Caffeine confessions: From the other side of the counter

Getting the right dose of caffeine to start the day often means waiting in line behind fellow sleepyheads just to get that warm buzz-in-a-cup. Not a morning person? Well, these people have to be. Baristas are neither waiters nor chefs, but they’re somewhere in between, making magic on a steel kitchen countertop while trying to correctly spell name after name.

Being a barista may look easy, but what really goes on behind the counter can be far from it. While tangible services, like quality and speed of food slash drink delivery, are all just part of the job, coffee shop baristas hold more importance to their intangible responsibilities. It’s a job of service that entails, above all else, customer engagement. Here’s a look into the lives of some baristas who reside in the bustling coffee shops along Taft, or rather, the people who make some of us feel right at home.

University coffee culture

Coffee shops have affixed themselves to the center of this generation’s lifestyle, so much so that many of us subconsciously make mental notes of the nearest Starbucks within the perimeter. Coffee houses, as they are sometimes called, are often the ideal hangout spot for students looking to take a break from their academic lives.

“Pwede maki-inom?” asks a lady in her early 40s as she rushes into The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL) at One Archers, setting down her umbrella and two bags. “Oo naman! Dun sa side,” says Santi, pointing to the frosted pitcher of water to his left. Santi just so happened to be the roaming barista at Taft on that fateful Thursday. The Cagayan de Oro native moved to Taguig in Metro Manila five years ago and landed his first job in the city immediately at CBTL. He worked in the seaside Mall of Asia branch until he transferred to the newly opened airport branch at NAIA Terminal 3 a few years back.

Santi was assigned to the One Archers branch for one day only to make his rounds. He noticed that, as the branch caters to a large population of students, “Usually ang order nila malamig na drinks, mga ice blended.” This is unlike the NAIA customers whom he is accustomed to, who he says usually order hot drinks to wake themselves up. “And kailangan kasi mabilisan dun, kasi may mga flights sila na hinahabol. Hindi parang dito, makikita mo yung mga students na nag-kwekwentuhan, may [mga] nag-aaral din, so nakaupo sila nang mas matagal,” Santi adds. He also makes another observation—that Lasallians rarely order full meals at the coffee house. “Na-notice ko na mas mahilig yung mga students sa desserts and pastries,” he shares after receiving a flurry of cake and cookie orders during his one-day shift in Taft.

You had a bad day

You might be having one of those days where nothing’s going right, but little did it occur to you that this often becomes your barista’s worst fears as well. “Sa amin, ang struggle [ay] kapag naka-encounter kami ng customer na sa labas palang [ay] di na maganda [ang] mood niya, may problem na siya,” confesses Santi. This is what sets coffee shop baristas apart from waiters and chefs. Before they learn how to mix and memorize the menu like the back of their hands, baristas are taught the core values of kindness and happiness.

“Hindi lang kami barista, we are game-changers and mood-changers also,” shares Nas on his job as a barista. Senior barista Jonas, or Nas, as peers and regulars know him, is from the CBTL in the Learning Commons, located on the sixth floor of Henry Sy Sr. Hall. Nas emphasizes the importance of welcoming customers and making sure they feel at home in the establishment. It is an integral part of a barista’s job description to make a customer’s day better through small talk and that ever-friendly smile. Baristas in the Learning Commons are also encouraged to ask students regarding schoolwork.

Nas, who has previously worked in the CBTL branch in Robinsons Place Manila, admits that he truly enjoys the interaction he has with all his customers, both in DLSU and in the mall. He believes talking to regulars has increased his understanding of others around him, something he carries even when he isn’t on duty anymore.

Coffee chains nowadays are a cross between the food industry and the customer service industry. Those being served however tend to disregard the fact that servers are people too. “Sabayan mo nalang, intindihin mo nalang siya, baka may pinagdadaanan kasi,” advises Santi, proving that baristas relate to us just as friends do. Skills can be taught but a smile can never be bought, so coffee companies often hire those who are naturally inclined to social interaction. In fact, it is not farfetched to say that the success of coffee shops today rests on these baristas’ ability to create a desired ambiance for their customers.

