Vanessa Edwards

Female

Taunton

United Kingdom

Profile Information:

What is your position in the coffee industry?
barista, barista trainer
Where are you located? ( City and Country )
England
How many years have you been in the industry?
2 years
If you are a barista or shop, are you interested in a barista exchange with another coffee shop/barista?
maybe
Tell us more about your coffee shop or barista skills.
I think every company has thier bad points but Starbucks helps me get to where I want to be. Not many cafe's can give you such a possibility to be the barista you want to.
What cities or countries are you interested in traveling to?
Everywhere possible but at least Italy and Paris.
About Me:
I am a barista who concentrates on the perfect cup of coffee. I want to travel to places with Starbucks in order to learn as much as possible. Not forever though. I want to work with the best to be the best.
About My Company:
I work for Starbucks. I am a shift supervisor. It is the greatest job I have ever had. I worked in other cafe's and once I started at Starbucks I was taught the right way which is brilliant. They help you to go as far you can within the business which is great as well.
What is your favorite thing about the coffee industry?
Latte art etc.
Website:
http://love2lovecoffee

Comment Wall:

  • Alun Evans

    Hey Vanessa, you should add Indonesia to places you want to travel to!
  • Helles Belles

    Heh there Vanessa, you should get in touch with the London School of Coffee, ask for Gayle and she'll sort you out with some super training!

    Cheers

    H
  • FinerGrind

    Taunton is a nice place - I've cycled Porlock Hill! And chased by a goat in Exmoor :-).
  • Miguel Rendón Fontaine

    Thanks for joining Esbaristas
  • Dale Harris

    was gonna suggest LSC but helen got there first!! also Paul Miekle-Janney at Coffee Community is very good if you can venture as far as Huddersfield!!
  • vincent

    Hello from Dallas, TX.
  • vincent

    I'm doing well i guess. However, it's soooo Hot here. I'm not as busy as I would like to be. A hot cup of coffee just doesn't sound good in this heat, so we not as busy. Thanks for responding. What's the coffee of the day over there at your place. Here,, Celebes Kalossi Vienna Roast, and Decaf Organic Mountain water process Chiapas, Mexican. Hope to hear from you soon.
  • vincent

    Hi Vanessa, Good Morning (well, it's morning here) The Celebes I menetioned is an Indonesian Coffee similar to Sumatra, Java and Flores Bajawa. The Coffees that come from this part of the world tend to be very earthy and deep. I think the Sumatra is one of my favorites because it's flavor so so complex and the taste is rich. It's like being by the ocean when you're drinking it. I have a picture of it just above here on BX. You can see how different the greens beans look.

    Allot of people talk allot sh*t about Starbucks because they are a big company that is successful. I don't mind them at all. I give them respect for having a good marketing plan and being able to do what they have done in the coffee industry. And, not to mention, when I go into one of the Starbuck shops, there is usually an attractive girl on the other side of the bar that is very knowledgable about how to make any drink, much like the one I'm writing this message to, lol. Do experience allot of competition there from other coffee shops and/or other Starbucks? Just curious..

    Have a good day.
    vincent n Dallas
  • Dale Harris

    in taunton today - might pop in to the best sb in the world!
    www.coffeecommunity.co.uk and www.londonschoolofcoffee.com are the websites for the top 2 schools (others are available!)
  • Dale Harris

    had a training job in the morning near you but time ran away from me!- I work for first choice, who service your verismo mcs, but I train on other companies new installs of traditional and automatics(boo)
    will def pop in another time though
  • vincent

    Hello there Vanessa of Taunton, just checking in. My heads a bit throbbing because I went out last night and I wasn't drinking lattes if you know what I mean. I had an interview for a job on Friday. It would be for a Management position for a new Cafe and Books Store. I have been roasting for almost two years, I have been wanting to get back to the Cafe, service side of things. I'm glad I learned roasting but It's not something I want to do forever and after experiencing it, if I had my own place I would probally source the roasting out because its allot to deal with.

    Today i was in the house all day cleaning up my place. Today was basically devoted strictly to that. I had a cup of Yemen Mocha. It is a very good bean from Yemen just south of Suadia Arabia. This coffee coats your mouth with a slightly sweet, earthy brew taste. You get a hint taste of blueberry and its rich like Baklava.
    And in case you were wondering Mocha is not referring to chocolate, Mocha is a place, it the seaport of Yemen.

    I really liked your response about Starbucks and how you feel about that. I agree with you that it has become all about the money but it always is about the money. But here in the states Starbucks i feel, abandoned the "coffeeshop, Artisan roasting" model and gave the people what they wanted to make more money. A big 20oz cup of coffee, all the flavors you can image and the trendy feel(everybody's doing it, you're not cool unless you get a tall, non-fat, 1 splenda, white chocolate mocha, half-caff with whip.)

    Basically, they bought all the competion out(including the company I was with Torrefazione Italia) bought all there suppliers(Tazo Tea, Fontina etc.) and got rich. Don't get me wrong, there are a good company and they have done allot of the industry worldwide.
    I just want to run a cafe one day, good music, art on walls, great baristas making great drinks.

