Final Draft:
Coffee Attraction
And Defining Coffee Drinkers
I sat down with another Barista, not entirely sure what I was going to ask. I had written interview questions beforehand, but I had no greater message or theme to guide me. We sat talking about what it was like to be a Barista, how busy our particular store was, and the usefulness of having knowledge about coffee.
“So you like coffee?” I ask half-jokingly.
“No. Before I worked at Starbucks, I would never think about drinking coffee.”
This surprised me, because here was a person who was knowledgeable about coffee, and was great at serving people coffee. I then learned what would go on to influence my observations, upcoming interviews, and writing project entire. It was based off of the realization that regardless of your personal disposition towards this popular beverage, its cultural impact and near-omnipotence in the market will eventually push you to partake in it. In less pretentious words, coffee has an attraction that can pull all sorts of people into its culture, whether you like coffee or not.
“So you like coffee?” I ask half-jokingly.
“No. Before I worked at Starbucks, I would never think about drinking coffee.”
This surprised me, because here was a person who was knowledgeable about coffee, and was great at serving people coffee. I then learned what would go on to influence my observations, upcoming interviews, and writing project entire. It was based off of the realization that regardless of your personal disposition towards this popular beverage, its cultural impact and near-omnipotence in the market will eventually push you to partake in it. In less pretentious words, coffee has an attraction that can pull all sorts of people into its culture, whether you like coffee or not.
In this Ethnography, I will be studying specifically the people who are caught in this attraction. I will be studying and classifying the different types of coffee drinkers, and what coffee means to them. Just to preface; I work at a Starbucks full-time and I interact with other customers from every part of the day. I have a very good sense of what kind of coffee drinker a person is just from seeing what they order. People have different motivations and preferences, and these reflect a great deal just in how many sugars they want in their coffee, if they want whipped cream on their white mocha, and how they order their drink. Also, I will go back and forth between classifying groups of coffee drinkers and interviews with both baristas and customers.
But before we get too in-depth with the observations, I want to take some time clarifying what exactly coffee is. Coffee is usually a beverage brewed hot by the chemical reaction between hot water and ground roasted coffee beans. Usually the grounds are then filtered out, but this is not necessarily true for all cultures. A majority of situations will have coffee served hot, but there are actually cold brewing methods for coffee served iced. Coffee is a very diverse drink that differs from culture to culture, but we will be focusing mainly on the microcosm of the small Starbucks that I work in.
The research I conducted was contained within my Starbucks, so I cannot comment on the types of coffee drinkers who inhabit other types of cafes or other chains who also sell coffee. My research mainly represent Starbucks customers in a busy Southern California region.
The first and immediate way to find differences in the types of coffee drinkers is to watch what time of the day they come. The different “dayparts” that can be used define coffee drinkers are the Morning, Midday, and Night.
But before we get too in-depth with the observations, I want to take some time clarifying what exactly coffee is. Coffee is usually a beverage brewed hot by the chemical reaction between hot water and ground roasted coffee beans. Usually the grounds are then filtered out, but this is not necessarily true for all cultures. A majority of situations will have coffee served hot, but there are actually cold brewing methods for coffee served iced. Coffee is a very diverse drink that differs from culture to culture, but we will be focusing mainly on the microcosm of the small Starbucks that I work in.
The research I conducted was contained within my Starbucks, so I cannot comment on the types of coffee drinkers who inhabit other types of cafes or other chains who also sell coffee. My research mainly represent Starbucks customers in a busy Southern California region.
The first and immediate way to find differences in the types of coffee drinkers is to watch what time of the day they come. The different “dayparts” that can be used define coffee drinkers are the Morning, Midday, and Night.
Morning
I walk into my Starbucks at 5:30 am. There’s already a few patrons who have gotten their coffee, but it’s not quite busy yet. It’s quiet in the café, but this does not seem to be the case on the work floor. On the work floor are Baristas who have already been working since 4 am. They are preparing in a flurry for the eventual rush that is the crucial point of business time in the store. How they perform during the rush defines a lot of what kind of store they are. Are they a store that can get all of the customers out at a reasonable time, and with their orders done correctly? Or are they a store that will be consistently slow with the drinks made wrong?
The clock hits 7 am, and the store is in full swing. The line begins to grow and the energy in the store is intensified. There is pressure in the air.
