What is your position in the coffee industry?

barista

Where are you located? ( City and Country )

portland,oregon

How many years have you been in the industry?

5

If you are a barista or shop, are you interested in a barista exchange with another coffee shop/barista?

yes

Tell us more about your coffee shop or barista skills.

I started out in a small ma and pa espresso stand located just a mile or so from the Peter Iredale in Fort Stevens State Park. I spent Summer months pulling shots for lost city folk (not unlike myself) and Winter pulling shots for myself and trying to stay warm while trying to pull a perfect ristretto...for me. ( I couldn't come close to anything my first Winter but a close compromise between having something really bold with plenty of grit.)
After it was decided in my head that the Northwest was worth staying in for the coffee and the beer I moved out to Portland where I found work as quickly as possible at a local Borders, where I spent three years making latte's with SBC. My only regret being that I never brought in an ibrik for a round of Turkish coffee.

What cities or countries are you interested in traveling to?

Throughout all my boyhood I thought I was bound for Egypt, being the most exotic, adventuress and no doubt filled with ancient treasure of course. This hasn't completely faded but now I dream of seeing Alexandria. I also have a deep seeded need to walk the streets of Vienna before I die.

About Me:

I'm a twenty-eight year old Southern Californian lured to the Northwest by coffee, nerds, and beer. (and it had nothing to do with a girl, and even if it did...it didn't really)

I was an unlikely victim of espresso drawn into it's trade by the promise of art school, and unknowingly doomed and awakened to a new professional aspiration when I realized that being Barista, could be a profession.

I'm a firm believer that the world is held together with stories, that when your sad you need to sit down and learn something till you feel better, and when your mad the easiest way out is to do something humbling.

What is your favorite thing about the coffee industry?

introducing new tastes and experiences to non-coffee drinkers

Website:

http://www.facebook.com/stray17