feature image via shutterstock.com
Coffee and queers go together like espresso and mocha syrup. We are forever thankful for all you baristas out there doing the goddess’ work of caffeinating us day in and day out all while looking hot in a beanie. It’s National Coffee Day and we’re celebrating by telling you our barista crush and coffee shop stories, ranging from Mary Lambert’s “She Keeps Me Warm” music video cute to being dumped at a coffee shop not-so-cute.
Carmen: My first-ever date with a girl was at a coffee shop! My friends saw how nervous I was and drove me to the coffee shop like my parents would in some sort of subverted Pleasantville scenario, driving away screaming “HAVE A GOOD TIME AND MAKE GOOD CHOICES!” in downtown DC. Obviously the best way to start stuff off.
Gabby: A Starbucks barista hollered at me by telling me I was cute and she wanted to chill. She slipped me a coffee sleeve and a black sharpie. I wrote my number down, got free coffee. Ended up dating her for eight years. Huge mistake, worst relationship ever buuuttt the free coffee in the beginning was dope.
You’re the only one who understands me and the fact that you really do have to brew a fresh pot every 30 minutes or it tastes burnt (via shutterstock)
Stef: Let me know when we do a roundtable about the hot tattooed lez at the pizza place, aka the Pizza Lesbian. The stuff of legends.
Rachel: And her sistren, the Thai Food Delivery Lesbian.
Stef: If I found a Thai food delivery lesbian I would never leave my apartment again.
Mey: I once had a girl break up with me from what I thought was going to be a long term relationship in a coffee shop because she was “betrothed” (her words) to a guy in the military and he was returning from overseas soon.
Kaitlyn: I flirted with a barista and got unlimited free coffee for like six months, but it was a dude :/ You do what you gotta do to get your caffeine fix for college all-nighters.
Gabby: Word, ain’t no shame, Kaitlyn.
Is she queer or does flannel just hide coffee grounds really well (via shutterstock)
Chelsey: The only women who have ever hit on me out in the real world have been Starbucks baristas. I also dated someone who, halfway through our relationship, became a barista. So I clearly have a long and storied gay history with coffee.
Rachel: When I interviewed for the barista job I held for four years at a Dirtbag Hipster Coffee Shop, they had me play fuck/marry/kill with the current employees, and I chose one of the female baristas for ‘fuck.’ I found out later a major part of why they had hired me was because they thought it would be cool to have a lesbian on staff.
Robin: I’ve definitely also flirted with dude and lady baristas for free coffee, and then when I was a barista I’d comp my favorite flirters, too. Gotta pay the flirty karma forward or something.
She really knows how to steam my almond milk if you know what I mean (via shutterstock)
Laneia: My bestie/the first girl I truly loved was a barista and she’d make me fancy-sounding delicious drinks for free because she loved me too, she just didn’t want to marry me and that’s ok you guys. I’d meet her for breaks and we’d smoke cigarettes and make fun of the middle aged guys who hit on her, and I felt like the coolest person on earth because free coffee does that to you. Then I’d go home and wait for her to get off work and come drink cheap beer with me. ANYWAY I still order demi fucking espresso con panna with a pack of raw sugar for sprinkling on top EVEN THOUGH the baristas usually give me dirty looks because they think i’m being a pompous snobby bitch (and ok maybe I am) and I don’t care because it’s DELICIOUS and sounds FANCY. So anyway, falling in love with a barista basically ruined every coffee-going experience for me forever.
Audrey: For my last two years of college I went to the same coffee shop every Sunday night with my best friend Dana to “do our homework” and “write our theses” and I had real serious crushes on the dude barista (and I knew it, and he probably did too) and the lady barista (and she probably knew it, and I was confused). She moved away and he quit, and I came out as bisexual and gave up on love forever, the end, maybe I will marry a latte.
Grace: I have a lot of coffee shop stories, but one of the latest ones is this: Last week or so, a girl hit on me by complimenting my hair, and I didn’t know what to say besides “thank you” because I was so surprised, and neither of us knew how to direct the conversation, so we continued talking about where we get our hair cut? And then the barista called my name so I got my drink and immediately left because I didn’t know what else to do.
