Working While Non-Binary

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When I started this blog, I was working at a cafe in Portland, Oregon where nearly all the staff was gender nonconforming and/or queer. It was a special place, not necessarily because everything was perfect (it was far from it) but because I felt truly seen. I started at this place as a temporary employee but, still, I was asked what my pronouns were, how comfortable I was with everyone knowing my pronouns/identity, and we all had this common queer understanding that is hard to put into words to non-queer people. We all just got each other on a certain level. To be honest, it was this acceptance and seeing that there were others like me that gave me the confidence to be out at work and really carve space for myself as “The Non-Binary Barista.”

As I’ve gone to coffee events, it has now become my moniker of sorts. People come up to me and know me as much as Brit as they do The Non-Binary Barista, which is fantastic and makes me truly value this space. It also is something that I do not take for granted. However, I still find myself in non-affirming jobs and find myself being the only non-binary person that people I interact with in professional settings know and engage with regularly. It can be tough to go between places of true acceptance and then go back to places where I feel like I am choosing my battles.

So, rather than paint an overly rosy picture of being non-binary in the workplace, here are 4 things I have learned from working in coffee as a non-binary person.

It’s Not Always Safe To Come Out
Coming out is never a one-and-done experience. We all come out in our own way to the people in our lives in stages as our safety and comfort levels allow. Not everyone will welcome you and sometimes even I make the choice to not come out to certain coworkers. This is not due to insecurity about my own identity, but a reflection of who I allow to see me in my fullness. Some people will never respect who I am as a non-binary person and I no longer waste my breath trying to force someone to accept me, and choose the lesser of two evils (being misgendered) than potentially outright animosity. This isn’t a prescriptive way of dealing with this issue, it is how I’ve chosen to deal with these types of coworkers. Instead of trying to constantly correct them or telling them what being non-binary means to me, I stay open about who I am and discuss it with those coworkers that I do feel safe with and leave those topics of conversation out when with unsafe coworkers. It is just what I’ve found works for me.

There Are No Rules
In a binary world, I always feel the pressure to “just pick one,” to present hyper femme or traditionally masc, but the non-binary reality is that I’ve learned to throw out the rule book and present how I feel. Being non-binary allows me to explore my gender and presentation in a way that is expansive and ever evolving. It is not a betrayal of how I view myself to wear something that society has ascribed to one gender. In a professional environment, the inclination can be stronger to present in a way that aligns with how you are perceived. And, giving into the that inclination is not a betrayal but rather an expression to be examined and done with care.

My Info Is Mine
At a previous job, a coworker came to me and said that I should confront another who was misgendering me. I told her that I already had but she insisted that I needed to do a better job with that coworker, because that coworker’s misgendering was confusing those that did gender me correctly. At the same time, I, like every gender non-conforming person, has been misgendered by someone who, when corrected, ends up needing to be comforted and told that their mistake wasn’t a mistake instead of moving on. Both situations involve emotional labor on my part and I set my own boundaries. No cis person has the right to tell me how I should handle being non-binary or how to handle how people interact with me. True allies of trans and non-binary people will take their mistakes and address them, not come to me to soothe their own egos and make me do more to prove who I am. My identity belongs to me.

There Is Not Enough Time
I’ve formed great relationships with regulars, people who I genuinely like, but that does not mean that all of them know that I am non-binary because there just isn’t enough time. Most coffee shop interactions are around 5 minutes, which even in regular intervals, does not give me enough time to explain to most people that I’m non-binary unless it comes up naturally. In the past, I’ve brought it up when I see LGBT+ pins or if the customer brings up gender. The type of relationships that baristas form with customers, though, is not one that requires complete knowledge of each other. So, if one of my favorite regulars doesn’t know that I’m non-binary, it is due to the time constraint rather than lack of closeness.

The absolute truth is that I love being non-binary. For all the misunderstandings or ignorant comments, being fully myself in all its complexities, is something that I am proud of myself for being open and proudly out. This blog has helped me, as much as I’ve been told it helps others, as being a place where I can talk about the coffee world as I’ve experienced it but also as a place where I can be my most non-binary self.

Interview with a Milwaukee Barista

It’s been quiet here on The NBB, but that’s mental health issues for you. Thankfully, I’m back on an upswing and am coming at you all with a few new posts that I’ve been working on. 

A couple of weeks ago, I got to interview an awesome barista out of Milwaukee who has wished to remain anonymous. What I really appreciated about them is at the end of our conversation, they asked me what my goal was with these posts and it really got me thinking. I had this idea to interview TGNC baristas because it seemed like a way to engage with what was going on around me, since I couldn’t participate in the protests in person due to health concerns. 

Sophia Roe, recently, did a beautiful talk on Instagram about the difference between reaction and response. My original intention with these interviews was more about what could I offer, which was sharing these stories. This was a reaction. Meanwhile, as I talked with and interviewed more people, the protests evolved and my view on what I was doing with these interviews changed. I’ve learned so much from every interview and I want to share more stories not because it’s something that I’m doing but because these stories and experiences are so much bigger than myself or this blog. I’m not one to care about blog statistics, but these interview posts don’t always do as well with views but I think that making space for these people who are willing to take time out of their day to share their experiences protesting is more important than page views and likes.

***The below interview has been lightly edited for length and some details have been omitted to respect their privacy.

Would you like to introduce yourself?

My name is *name redacted*. I use they/them pronouns. I’m based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

So, you were involved with all the protests. Can you tell me what all you did?

The first thing to know is that Milwaukee is statistically the most segregated city in the US and, as such, we’re fairly accustomed to police brutality and civil unrest here. To the point where when cops shoot people, it doesn’t make the national news. About four years ago, an officer shot an unarmed mentally ill black man steps away from city hall and was shot multiple times and we don’t hear about it. His name was Dontre Hamilton, and that officer never went to prison. He did stand trial, but there were riots here for quite a while. Because of that existing social dynamic, there’s a really strong activist network here. There’s not like one person who is the face. There are several different people. A few weeks before George Floyd was murdered, an officer here in Milwaukee killed a young man named [Lucas J.] Alverado, and that officer is still suspended with pay and is still not charged. So, there were protests here before but when the national outrage over George Floyd’s death got people out to the streets, those protests escalated. A lot of people think of Milwaukee as this white outdoorsy place and, some of the state is, absolutely, but the larger ethnic majority is Black and that definitely is not reflected in representation, business owners, anything. 

So, how did you get involved? Did you go by yourself, connect with any of these activist groups, or meet people along the way? 

I went by myself. At the time, it was really well known here that cops were tracking people and so, if you organized with people about when you were going to meet or anything like that, it was pretty well-known that you were going to be tracked down and arrested. So, I just went. Some of the different activists, activist groups, local community organizers, and politicians were posting about the protests in different places. Here, people were marching 5-10 miles a day so it was really easy to catch up with them at some point during the protests, and march with them. They’re still marching. And so, I brought extra masks and bandanas. I had those on hand. People have been really good about wearing masks at the protests, which is really good. 

Yeah, I kept noticing that and kept hearing from people that weren’t for the protests saying, “Yeah, the protests are the reason that Covid is spiking.” And I kept telling them, “No, literally, in all the protest photos that I see, everyone’s wearing masks.” All the pictures that I would see, it was all the cops that weren’t wearing masks. Like now, they kind of are. They’ve kind of caught on but… it’s kind of hit or miss, but no, it’s the cops who aren’t wearing them.

Yeah, that’s not good. 

