffee.
Posted by: James at September 21, 2004 05:40 PMI understand the negative response to a lot of the "hip" lingo. For, you see, I worked at Barnes and Noble Cafe (basically a Starbucks) for 4 years and I learned to despise the size names (Venti: Italian for twenty; Grande: Italian for big; and Tall: English for tall, but here meaning small). I would like to, however, bring up the Italian culture of coffee and espresso. Being a barista in Italy, and other countries, is a very respectable profession -- even a lifelong occupation. It is analagous to our connotations to the word "chef". So, I think coffee maker is to barista, as cook is to chef.
Posted by: Hrossaman at September 21, 2004 07:43 PMStarbucks has used the title "Barista" for as long as I can remember... it's not really new.
Posted by: John H at September 21, 2004 07:43 PMMy brother used to put "Baristar" on his resume all the time, sounded better than "Coffee dude"
Posted by: holton at September 21, 2004 10:17 PMSpeaking as a Barista myself (at Greyfriar's, a wonderful little hometown coffee shop), let me clarify:
A Barista is not simply a coffee maker, but a coffee maker trained to use an espresso machine, which (provided you aren't at Starbucks) is an art. A Barista must steam milk to a specific temperature, apply the appropriate amount of pressure to espresso grind, recognize the appropriate coarseness of the espresso grind, and create a beautiful and tasty drink, be it latte, cappucino, machiatto, or compana.
Also, the "coffee shop lingo" James refers to is the result of Starbucks. I agree that it is inane. Most reasonable coffee shops (like Greyfriar's) sell espresso drinks by the number of shots of espresso, rather than the size of the cup.
I enjoy being a barista. It is a job that maintains the ideas of pride and artistry in an age of fast food mass production.
Posted by: KornSt@r at September 22, 2004 01:52 AMIf they could just keep those darn lids from leaking...
Posted by: Lisa at September 22, 2004 07:47 AM(nearly) anyone can make coffee. only baristas can make a good espresso drink. but that doesnt concern you if you cant tell or dont care about the difference between the shite that comes out of the machine at Golden Gallon and a truly fine latte with a cool tree design in the froth (not foam, mind you).
Posted by: bobw at September 22, 2004 08:55 AMlids...heh heh...
Posted by: Bill Colrus at September 22, 2004 09:23 AMActually, Bobw, you're wrong. A latte is foamed. A cappucino is frothed. And it's a leaf, not a tree. says the nit-picking pretentious Barista
Posted by: KornSt@r at September 22, 2004 03:28 PMThis is why I don't drink coffee.
Posted by: Bill Colrus at September 22, 2004 03:38 PMah well I'm a little rusty. and I used to do trees. christmas trees in fact. and they rocked. sunsets were always nice too.
Posted by: bobw at September 23, 2004 11:49 AMI've been a barista for 10 years, long, long before I ever saw a starbuck's or stood outside lamenting their evil nature and begging people to think instead about the rainforest. It was a 'barista' to me when I was 14. Fear the people who make your coffee in the morning, they can decide the track of your entire day.
Posted by: fuzz at October 1, 2004 07:25 PMAnyone can become angry. That is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose and in the right way - that is not easy.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Get your satellite tv installed today at no charge (equipment included).
Gift someone satellite tv this Christmas.
http://www.instantsatellite.com/