Shoutout

Lately I've been noticing an increase in visits by baristas from all over North America. Obviously we get our fair share of guests from the northeast here as NYC is a common destination for millions of people every year, but occasionally we get colleagues and enthusiasts alike from a bit further. And while this whole instant gratification revolution has changed our lives with the advent of blogging, flickr, texting, etc, I can't help but to feel a bit defensive when my automated search feeds alert me to another posting of a visit by someone who stopped by our shop unbeknownst to us. While more often than not it isn't hard to recognize when someone from the industry stops by unannounced, it always seems to be a bit of a disappointment when I find out that we did indeed miss another opportunity to chat with someone who appreciates the specialities, commitment, and labor that's involved in what we do. As anyone who may actually read this may know, there are only a few specialty coffee shops in NYC (most notably Joe, Grumpy, and 9th Street) and although we spend most of our time trying to cover our extravagant rents here in the Big Apple, we always look forward to talking shop with visitors who actually understand what we're doing. I guess what I'm saying is, do the low key thing and quietly order your drinks, but afterwards give us a shoutout. We love it when you introduce yourselves and think it's great when we get to talk to colleagues from around the globe about espresso blends, barista competitions, and the growth of specialty coffee in various markets around the world. Brighten our day and you'll probably be rewarded with free machiatto's for your trouble.