Barista Me, Baby!

I'm so excited to be learning how to make coffees. Penny For Your Thoughts/Village Cafe in Pasadena is teaching me how they spin their Illy beans into Lattes, Cappuccinos and more. I couldn't be more excited.  Their Illy distributor already came in to show me how the crema is supposed to be on a single shot, and Millie is showing me how to steam the milk. That is the hard part. But it's not math, so I keep a positive attitude and know that I'll get there in not too short of a time. Besides, perfection is in the practice. This shop doesn't get a whole lot of traffic, so I'm not practicing that much, but I will be giving it my best shot every morning this week.

I told my family about this over Turkey week. There were impressed with my espresso-speak all the while John was correcting my pronunciation from Expresso to ESpresso. "Now you can work in Starbucks!" my dad said. That's the kind of big city pop up mall suburb thinking that I come from. I'm excited to learn a new skill, and I'm happy to help out my friends the week before Xmas, but this won't become a full time job unless it's in my own shop. I've already got one friend who runs that show, Scott Rao, and he's the master. This is his domain. Check out Rao's Coffees. Word on the street is he's opened a new place in Hadley, Mass.

The only non professional job that I'd like to work full time doesn't exist anymore - Kozmo.com.I LOVED being a delivery driver for Kozmo. I would work a full day doing PR for Travelers' Tales, then four nights a week I'd get in my old blue Volvo and explore the streets of San Francisco delivering videos, Ben & Jerry's, books, dvds, and more to the web savvy restless by the Bay. It was the best. Back at the warehouse I'd play cards for money with the Chinese boys. I wish I could recall the game. I think it had something to do with making 13. Anyway, if Kozmo still lived, I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

There are just some jobs that give you so much pleasure you can't be bothered with worrying about what other people think. Who cares if you make $11/hour. Heck, if there's a job that you love that only makes $7/hour, do it. Life is too short to not be happy. Do what you love. Be aware of all your needs as a person (in addition to just the financial), strive for balance, and do not undervalue the emotional side of things.  And if anyone knows about a Kozmo comeback, please let me know. That will definitely help us decide where we're going to move to.

CURRENT: PASADENA
NEXT: BAY AREA

Comments

[susan Brady]

I'm jealous. I want to learn how to make crema from a professional. Thick, creamy, luscious - this is the deciding factor on where I get my coffee. Here in the Bay Area, that means Peet's - the best around when it comes to a cappucino. Maybe you can practice one morning on my machine? I'll make you a delicious WW-approved brekky to go with it!

[Jen Leo]

Susan! Hi.
I've learned how to make the milk extra hot for you (if you have a thermometer), but I haven't mastered a cappuccino yet. I will say, that I did a pretty good latte yesterday. Come on, learn to drink straight espresso!

As for the crema, it isn't really thick. This is what they call the tiny foam layer on top of the espresso. It's easier to do if you're putting it into a little porcelain cup, and even easier if you're making two shots instead of one.