And then she asked if I wanted whipped cream but she wasn’t talking about my coffee
What about you? Do you have any coffee shop stories? Have you ever been hit on at a coffee shop or had a crush on a barista? What’s your favorite kind of coffee? Let us know in the comments!
I had a hardcore crush on the cute human at my local coffee shop. One day I was sitting with my (now ex)girlfriend and telling her how perfect this human was and basically how much I wanted her to go away so we could be together. She cleared her throat to signal that cute human was standing right behind me awkwardly. I quickly changed the topic and avoided coffee shop forever.
Of course since it’s coffee day I drank tea today instead. Mostly that’s because we are out of milk in the house, however. But I did lure my coworker into a 20 minute conversation about nitro/carbonated coffee on tap…
I used to be a barista on my college campus (motley shout out at Scripps woot woot). We had a missed connection type website floating around campus at the time where you could anonymously post about crushes. I had enough posts about me that I became “barista boy” when people referred to me as I was the only boy working at the motley at the time. This is probably because I made cute animal latte art in every drink? I had more struggles working with all the gorgeous baristas on my shifts than I did with our customers though!
“Coffee and queers go together like espresso and mocha syrup.”
Oh my god, yes. At least that’s the case for this queer kid (who just happens to be at a coffee shop right now).
I went out for coffee with two different people I liked (including a TA…) when I was freshly out in college. I don’t know what caused it, but after getting over both heartbreaks, I noticed myself mentally picking out cute baristas at any coffee shop I’d go to – Starbucks, local chains, wherever. It sounds weird but it works I guess. :P
Not gonna lie, part of me wishes I had that moment a’la Mary Lambert in She Keeps Me Warm, haha. But for now, I’m totally fine with anyone – especially cute girls who could possibly be queer – giving me my daily dose of caffeine.
(I don’t have a problem, you do.)
My girlfriend freshman year of high school was a barista at a wonderful smelling coffee shop chocolatier-patissier. I’d make my lame 8th grade friends go there to show off how cool I was for having an older girlfriend.
Ha!
Back when I was figuring myself out, I developed a crush on a barista who also had a crush on me. I didn’t know that she did until she convinced one of her regulars to bring me a hot flavoured coffee and a muffin to my work (which was a block away).
We went out on a few date but I wasn’t feeling it. I did, however, fall deeply and madly in love with one of her good friends (whom I also met in a coffee shop for the first time) and we dated for a while.
The end.
My first girlfriend was a barista. We dated for a few months in college, then broke up at a chain coffee shop just off campus. We met up at an indie coffee shop much later and she was engaged and we were cool.
A few years ago at another chain location (downtown Toronto is saturated with chains and indie shops), I kept eyeing a barista I’d see once or twice a week during work. My friend encouraged me to ask her out after a few weeks of casual looks and conversation, and I did on the spot… Only to be turned down as she was already dating someone. Being a good lesbro, he brought me to the nearest bar for a pint immediately afterwards.
I’ve had better luck with women anywhere else, but for whatever reason, coffee shops are the pits for me!
I closed down a coffee shop with a cute human I met at Autostraddle speed dating, talking about labor politics and our cats.
She was a cool person and I kinda miss her.
There’s this little drive-thru coffee place near my house and it’s ladybug themed. It’s kind of kitschy-cute; the building is painted red with black polka dots, even the windows are covered. Our whole family was pretty shocked when the window opened and we discovered that the baristas only wear lingerie. Because that is a thing, which we did not discover until moving to Washington.
1. Another reason for me to visit Seattle.
2. I’d be scared for any clumsy employee possibly scalding themselves for lack of clothing.
3. That outing sounded like some awkward family fun!
I had to do a video for the super mainstream publication I worked for OregonLive.com/The Oregonian once about the opening of “Bikini Coffee” in downtown Portland. I mean I was the Living and Entertainment Producer but I was the only female so that’s also probably why they made me do it. I wonder if it’s still up there…
http://videos.oregonlive.com/oregonlive/2008/07/bikini_coffee_companys_grand_o.html
….um… not many things render me speechless. I want your job.
Definitely wanting to read the pizza and Thai delivery stories now!
Also, I don’t drink coffee but seeing cute queer-looking baristas always makes me want to start.