We had curfew enacted here and I never stayed out passed curfew for a  lot of different reasons. Despite my whiteness, I am still a person who is more vulnerable to be a target of violence so I still try not to stay out after dark. I have friends who were ticketed and arrested after dark. There were a few instances where the police were getting aggravated, up in people’s faces, and I put my body between the cop and whomever it was because I felt pretty confident that I was right but the cops weren’t going to hurt me because that would be a bad video for them. 

I mean they’ve kind of been showing that they don’t care about bad videos at this point.

Right, well, they’ll think twice. They are less likely to hit a blond white person than anyone else. 

What was your experience out there and how does that compare to how people were writing about the protests and talking about it?

So, I’m very aware that I live in my own socialist bubble. A lot of the content that I saw about the protests were from people that were actively supportive of the protests or actively participating in them but I did see people who were like, “These protests are violent. The 1963 March on Washington, when we got Civil Rights, we got without any violence.” 

I felt like most of the media coverage talked about the violence of the protests as though it was one of those things that was inevitable. That the protests were going to become violent, when in fact I never saw any violence from protestors. Cops were quick to use batons and tear gas, and, even as stories were coming out that disproved these claims about who started it, what prompted it, meanwhile the media was just reporting on it like, “Here’s this fascinating other side to this story. Like wow, the cops could be lying.” 

It’s one of those things where the assertion was made and continues to be made that, despite all this evidence that we have, that it’s the police that are arresting people, tazing them, tear gassing them, and that they were justified. And I think that that comes from our social belief that fundamentally, the police only target people who do bad things and the police don’t arrest bad people. I find it demoralizing that as we get more and more irrefutable evidence that that’s not true, that the conversation and the perception doesn’t seem to be changing genuinely. Like talking about it as though there are a couple of bad apples and not that every time that force is used is bad. There’s no reason for tear gas to ever be used. That is not ever justifiable. 

So, how did things change day-to-day? As the protests evolved, I’m sure so did protestors, the marches, etc. 

The marches, themselves, have scaled down quite a bit. There were a lot of back-to-back ten mile marches going in different directions, going out to the suburbs. At one point, several players from the Bucks joined in, which gave a lot of credibility to the marches but that was fleeting. It also was a great show of solidarity that these professional athletes came out. When curfew was put into effect and the National Guard was brought in, they were flying helicopters overhead, the mood definitely changed here. It became very much a kind of us-versus-them, as though we were under attack from our own government, and I guess we are. And, while the mayor and the governor, both eventually moved the national guard and curfew, things are definitely not back to normal. 

Do you see any similarities between the protests and your work in coffee?

I don’t know if I saw any similarities, but I definitely learned a lot from the protests and the organizers that is applicable to my work in coffee. Like there was a disability friendly march that was done, where they organized  so that people who used wheelchairs were able to participate in the march. That really changed and challenged the way that I think about accessibility, that there really is no reason that everything shouldn’t be accessible. Like, when you work in coffee and especially when you work as a barista in a cafe, you are literally serving your community. 

The weird thing for me was the last cafe that I spent most of my career was in an extremely high end and wealthy neighborhood, where racism was rampant. Early on, when the shop was open, we would have cops come in and ask if we had seen a Black man and that was it. Not, did you see someone that matches this description? It was, “Did you see a Black man walking around down here?” Asserting that Black straight up was a crime in that neighborhood. So, in a lot of ways, the protests were more about serving my community than working in coffee ever has been. I knew a lot of other baristas who were out marching. 

So, what safety measures did you take to protect yourself from Covid? From the police?

Well, I had Covid early on and this was back in the days when it was like, “If you’ve had it, you have immunity.” And, now, it’s like, “Well… maybe not!” 

I’m gonna be honest when I say that I didn’t think that hard when protecting myself from Covid, like I wore a mask and changed masks. Things like that. And I kept masks around for other people. Tried to maintain some level of distance. 

I took goggles with me and used them, wore glasses instead of contacts, just in case I got tear gassed or pepper sprayed. Which did happen, do not recommend. And, I took small bottles of water with me as well. To protect myself from the police, most of the time I had my head covered completely to reduce identifiable characteristics. The fact that we were all wearing masks is a great deterrent. I wore all black to reduce the possibility of being identified. 

So, what’s been your biggest take away from all this?

I mean there’s a couple of things. First, I wish the community valued the people who die in it. Like within this community, they should value them more because it wasn’t until George Floyd was murdered that people really started to hit the streets and you know, we’ve had dozens of children murdered by cops in the last ten years. There was a brief period here where it seemed like we got some traction but the police force and the government here is deeply racist. And, the way this city has dealt with Covid is deeply racist. It is massively and disproportionately affecting the Black community. And I wish that I could say that maybe something has changed but it seems like for the most part that there are some people who have some privilege, who were really excited to protest for a couple weeks and then they just got bored. And there’s still a lot of talk about how “you can’t go to that neighborhood because it’s not safe there.” While protesting police violence is important and that is technically what these protests are about, it is disheartening to see how racism is pervasive. That it has not changed the way in which people are actually thinking about how people are dealing with race.

Yeah, I’ve started noticing kind of like a shift from “Black Lives Matter” and, there’s still a little bit of that, but now it’s police brutality. And like you said, that’s a huge part of the issue but now, and like I’m based in Portland, so now it’s like let’s talk about how the Feds are here and how they are taking people. Let’s talk about how the police are tear gassing everyone. And it’s like that is the point but it’s not the broader point. We’re losing the Black Lives Matter aspect of the protest of police brutality.

Right. There has been so much rhetoric about Fuck the Police, All Cops are Bastards, which is not an inherently bad position but the fact that that’s the rhetoric and people are profiting off of those messages is just furthering the devaluing of Black Lives. 

Yeah, one of my friends shared something that was talking about this idea and it struck me that literally all the conversations that I’ve had with people lately have been about Fuck the Police and not about Black lives. Like I’m guilty of this too. We need to shift the focus back.

Right. We can have both conversations. We should be having both conversations. I have seen, like there was this big push to buy from Black owned businesses for a while and, I got be honest, I don’t remember the last time that I saw somebody post or retweet a list of Black coffee roasters. Or the new Barista Magazine features Black coffee professionals, which is great but that should be normal though. There’s a post on social media that’s been getting retweeted and shared that is, “It’s Black Lives Matter before Fuck the police.” 

A huge thank you to this barista again for their time. If you want to share your story, shoot me an email (that’s in the about page) and we can set it up. And, saying it again, Black Lives Matter!

Brew Method Testing: Kalita Wave w/ Recipe from George Howell

On this website, I have been narrowing my focus to gender and workplace dynamics while usually keeping the coffee talk to Instagram or my coffee notebook. A fun fact about me is that I absolutely love tasting notes and trying different brewers and recipes. Yes, it is a form of practice but it has also been a creative outlet for me during quarantine and working at a job that I’m not passionate about. My favorite part of my weekend or my before-work routine is breaking out my coffee gear and making notes about what I’m drinking. 

Recently, I asked on Instagram if people were interested in my recipe testing and brewer notes to which I received an overwhelmingly positive response. So…

Enter the Kalita Wave.

One of the shops that I worked at used the Kalita as their main pour over brewer, so professionally I’ve made a number of pour overs with it. But, never had a major desire to go out and buy one myself since I have a perfectly good cone that I know and love. A couple months ago, however, someone in a Facebook group was giving away some coffee gear and I decided to jump on the Kalita Wave and do some recipe testing. 

