What is your position in the coffee industry?

barista, manager, coffee enthusiast, entrepreneur

Where are you located? ( City and Country )

Whaleyville, MD, US

How many years have you been in the industry?

1

Tell us more about your coffee shop or barista skills.

• Worked with a team to develop, open and operate a coffee shop/ espresso bar in Princess Anne, Maryland.
• Attended Coffee Fest Minneapolis Minnesota and took basic barista, blending and cupping courses.

- Installed, operated and performed necessary updates to Coffee Shop Manager/ PC Charge POS System.
- Maintained all web-based advertising including Website, Facebook and Twitter.
- Researched and selected suppliers for all inventoried products and equipment including La Cimbali M29 Selectron espresso machine.
- Worked with a team to plan and create entire menu and merchandise offerings, including original recipes and competitive pricing.
- Responsible for coordinating all product ordering and shipping, receiving operations.
- Cultivated relationships with prospective clientele and community including
UMES faculty and student base.
- Handled employee interviewing, hiring, training and weekly scheduling.
- Scheduled and advertised weekly entertainment including Art Exhibitions, and Musical Performances.

What cities or countries are you interested in traveling to?

Currently, I'm not interested in re-locating for work.
However, my international travel experience includes living in South Africa for a year and humanitarian visits to Istanbul, Turkey and Haiti. I'd love to travel to and visit pretty much anywhere!

About Me:

I'm relatively new at the barista game, but have been a long-time coffee enthusiast. I enjoy coffee not only for it's taste and stimulant qualities! but for it's social aspects as well. I respect the industry for it's humanitarian endeavors and inherent international characteristics.
As an artisitic individual I appreciate coffee as a creative outlet. I enjoy conceptualizing and developing specialty beverage recipes and trying them out on unsuspecting friends!

What is your favorite thing about the coffee industry?

It's association with friendship and international humanitarian concerns.

Website:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/james.tobat