The mood is intense on both sides of the situation. First, we have the Baristas who are pushing hard for order accuracy and speed. Small mistakes can set the entire group back. Secondly, customers are tired and waiting for a caffeine fix. Many are not in a good mood and are especially critical of how soon they can get their order, and whether or not it’s up to standard. This is the time of day people are just waking up and going to work. I spoke to both Baristas and Customers on specifically what they expect to happen when they come to the store during these early hours.
This is what some Baristas and Customers had to say about the early morning situation:
Giang (Barista)
“Coffee drinkers really like their coffee early in the morning. They can be pretty tough on you sometimes, which means you just have to try and stay positive.”
Bri (Barista)
“The mornings can be really tough. People can be really rude, but you just need to put your head down and work with it. When people are rude, I just act super annoying-cheerful until they feel guilty for being rude.”
Lalo (Barista)
“The mornings are tough but you just need to know how to do your job right. I feel good knowing I’m doing a good job and I’m making people happy.”
John (Customer)
“I’ve never really thought too much about why I need my coffee in the morning. I just want to start my day off with something nice and warm.”
Camille (Customer)
“Look, it’s just a cup of coffee. I want it fast and I want it fresh. I don’t care about the guy getting a Frappuccino or whatever.”
In the context of the morning, coffee is almost a sacred product. For some, it is a ritual that must be performed- to receive and drink their coffee. In this, we find our first classification of coffee drinker, the Devouts.
This is what some Baristas and Customers had to say about the early morning situation:
Giang (Barista)
“Coffee drinkers really like their coffee early in the morning. They can be pretty tough on you sometimes, which means you just have to try and stay positive.”
Bri (Barista)
“The mornings can be really tough. People can be really rude, but you just need to put your head down and work with it. When people are rude, I just act super annoying-cheerful until they feel guilty for being rude.”
Lalo (Barista)
“The mornings are tough but you just need to know how to do your job right. I feel good knowing I’m doing a good job and I’m making people happy.”
John (Customer)
“I’ve never really thought too much about why I need my coffee in the morning. I just want to start my day off with something nice and warm.”
Camille (Customer)
“Look, it’s just a cup of coffee. I want it fast and I want it fresh. I don’t care about the guy getting a Frappuccino or whatever.”
In the context of the morning, coffee is almost a sacred product. For some, it is a ritual that must be performed- to receive and drink their coffee. In this, we find our first classification of coffee drinker, the Devouts.
Devout (dih-vout) adj: A coffee drinker devoted to their rituals and beliefs of having coffee within the allotted sacred times of the morning
But there are also those who must have it not for ritualistic reasons, but out of necessity for their functionality. They must have coffee or suffer the consequences. This has more to do, not with the coffee, but with a key substance that is found in coffee; caffeine.
Speaking to one of my co-workers, she had this to say, “I don’t even like coffee that much, but if I didn’t drink coffee until twelve- I would get a headache.” There is no denying that caffeine addiction is a real phenomenon. The beverage becomes a means to an end, or a supplement that is meant to improve brain activity. The mornings are busy because people flock to receive their caffeine fix, much like Addicts.
Speaking to one of my co-workers, she had this to say, “I don’t even like coffee that much, but if I didn’t drink coffee until twelve- I would get a headache.” There is no denying that caffeine addiction is a real phenomenon. The beverage becomes a means to an end, or a supplement that is meant to improve brain activity. The mornings are busy because people flock to receive their caffeine fix, much like Addicts.
Addict (ad-ikt) noun: A coffee drinker looking not for rituals, knowledge, or experiences- merely the best source for the most amount of caffeine they can possibly ingest.
Midday As the Morning rush subsides, we enter into the Midday. I decide to order a drink now since I still have a long way to go. I buy myself an Iced Chai Latte since it is a hot, Southern Californian day, and I could use the comfort drink.
Most of the Addicts and Devouts are away at work now, and you begin to see a different crowd. College to elementary level students, families with their children, or business associates having a meeting. While some will order coffee, these people aren’t solely here for a fragrant cup of joe, they’re here for the sugary lattes and Frappuccino’s. It’s okay that a drink has some coffee flavor, but they care neither for the coffee nor the caffeine content (as long as it’s reasonable). These are the Fatalists. |
Fatalist (feyt-I-list) adj: Although they have stake in the outcome of their drink in terms of sugar, they will accept whatever outcome they receive with the coffee.
A tepid attitude towards coffee at best, they do not care whether their Frappuccino has caffeine as long as it delivers in areas such as extra caramel drizzle, extra whip cream, and extra vanilla. Fatalist is an accurate term for these customers if you constitute them as a coffee drinker, and you consider their outlook on coffee.