Gabby’s was so promising and then not promising at all :(((
also, while I have never actually flirted/done anything remotely “romantic” at a coffeeshop, i did sit in close proximity to this butch professor almost every day this summer while she graded papers. i took a lot of selfies of me freaking out and put them on tumblr.
GRACE HORSE STRIKES AGAIN.
My current crush(?) and I hung out for the first time after school at McDonalds, we both ordered two small iced coffees with ten sugars and ten creams. I had a lot of fun, and while it was never technically a date per se, she’s one of my best friends at school and we always have fun when we hang out.
The girl I’m currently dating (its not official…yet) is the manager and main (and best) barista at one of Australia’s chain coffee/food stores. I don’t wanna look like a stalker you guys, because the store is out of my way and I don’t have many excuses for why I’m “just there”. Otherwise I’d drink myself to caffeine heart palpitations just to be able to sit and be around her and watch her work (I think I may have a barista-at-work-meets-bossy-manager fantasy you guys!!).
I loved your stories, you all make me laugh so much!
So I worked at a coffee shop last year while depressed and directionless and was only hired because the terrifying, gorgeous punk manager kind of knew me? I hated it, mostly because I got hit on by over-confident penises on the regular (I look supa straiii) but also because I hate people, especially uncaffeinated caffeine snobs (I’m a caffeinated caffeine snob). Relevancy!: manager lady turned out to be bi and we hooked up a few times, despite the fact that she would constantly bemoan her man problems to me. Of course, I was all, “this is totally not confusing and fucked up and extra soul-crushing and may I have another rye on rocks?” So I quit and moved to Brazil. Problem solved. (or was it?) (it was not)
Also, this is my first comment on Autostraddle after over two years of inhaling all the free content (thank you!!) and I feel weird that it’s on a coffee crush thread? I mean, I feel strongly about my cold brew, but this is what drove me out of the shadows?
YAY!!! I’m so glad you commented!! I am actually super giddy with joy for you over coming out of aforementioned shadows! I know what you mean…. I’ve been lurking for 3 years, and then there was this awesome Friday open thread, and I then I have commented on ALL THE THINGS in that thread, and am hitting the like button on things as though I’m expecting Pavlovian candy in return. ANYWAY. That’s super lame about your gorgeous punk manager. But pretty awesome about moving to Brazil. Are you a barista there?
Given that I drink more alcohol than coffee, I dedicate this comment to all of the queermo bartenders who never carded me when I was 20 and pretended not to notice when I left my number on napkin(s) and probably made an ass of myself. Thank you, beautiful humans who got me tipsy. Thank you.
Needless to say, I became a bartender like 75% because I’m a socially awkward queer who looks forward to the flirts each and every shift. #lifegoals
Ahhhh, I loved these stories! They’re all so precious.
Getting coffee or tea is usually one of my first date activities, near and dear to my heart. One date I went on, I wasn’t sure if it was a date, but she knew literally everyone at the coffee shop (staff and customers) because it was so small, and her sister ended up coming by which was weird for me. We sat outside and the people she knew inside would occasionally all look out at us at the same time. She paid at the end, so it was a date (and I had no idea)! She was actually really cute and cool, but we both got busy and I ended up dating a different girl (now ex).. I’ve been thinking about seeing what she’s been up to.. we’ll see!
Sidenote: Tinder. It works if you live in a college town!
Ahhh…Coffee shop queers. The barista at the shop I went to for yeeeaaarrrsss made me realize that I truly loved the ladies. I loved her so much I couldn’t talk to her, couldn’t linger for too long lest she know my true intentions. Only when I told my friends who were visiting town that I had a crush on her did I realize that I meant it and that life would not be the same again.
Finally one day out of the blue she told me how she’d broken up with her ex, and so then I broke up with my then boyfriend, and made my move. We dated for a year and I came into my own queeriness and never looked back.
When we broke up I thought I lost my coffee shop too. But then she quit the shop, and I’ve been back like nothing ever happened/like everything good happened exactly how it should have happened.
Something is happening to the cockles of my heart… they’re warming, nice and toasty-like.
I’ve come out to a lot of people in coffee shops, so the increase in heart rate from too much coffee and the adrenaline of coming out have a strong correlation in my mind.