The first try with my go-to pour over recipe ended up tasting flat, muted, and slightly metallic. My grind was medium-fine for a pour over, the water (while not distilled) had never impacted the taste of my coffee before so I figured it was a recipe issue. So, I did what I always do and took to the internet asking for Kalita recipes. I read recipes with slight variances, but then I came across this one from George Howell. I had never seen a pour over recipe like this, and that challenger mindset in me kept screaming, “Do it!”

The premise of this recipe is cycling between rapid small pours and short rests. 

I started with 25g of medium-fine ground Burundi from Recluse Coffee Roasters, and put that into my pre-wetted filter and Kalita wave set up. Heat your water up to 205 degrees and, when you are ready to pour, start the timer. Pour 65g of hot water in 15 seconds, starting in the center and moving outwards, then rest for 15 seconds. Keep pouring in 65g increments in 15 seconds and then resting for 15 second increments. At 2:45, you should be done pouring and you let it drain. 

Overall, the whole process should look something like this:

0:00-0:15 Pour 65g

0:15-0:30 Rest (This is also where the bloom happens)

0:30-0:45 Pour till 130g

0:45-1:00 Rest

1:00-1:15 Pour till 195g 

1:15-1:30 Rest

1:30-1:45 Pour till 260

1:45-2:00 Rest

2:00-2:15 Pour till 325g

2:15-2:30 Rest

2:30-2:45 Pour till 390g

2:45-4:00 Let it drain.

First off, I got so nervous pouring like this. The newness of continuously adding water made me second guess how long water takes to travel from the kettle to the coffee and worrying that I would not get the 65g in fast enough. If you are like me and my anxiety, you have time I promise.

In the review of this recipe over on Prima Coffee Equipment, the reviewer talked about how this particular method brought out a “grapefruit-like acidity” to their coffee and I got the same result, which is slightly problematic. The reviewer, Caleb Spindler, was using a coffee from Honduras while I was using a Burundi. I picked up on that same acidity which caused me to speculate about how this recipe changes the taste of the coffee if I picked up on the same acidity. This Burundi does have an acidity to it, but having made it with other brew methods, the acidity was heightened using this particular recipe. The sweetness of this coffee was not necessarily muted by the stronger acidity but rather overpowered, which I found distracting because this coffee has a bright sweetness that was what drew me to the coffee in the first place. 

Biggest Takeaway: I want to experiment and play around with more recipes, of course, but was not left with an overwhelming urge to abandon my cone for a Kalita. So far, all the recipes I’ve tried have flattened the depth of any coffee I put into it and enhanced the acidity versus the sweetness in the coffees that I’ve tested. What I look for is a balanced (equally pleasant sweetness and acidity) and dynamic (unique tasting notes and good mouthfeel) cup of coffee that the Kalita has so far yet to produce. 

Do you have a good Kalita recipe? Send it my way and I will workshop it.

Interview with Fae

After interviewing Felix, I put out a call on Twitter that I wanted to interview other Trans and Gender Non-Conforming coffee peeps that were protesting and were willing to share about their experience. I got a few people that were willing to give me their time and energy to answering my questions and one of those was Fae. They have requested to remain anonymous (aside from what they’ve given below) since they are still very much involved and I completely respect their privacy.

Tell me a little about yourself. 
Hey, this is Fae and I use they/them pronouns. I have been protesting in the Seattle area and I am a barista here. I am lucky to work for a wonderful company that understands and supports the protests and the BLM movement in general. I am new-ish to the area and come from a small midwestern town so it has been a huge adjustment moving to such a welcoming, inclusive, and accepting city. 

So, you’ve been involved with the protests going on. Can you tell me what you did/are currently doing?
The day that George Floyd’s death was televised I knew that I could no longer be silent on the way our country is run. I had been vocal about supporting BLM in the past and had spoken out about being anti-racist and the changes we, as a country, needed to make but coming from the midwest my voice was often heard as being “radical” and was swept under the rug. Being somewhere with thousands of voices echoing the cries of the marginalized and oppressed made me find the strength to finally do more than simply talk about the issues at hand. I participated in protests every day for the first three weeks. I was usually on the front line and over time had to acquire full riot gear of my own for defensive purposes. Eventually, due to personal chronic illnesses and excessive inhalation of tear gas, I had to stop being on the front lines and started focusing my energies to sharing information and resources online.

How did you get involved? By yourself, with a group, met people along the way, etc.
I had loosely been involved prior to the protests with donations to BLM and open discussions educating people on the history of systemic racism and providing tools for self education on anti-racism but it was not until George Floyd’s death sparked protests across the country that I really got hands-on in my involvement. I made the decision to participate on my own and my partner decided to join me the day of the first protest because they realized that now was not the time to be petrified into silence. We participated in the protests for a few weeks and, when CHOP/CHAZ was born, we divided our time up between protesting, engaging with organizers and speakers, and donating what we could to the activists holding down the precinct.

What was your experience like out there? How does that compare with how people are talking/writing about it on the news and social media?
My experience was…unfortunately, what I had expected. Our country has a long standing history of attempting to silence those that speak out against oppression within our own governing forces. We are indoctrinated from such an early age to believe that this is the greatest country in the world and that we all have the freedom to do whatever we want with our lives and when someone looks past those falsities and promises to recognize the broken shambles of freedom that we are presented with, it becomes problematic to the entire structure of this country.

During the first two weeks of the protests, I was tear gassed, maced, and shot with rubber bullets. Even when I was not on the frontline, my neighborhood was caught in the crossfire and I was gassed in my own home. The police claimed to use de-escalation techniques but they were out there day and night in full riot gear in a vain attempt to intimidate protesters into silencing their voices. Protesters would cry out for the officers to remove their gear, to go home for the night, to join the protests, and to really do anything at all to show that their words were not empty and that they truly did want to protect and serve their community. Their actions spoke so much louder than their words. My fear of the police has not diminished during these protests, instead it has been amplified and joined by anger.

The mainstream media seemed confused as to how it wanted to portray the protests, particularly once Trump started to tweet out to Seattle. On one hand, the media understands that sensationalizing and fear mongering is what often leads to viewership, but on the other hand…most media did not want to appeal to right-wing extremists or be seen as being supportive of Trump. The representation of the protests varies greatly depending on what news source you turn to. One incident can look like 20 different things depending on what angle it was photographed and what article is attached to it. It is disheartening to say the least. 

Social media has proven to be a critical asset to the BLM movement and to protester correspondence. I found that it was easier to find accurate information and first hand experience on social media in contrast to the mainstream media. Even now, when I am primarily participating from the background, social media is one of the main ways I interact and inform myself on the ongoing protests. It has been a wealth of knowledge for me, and hopefully many others, to tap into. 

What is interesting is the differences in perception of the protests. I try to follow trending hashtags and topics online and there appear to be three different types of people in the current political climate: BLM protesters and supporters, right-wing extremist Trump supporters, and those that believe racism is dead by “not seeing color”. It truly seems as if we are not all living in the same reality. 

How have things changed day-to-day?
I have been attempting to keep a log of the progress of the protests, local legislation, and current events. There is so much mixed messages online that it is easy to get lost in the noise. The media has, for the most part, stopped reporting on the protests unless there is property damage so a lot of people seem to think that the anger behind them was unjustified and short lived. It amazes me how many people do not recognize that the protests are still ongoing and that there is evidence of tremendous oppression and systemic racism in our country. 

My day to day has primarily changed in how I interact with people. I no longer find myself willing to accept silence as an option and I have injured many of my familial relationships with my “political” viewpoints on these issues. I find myself noticing things more often in the media I consume and going out of my way to properly educate myself and consume media that better represents the direction I hope that this country takes. I have been trying to support more BIPOC artists, entrepreneurs, advocates, organizations, and etc. 

