2 weeks Ago By Sara Guymon
ROCHESTER — To some, being a barista is an entry-level job that doesn’t require much experience. Rochester’s big cafe scene begs to differ. Baristas are a crucial part of many people's morning routines.
They provide a daily dose of caffeine to dozens of customers, while hopefully being a friendly face they can rely on. ADVERTISEMENT Staff at Cafe Steam do their best to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere for guests, but what is it like to work there for a day? Manager Matthew Schmall has been a Cafe Steam employee for almost four years. He has developed a strong passion for coffee and everything it entails.
He has developed a personal connection to the cafe, employees and the community. Before working at the cafe, Schmall was an active customer at the location. He had been going there since he was a junior in high school.
“For me, personally, the reason I work here has to do with the sense of community that gets developed,” said Schmall. “Cafe Steam is a very big melting pot of downtown and everyone who is in Rochester and everyone who visits Rochester. .
.. Learning, meeting and communicating with all these people is probably my favorite part.
It’s all about the personal connections established.” Schmall works at the Broadway location of Cafe Steam and manages the cafe during the morning shift. He typically arrives at work at 6:30 a.
m. and does the opening work before the store opens at 7 a.m.
Self-management is a huge part of the job. The baristas have a list of side work that needs to be completed throughout the day which helps fill the time between drinks. During the busier hours, Schmall is focused on taking orders, making drinks and making sure the workspace stays tidy.
ADVERTISEMENT “I think having a lot of personal motivation with personal work, so you're able to identify things that need to be done,” Schmall said. “It's not that you're doing every single little thing. It's that you're keeping yourself busy and preoccupied because you do end up with a lot of downtime.
It’s important, especially on slow days, to understand there's other things that can be done, even if it's washing dishes.” The most important thing for Schmall and the other baristas is keeping the area clean. It's a key part of the training process for younger baristas especially.
“I feel like that's one of the hardest things for people,” said Shelby Schwab, a barista at Cafe Steam. “I know at 17, I didn't really enjoy cleaning my bedroom. I still had to do it and I think it's funny watching a lot of these kids progress and understand the importance of just cleaning as you go.
” A lot of Cafe Steam's ingredients are also made in-store. The hardest thing to make is the homemade chai because of the large amount of spices and ingredients that go into it. It also takes the longest to make.
Keeping the area clean during this process can save a lot of time cleaning up. For Schmall and the other baristas, bad days are few and far between. A bad day for them is just a slower day.
Bad weather can be a factor for how a day can go, but Schmall rarely complains of a bad day. Schmall has to worry about inventory and maintenance in addition to the normal side work. The equipment in the cafe is expensive and high quality and Schmall has taken his knowledge from working at an electronics and game store to help out around the different locations.
ADVERTISEMENT All of the managers at Cafe Steam also serve as role models for the younger baristas and community. Schmall makes himself available whenever he can. He prefers working mornings to have his afternoons available, but he always has his phone on in case someone needs him.
“Will (Forsman, owner of Cafe Steam) really leans on his managers to lead everybody in more than just a management way,” Schwab said. “..
. I think he really expects the management to uphold standards and make sure that they're forward facing and a very good role model for those that were around constantly.” In addition to being a friendly face around town, it’s important for the baristas to be educated on all the nuances of coffee.
To help ensure their baristas are comfortable and knowledgeable, all of the employees learn the side work and gain knowledge for at least 100 hours before they are allowed to use the machines. “What you're doing in those 100 hours is reinforcing what you're first taught in your first couple days of training,” Schmall said. “You’re doing register work, understanding composition from that perspective of picking an order, pouring drip coffee, keeping busy with tasks and learning as much as you can.
” They also work with all their baristas to work on developing their latte art. It’s something they take pride in and hold a yearly competition to shine light on the artistic work of the baristas in town. Baristas are very similar to bartenders, only focusing on caffeine instead of alcohol.
There's sometimes some misconceptions about the job, especially when choosing it as an adult. Despite most of their employees having or pursuing degrees, many people think they are uneducated. “It's like a weird misconception that we're maybe not educated when a lot of us have college degrees and a lot of us chose to do this, or this makes more sense for our lifestyle,” Schwab said.
“There’s a very good science behind a good cup of coffee and I think people just don't really understand the amount of effort that actually goes into it. If they weren't adults helping lead the 16 year olds, then it would be a very different culture.” ADVERTISEMENT On the other side of things, Schmall wants everyone to know they are not coffee snobs just because they possess more knowledge about coffee than the average person.
Everyone has their own tastes and preferences and baristas actually like a lot of the same things as everyone else. They do have a lot of knowledge about coffee and the flavor nodes, but just because it’s their job to. A novice coffee enjoyer wouldn’t know that Cafe Steams coffee is more acidic than bitter.
By understanding that, Schmall and the others can listen to what a customer normally drinks and give suggestions better. Schmall will celebrate his fourth year working with Cafe Steam in April and is looking forward to growing with the business while expanding his own coffee knowledge. Cafe Steam 315 Broadway Ave S, Rochester, MN 55904 507-208-4160 www.
ordersteam.com/.