My first date with a girl was at a coffee shop! It was an OKCupid date that was very awkward and I never saw her again after that. We spent most of the date talking about how weird OKCupid is. Internet dating!
Earlier this year I was on a date with who I thought was my dream girl at a coffee shop. This was our third date and everything was going a little too well (we appeared to have identical personalities and hobbies, and this worried me a little). Toward the end of our 2-3 hour conversation, I picked up my phone which had been buzzing the entire night with notifications which were all from my parents. I told her I’d be right back and headed toward the back of the shop where there’s a little private area. I called my mom who told me my grandma had passed away suddenly. I became a hysterical wreck. After composing myself, I told her what had happened and we headed out. She was kind about everything but needless to say, I haven’t seen her since.
I’m sorry about your gran! But you should maybe text/creep this girl and see if she’s interested in reconnecting?
I was incredibly in love with a barista who was 16 years older than me. Would talk to her for hours, but it only got to the point where she put her arm around me even though she liked me too, just because of age differences. One day she decided we should talk less and things went downhill and now I can’t go to the one coffee shop that’s good anywhere near me. That’s the story. I miss her.
:<
The most recent crush I had on a barista was a two year saga (in my mind at least). I used to play bingo at a cafe and was always afraid to talk to the cute barista that worked there. Eventually bingo stopped but I would see her around all over the Bay Area. Every time I would see her I would tell my friends and most of the time it was on BART so she got the nickname Bart girl. Eventually almost two years after first seeing her I finally talked to her at a party and turns out she had been seeing me all over the bay too and talked to her friends about me as well. Maybe I was Bart boy? Who knows! It didn’t work out but cool story and maybe I should learn to talk to people at the beginning of a two year Bay Area crush.
EVAN, GO FOR IT.
This is incredibly on-point, I went to a coffee shop on the way to work this morning and the only staff there was cute queer-looking girls. I got so bashful I could barely order.
Last weekend I went to a coffee shop that’s known as a queer girl hangout spot, and the cute barista said she loved my shirt, then I ruined the moment with a classic international student problem because tipping culture makes no sense.
“If I found a Thai food delivery lesbian I would never leave my apartment again.”
Yes. Yes yes. Best thing I’ve read all day.
I have had many a barista crush. They are very similar to bartender crushes, and I’ve had a bunch of those too. Cute girls making me fancy tasty (technically containing mind altering substances) beverages that I can’t figure out how to make on my own? The stuff of dreams!
Man i am so jealous!!! I don’t think i’ve ever been hit on when im ordering my coffee =/. Someone should notice me soon enough since fall is coming
Not a barista thing, but coffee related: one morning while we were drinking coffee together my ex explained this thing to me called the “sit, sip and stare.” Or maybe it was the “sit, sip and sigh?” Basically you sit with your coffee, sip it, and then stare off/sigh/contemplate the universe. The coffee ritual!
I do the sit-sip-and-sigh-thing all the time, and I probably look a bit silly when I do it :) and if someone gives me coffee I love them just a little bit.
I don’t have any queer or flirty coffee stories just came to celebrate the usageof the plural form of thesis.
But however I do have distant memory of what have been the first time I was served coffee. It was in a Café Du Monde, we were getting beignets. My grandfather ordered me a café au lait.
I remember his smiling face as he explained the tradition, the sun shining through his wispy hairs and my own escapee hair wisps.
I felt very grown up in my sundress and buckled sandals. He was so tall, larger than life. Never did I know until it was too late that he was fluent in French, but I will always have his stories.
Café au lait (pronounced: cafe oh lay) is milk with coffee in case y’all were wondering.
Considering where I am from if I’m out of town or stuck somewhere that doesn’t have Community Coffee the was I take my coffee is in the darkest roast available with one sugar.
Otherwise it’s just the Original Community Blend or Chicory Blend they call it now with a sugar.
After a month of teasing, going out, suspecting, fearing and myself going mad with the doubt, my current girlfriend and I confessed to eachother that we had crushes on eachother in a very bohemian cafe by the sea here :) Afterwards we snuggled by the beach (thinking back on it still gives me tingles).