To help explain the Fatalists a little further, here is an example that occurred as I sat observing the store from a corner:
A customer comes in and wants to order a Caramel Frappuccino. They’ve ordered this drink before and have never been asked questions about it before. They find it difficult and even a little scary to order anything outside of what they know, risking dirty looks from their barista and other customers. But today when they order the Caramel Frappuccino, the Barista asks them something they were not prepared for. “Would you like that with the coffee?”
“The coffee?” they ask. “I wasn’t aware it was made with coffee.” The Barista then has to explain that the Caramel Frappuccino is by default made with coffee in its recipe, but that they thought the customer might not want the caffeine and asked to make sure. The customer shrugs, not ready to change the drink of their preference.
“I’ll order it just the way it comes.”
Fatalists also split into two groups, the Basic Fatalist and the Complex Fatalist. Neither have a particular disposition towards coffee in general, but depending on what kind of drink they order and how they order it, will have them fall into either group. Complex Fatalists will take advantage of the customizable menu, whereas Basic Fatalists will shy away from modifiers and stick to the menu name of a drink.
Now that we have covered the main groups who attend during the Midday, now would be a good time to recognize a group of coffee drinkers who exist, but do not necessarily attend Starbucks.
Starbucks as a company have perhaps lost some of their touch- according to some who are part of a critical coffee industry; the Zealots. They often avoid Starbucks and are disappointed when they walk into one.
To help explain the Fatalists a little further, here is an example that occurred as I sat observing the store from a corner:
A customer comes in and wants to order a Caramel Frappuccino. They’ve ordered this drink before and have never been asked questions about it before. They find it difficult and even a little scary to order anything outside of what they know, risking dirty looks from their barista and other customers. But today when they order the Caramel Frappuccino, the Barista asks them something they were not prepared for. “Would you like that with the coffee?”
“The coffee?” they ask. “I wasn’t aware it was made with coffee.” The Barista then has to explain that the Caramel Frappuccino is by default made with coffee in its recipe, but that they thought the customer might not want the caffeine and asked to make sure. The customer shrugs, not ready to change the drink of their preference.
“I’ll order it just the way it comes.”
Fatalists also split into two groups, the Basic Fatalist and the Complex Fatalist. Neither have a particular disposition towards coffee in general, but depending on what kind of drink they order and how they order it, will have them fall into either group. Complex Fatalists will take advantage of the customizable menu, whereas Basic Fatalists will shy away from modifiers and stick to the menu name of a drink.
Now that we have covered the main groups who attend during the Midday, now would be a good time to recognize a group of coffee drinkers who exist, but do not necessarily attend Starbucks.
Starbucks as a company have perhaps lost some of their touch- according to some who are part of a critical coffee industry; the Zealots. They often avoid Starbucks and are disappointed when they walk into one.
Zealot (zel-uh t) noun: A coffee drinker who is faithful to Third Wave Coffee, fervor for the idea of it, enthusiasm and diligence, ardor, desire, endeavor, and a complete distaste for all that is Starbucks.
The Zealots of the coffee industry look down on Starbucks for a few reasons, one of them being their growth into “coffee-related drinks” that betray the essence of simple coffee on its own. This isn’t to say that drinks like Lattes or coffee-based desserts aren’t made in other cafes, but the particular path that Starbucks has gone down takes coffee from the center stage, and puts the sugar to the forefront. They also look down on Starbucks’ decision to automate their espresso. Any Zealot will tell you that a Barista/Café basic is to serve espresso that has been tamped by hand and pulled directly from an espresso machine as opposed to simply pressing a button. Zealots are also not preferential to the flavor of Starbucks coffee, often resorting to descriptions like “burnt” or “bitter”. This is a group of coffee drinkers and customers who prefer their coffee to be light roasted and as fresh as possible, as well as perfectly made.
This isn’t to say that there isn’t a passion for coffee amongst the Starbucks Baristas, and as the Midday wears on to night, some show their true colors.
This isn’t to say that there isn’t a passion for coffee amongst the Starbucks Baristas, and as the Midday wears on to night, some show their true colors.
Night
Night has finally come around, the cafe isn’t as busy anymore, and I am finally writing in general peace other than the odd customer every now and then. This is, without a doubt, the best time Baristas train in coffee knowledge. Baristas love to learn about coffee as it connects them more with the customers they interact with. Not all of them will necessarily even like coffee, but none can deny the usefulness of the knowledge that can be used to navigate them through customer questions or even questions that they may have for themselves.
