Baristas & Bartenders Part 2 - The Ladies

 ~ It's the ladies' turn - we asked 6 awesome women in the beverage industry the same two questions, and they shared their stories. ~ 

MaryBeth Omido - Manager and Barista at syrup. / Norman, Oklahoma 

Q. Describe to us the moment you can remember that led you to a career in craft beverages. 
A. I think the moment for me was the evening I turned 24. I was hanging out with some friends and we were talking about life and our dreams and I realized that I had fallen into a place where I was financially comfortable, but pretty passionless. At the time I was working a job that I hated, but chose to stay at because it paid well. Before that job I was a full time barista, then I went part time at the coffee shop and part time at the "Big Girl Job". I eventually went full time and loved it at first quickly started to hate it. I missed interacting with people. I missed being on my feet all day. I missed coffee. So, the night I turned 24 I came to my senses and said "NO MORE!!" On Monday I went into the office and told them I was leaving & went back into coffee shortly after. My only regret is that I thought I could sacrifice passion for comfort. Never doing that again. 

Q. If you could be a guest barista/bartender at any bar in the county, which one would you choose? 
A. Oh dang. So many amazing choices!!! I'd probably have to say Slate Coffee Roasters out in Seattle. I've been a couple times and they are not only some of the most genuinely kind people, but they also serve amazing coffee. 

Shelby Lewis, Director of Training at Boston Stoker / Columbus, OH 

Q. Describe to us the moment you can remember that led you to a career in craft beverages.
A. Honestly, I stumbled into my coffee career without any prior knowledge of anything coffee related. Luckily, in Boston Stoker, we have an 8 hour training class on the basics of coffee. The Director of Training at the time, was so passionate about coffee and I was filled with so much intrigue that I wanted to know all that I could about coffee. Since my first training day, I have never stopped learning about coffee and I now that I am the Director of Training, I hope to convey they same amount of passion to inspire my baristas.

Q. If you could be a guest barista/bartender at any bar in the county, which one would you choose?
A. I would love to be a guest barista in Honduras. I was recently there for 10 days in late February for mission/origin trip. It would be an honor to be able to serve coffee to Hondurans, who may see coffee growing everyday, but not know what a magical drink that it can become.  

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Daley Konchar Farr - Barista at Peace Coffee / Minneapolis, Minnesota 

Q. Describe to us the moment you can remember that led you to a career in craft beverages. 
A. Recently I had the opportunity to judge a latte art throwdown at Blue Ox Coffee Co., and although I have worked in coffee for quite a while now and judging a throwdown is a pretty fun and casual gig, that really felt like a significant moment in my coffee timeline; I spent a long time feeling like the awkward new kid in our specialty coffee scene, so to know other baristas around town and get to contribute to a community event like that was special for me. I think it's been recently, with the opening of the two new Peace Coffee locations, that I've really started to feel as if I'm coming into my own as a beverage professional, and the confidence and sense of community I've gained in the last year or so has been pretty remarkable. It's a fun job and this is a great town for it. 

Q. If you could be a guest barista/bartender at any bar in the county, which one would you choose? 
A. There are way too many marvelous cafes around now for me to feel alright about just choosing one as a guest spot! But I love getting to do events and the energy of working hard with other really talented people behind the bar; I think I'd be most excited to do a pop up cafe at a some cool scenario with a lot of other nerds and food and beverage people showing off and supporting each other. That's a kind of fun genre of pageantry I can get into. 

Behind the bar...

Alba Huerta - Owner of Julep / Houston, TX

Photo Copyright Julie Soefer Photography - from Eater.com

Q. Describe to us the moment you can remember that led you to a career in craft beverages.
A. I think the moment I began craft bartending was when I got my first taste of Armagnac. Larresingle 1969. I'd never had anything like it before, that category really changed my world and it changed the way I bought spirits. 

Q. If you could be a guest barista/bartender at any bar in the county, which one would you choose?
A. I would like to go to Smuggler's Cove. The bartenders behind that bar are some that I've always admired and I would be honored to spend one day learning from them 

Kelley Buser - Retail Sales Rep for 
Boulevard Brewing Co., Brewery Ommegang, Duvel Moortgat USA / St. Louis, MO

Q. Describe to us the moment you can remember that led you to a career in craft beverages.
A. I was about 25 years old with an interior design degree and still searching for my first “real job’. I sat down with my dad for dinner one night and we started discussing the topic. My dad was convinced that I should go into sales, and my response was simply, “and sell what?”. After throwing out a few ideas he said, well, you work in the restaurant industry and you seem to be good at it, why not sell beer? Within that same week, I found out a good friend worked for the local distributor and he could get me an interview. After that, the rest is history.

Q. If you could be a guest barista/bartender at any bar in the county, which one would you choose?
A. This is a harder answer to give. So many bars and so many friends, but after much thought, I’ve decided I would like to tend bar at the outdoor beach bar from the movie Cocktail… or at least drink at it with a young Tom Cruise.

Chantal Tseng, Co-owner and Bartender at Mockingbird Hill - Washington DC

Chantal Tseng at Tabard Inn. Photo courtesy Chantal Tseng/Tabard Inn - from www.welovedc.com

Q. Describe to us the moment you can remember that led you to a career in craft beverages.
A. I had been bartending 5 or 6 years and focusing on sommelier studies. I remember expressing the oils of an orange peel over a drink and thinking that one small detail which was not at all common, created such aromatic complexity. I also recall drinking fresh squeezed grapefruit juice and it hit me then why no one liked the cocktails with canned grapefruit juice. It was night and day. Naturally, this seems obvious today but we humans are odd creatures of habit.

Q. If you could be a guest barista/bartender at any bar in the county, which one would you choose?
A. Tough one. Every bar is like someone's home. I only feel comfortable bartending after I've gotten to know the nooks and crannies of a place. Perhaps a small easy going wine focused bar with a simple directed program like Amor y Amargo in NYC. I am more a fan of the fortified wines and bitters these days. They've also always seemed real friendly there.

Thanks to these inspiring women for sharing their stories!

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