User Profile

My love and passion for coffee started when I was almost too young to remember. My parents morning ritual is a cup of coffee in bed every day, and so growing up I always woke up to the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and the gurgling of my mom's coffee maker. Oddly, I was never too enamored with overly sweet things, often prefering bitter/savory flavors, so even as a young child I enjoyed the taste of coffee without having to dilute it beyond recognition with cream and sugar.

I began drinking coffee regularly when I was around 12 or so, when due to attending school half an hour from home, I had to wake up before dawn to get a ride to school from my father. We made a little tradition of stopping halfway between home and school for bagels and coffee - he'd always get a 16oz mocha with light chocolate & no whip, and I'd get a 12 oz latte. As time went on, my taste on coffee got more precise, and the 12oz latte changed into an extra foamy latte, then into a 8oz extra foamy latte, and finally into a 12 oz cappuccino. Cappuccino remain not just my favorite espresso drink, but also my special area of expertise in coffeemaking.

After years of being a daily customer, just after my 16th birthday the Starbucks my father and I frequented offered me a job, and my career as a barista began. To date, I've worked for Starbucks, Tullys, and several independant companies, all in the Seattle area. I've always been into the "art" of being a barista, rather than the simple act of dishing up a passable drink, which is why I'm grateful to The Black Drop Coffeehouse in Bellingham, where I worked while attending WWU in Bellingham until I moved away in April. My experience there was priceless and helped introduce me to what I think of as "barista culture," including competitions, coffee conventions, and things like that.

Having grown up in Seattle, I'm spoiled by the easy availability of espresso of all kinds and qualities, and for people who complain that places like Starbucks and Tully's coffee sucks, you've obviously never had what passes for "espresso" in other parts of the United States ;)

This is my coffee 'blog. I hope you enjoy my experiences as much as I have.

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