I watch as a Barista is holding a coffee tasting with his co-workers. Everyone is around him listening to him talk about the differences in a dark roast and a light roast. I decide now would be a good time to slip out, dropping my empty cup into the trash. It’s been a long day for all of us.
In Conclusion:
We have now classified six main groups of coffee drinkers. Devouts, Addicts, Complex and Basic Fatalists, Zealots, and Baristas. These groups are proof of coffee’s versatility and its ability to attract people of many different outlooks and preferences. We learn that for some people coffee is a caffeine fix, it is their favorite sugary beverage, it is a ritual, or a practice. Coffee can be applied to many different types of drinks, and it can cater to people of different walks of life, experiences, and outlooks. This brings me to the conclusion that coffee is, regardless of the form it comes in, a unifying drink that can bring people of all types together.
Rough Draft:
The Coffee Attraction
And the Groups of People Involved
In this Ethnography, I will be studying coffee drinkers, the different types of coffee drinkers, and what coffee means to them. To preface, I work at a Starbucks full-time, and I interact with other coffee drinkers from every part of the day. Conducting research for this usually involved asking people I see every time I go into work to answer a few of my questions. This includes both customers and coworkers, who are both strongly opinionated groups. Not all of these were in-depth interviews, in fact a lot of them were asked only one question to get a response.
But before I get into the interviews and research portion of the paper, I want to take some time talking about what coffee is exactly. Coffee is usually a beverage brewed hot by the chemical reaction between hot water and ground roasted coffee beans. Usually the grounds are then filtered out, but this is not necessarily true for all cultures. Some cultures will ground coffee so find that they simply drink it with it still in the cup. Coffee is actually a very diverse drink that differs from culture to culture, but we will be focusing mainly on the microcosm of the small Starbucks that I work in.
Now the research I conducted was contained within just the store that I work in. I can tell you firsthand what my observations are on people during all parts of the day, which is usually divided in the Morning, Midday, and Night.
I walk into my Starbucks at 5:30 am. There’s already a few patrons who have gotten their coffee, but it’s not quite busy yet. It’s quiet in the café, but this does not seem to be the case on the work floor. On the work floor are Baristas who have already been working since 4 am. They are preparing in a mad rush for the eventual rush that is the crucial point of business time in the store. How we perform during the rush defines a lot of what kind of store we are. Are we a store that can get all of the customers out at a reasonable time with their orders done correctly? Or are we a store that will be consistently slow with the drinks made wrong?
The clock hits 7 am, and the store is in full swing. Since we are also a Drive-Thru store, significant attention is given to the times and accuracy of orders at that station. This is the time of day people are just waking up and going to work. I spoke to both Baristas and Customers on specifically what they expect to happen when they come to the store during these early hours.
One Barista says, “I think that people just aren’t in a good mood in the morning. Part of our job is to get their order correct, but to also start their day off in a good way.”
One regular named Camille had this to say, “Look, it’s just a cup of coffee. I want it fast and I want it fresh. I don’t care about the guy getting a Frappuccino or whatever, so can you just give me a water with my coffee too?”
Camille is a regular who has been coming to our Starbucks for years, and has always been a good sounding board of problems we might be having with our products, and how we work.
In the context of the morning, coffee is almost this sacred product. Regardless of how long it takes, people will wait for it. Even if it does not taste good to them, they will still take what they can get. They will grumble, and they will take a lot of sugars from the condiment bar, but they will drink that coffee. So perhaps it is not so much the coffee they need, but the caffeine.
To understand these coffee drinkers just a little bit more; it’s not that they are necessarily coffee lovers, but are instead caffeine addicts. Speaking to one of my co-workers, she had this to say, “I don’t even like coffee that much but if I didn’t drink coffee until around twelve I would get a headache.” I believe there is a real addiction to caffeine in our store and our area in general. The way these coffee drinkers view the beverage is simple a means to an end, or a supplement that is meant to improve who they are. For some it is simply ritualistic. “I just like to start all my mornings off with something hot and warm.” Says John, a 5am regular. For a lot of people the caffeine is great, but they’ve also grown accustomed to liking their particular coffee at a particular part of the day as part of routine. Calling them caffeine addicts wouldn’t be entirely fair, although coffee is less of this special drink to them and still more a means to an end, that end being the practice of their ritual.
This breaks up the Morning customers into two main groups, the Caffeine Addicts and the Moderates. The Caffeine Addicts rely on their fix to help them through the day, and the Moderates like what they know about coffee and are content with just that.
