About Barista Behind the bar

When you create a welcoming place of employment, you by extension create community spaces where clientele feel welcomed, where people feel good.

Hello, my name is Camila (she/her). I am a longtime coffee industry professional, having started my coffee journey at the age of 19. I’ve held various positions over the years, starting first as a barista, then moving into education and training, serving as manager for various independently owned cafes, and ultimately working as the Operations Manager for a roasting company. And in these 13 years, you can bet I have seen a whole lot! The good, the delicious, and the not-super-awesome. I have experienced cafes that work like well-oiled machines, made lifelong friends, tasted incredible coffees, and developed my teaching and leadership skills. Over the years, I have also been subject to environments that failed to provide healthy work cultures or support the growth of their employees.

Coffee shops are hubs of culture in so many cities and towns across America. Oftentimes your local coffee shop is where you go to start your day, share time with friends, hold meetings, see local art, and build relationships across the bar. Over the course of my career, I have focused on hiring and cafe training with a specific interest in how businesses work towards creating and incorporating equitable hiring practices. When you create a welcoming place of employment, you by extension create community spaces where clientele feel welcomed, where people feel good. In other words, happy employees make for happy customers. And happy customers help a business thrive.

My mission is to engage in conversation with baristas who have worked in the specialty coffee industry in the United States. I am interested in the experience of the American barista, what sorts of challenges our industry is facing, what kinds of barriers baristas have faced in their careers, and how we make our work spaces accessible and safe for everyone who shares our passion. I want to diversify the conversation that for so long has been kept in the hands of a small minority and move this conversation forward. I am dedicating my knowledge and experience to helping our industry evolve and grow, moving towards an equitable and sustainable future.

I am interested in this conversation because what I have developed most during my time working in coffee is a sense of love for coffee and the community one can build around this deceptively simple ritual. My goal is to open up honest and compassionate dialogue within our coffee world in the interest of bettering our industry.

I will be traveling around the country this summer, starting at the end of May, in a converted Sprinter van, and conducting in-person interviews with any barista who wants to share their story. I will be posting updates via social media, blog-format writing and at the end of my journey I plan on compiling findings and stories into a curriculum to share with employers who are interested in improving hiring, training, and working conditions.

Wherever there are baristas who want to talk about their experience working in our industry, you’ll find me.

If you’ve ever worked in coffee, if you know what a portafilter is, if you know the specific delight of early morning opening tasks- I want to speak with you.