Throughout the three years that we have been with eachother we have developed a hobby for hunting down the best coffee we can find. We even started writing down the coffee shops we visited and grading the quality of the espressos we bought (we kind gave up on that and just frequent our favourites).
Okay we need a rom-com of this stat, or at least a well drawn cute little comic short.
So sweet <3
first date with a girl: coffee shop
same girl dumped me: coffee shop 4 blocks away
coffee…
Autostraddle is once more pleasantly relevant. I’ve been studying coffee vocabulary all evening and finding a way to make myself a little less qualified on my resume so that I can go get a barista job tomorrow morning. I’m a 28 year old student, so I’ve done too much to easily get a retail job, but not enough to save enough money for next semester, so here goes nothing. :D
Also, I’ve picked up way more women in coffee shops than I would ever dream of trying in a bar. Baristas always scare me though. I never flirt with the baristas – what if I do something wrong, and they spit in my coffee? Ugh. Terrible.
So I’ve got a little crush on the barista at the one good cafe in my neighborhood, which is right across from my building. I’m not sure if I should go for it and risk having to avoid my favorite cafe here or not.
Other stories. One time in grad school there was also only one good cafe, and one of the baristas was really beautiful (and also the only one who could do the milk in my cappuccino right), and she kept making significant eye contact with me. Rather than do anything useful with that, I kind of freaked out because I couldn’t figure out how she knew I was queer (practically no one ever guesses), or why this girl who was at least ten years younger than me and looked like a Hard Femme Tumblr came to life was interested in me.
I don’t drink caffeine.
WOMP WOMP
I was out at a coffee shop with my best friend shortly after I came out, and I commented that I thought the barista was really cute. And that’s how I found out my best friend was homophobic and now I need a new best friend.
Oh my god, that was a downer!
Wow, lots of these stories are outrageously disheartening. I vote people stop attending coffee shops with any romantic intentions, ever. Forever.
Also, Americano is just wrong. Does anyone else agree?
Yes Americano is wrong, but I could just have a quasi Italian bias on that, because I believe that all coffee should be espresso- with no added water- based.
ah but the etymology of it is so right! story goes that american GIs in france in WW2 couldn’t handle the strong/not out of a can espresso that was available in cafes, so the french watered it down for them… voila, espresso and water, dubbed americano!
First date with girlfriend was at a place with ‘coffee house’ in the title, but we ended up getting cream tea (yay scones!) because 95% of the time, if I’m in Britain and suggest ‘getting coffee’ with someone I end up drinking tea. Now that I’m in Spain, meeting people for coffee actually involves coffee.
Ok so I’m at a disadvantage given that coffee is not our national drink, tea is…and people in tearooms tend not to be hot baristas,they tend to be real life versions of Mrs Potts. Regardless I have had two Starbucks barista experiences.
1: my then gf and I, back in ’01, went to the brand new Starbucks on the reg and met a lovely Barista who gave us the Les nod…you know the one. Long story short she was the gateway to the local gay community which we dove into headfirst and never looked back. Gf and I split up and Gf told them all to hate me…they didn’t. Barista and I ended up with a mutual respect pact to not sleep with each other and stayed drinking buddies for years.
2: Regular college coffee run for my chai tea latte resulted in a flirty barista who made strong chai, win! Told missus who gave me her blessing to keep getting the good chai through flirty means. Then that Starbucks closed down. Turned out Barista was my mates sister, ran into her out one night when she was sloppy drunk celebrating moving in with her gf, she told me she shouldn’t talk to me too much because her gf would get jealous and tapped her nose…and missed, then offered me bootleg chai syrup. I was sober. Pretty funny but saved from the awkwardness of having to see her as aforementioned shop had closed.
I don’t have as many stories specifically about coffee shops, but generally speaking about the food and service industries, my wife and I must be some sort of magnet for flirty waitresses/bartenders/store cashiers/etc. Occasionally it’ll just be one or the other of us, but it seems to happen exponentially more frequently when both of us are present, even (especially?) when we do things to make it very clear that we’re a couple like asking for one check or talking within earshot of the waitress about shared living logistics. We’ve both been coming to realize as of late that poly is probably a label we should start applying to ourselves, so I don’t know if we’ve just always had some poly-dar neon sign on our heads that says, “hi, twentysomething lesbians looking for a potential third, all applicants please apply with lingering hands on arms and anecdotes about how male customers are the worst while handing us the check,” but it’s a strangely frequent occurrence for people who would seem to be already accounted for relationship-wise by outsiders.
