What is your position in the coffee industry?

barista, barista trainer

Where are you located? ( City and Country )

Barista Espresso Bar, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico

How many years have you been in the industry?

3 years

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 have been working as a Barista for three years now in which I have not only learned and improved the craft, but have become a trainer in the shop. My style is not textbook, I am as free with my craft as I am with my life. I feel that the how meticulous is the barista is not really the best question to ask in my case. However I have my own rules and criteria. I feel very strongly about coffee and I learned the hard way that competition or textbook baristas are a different than experimental fun ones! My greatest skill is the espresso. I learned to pull a great espresso the moment I learned to understand my grinder. I play a lot with flavors by simply adjusting the grinder. For example for a stronger more bitter bean, I will serve a single cappuccino with a shot of 28-31 sec /.98oz but for an espresso I would readjust to have a slightly faster pull (maybe in the 25-27 sec range/.98oz). I dont ever pull a complete ounce of espresso and I am passionate about floral and citrus aromas in coffee. I have my latte art designs and I will continue to post more eventually. But I am not just a milk frother or a shot puller I am a Barista and I focus on both aspects of the art. In between the two I am most passionate about the espresso.

What cities or countries are you interested in traveling to?

I am interested in working in Orlando, Florida. Of course I would love to travel the world and network with other baristas but in 2010 I will be moving to Orlando to attend UCF. I will be very interested in a job at a Coffee Shop.

About Me:

I am 21 years old and I have been a Barista for three years. I am studying Sociology in Puerto Rico and I am excited to complete my BA. In the future I would like to continue my studies in the social sciences but for now I am interested in the sociology of coffee consumers. The coffee world is interesting and coffee shops seem to be the places where people communicate and interact without the stress of the outside world. My studies and my interest in people help me be a better barista everyday.

About My Company:

Barista Espress Bar is a coffee shop in Puerto Rico. It consists, so far of 5 baristas and our beautiful boss and owner Enid Guerra. We are all certified and WBC competition baristas. We are all different, my place in the wheel of baristas is the comedian with the good heart. However dont think that my sense of humor makes me less professional. I became Puerto Rico's female champion in 2007. I did not retain my tittle the next year because I trained my student so well, she went on to take the tittle. This doesn't bother me. This is what we do. We serve and have fun with what we do, and we dont make clients we make friends.

What is your favorite thing about the coffee industry?

people

Website:

http://www.myspace.com/coralia_m_g