But before I get into the interviews and research portion of the paper, I want to take some time talking about what coffee is exactly. Coffee is usually a beverage brewed hot by the chemical reaction between hot water and ground roasted coffee beans. Usually the grounds are then filtered out, but this is not necessarily true for all cultures. Some cultures will ground coffee so find that they simply drink it with it still in the cup. Coffee is actually a very diverse drink that differs from culture to culture, but we will be focusing mainly on the microcosm of the small Starbucks that I work in.
Now the research I conducted was contained within just the store that I work in. I can tell you firsthand what my observations are on people during all parts of the day, which is usually divided in the Morning, Midday, and Night.
I walk into my Starbucks at 5:30 am. There’s already a few patrons who have gotten their coffee, but it’s not quite busy yet. It’s quiet in the café, but this does not seem to be the case on the work floor. On the work floor are Baristas who have already been working since 4 am. They are preparing in a mad rush for the eventual rush that is the crucial point of business time in the store. How we perform during the rush defines a lot of what kind of store we are. Are we a store that can get all of the customers out at a reasonable time with their orders done correctly? Or are we a store that will be consistently slow with the drinks made wrong?
The clock hits 7 am, and the store is in full swing. Since we are also a Drive-Thru store, significant attention is given to the times and accuracy of orders at that station. This is the time of day people are just waking up and going to work. I spoke to both Baristas and Customers on specifically what they expect to happen when they come to the store during these early hours.
One Barista says, “I think that people just aren’t in a good mood in the morning. Part of our job is to get their order correct, but to also start their day off in a good way.”
One regular named Camille had this to say, “Look, it’s just a cup of coffee. I want it fast and I want it fresh. I don’t care about the guy getting a Frappuccino or whatever, so can you just give me a water with my coffee too?”
Camille is a regular who has been coming to our Starbucks for years, and has always been a good sounding board of problems we might be having with our products, and how we work.
In the context of the morning, coffee is almost this sacred product. Regardless of how long it takes, people will wait for it. Even if it does not taste good to them, they will still take what they can get. They will grumble, and they will take a lot of sugars from the condiment bar, but they will drink that coffee. So perhaps it is not so much the coffee they need, but the caffeine.
To understand these coffee drinkers just a little bit more; it’s not that they are necessarily coffee lovers, but are instead caffeine addicts. Speaking to one of my co-workers, she had this to say, “I don’t even like coffee that much but if I didn’t drink coffee until around twelve I would get a headache.” I believe there is a real addiction to caffeine in our store and our area in general. The way these coffee drinkers view the beverage is simple a means to an end, or a supplement that is meant to improve who they are. For some it is simply ritualistic. “I just like to start all my mornings off with something hot and warm.” Says John, a 5am regular. For a lot of people the caffeine is great, but they’ve also grown accustomed to liking their particular coffee at a particular part of the day as part of routine. Calling them caffeine addicts wouldn’t be entirely fair, although coffee is less of this special drink to them and still more a means to an end, that end being the practice of their ritual.
This breaks up the Morning customers into two main groups, the Caffeine Addicts and the Moderates. The Caffeine Addicts rely on their fix to help them through the day, and the Moderates like what they know about coffee and are content with just that.
As the Morning rush subsides, we enter in to the Midday. Most of the Caffeine Addicts and Moderates are away at work and you begin to see a different crowd of people. The store is now in this time period where people who have free time will begin to come for various reasons. Some of those Caffeine Addicts and Moderates are back for their lunches, but you also have College to Elementary level students who come to study or hang out. Families will come to treat their kids, or a meeting might be held between two business parties. While some will order coffee, more often than not these people aren’t here with the specific goal of a coffee based drink, they’re here for the sweet flavors and milk that Starbucks has to offer. They’re here for the fun lattes and Frappuccino’s. It’s ok that its coffee flavored, and they’re OK with that, but it’s not the primary directive of their order. They care neither for the flavor of their coffee nor the caffeine content (as long as it’s already reasonable) as long as they get the flavor of their choice. This is mostly the Midday. Added to the fact that it’s usually hotter around this time, most people will be ordering Frappuccino’s.
I call this group of people the Apathetics, mainly because their attitude to the coffee aspect of their drink is tepid at most. For example, a customer comes in and wants to order a Caramel Frappuccino. They’ve ordered this drink before and have never been asked questions about it before. They find it difficult and even a little scary to order anything outside of what they know, risking dirty looks from their barista and other customers. But today when they order the Caramel Frappuccino, the Barista asks them something they were not prepared for. “Would you like that with the coffee?”
