The first early morning started at 4am. I was confused that the coffee shop opened a quart till 5am. "Who the hell gets coffee this early?" I asked myself that struggling first morning. It didn't matter how many years later I helped open the stores I STILL had a struggling time to wake up. I never felt fully ready to move until I ate my breakfast and had my own cup of joe. Being newly married with this new job and a new home in Boise Idaho. I felt like my life was springing forward at such a fast pace, I had to really keep up! Our condo was needing a remodel, our kitchen supplies were missing basic utensils. With our one car we had to setup our schedule so I could drop Tony off at his travel agent job while running over to my Starbucks job. It got a bit crazy some days, we ate out all the time back in those days because we were both so wiped out that neither of us had time for our tiny kitchen. In those soft big chairs at my coffee shop location we ate our lunch together often, Tony loved those orange mochas or a hazelnut mocha. I went for the toffee nut with crunchy candies on top of the whip cream or a white chocolate mocha. Those were the days we gained the most weight, we didn't pay attention to the amount of sugar in one coffee drink. The actual barrista job was fun and full of things to learn. I loved sliding, which meant cleaning the lobby of tables and chairs. Of restocking the condiment bar and napkins. I enjoyed those early morning window washing and patio seating setup. I even didn't mind hauling the big load of trash out as soon as possible for I had a trash focus, a passion in the cleanest trash cans EVER! I took such pride in new empty fresh trash cans that i drove some people crazy. I loved the soapy water to mop a floor when it's first all new and ready to go. How the grinder sounded as the customers began to line up. I loved the glow of the sun rise after all these hard working tasks. I wanted to always be clean and ready for the routine morning rush! It was such a fast pace job that I loved the excitement and the happiness I could share with others as they gladly grabbed their drinks. Now if everything could run smoothly it was a great day with great customers and memories....but if something broke or burnt or simply didn't work. The mood of customers changed just as quickly. I had to learn how to fix things never letting on to the customer there was a problem if possible. I learned to think fast on my feet and keep a confident happy smile in place of all my own personal doubt. Victoria my manager was great in teaching me real life situations and then she simply left me on my own. It was so fast how training left me on my own behind the counter. She watched from her book keeping out front, she never doubted me as I fumbled and made my way through the beverage recipe. I had thought she was crazy at first to leave me all alone, then by the end of the afternoon I was moving in and out of the whole place like it was my own small business. Luckily, I have always been good at memorizing, soon the list of beverages were second nature in my mind. I still had those crazy moments burning the milk until it browned and floated in my pitcher, or sprayed my face with fresh foam. The pulling of the shots were often the hardest thing for me to do. I loved that old style espresso machine where everything was done by hand. For it was the Machine I was trained on and soon I knew everything about it. Those were the days my friend....
Jamie and Victoria had open when I came flying in to work, my extra whip cream mocha was being made as I slipped on my green apron, my long hair was pulled up and my finger nails were spotless. My white collard shirt was fresh and clean, usually opposite to when I leave. I was 24 years old thinking life couldn't get any more perfect! The grounds of fresh coffee beans laid in a puddle of splashed milk and water. I took my usual spot at the cash register for Victoria said my customer service was always spot on. This morning was different as I clocked on after having gulped a large part of my mocha for the caffeine rush I was looking for. Jamie had me help her mark cups and call down the line of waiting customers. It was a beautiful early summer morning when I realized everything had clicked with me, this job had now because apart of my life and the beginning journey of my coffee education. I pushed up my eye glasses as I took the sharpy marker to mark the cup calling out "A tall non-fat no foam latte, a venti extra whip mocha and one grande with room brewed coffee...Gotcha, let's rock and roll!" Victoria high five me as I spun by her setting out the beverages as quickly as I called them. I had become a part of the green aprons, in that little Starbucks Coffee shop with the laughter of those who love their job while handing off tasty beverages!
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