Do you see any similarities between your work in coffee and protesting? 
The coffee industry is very new to me. Coming from a small midwestern town, there was not a lot of coffee culture in my life. I used to get excited if I saw a Starb*cks. From the few years that I have spent in the craft coffee industry I have noticed that it is a predominantly cis hetero white male industry. I find it odd that so much of the process of making coffee is done by POC and yet those that are in the public eye…are incredibly white. This has become more clear to me during my time protesting because I realized that the changes that need to be made in this country are more than just policing or government changes. Our entire society has been whitewashed and it has become so normalized that many of us are unable or unwilling to recognize it as anything besides standard. 

What safety measures did you take to protect yourself from the police, feds (if applicable), and Covid?
As someone with chronic illnesses, I was already very paranoid due to COVID. I had debated not attending the protests due to quarantine but inevitably realized that systemic change was more pressing and it was something that I was willing to die fighting for. I initially only took small precautions at the protests. I wore a mask due to COVID, I wore all black for anonymity, and I made sure to bring sanitizer and a fresh water bottle. 
As the protests wore on my concerns in protection derailed from COVID into protection from officers, legalities, and the feds. I invested in goggles to help with tear gas and mace. I invested in a gas mask to help with tear gas. I started wearing long sleeves to cover up any identifiable markings. I made sure to take indirect routes from my house. I changed my social media presence. I realized that this was going to be a very long process and that it was likely going to get a lot worse before it got any better. 

Biggest takeaway from what you’ve seen and experienced protesting?
I have a lot more privilege in this country than I had been raised to recognize and being able to admit that is not a fault. It takes time and effort to unlearn indoctrination, especially something that is so ingrained into nearly every asset of our lives. I recognize now that simply not being racist is not enough and that I need to do more with my privilege to listen to, engage with, and help lift the BIPOC voices that are being silenced in our country. I need to educate myself and not be afraid of admitting my privilege and ignorance in the systems of oppression I have benefited from. Silence is not an option when so many people are not allowed to speak. 
I have also learned that it is not my place to say how another person should protest. It is easy to ask for things to remain “peaceful” when you are not the one at the root of the suffering. Historically, being “peaceful” is a great way to be silenced and ignored. I now recognize that “riots”, “looters”, and “arsonists” are all words that are used to discredit the anger at the source of the action. Property should not matter more than people and yet it is only when there is a financial implication that the media and government seem to pay attention. 

I hope that this country, and the citizens within, can push past pride and work towards enlightenment and acceptance of the changes that need to be made in order to rectify the outstanding years of oppression and damages that have been done. We need to listen to the firsthand experiences of those that are being impacted by these systems of oppression and highlight their voices. We need to do better. 

Thank you so much, Fae, for sharing your story and loved every word. If you want to share your experience with me, you can find my email address in the About page above and we can set something up. Stay safe out there, peeps.

Let’s Talk About Tasting Notes

One of my favorite aspects of coffee is also one of the more confusing, so today I want to talk about tasting notes. What they are, the nuances, and how to read tasting notes on the bags of coffee that you buy. I won’t go into cupping or learning how to taste coffee much in this post, but I have another article coming on teaching yourself and others how to taste coffee coming soon.

Tasting Notes: What are they?
Tasting notes are the flavors inherent in coffee. Just like wine, coffee has different tasting notes depending on the country it is grown in, the varietal, and the process by which it goes from coffee cherry to the beans that you grind. Many assume that these are flavors added to the coffee, and it is a completely valid assumption based on the number of flavored coffees that are on grocery store shelves, the number of syrups added to lattes, the placement on the bag itself, and lack of education about coffee. 

Life and Thyme featured a useful map of tasting notes in their coffee issue last year. Depending on where your coffee is from, it will have some definite traits significant to the region and knowing these general tasting notes can help you identify what types of coffees you enjoy. Like a darker cup with a strong flavor? Try a Sumatra. Want a more fruit forward cup that you can enjoy black? Ethiopia’s are great for that. Want to add cream or sugar? Columbia, Brazil, and Guatamala’s will all give you a great cup. Want to try a wild card? I find unexpected tasting notes in coffees from Costa Rica and Rwanda. But, use this map to figure out your preferences and try some coffees from everywhere to see what you like.

Also, I feel like I can’t talk about tasting notes without talking about Q-graders. The Q system is a way of tasting, smelling, and overall evaluating a coffee’s quality through a rigorous test of quality and sensory experience. While Q-graders aren’t necessarily responsible for the tasting notes on your average bag of coffee, Q-graders are an influential bunch and it is a part of the specialty coffee scene worth mentioning.

Tasting Biases
Everyone approaches coffee from their own personal experience. Whether someone’s experience with coffee is exclusively coffee from the grocery store or maybe they only have coffee when they go out to get it from shops or they are a homebrew extraordinaire, their own experience and opinions on the coffee they taste shape how they approach any coffee they come across. When it comes to tasting coffee, the simple fact that tends to get lost is that not everyone will taste the same thing because everyone has different associations with flavors and foods. 

At a cupping table, discussing what is on the table is a vital part to tasting because one person’s conception of sweetness may be more related to cotton candy where another person might say watermelon. These are two different tastes, objectively, but each person may be picking up on the same smoother flavor of sweetness in a coffee and these are the tastes they liken it to in their mind. Neither is wrong, just different approaches. 

Curating Coffee Notes
At one shop I worked at, we had a proprietary blend. When the owners and management were creating that blend, they had a specific flavor profile that they wanted to work towards. Not only did that influence the origins that they chose to go into the blend, but it also influenced the tasting notes that they put on the bag. The process of tasting coffee will be done by people coming from their own personal experience, some notes are consistent based on the regions (refer to Life and Thyme map above), but tasting notes are also in place to set a vibe or experience that the roaster wants to convey. A lot of the time, roasters want to show how a particular coffee will fit in with what you want in your cup of coffee. Featuring tasting notes that convey an experience of smores or apple pie, help to create an approachable cup of coffee, but also show that tasting notes are open to interpretation because they are set by people who want you to have a certain experience with the coffee you have purchased.

Also, if you pay attention to what coffees are in season and follow a lot of roasters, you may begin to notice the same trendy tasting notes as an aspect of the coffee may be similar to something in season that is on the roaster’s mind, like specific berry notes may be common during the summer when berries are in season because it is a more recognizable taste to both roaster and customer.

Brew Methods
Certain brew methods and variables that may be involved in your recipe can also affect how you your coffee tastes and what your customers may pull out of the coffees they try. I can’t confirm this personally, but I’ve heard from a few coffee peeps that a Chemex is great for lighter roast coffees because they are better for getting more of the nuances associated with light roasts. Many prefer darker roasts in cold brew and batch brew. Meanwhile, I’ve noticed that when I do a longer bloom time with my pour overs, I notice that it tends to flatten the taste of more floral coffees but brings out more of the subtler notes in nutty or chocolate dominant coffees. So, playing around with what brewing methods or recipes you are using can also affect the notes in your coffee. 

How I Read Tasting Notes
When I first got into coffee, I wanted to become an expert on tasting notes. The idea that coffee could taste so different was mind-boggling and I wanted to experience it all. Through that obsession, I learned how to decipher what coffees were going to taste like through the bias and preference that goes into the notes on a bag of coffee. This isn’t to say that coffee doesn’t surprise me or I have a clear picture, but I have learned what to expect before I buy.