“The coffee?” they ask. “I wasn’t aware it was made with coffee.” The Barista then has to explain that the Caramel Frappuccino is by default made with coffee in its recipe, but that they thought the customer might not want the caffeine and asked to make sure. The customer shrugs, glad to learn something new but not ready to change the drink of their preference.
“I’ll order it just the way it comes.”
Just from observing my co-workers, a lot of them do not take kindly to Apathetics as their orders are often hard to follow and take longer than the average drink to make. This also creates a problem in categorizing the Apathetics as it splits them into the two groups, the Basic Apathetic to the Complex Apathetic. Neither have a particular disposition towards coffee in general, but one will not leave the safe space of their already limited understanding of the Starbucks menu and how it works, while the other group attempts to take full advantage of it.
Although the Barista may highly dislike the Complex Apathetic, the Complex Apathetics more times than not really enjoy their drinks and the ordering complicated ordering process. Most of them are excited to try something new or sweet, and although it is a risk because there is no guarantee that the recipe they found online will be something they like, they are still glad they tried it.
I call this group of people the Apathetics, mainly because their attitude to the coffee aspect of their drink is tepid at most. For example, a customer comes in and wants to order a Caramel Frappuccino. They’ve ordered this drink before and have never been asked questions about it before. They find it difficult and even a little scary to order anything outside of what they know, risking dirty looks from their barista and other customers. But today when they order the Caramel Frappuccino, the Barista asks them something they were not prepared for. “Would you like that with the coffee?”
“The coffee?” they ask. “I wasn’t aware it was made with coffee.” The Barista then has to explain that the Caramel Frappuccino is by default made with coffee in its recipe, but that they thought the customer might not want the caffeine and asked to make sure. The customer shrugs, glad to learn something new but not ready to change the drink of their preference.
“I’ll order it just the way it comes.”
Just from observing my co-workers, a lot of them do not take kindly to Apathetics as their orders are often hard to follow and take longer than the average drink to make. This also creates a problem in categorizing the Apathetics as it splits them into the two groups, the Basic Apathetic to the Complex Apathetic. Neither have a particular disposition towards coffee in general, but one will not leave the safe space of their already limited understanding of the Starbucks menu and how it works, while the other group attempts to take full advantage of it.
Although the Barista may highly dislike the Complex Apathetic, the Complex Apathetics more times than not really enjoy their drinks and the ordering complicated ordering process. Most of them are excited to try something new or sweet, and although it is a risk because there is no guarantee that the recipe they found online will be something they like, they are still glad they tried it.
Perhaps it is important to delve a little more into knowing what the general consensus is toward Starbucks as a company and how they have perhaps lost some of their touch according to a critical coffee industry. People in the coffee industry are passionate about coffee as an art, and they are another group of customer who you will rarely see in a corporate Starbucks outside of Seattle; I call them the Passionates. They often avoid Starbucks and are disappointed when they walk into one.
The Passionates of the coffee industry look down on Starbucks for a few reasons, one of them being their growth into “coffee-related drinks” that betray the essence of simple coffee on its own. That isn’t to say that drinks like Lattes or coffee-based desserts aren’t made in other cafes, but the particular path that Starbucks has gone down takes the coffee from the center stage, and puts the sweetness to the forefront. They also look down on Starbucks decision to automate their espresso. Any Passonate/Passionate Barista will tell you that a Barista/Café basic is to serve espresso that has been tamped by hand and pulled directly from an espresso machine as opposed to simply pressing a button. Passionates are also not preferential to the flavor of Starbucks coffee, often resorting to descriptions like “burnt” or “bitter”. Passionates more often than not consider themselves as part of the Third-Wave Coffee movement which can fill an entire other paper in discussion, but to be brief, this is a group of coffee drinkers and customers who prefer their coffee to be light roasted and as fresh as possible, as well as perfectly made.
This isn’t to say that there isn’t a passion for coffee amongst the Starbucks Baristas. Night has finally come around, and the store isn’t as busy anymore. This is often a time I have personally found to be a great time to train baristas in coffee knowledge, and see if the spark of passion can be made in some of them. Baristas love to learn about coffee as it connects them more with the customers they interact with. Not all of them will necessarily even like coffee, but none can deny the usefulness of the knowledge that can be used to navigate them through customer questions or even questions that they may have for themselves.