Mixing it up

“May experience rin kami bilang customer, so alam namin ano ang good and bad service,” Nas reiterates, as a constant reminder to himself and the baristas in his team to keep quality high in everything they do in their workspace. While there is a highly personal touch necessary to the job, he also constantly reminds fellow baristas to still pay attention to the more technical aspects of the service they give. This includes double-checking orders and ensuring that the customers’ various specifications are carried out accordingly. This poses a challenge too, when the line gets longer and people don’t seem to stop coming in and out of the doors. “Kapag sunod sunod na siya, di mo na ma-control masyado, pero kailangan mo pa rin i-handle,” explains Vina, a barista at the CBTL branch at One Archers.

Sometimes, though, it gets monotonous.

It’s a cycle of whipping up the same drinks, reciting the same promotions, asking if you’ve brought your points card, then reminding you to collect Christmas stickers for the much coveted year-end planner. Doing this during 12-hour shifts throughout the span of months and even years, it’s paying attention to little details that keeps them on their toes.

For Vina, her monotonous start inside the coffee shop made her believe she was getting into a boring line of work at first. But it proved to be a breath of fresh air after coming from a 9 to 5 desk job at an office, and it was certainly different from her experience as a waiter in one of the most popular Pinoy family food chains. “Nung una, okay lang, pero siyempre nung nakasanayan ko na kasi ginagawa ko everyday, nagka-passion na din ako,” Vina explains, excited that she’s one of the lucky few who feel passionate about their careers.

Memory jar

When asked if he loves his job, Nas wholeheartedly says that he does. Having graduated just two years ago without any background in barista work, he applied for CBTL and had a load of fun during the three-week training process, which both Vina and Santi also found incredibly memorable. This was when Nas decided this was the job for him. “May mga taong nagsasabi, ‘Anong klaseng trabaho yan, barista ka lang,’ pero sabi ko sa kanila, I love my job, and nakikita ko na gusto kong magpasaya ng mga tao,” Nas shares. And according to Vina, the best part about being a barista lies in the word itself; being called, a barista. “Yung gagawa ng coffee, gagawa ng drink,” Vina continues, “Kasi kapag love mo yung trabaho mo bilang barista, dun mo binubuhos sa drink. Gagandahan mo yung design, sasarapan mo yung drink, tapos pagnatanggap nila and makikita mo may smile at na-a-appreciate nila, eh di ang saya.” She assures, with a bit of a laugh, that working in a coffee shop is truly full of love.

There are also several fulfilling moments baristas experience from regulars, especially those who have become acquaintances. Vina engages the many students that visit the branch at One Archers about their year level, courses, and even asks when they’re about to graduate. “Actually alam ko na nga schedule nila, grabe,” she embarrassingly admits, but sometimes it’s the students themselves that start the conversations which makes her and any other barista feel really good in turn.

Nas also recounts an experience with a regular customer when he was assigned to Robinsons Place Manila. “Nakita ko yung regular customer ko, grad school student siya from La Salle. Kabisado ko na yung order niya. Tapos nung umalis na siya, biglang bumalik ulit after a while, binilhan niya ako ng drink from another store.” It is experiences like these that really make a barista’s work worthwhile, and encourages them to keep up the good service they give.

It’s noteworthy to discover that between the long hours that go by in busy coffee chains are tiny yet memorable interactions between baristas and customers against the sound of steaming lattes. People keep coming back for the romance that every coffee shop now poses. It’s in the aroma of the bean press, the hush lighting, and the carefully curated song playlist. And the people who help put it all together are often cast outside of the pretty picture and more than ideal image. But we find that the lives of baristas are actually more colorful than they seem—that is, if we stop to chat a little longer than the customary nod and shy thank you after grabbing that venti and heading back into a world of dates and deadlines.