Any coffee that features the first tasting note as some sort of chocolate is going to be similar to your average cup of diner coffee and will be a smooth drinking experience. Coffee with floral notes are going to be more nuanced and layered, and best as a pour over to fully taste everything that the roaster wanted me to taste. More dominant and uncommon fruit notes, such as kiwi, blackberry, and pineapple,  are going to produce a shockingly good cup of coffee that is full-bodied and a cup to savor. Lastly, if you ever see an off-the-wall tasting note, like marinara, pipe tobacco, or rocky road ice cream (three actual tasting notes I’ve seen before), it will be completely accurate. People will not put tasting notes like that on a bag unless it is a strong comparison. 

And, yes, the marinara coffee I had really did have that sweet and herb-y tomato flavor you would expect and is still one of the most disorienting coffee experiences I’ve ever had.

What has your experience been with tasting notes? And what do you look for in the coffee you buy? I want to know. Leave a comment below, and stay tuned for part 2!

Interview with Felix Tran

While it is in my bio, I don’t tend to talk about it on the blog but I live in Portland, Oregon. As Black Lives Matter protests have erupted all over the country, I struggled with posting on here because I didn’t know how to discuss what was going on in our country without writing whole articles just on that even though it didn’t necessarily relate to being non-binary or working in coffee. 

[[[Important note: Black Lives Matter, police brutality, and racism is deeply engrained in the US, and the world, and affects every part of life, including the coffee industry. It does relate to the coffee industry, as it does every other industry because so many systems of modern society are plagued by institutional racism and systemic violence against BIPOC people. What I mean in the above statement is that I, as a queer, white coffee blogger did not know how to write about these topics in a way that did not feel forced or like I was trying to talk over those who were already calling out these issues in the coffee world. While I did not write about it, I was actively searching for ways to call attention to these issues that was helpful and not performative.]]]

But, as it always does, the coffee world and the baristas I love continue to surprise me. I saw and talked to friends protesting in Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, Portland, and more. Including some who were utilizing both their voice and coffee skills by serving coffee to protesters. 

Enter one of my favorite people, Felix Tran. 

I got to sit down with him virtually and talk about his experience protesting and serving coffee during the protests in Seattle, Washington recently. 

Hello! So, want to start off by introducing yourself?

Yes, I am Felix Tran. I use he/they pronouns. I’m based in Seattle and, right now, I do freelance barista work and freelance digital work like illustrations and graphic design.

Cool. So, you were involved with the protests going on. Can you tell me what you did with all that?

Yeah, for sure. Luckily, I have a platform, called CoffeeAtLarge, and a follower reached out and wanted to support the Seattle protest scene around the time that people were protesting daily and they were staying overnight. We wanted to figure out a way to provide food, water, and caffeine to folks who were protesting so that we could fuel protestors all day, every day. That was the goal, to keep protestors out every single day until demands were met. To keep the momentum going. So, we reached out to local Seattle coffee shops and coffee companies, asked for donations, got a bunch of cups, and we got a bunch of coffee. We were able to provide water, food, and drinks and because we were literally on 11th and Pine where the protests were happening, we were able to see what was going on on the ground. Gather information, on ops, on movement, on what was going on that was shady. That was our involvement.

What did the day-to-day look like? As far as your personal life, protesting, and everything else going on?

I am a person of a lot of privilege. I am light-skinned, I come from a middle-class family, I also grew up in NorCal/Central California, and I just come from a lot of privilege so when I’m pretty sure Black folks have experienced this trauma and are still grieving which is not fair. For me, seeing how many Black folks were getting killed by the cops every single week was taking a toll. And we all sort of erupted, like, “fuck this shit,” and saying that we were upset about it. So, I abandoned my personal life and I think most Seattle protestors did because it’s like, “Fuck this, I’ve been complicit in this. How can I use my emotional capacity to make a change because Black folks can’t step away from the death of other Black folks?” They like literally see it and are retraumatized over it every day. So, for me, a person of color who has a lot of privilege, I can step away if I need. If I wanted to, I could remove myself and emotionally separate. So, me and a lot of others decided to abandon our emotional capacity and our personal lives to dedicate ourselves to keeping the momentum going. 

It’s easy to read about it but, zooming out, what was your experience like? Like what did you see, how did you feel about all of it?

It’s so interesting to see when the cops left the place that we were protesting in. It was called CHOP, but there were a lot of different names for it. There was CHAZ, CHOP, and then like some other names but it was interesting seeing folks comment on CHOP and news articles writing about what our experience was. Like most of them were wrong. Most of the people did not have a good understanding of what was going on in Seattle. A lot of people had opinions about that space. Folks were getting killed in drive-by shootings and a lot of people on Twitter, who were white supremacists, were saying that folks deserved to die. These are people, you know? It was very upsetting to see people comment on our experience and most of the time it wasn’t true. It was really weird, seeing that.

So, the first day that protests happened, it started in Westlake and that’s where all the really intense photos were from like the cars burning. And we were just trying to march, and eventually, we tried pushing forward and then we were tear-gassed. We were pepper-sprayed and flashbangs were everywhere, and it was horrible. And honestly, that was my first protest so that was emotionally overwhelming but as you continue to go, that shit happens all the time. Like you get used to it. Well, you don’t get used to it but learn how to wear appropriate gear and handle pepper spray and tear gas.

How did things change during the days you were out there? Like messaging, morale, or like the organization of everything?

Oh my gosh, every day was so different! So, some days, the cops were just standing there and other days, like on the weekends, they would tear gas and push forward. The night before the cops left, they deployed so many flashbangs and destroyed stuff. So, it was honestly day-to-day, but protestors got better at organizing. The community leaders organized groups via Signal, Telegram, and we got better at keeping our identities anonymous because folks were getting arrested. 

I remember seeing you post about the difficulties transporting coffee and brewing large batches of coffee. Can you go into more depth about the hurdles and difficulties with giving out coffee at the protests?

I am fortunate that the company that I work for let me use the space whenever I wanted. I could brew coffee any time of the day, and, although people let us borrow their airpots that were much bigger, the thing is that every single day I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know if my equipment is going to get destroyed, because our tables and tents had gotten destroyed before so I can’t put someone else’s stuff at risk because some of the folks wanted it back. And we were all volunteers. I was doing my best to organize, communicate, and keep track of everyone else’s stuff. 

I had twelve airpots and I would have to brew coffee every single morning and that took like three hours. I would then go to the protest area, find parking in that hell hole (which is Capital Hill), transport those twelve airpots to the table from my car, and then transport all that back to the car, and into the cafe, brew it all again, put it back in my car, bring it back to the protest area, and bring all the coffee back. 

It was just so much time for it all and I had to do it twice. So, I would hang around a little bit and then I would go home, but then once I was home, folks needed coffee again so I would have to drive back and do it all over again. And in the evenings, it would be even busier. The total time of me brewing coffee was probably 8 hours. The hardest part was just doing it every day and then brewing coffee and then lugging it all. Luckily, towards the end, I was able to get help. 

What was the response you got? Was it generally positive? Any resistance?

Mostly positive. In the beginning, it was really positive. It was great because I was out until like 2am every night protesting. Our goals and intentions were to fuel protestors but once the cops left, the area became very farmers market-y. A lot of people of privilege, so like white people, were out without masks treating it like a farmers market and hanging out. That was when we were like, “Okay, we aren’t here to serve these people coffee.” 

Rather than seeing a difference in reactions, it was more like a difference in people who were joining them. These were people who were here to see CHAZ, and “Oh my God, this is the autonomous zone.” 

Like being apart of the movement after the movement has kind of run its course.

Yeah.

How is handing out coffee at protests different from shop life? Like obviously it’s different but how?