The Night is usually more calm, and aside from Complex and Basic Apathetics flooding in with their orders, that is usually the typical groups of customers that inhabit your local Starbucks. I’m about to pack my notebook and go home, thinking my observations are complete. I’m walking past the registers when I hear a man in a suit begin with, “I have several things to order…”
This brings me to the last group of customers on my list, the Runners. Runners are particularly difficult because they are not simply ordering a drink for themselves, they are ordering for the entire, office/crew/family. These can range from six drink to twenty-six.
We have now classified five main groups of coffee drinkers, with Runners sort-of being a part of it. Moderates, Caffeine Addicts, Complex and Basic Apathetics, and Passionates. This brings me to the conclusion that coffee is a drink, regardless of the form it comes in, a unifying drink that can bring people of all types together. Coffee is a versatile product that can be applied into so many areas, and can fit so many different motivations simply based on the types of coffee drinkers there are for a given coffee shop.
The Passionates of the coffee industry look down on Starbucks for a few reasons, one of them being their growth into “coffee-related drinks” that betray the essence of simple coffee on its own. That isn’t to say that drinks like Lattes or coffee-based desserts aren’t made in other cafes, but the particular path that Starbucks has gone down takes the coffee from the center stage, and puts the sweetness to the forefront. They also look down on Starbucks decision to automate their espresso. Any Passonate/Passionate Barista will tell you that a Barista/Café basic is to serve espresso that has been tamped by hand and pulled directly from an espresso machine as opposed to simply pressing a button. Passionates are also not preferential to the flavor of Starbucks coffee, often resorting to descriptions like “burnt” or “bitter”. Passionates more often than not consider themselves as part of the Third-Wave Coffee movement which can fill an entire other paper in discussion, but to be brief, this is a group of coffee drinkers and customers who prefer their coffee to be light roasted and as fresh as possible, as well as perfectly made.
This isn’t to say that there isn’t a passion for coffee amongst the Starbucks Baristas. Night has finally come around, and the store isn’t as busy anymore. This is often a time I have personally found to be a great time to train baristas in coffee knowledge, and see if the spark of passion can be made in some of them. Baristas love to learn about coffee as it connects them more with the customers they interact with. Not all of them will necessarily even like coffee, but none can deny the usefulness of the knowledge that can be used to navigate them through customer questions or even questions that they may have for themselves.
The Night is usually more calm, and aside from Complex and Basic Apathetics flooding in with their orders, that is usually the typical groups of customers that inhabit your local Starbucks. I’m about to pack my notebook and go home, thinking my observations are complete. I’m walking past the registers when I hear a man in a suit begin with, “I have several things to order…”
This brings me to the last group of customers on my list, the Runners. Runners are particularly difficult because they are not simply ordering a drink for themselves, they are ordering for the entire, office/crew/family. These can range from six drink to twenty-six.
We have now classified five main groups of coffee drinkers, with Runners sort-of being a part of it. Moderates, Caffeine Addicts, Complex and Basic Apathetics, and Passionates. This brings me to the conclusion that coffee is a drink, regardless of the form it comes in, a unifying drink that can bring people of all types together. Coffee is a versatile product that can be applied into so many areas, and can fit so many different motivations simply based on the types of coffee drinkers there are for a given coffee shop.
Assignment:
Writing Project 2: Ethnography
Background and Overview
For Writing Project 1, you examined a ritual, practice, behavior, or habit (what we will generically refer to as a “cultural phenomenon”) in your personal life to better understand your cultural identity, relying on the conventions of autoethnography to write about it from a first-person perspective. In many ways, you crafted a narrative (or story) that explained how and why this cultural phenomenon defined who you are as an individual.
For Writing Project 2, we are going to ask you to look beyond your own identity to the identity of a larger cultural group or community to which you belong. We are all a part of multiple, different, sometimes even contradictory cultural groups or communities: through our families, we might be connected to a specific ethnic or racial community; our religion might connect us to another community; the music we listen to might connect us to another group; sports activities might connect us to yet another community. This assignment asks you to choose one of these groups or communities to which you belong and to investigate it.
You will investigate this group or community in order to inform others about what these cultural phenomena suggest about the community and its values, beliefs, and practices. This will give you and your readers greater insight into how the group or community understands and defines its own identity. As an insider, you may think you already know your community well. However, one of the goals of the project is to challenge your own preconceptions and reflect more deeply on what defines this group. To this end, you will engage in research as a participant-observer, meaning you will engage in primary research—interviews, observations, and field notes—to understand this cultural phenomenon from the inside out.