Strictly speaking about coffee shops, though, when I was in high school and early college, I had a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend who worked at Starbucks who would always prepare up my drink ahead of time whenever he saw me come in and give me the employee discount if there was no manager watching. I assume there was some element of flirting involved, although he never made any move beyond that in half a decade, so maybe not. I was already past the point of making much outward effort to be attracted to men, but he was a sweet kid and saved me a lot of money in the long run.
There was also this one girl who worked at a coffee shop downtown who was one of the most stunningly gorgeous women I’ve seen. Let me tell you, our number of trips to that particular coffee shop peaked significantly while she was working there.
(This post is making me want a latte very badly now.)
I go to a coffee shop every morning before work and journal (and stare out the window and sigh and look really cool, basically) and both the baristas who work there are super cute and have my order memorized. One of them always charges me less than the other and I thought they were just super into me, but the other day I finally realized that they just give me a medium instead of a large. Siiiigh, no free coffee for me.
Oh man, if everyone is meeting so many cute queer girls at coffee shops, I’m going to have to start going to them way more often! Gotta check out all the neighborhood spots for hot baristas to flirt with.
I used to flirt with my barista, then we started dating and I used to get all sorts of free coffee. Now she still makes me coffee most mornings but is in law school and no longer a barista.
The only missed connection ever directed towards me (as far as I know) was from a barista at Starbucks and I actually read the missed connection later that same day at a different Starbucks, so yeah. Also I saw the cutest queer couple at the first Starbucks one time and had some kind of baby!queer loneliness meltdown and cried in the bathroom for a while and wrote a poem about it. Also first date and first breakup was in a Starbucks. Such a queer place guys.
I dated a barista for about 4 months. Pretty bad decision. But due to my study habits, I have become friends with many baristas in my town and they’re awesome little dorks.
My wife is a Barista!! She wasn’t when we met, she had a high powered suit job but then a few years later we sold all our worldly belongings, travelled for 6 months and now we live on the other side of the world and she makes coffee (and incidentally is a lot lot happier than when she made a lot of money in an office).
The place she works at is independent and uses fair trade coffee from a small local roastery so it’s made me much more of a coffee snob. On our days off together we like to go around our city and try new independent cafés and have pretentious conversations about their blend and flavour. :)
I’ve given up on starbucks ever since I found out they blocked autostraddle on their wifi! Cafe nero does waaay better cheesecake anyway
I don’t have a barista/coffee shop story, but the other week I was with a couple girls I know buying creamer for my class’ communal coffee pot, and I complained about the lack of sugar (I like my coffee really sweet). One of the girls looked at me and replied “Don’t worry, we can just dip you in our coffee and it’ll be sweet enough” and when I blushed and got bashful the two girls continued to talk about how I was super sweet and just me being near the coffee would be enough to make it insanely sweet. So. That was hella cute.
I can’t wait to go away for university so that I can live in a city with a bunch of cute little cafes. Then I can flirt with all the baristas and go on cute coffee dates. Small-town blue, man.
I dated a barista for a year and a half. We made a lot of eyes while I was in line until she asked me out. While there were some great times, 3/10 would not do again.
When I lived in DC one of the baristas who worked at this Starbucks we (myself and all the people I worked with) went to was really attractive. I should have done something about that.
…proving once again that I like dreadlocks on everybody, regardless of gender.
Mmm she was really cute, guys.
Sometimes I think there were times she was flirting with me (even a bit). But sometimes I don’t think that.
although I’ve been a barista for almost 5 years, I don’t have any stories where I found my true love in a customer BUT my current boo and I met when we were both baristas at different cafes. our courting ritual consisted of us visiting each other at work towards the end of our respective shifts and impressing each other by how sassy we were with customers and giving each other fancy free drinks and snacks.