Handing out coffee is different because we’re exposed to big groups of people. All of us are protesting because we all care about Black lives and, at the same time, we all don’t want to get Covid. The fear of getting Covid is so much higher, and people are careless and they’ve never worked in customer service so you are managing that and managing the system. When you work at a cafe, the people you work with know those systems and you have the right to refuse (which sucks and that’s a whole other problem). It’s hard because you are protesting but you are also trying to keep up with the changes and you are also trying to keep people safe in the middle of a pandemic. 

What were some of the protections you used to keep yourself safe during our not-so-lovely pandemic?

All of us wore masks. Like, you had to wear a mask and luckily, people donated masks so we gave out masks too. All the protestors were very down for that. You could tell who were protestors and who were not because protestors were like, “Yes, keep me safe.” We gave out free hand sanitizer, and before interacting with anyone you had to wear a mask, you have to accept this pump of hand sanitizer, and, if not, we won’t serve you. 

And, for us, we had hand sanitizer. Some people wanted to wear gloves, but I don’t believe in gloves because you aren’t sanitizing the gloves therefor when you touch a surface and then other things, you are spreading it. So, it’s better to just sanitize your hands. We had wipes too, so we could wipe down surfaces. It was a table, you know, so it was gross, but it was the best we could do. 

So, the last question, what is your biggest takeaway from this? How has your perspective changed before and after?

Before, I don’t think I felt empowered to protest and, now, I do. 

And, if anyone is scared of protesting, go with a person that knows how to and ask questions. You are not dumb for asking questions. Do research, and also find your community leaders and follow them. The best resources are on Twitter and Instagram. Honestly, don’t look it up on google. Find your community leaders on Twitter and Instagram. 

Stay educated and stop being dumb, a lot of people were being dumb. Like they were following ops and doing marches around, but you have to question the leaders. Whoever is leading the march, question who they are. Find out who they are and if they are a nobody, why are you following them? Be smarter, that’s what I’ve learned. Surround yourself with people you can trust and, if you are scared, at the end of the day it’s not about us it’s about Black lives. 

We had stopped the coffee tent because CHAZ was no longer there, and someone asked me if I was going to continue doing the table. I said, “No, we can go to a march or so many other proactive things you could do.” They said, “Oh, I just wanted to use my skillset for the movement” but it’s like, “Bitch, get out of here.” Their excuse was social anxiety and large crowds, and I get that, it’s valid, but also like imagine what a Black person feels. Like not to invalidate that person’s anxiety and pain, but maybe find a way to handle that and find something proactive. 

Also, like the march and the big protest in Seattle may be over now but like Portland’s still going on and it’s not that far of a drive. Come down here. Or there are plenty of other ways to help. 

Yeah, folks can donate their time. There are so many things folks can do!

Felix and I had a great talk about our individual cities, but, with the end of the interview, I did want to share some resources if you want to get involved (You really should. This is not a solo or even a tiny group effort.) You can sign petitions, donate, and, also, reach out to organizations to find out what they need while on the ground. Some of those links are to Portland specifically, but research groups in your area. 

Are you a coffee professional that has been out there making your voice heard and demanding change? I would love to share your story. Head over to my about page and drop me an email or Instagram message. I’ll be in touch with you soon!

*** This interview has been edited for grammar and length.

Interview with Patricia (They/Them)

Unfortunately, I’ve been sitting on this interview for way too long. Patricia reached out to me awhile back when I wanted to do a whole series of interviews and a larger article with other Non-Binary baristas and still would love to, but major life events and Covid have put that on pause for now. However, I still think that what they have to say is so important and didn’t want it to sit in my drafts any longer. 

Patricia (they/them)
@pandemic_atthe_disco

How long have you worked in coffee? 

I’ve been in coffee on and off for 5 years.

Oh wow, awesome! What has your experience been in relation to your identity? Have/do your coworkers/employers know? If so, how have they supported you? Or not?

It’s only been recently that I have settled into my identity as genderqueer and using my pronouns. In that year of settling, I don’t think any of my coworkers have asked. I have had one employer ask but I think it was prompted by a conversation he had with another. I don’t hide my identity but it’s not something that is engaged unless I insert myself which often I’m too tired to.

I totally relate to that. At a lot of my jobs, I was the only genderqueer person on staff so I felt like I didn’t want to bring it up unless someone else did because of how much mental energy it took. How has being in a job that is highly public in nature played a part or effected how you present yourself?

I’m very masculine-presenting or, at least, I feel that way. I feel most comfortable in a button-down, a dad hat, and pants with nice pockets. Lol, yet that hasn’t stopped customers from calling me ma’am, girl, lady, miss, etc.

What would you want customers to know?

Lol, I’m not ma’am.

Haha, truth.

I get called girl but I never hear customers call my cis male coworker, “boy.” I think men get the luxury of having gender-neutral terms used towards them but society wants me to know “I’m a girl.”

I remembered this older woman’s order and name the other day and it made her so happy, then she proceeded to say, “Wow, what a smart girl!” Like thanks, but not a girl and not going to make a big deal about this because I don’t have the energy.

It sours the whole interaction. I could have a great moment of connection with a customer and as soon as they call me girl, I get depleted. I want to be like Janet from The Good Place and just interject “not a girl” or “not a ma’am” or “they” after every misgendering. Also, I’m 31 and, even if I identified with my assigned gender, I would still feel I’m not a girl, fam. I’m grown.

Great point! Platforms like Instagram have helped me connect with baristas from all over, and, in talking with so many, I’ve grown hopeful at the future of coffee being more diverse and inclusive. Do you feel the same? (Obviously, feel free to disagree with me.) Where do you think the industry needs to grow?

I think when it is no longer associated with straight-size white cis males with a tattoo sleeve and starts being associated with its origin which is Ethiopia then maybe. But it will take those same white cis males to move out of the way and give up their space for Black Baristas, roosters, etc to thrive.

There is an organization here in Memphis, called Cxffee Black, and it’s this Black man who is introducing Ethiopian coffee back to ppl especially Black ppl, and if more coffee shops sell his stuff and promote his brand and invest in him the better. Like someone should be like, “Hey, let us give you a coffee shop.”

I’ve heard of Cxffee Black and the great work they’ve been doing!

Love them!

Something else I’ve been seeing is this growing gap between old world coffee (the white cis male with tattoo sleeves coffee) and these newer coffee people like Cxffee Black, Glitter Cat, the Chocolate Barista, and the discussions around paying more for coffee to support the areas it comes from and the people that grow it.

Plus, I think the ppl who run the shops need to create an environment where their non-binary folx knew if they inserted their gender with a customer, the bosses would have their back. But, I don’t know if that’s the case. Like I don’t really know if I corrected a customer when they call me girl. Like it’s about the beans and representing the brand and I don’t know if this genderqueer babe with they/them pronouns standing up for themselves against misgendering is on brand. At least, not at my shop because that tone hasn’t been set.

Very true. Not only does it take mental energy, there’s a vulnerability about it because pronouns are so personal. If a customer doesn’t take to that correction and goes to the manager/owner, then it becomes a matter of standing by your employee or by the customer.

Right. So I wrestle with does it really matter. I don’t know this person but it’s never just the one time person. There are regulars who are kind and like me and are happy to see me, but constantly misgender me. So, I have to try and be a duck but I’m not a duck. I’m a cat, and I don’t want to be in the water.

Exactly. So, those are all the questions that I have. Is there anything else that you would like to add/talk about? I really appreciate you taking the time to talk about this with me.