Requirements and Deliverables
1. In your essay, you should include a narrative structure that tells the story of how you conducted your research.
2. You should summarize, explain, and discuss the results of your close, detailed observations and field notes in a way that is understandable to your readers.
3. You should also summarize, explain, and discuss the results of your interview(s).
4. Drawing upon your observations, field notes, and interview materials, your essay should present your reflections and insights on the community or group you have researched. Your primary insight should derive from your synthesis of the data you have accumulated: your observations, field notes, and interview materials. You should discuss this material at length, explaining how it supports or frames your insight, what it suggests about the role of specific beliefs, values, and practices in defining the community, and drawing conclusions about why and how the community defines itself.
5. Your essay should be organized in such a way that a reader can follow your thinking and reasoning from paragraph to paragraph and within each paragraph. Your primary insight should help to structure the essay for the reader.
6. You should include 2‐3 multimodal elements such as photographs (of the people, sites, activities, and artifacts that you have researched), hyperlinks to relevant materials, clips of audio or video from recorded interviews, and so forth. You must make sure that your reader understands why you are including these elements and why including them enriches your piece of writing. Consider what media beyond text might reinforce your main idea to readers, convey in another way the significance of your autoethnography, and/or appeal to your readers from a different register.
7. Your completed essay should have a title and be approximately 1700 words in length.
Project Submission
- Rough Draft: Your rough draft will be submitted for peer review and to your e-portfolio.
- Revised Draft: Your revised draft should be uploaded to your e-portfolio.
Tips
- Get started early.
- Review this week’s materials and discussions.
- Set a writing/research schedule and stick to it.
Writing Project 2: Ethnography
Background and Overview
For Writing Project 1, you examined a ritual, practice, behavior, or habit (what we will generically refer to as a “cultural phenomenon”) in your personal life to better understand your cultural identity, relying on the conventions of autoethnography to write about it from a first-person perspective. In many ways, you crafted a narrative (or story) that explained how and why this cultural phenomenon defined who you are as an individual.
For Writing Project 2, we are going to ask you to look beyond your own identity to the identity of a larger cultural group or community to which you belong. We are all a part of multiple, different, sometimes even contradictory cultural groups or communities: through our families, we might be connected to a specific ethnic or racial community; our religion might connect us to another community; the music we listen to might connect us to another group; sports activities might connect us to yet another community. This assignment asks you to choose one of these groups or communities to which you belong and to investigate it.
You will investigate this group or community in order to inform others about what these cultural phenomena suggest about the community and its values, beliefs, and practices. This will give you and your readers greater insight into how the group or community understands and defines its own identity. As an insider, you may think you already know your community well. However, one of the goals of the project is to challenge your own preconceptions and reflect more deeply on what defines this group. To this end, you will engage in research as a participant-observer, meaning you will engage in primary research—interviews, observations, and field notes—to understand this cultural phenomenon from the inside out.
Requirements and Deliverables
1. In your essay, you should include a narrative structure that tells the story of how you conducted your research.
2. You should summarize, explain, and discuss the results of your close, detailed observations and field notes in a way that is understandable to your readers.
3. You should also summarize, explain, and discuss the results of your interview(s).
4. Drawing upon your observations, field notes, and interview materials, your essay should present your reflections and insights on the community or group you have researched. Your primary insight should derive from your synthesis of the data you have accumulated: your observations, field notes, and interview materials. You should discuss this material at length, explaining how it supports or frames your insight, what it suggests about the role of specific beliefs, values, and practices in defining the community, and drawing conclusions about why and how the community defines itself.
5. Your essay should be organized in such a way that a reader can follow your thinking and reasoning from paragraph to paragraph and within each paragraph. Your primary insight should help to structure the essay for the reader.
6. You should include 2‐3 multimodal elements such as photographs (of the people, sites, activities, and artifacts that you have researched), hyperlinks to relevant materials, clips of audio or video from recorded interviews, and so forth. You must make sure that your reader understands why you are including these elements and why including them enriches your piece of writing. Consider what media beyond text might reinforce your main idea to readers, convey in another way the significance of your autoethnography, and/or appeal to your readers from a different register.
7. Your completed essay should have a title and be approximately 1700 words in length.
Project Submission
- Rough Draft: Your rough draft will be submitted for peer review and to your e-portfolio.
- Revised Draft: Your revised draft should be uploaded to your e-portfolio.
Tips
- Get started early.
- Review this week’s materials and discussions.
- Set a writing/research schedule and stick to it.