    I think I have bugged you for long enough... I'll be thinking about you later when i watch "Keeping up with Appereances" on the BBC.

    Besos
    hope you have a good day.
  • peter lynch

    I am a small roaster in Ohio..:)
  • peter lynch

    you were up late....returning emails? I was a chef and love the roasting the most. I also use the coffee for food recipes...steaks etc. I am in Ohio it is nice but backwards....I roast full city and city roast styles and have a detreich roaster roasting under 10 lb batches...in a small town..M
  • vincent

    Well, I did my homework, and watched a bit of Mock the Week. I didn't see much of it but it seemed funny. The one I saw had a little bit called "things a Wimbledon commentator would never say", It was funny. If I'm going to think of you when I watch a british comedy, I should watch that show instead, and besides you much more attractive than Hyacinth Bucket. Anywho, on with the coffee talk. Just starting the day here in Dallas. It's been raining for on and off for the past two days. Everything is dripping and wet, i kinda like it. Today I brewed a pot of Fair Trade Honduras Vienna roast. I roasted it yesterday and I had a little bit left over to taste. It's nice coffee, sweet tones as all Latin coffees are and a rich almost carmely aroma. I've got allot of roasting on the schedule already. Which is good because things slow down quite a bit here in the summer. A hot cup of coffee just doesn't sound good in 100 degree weather. I gotta run, got a customer
    besos
  • vincent

    Hello Vanessa, unfortnately you can't buy any of my coffee over there in Taunton. We have a website, but It is under construction at the moment. If you want, I can send some to you. I 've sent stuff over there before it's not that expensive. If you want you can give me an address to send it to in my email at: vb76scorpio@yahoo.com . This way you feel more comfortable and the whole world or every blok on BX doesn't know where you live, just me, a total stranger :)
    It's still raining here by the way, That's unusually for Dallas. This time of year is always hot and more hot and when you think it can't be any hotter, it gets hotter. Roasting is a beast in heat like this, because a roaster sucks in all the air and a it's over 400 degrees standing next to roaster for 5-6 hours.
    I checked out Whittards, we don't have that here, it's seems like they have some some nice stuff there, did you find what you were looking for? I have never had any of there coffee either. question: Is coffee expensive over there? here in the states it varies obviously by what origin and where you buy it. For example, at Starbucks, a pound of Sumatra (472 grams, for you Brits) is $10.65 Our coffee is a little bit more expensive. Our Colombia one pound is $10.95. What about over there?
    have a good day.. Go Taunton Cricket Club!
  • YUDHI REFLIS

    hello,from indonesian
  • vincent

    Hey Gorgeous, hope all is well over there in Somerset County. Ok, I know Cricket is bloody boring, I was just doing some research on Taunton and noticed that they have a big cricket tournment that every year, but who cares right? On with it then, Got a busy day ahead, lots of small roast though. I see that there is only 1 Starbucks in Taunton. What days do you work over there? I want to talk more but I suddenly have to go.
  • YUDHI REFLIS

    thanks vannesa,have you been visit indonesia
  • YUDHI REFLIS

    rosseta faild become a dragon
  • vincent

    Hi Vanessa, How are you?
  • vincent

    Hello Vanessa, It was so good to finally hear from you. I can see from your message that you were very busy with the decorations and the free coffee day. What is up with that crazy company of yours?!!? Having a free coffee day. Don't they influence the industry enough and have big enough balls to just sell it, sell it, why giv it away for free? Do you think it was a promotional thing? is your store fairly new?

    Im at my parents house using the computer, I still don't have the internet at my house :( very frustrating and it doesnt help that this computer is slower than the Dickens!!
    Anyway about my parents, love em' but I can't spend that much time here because I don't like all their negativity and fighting. I think sometimes the negative stuff comes from me, but when Im here I just don't feel right, my Dad is kinda in his own world and my mom worries and stuff. They just don't seem happy together.

    Im going to be starting a new job on Oct. 3rd. Im the Manager of a new cafe and book store. It's called Legacy books and Cafe. It hasn't even opened yet. So I have to hire staff and get everything going.I hate it that I have to leave the roasting job. The problem was, I couldn't make enough money working there. The owner of the company is very good guy, it's a small company but he couldn't pay me what I needed to make to pay my bills. Im not mad at him about it, I know he would have giving me a raise if he could. Im a bit upset about the whole thing really, because it will be difficult for them without me especially going into the season.

    I'm glad you got the coffee. I wish I could send you more sooner but it's bloody expensive. Did you like the Ethiopian? Be honest Madam Edwards! Some people don'tlike African coffees because of the Acidity, but I think the yirgacheffe is nice because the acidity is vibrant and complex. It has a deep and rich bidy like an Indonesian coffee and roast a little darker than it should for that region. Did you know that coffee was first discovered in Ethiopia. I have so much to say to you, but my mind is just going in allot of different directions. By the way, do you like Lily Allen? i like her stuff and The Ting Tings. Great music comes out of the UK. and there's a girl in Taunton that's not bad either.
    sweet dreams