I think I just wished there was a way customers knew coming in or before ordering my pronouns and how to address me so that I don’t have to internally cringe through their order. Like a sign outside saying, “You are being served by Patricia (they/them). They are excited to meet your coffee needs, enjoy. -management”

That would be awesome. I’ve tried wearing pronoun pin, but they have limited success because most misgendering happens from people that aren’t paying much attention. Like, I’ll hand them their coffee and they’ll say as they are leaving, “Thanks ma’am.” Or “Hey girl, where’s the bathroom? Over there?”

I had another thought.

I also have the fear of asserting my gender because I’m Black. I’m the only Black barista on staff (there was once two of us), and the only visible POC at the company. At my location, I service upper crust white womxn and mxn so there is that fear that maybe even without my knowledge of being seen by them as the angry Black (in their misgendering of me) woman.

That is a totally valid fear, and a layer I hadn’t considered. That is definitely a huge concern.

A huge thanks to Patricia for their insight and time. If you want talk about about your experience as a Non-Binary Barista, let me know! I’d love to hear your story.

8-Hour Cold Brew Recipe

*This post contains external links and products. The Non-Binary Barista is not affiliated with any of these companies. Basically, I bought these coffees with my own money and get nothing in return from these companies. While I may talk about my preferences below, the Non-Binary Barista does not endorse or condone these companies and products in any official capacity.*

At the main coffee shop that I worked at in California, a huge part of my job was making cold brew concentrate. That shop prided themselves on their cold brew, and a lot of my coworkers hated the process of making it. If you are used to making batches of cold brew, the process isn’t different but it just wasn’t my coworkers’ favorite activity but I liked doing it. Lately, I’ve been craving cold brew but so many places here in Portland serve Flash Brew/Iced Coffee instead. 

However, like many baristas right now, I don’t have access to a coffee grinder. My automatic brewer is a conical brew basket and I make pour overs at home, so I get all my coffee ground for pour over when I order it for convenience. So, I thought about making my own but didn’t have the money to buy more coffee ground just for cold brew. 

Then, an idea struck: Could a cold brew be made with coffee not ground for cold brew?

I hit up my friend, Rhett, who knows way more about extraction and grind than I do to ask his opinion and after some discussion decided to play around. What I was looking for was a concentrated coffee that had the low acidity of cold brew but the strength to retain its coffee taste when milk and sweetener were added (because that is how I like my coffee). What I don’t like about flash brew is that I believe a lot of the strength of the coffee is watered down because you are putting hot coffee on ice.

Now, I hear all you iced coffee fans screaming that I must have made my coffee wrong but let me just state first and foremost that my desire for cold brew over iced coffee is a matter of preference. Secondly, I have made flash brew with a batch brewer and an exact recipe, with a pour over (thanks Umeko for the flash brew recipe from forever ago), and with hot coffee that has been refrigerated. Every iced coffee recipe that I can find, I try because I want this to work towards my coffee preferences but haven’t found what I’m looking for. Cold Brew will always be way more time consuming, whether it is my 8-hour recipe or your preferred go-to with properly ground beans (I usually favor a 16-hour), and more expensive because of the amount of coffee required. But, this was what I wanted and why I tried so hard to perfect this experiment.

So, without anymore prologue, here is my tests, process, and results.

Attempt 1: Blue Creek Blend from Water Avenue

½ cup (about 45g) of coffee

Filled the rest of the 1 Liter jar with water (about 3 or 4 cups or 800ish  grams of water).

6-hour brew

***First off, from here on out, I will be using weighted measurements but, since I was trying to see if this would even work in the first place, I decided to riff off of a previous recipe I had which wasn’t weighed out. So, don’t worry that this is imprecise. I’m aware. 

Overall, not a perfect extraction. This coffee was very dark tasting with heavy nutty notes so it was difficult to tell between the nutty bitterness present in the coffee already and the bitterness of over-extraction, which is why I stayed conservative in my timing. 

But, the coffee still tasted like cold brew with a nice, strong coffee taste, smooth cold brew mouth feel, and held its coffee flavor when paired with milk and sweetener. I was really pleased with the result. The coffee was a ready-to-drink cold brew rather than a concentrate which is what I was going for so I wanted to change the coffee that I was using to play around with all the variables.

Attempt 2: Bali Kintamani Natural from PushxPull

60g coffee

1000g water (1 liter)

8-hour brew

I had mixed feelings about this batch.

Good: This coffee is more delicate so it produces a more refreshing and lighter cold brew. After 6 hours, the coffee had not come into its full flavor so I extended the time to 8 hours and liked the level of extraction.

Bad: This coffee was muted. I had originally based this recipe on James Hoffmann’s coffee ratio of 60g per liter, with no other reason than needing a base recipe to start with after finding that a short cold brew was possible. However, after researching a couple of cold brew recipes, I found that most were between 100g-250g of coffee. So I decided that the next experiment needed way more coffee.

3rd Attempt: Bali Kintamani from PushxPull

140g coffee

1000g water

8-hour brew

As soon as I tasted this batch, I knew that I had done it. Do you ever just get that feeling where you know the thing that you’ve been working on has worked out? So, here goes: This batch produced a concentrate that packs a nice punch, and works best as a 1:1 ratio of concentrate to water. It held its own when paired with milk, and had a nice solid coffee flavor. I picked up on notes of plum (deep, smooth fruity flavor), cacao nib (almost chocolatey, roasty undertones), and hibiscus (tart aftertaste). 

To test my results, I also did a batch with another coffee to see if both coffees would yield the same level of concentration and to check if their were any similar tastes that would point to over/under extraction or weirdness from the experiment and found none. The other batch was the same ratio and time but was a Rwanda (from Recluse) and it had a completely different taste (as you would expect from tasting two separate coffees). 

I’m so excited to hear about if you try this and what you think. Feel free to experiment with your own cold brew preferences as well. I often tried these at 6 hours and found it still pretty pleasing. While I usually favor a 16-hour Cold Brew, someone who prefers a longer brew time (like 24+ hours) may want to try 10-12 hours instead. More time will produce a higher extraction, while more coffee will give you a more concentrated drink.

Media Study of Black Representation Within Coffee Websites

[[[As this document has the potential for corrections and updates, I will post all updates at the bottom of the post. Please read through all the way to the end, or check the bottom after looking at the table below so as to have as accurate information as possible.]]]

My usual go-to introduction would be something along the lines of, “If you aren’t aware,” but the sad truth is that if you aren’t aware of what is going on then you are choosing to stay ignorant. The deaths of countless Black lives and the exploitation of Black culture and resources for the profit of others is unacceptable. In times like these, I have found that writers like me look for ways they can help with the skills we have. I’ve been reading and doing research among my personal mental health battles, but I began noticing a pattern while scrolling on my news feed.

Many, including myself, are trying to use our platform to call for justice and express support. As we all shout and share on the internet, others have stayed silent. I looked for support in the industry that I loved and saw amazing support but not enough.

And, as I looked for the posts I wanted to see, I also began thinking about true systemic changes and what that would look like in the long term for the coffee industry. One of those systemic changes would be coffee shops hiring more Black baristas and recognizing their place within this unfair system. With my background in social media, I know that part of that is that people must see themselves in an industry for them to believe they can truly belong.

Which is why, I decided to do a media study where I cataloged the people in the photos that select coffee companies used in their media and marketing materials. Here’s how I broke it down:

I looked up a couple of lists as well as shops that I have frequented that are popular and have a large following. Settling on 18 shops in no particular order, I then went through every page on their websites (except for blog entries for the sake of time) and counted every person in each photo that appeared to be connected with the business, meaning I counted employees, educators, and management but not customers.

Now, this is very important!