Looking back at all the years I spent awkwardly trying to order drinks from cute barista girls while effortlessly flirting with boy baristas provides an interesting perspective into my life as a lady-loving-lady…
I don’t even like boys, but somehow they were much easier to talk to than those cute barista girls with the stretched ears, tattoos and eyeliner…..
How the hell did I not put two and two together sooner?
shout out to the cute barista who made sure nobody stole my laptop from the patio table and rendered me generally incapable of speech
p.s. the number of skype dates made possible by coffee shop wifi is incalculable, although the connection quality often makes that shit wicked frustrating
I just went on a date with a girl in a coffee shop today!
Although I was totally saying to all my friends beforehand “this is a friend thing I’m not really into her like that. This is not a date” (I’d only met her once before) and then during the not-a-date I just kept thinking “how can I make this a date halfway through a not-a-date?…this is definitely a date…I really hope this is a date…”
So yeah, I’m calling it a date now!
I can remember in my early 20’s going to a coffee shop with a friend & there was the CUTEST girl working there. My friend ordered coffees for us & then in a stage whisper said to me: “That girl is totally checking you out, do something!” to which I replied: “I AM doing something…” which was playing it so cool that it was something closer to stand-offish/rude rather than deep & aloof which I was going for, I guess. I’ve learned that however geeky/sweaty you might be, actually engaging with a human is a much better tactic than ignoring them completely!
Oh & also I work in a cafe on week ends & absolutely “flirt it forward” & give free coffees to cute people, especially of the geeky-and-sweaty-but-making-an-effort variety! :)
I was too busy barista-ing on Monday to notice this post sooner. I would just like to say that I have never made so much tea in my life. You all damned the day naming man pretty hard.
I would have to say that my favorite (social) part of being a barista is not the awkward crushes or people repeatedly (and quite insistently) saying things about “grabbing muffins”, it is watching the tragic and endearing hilarity of your loves lives unfold before me as I hide behind an espresso robot and a puff of steam.
Shine on, you crazy people shaped diamonds. Shine on.
Wait, the hair thing was someone hitting on Grace? a cute barista complimented me on my hair the other day and then continued asking me questions and I just thought she was being nice.
I went dancing with friends and met this lovely human who I ended up talking to the whole time (honestly, who TALKS on the dance floor). Then, I saw her working as a barista the next day while grabbing coffee after a doctor’s appointment…I yelled something about grabbing sushi in a little bit, she nodded, looked confused, and then we met up later. It’s been 1 year and we’re embarking on a backpacking trip to south east Asia and New Zealand…she still makes me the best cuppa coffee I ever did taste.
I work at a coffee shop called The Mill in Lincoln, Nebraska and have for about a year now. It’s insane thinking about how it was cold during my training and now it’s getting cold again! Weird!
I used to work at Starbucks as well- (actually, it was a Starbucks INSIDE of a Target, which means it had plenty of special restrictions and a hellish POS system; a place my coworkers and I lovingly referred to as Tarbucks)- and that was just a really bad time for me. The job contributed but honestly it was my whole life. I am happy to say that my quality of life has drastically improved since then, and I’m proud to still be doing barista work in a place I’ve grown to love!
And actually- I have so many stories that it would be ridiculous to try and recount them all here. I might try anyway. Hmmmm
STORY 1:
The first time I got to talk to my exgirlfriend in med school was through twitter. There was a storm, and she was looking for coffee. I told her that she should come over because I make awesome tasting coffee that can help her stay up in the cold bed weather night. She did come over. And, she left a note that said, “I CAME TO STEAL YOUR COFFEE.” We were together for almost 3 years. And, coffee was a great part of our relationship. I even kept that note even a few months after she left for New York. (never came back)
STORY 2:
While reviewing for the medical licensure exam, I would study at a Starbucks near my house. And, I found this barista cute and obviously butch gay (not my usual type). I couldn’t really look straight into her eyes most of the time because I think I end up blushing. So, one time she asked me if I was busy and I said that I was seriously busy…with studying. Then, on another day, she ended up looking so red like a strawberry… while taking my order. I found it so cute. Then, one night when I was about to leave, she had to shout that my bag was cute. Her co-baristas just looked at her and laughed. I only know her name is Cat. And, she’s now one of my reasons why I go to that Starbucks almost everyday. :P