This week, I visited Sidecar Coffee Shop in Cedar Falls, Iowa (again, I know, but let's all be honest, Sidecar has some great coffee) and chatted with one of the barista's behind the counter, Makaela.
Makaela is a sophomore at UNI who is majoring in communications and just started working at Sidecar a month ago. I asked her why she wanted to work in a coffee shop and she said it was for the experience in learning how to use an espresso machine and the proper way to make good coffee.
"My favorite part about the job though is the people," she went on to say, "Both the customers and my co-workers are great to be around. They're very fun, friendly and it's a really cool environment to work in."
We talked a bit about what drink I should get and I asked her what her favorite one was. After thinking for a while, she said it was a toss up between a Dirty Soy Chai and a Papua New Guinea pourover. I wasn't really feeling the caffeine tonight (I ordered at 8:30 p.m.) so I just went with a regular chai latte.
As she made my drink, I asked what was the biggest difference about being on the other side of the counter, having just been a customer herself at Sidecar less than a month before. She said that it was weird working behind the counter because before she thought that a barista was super cool and powerful because of their position, but after working at Sidecar for a month, she realized that the reason baristas are super cool isn't because of the position they hold, but because they are genuinely great people.
Finally, I asked her the big question, If people really knew you, what would you want them to know. I was surprised by her answer because she didn't want to talk about herself, but baristas as a whole.
"If people really knew us, I wish they knew how much us baristas really do care about the quality of the cup we pour. We want to give you the best cup of coffee possible, even if that means we remake it to get the perfect cup."
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Far too often, we run in and out of coffee shops without a second thought about the people around us. There are many like Makaela who are working in shops around the country who genuinely care about creating a cup of coffee that you will enjoy. So next time you hit up your favorite coffee spot, appreciate what your barista is doing and the care that goes into creating a great cup of coffee for you.
- DV