As with all studies, there is some amount of bias and room for error. The basis of this study was based on the images presented by the companies included. In various pictures like brewing guides or pictures taken from far away, a person’s ethnicity gets harder to pin down. Also, this is based on my own assumptions of race and I am flawed. I wouldn’t doubt that I mistook someone for an ethnicity when they were actually another, and though the person and I may never know of that mistake, I deeply apologize for those cases. Should I be alerted to such mistakes, I will edit the table below accordingly.

Another aspect of this study was that I did not count the people in photos that were coffee farmers, and my reason is this: It is very easy to paint a picture of “the humble coffee farmer” in a far away country. To use people from other countries in photos as a way to remind customers that the coffee is from somewhere else. Coffee comes from a farm with hard working individuals in many countries, but so often these photos become the coffee roaster/shop/company using them to further their own business rather than putting the money and value back into those people and farms. I’m not saying necessarily that any and all of these businesses that feature pictures of coffee farmers are doing this, but since I can’t be sure, I chose not to include them.

So, Brit, what then is the purpose of this if there is room for error and exclusions?

The purpose of this study is to highlight that the coffee industry is built on the work of Black and Brown bodies but the bulk of the people that work in it and are shown in marketing materials are white. Just like the world, the coffee industry is changing. The table below shows a huge gap in the amount of white people in marketing and website materials, versus the amount of Black and non-Black people of color featured in those materials. Many of the websites featured brewing guides that had white coffee educators doing the educating, and many large staff photos featured a predominantly white staff.

My hope is that coffee shops, roasters, and companies re-evaluate their staff and hiring policies, marketing materials, and their own part in the systemic white capitalist system we are in going forward.

Company	White	Black	(Non-Black) POC	Total
Blue Bottle	121	2	16	139
Camber	26	1	5	32
Coava	24	1	4	29
Counter Culture	117	10	8	135
George Howell	29	1	5	35
Heart	21	1	0	22
Intelligentsia	30	2	10	42
La Colombe	133	11	9	153
Madcap	17	0	0	17
Dune	21	0	6	27
Sey Coffee	4	0	1	5
Dayglow	14	0	0	14
Stumptown	99	6	15	120
Good Coffee	8	0	1	9
Ritual	3	0	1	4
Equator	100	8	19	127
Verve	146	4	17	167
GoGetEmTiger	6	0	2	8

I am not specifically targeting any of these companies, like I said I have frequented many of them. I chose them based on recognition and their presence within the specialty coffee scene. Some of these companies, like Blue Bottle for instance, have been making an effort to donate money and posting about their views and support when it comes to the current riots and protests going on.

I can only ask that those in the industry that benefit from white supremacy, and I include my own self and privilege in this, do the work to dismantle it where we can.

Update: Tohm at Dayglow informed me that much of the photos on the website feature non-black POC people. Since, I can’t be sure necessarily which ones, know that the row featuring Dayglow is is incorrect in its ratio of photos of white individuals and non-black people of color photos.

Four Places To Put Your Focus When Dysphoria Strikes During Your Shift

For as long as I can remember, I’ve struggled with body dysphoria. What that means is that since I was little, I thought something was wrong with how I looked and it stemmed from an idea that I didn’t look the way I thought I should. I remember sometime around late elementary school thinking about getting a nose job and holding magazines with profiles to my face in front of the mirror. I obsessed over the fact that my bottom lip was crooked when I smiled.

Even now, after putting in so much mental and emotional work, I often feel separate from my body. I’m in it one minute, then I see pictures of myself and feel completely divorced from the person I see to the one I experienced in that moment.

Meanwhile, experiencing dysphoria when you also have to go into work can be exhausting and even paralyzing. The coffee industry is one built on presentation, where the product we make is just as important as the face-to-face interaction with our customers. Dysphoria is (unfortunately) not something that you can call out of work for, but going in to the shop and interacting with people all during a shift can add to the discomfort of Trans or Gender Non-Conforming (TGNC) employees.

I got hit with a pretty strong sense of dysphoria this past weekend, so I figured that I should write about dysphoria and work. As a non-binary person, I recognize that there is nothing that I can post on this blog that will stop the feelings that come on, but I want to share with you four places to focus your energy to help you get through the day.

Focus on the Coffee:
I think what initially draws people into cafe life is the care and craft of making coffee. The idea that with intention, you can pull a good shot, steam perfect frothy milk, pour an intricate design, and then hand it off to an appreciative customer. The coffee is what pulled you in, so on those days that you need a distraction, go back to the basics. You may feel completely out of place in your body, but setting a goal like consistently good milk texture or keeping your bar station super clean can help you get through the day. Even if the goal of perfect or great seems like too much on these days, shoot for consistency and a manageable level of good coffee. Allow yourself the time to make sure your espresso is dialed in throughout the day, don’t rush your milk steaming, and be careful with your pourovers.

Focus on your Coworkers:
Way back when I first started blogging (like all the way back in 2006, can we take a minute to marvel at the fact that that was 14 years ago!!!), one of my favorite bloggers posted what she called a Sad Trombone list, a master list of items to do when you are sad and feel like a dark cloud (or trombone) is following you. The first item on that list is to help others.

Dysphoria sucks and you may not want to do much of anything, but taking the time to turn your crappy day into one that could make someone else’s day brighter will help you and others. In the case of going into work, try putting your focus on your coworkers and what you can do to help them out. In the past when I’ve done this, this has looked like baking something the night before to help everyone on shift or taking on jobs during the shift that are less desirable. No one likes cleaning the bathroom, but, maybe instead of going back and forth on who should clean it, you offer and that takes the load off of someone else. Whatever feels right and you have the energy to do, go for it and see how it helps.

Also, if you are able, consider helping others by donating to causes that are important to you. I’ve posted about the times we are living in a lot lately, but another way to help others right now is to donate to virtual tip jars, emergency relief funds, or to your friends in the coffee industry.

Focus on The Shop:
The owners of one of my past jobs started their shop because they were enamored with coffee shop culture. When I’m in a good mental place, I resonate with that because I love every aspect of shop life. The customers, my coworkers, making drinks, and creating recipes are why I come into work everyday. Dysphoria makes giving my energy towards something else so much harder because my mind is elsewhere. Not every day of work, no matter how good the job is, will be fun and exciting. Some days, the way that you can focus on the shop’s needs and do what is best for you is by pulling back. 

Pulling back looks different based on the person and what they have the mental energy for, so these are just some suggestions. Always take care of yourself and do what you feel is best. 

♥ Doing the dishes ♥ Getting to those tasks that never seem to get done ♥ Asking your coworkers for five minutes to collect yourself ♥ Going outside on your break and getting some fresh air ♥ Volunteering to make cold brew/lemonade/etc to give yourself a task that isn’t engaging directly with customers ♥ Asking someone to switch positions in the shop with you for awhile to one that is more manageable ♥ Informing a trusted coworker or manager that you aren’t feeling your best and forming a plan on how to get through the day ♥

Focus on Feeling Good:
Your job is to feel good.

Let me say that again because most people never hear this: your job is to feel good. I’m not talking about the job that you are paid to do, but your job in this life is to live a life that makes you happy. Dysphoria can be crippling, so, on those days where you are fighting your own issues, you are allowed to do whatever makes you feel good (that is safe). Wear clothes that make you feel comfortable, drink or eat whatever you want, and take time for yourself to sit with those feelings. None of this is easy for anyone, so do what you can to get through the day.

Dysphoria, though it never seems like it in the moment, does fade eventually but I hope that these tips help you the next time that identity monster strikes.