Devon speaks on Pay and Disparity

Favorite coffee drink: I would have to say just a simple V60. I haven't had the opportunity to work with V60 since I left Albuquerque, but at my shop in Albuquerque we did V60s and espresso and I loved Kenyans specifically. I think that they are too delicate for espresso a lot of the time, and they really shine on V60.

Favorite album to play during work: I am obsessed with Pain by Boy Harsher.

Favorite coffee drink: I would have to say just a simple V60. I haven't had the opportunity to work with V60 since I left Albuquerque, but at my shop in Albuquerque we did V60s and espresso and I loved Kenyans specifically. I think that they are too delicate for espresso a lot of the time, and they really shine on V60.
Favorite album to play during work: I am obsessed with Pain by Boy Harsher.

“My first coffee shop job was at Starbucks. Started with that good old second wave. It was horrible, like you'd expect. Not even so much from the company- the company actually really sets you up. Twenty hours gets you accumulated vacation hours, you get health insurance, paid time off, sick leave. Even some of the trainings they have you go through can count as college credit.

The company doesn't suck inherently towards its employees, but the people that roll through Starbucks are the worst. It's too many options, and people get too creative, and then too demanding, and too entitled to their thing and they think that they're spending $4 on a latte so they can have you make it however they dream. And then on top of it to berate you if it’s not done perfectly. 

I was working at a drive-thru which was a horrible experience. If you're not talking to somebody directly, but instead through a box, where the human element is kind of disconnected, they’re just ruthless. I was there for three and a half years. All my friends worked there, and I got in easy, so it was easy to stay for a while. I also didn't know what else I wanted to do. I was right out of high school and coffee is an entry-level job, and it works really well with college schedules. So I was stuck doing that for a few years.

Then finally third wave coffee came to Albuquerque. It’s still very new - I think it's maybe been around now for 5 years. This cool new shop opened up in my neighborhood and I saw for the first time a manual machine and I thought like, ‘wow that looks so cool. I want to do that.’ The intimacy of it was so cool to me. At Starbucks it was just a pre-programmed button. It’s really streamlined for volume’s sake, but the barista doesn't really do that much. So seeing these people tamp and time stuff, and weigh stuff- it was really interesting to me. I got that job by becoming a regular and telling them every day that I wanted to work there. And eventually I did.

Working there was amazing. The customers were a total one-eighty. There seemed to be a bit more understanding of like ‘hey, I'm making this thing with my hands and it takes time.’ People were more patient. There are of course regulars at Starbucks, but you just don't have time to cultivate relationships with your customers and I was given the chance to do that for the first time. I got a lot of friends through the customers that I met. You know, so instead of just asking ‘how are you?’ it was, ‘Oh, how's your daughter?’ Or ‘How was your trip?’ I knew things about them, and it was very inspiring. I loved that job. And I probably wouldn't have left but I ended up moving to Santa Fe.
I was at that shop only about 10 months, but it really lit the third wave spark in my heart.

From there I moved to Santa Fe. My previous manager’s sister was the manager at this place that was meant to be a contemporary general store. I don't really count that as a real solid keystone in my third wave coffee journey because there was coffee, but it wasn’t the main focus. The main focus of that place was smoothies and juices and breakfasts and this whole huge retail floor of bougie shit that you don't need. So I feel like when I was in Santa Fe for those two years my coffee journey was on pause. While I was there, I got finish my senior year and my portfolio without having to work 30 hours a week as well, and it was perfect and amazing.

I feel very lucky that throughout my whole coffee career, more or less, I've been trained by women. There was a little bit of hesitation with just coming fresh out of Starbucks, you know, but since that next coffee shop job kind of existed in this weird gray area, that's like between Starbucks and third wave- it was like almost two-and-a-half-wave. They were doing things way differently, but still offered a ton of flavors, and there was always some kitschy thing going on. But for me, education has always available and for the most part, it's always kind of felt like, however much you want to invest you can achieve. At that point in my career, going from Starbucks to that first specialty coffee shop, I thought, ‘cool. I made this huge leap. I feel great right now.’ I didn’t get into the whole history of coffee, my palate was still totally underdeveloped. But I had gone from A to B, and I was happy at B for the time. I was certainly getting what I wanted, and I didn't find that I was over looked because of who I am.

Then when I moved back to Albuquerque I started working at another third wave coffee shop. All syrups made in-house, dosing all shots, and working on a Strada. It was very fun- best job I've had so far in my life. The manager was two days older than me and the most passionate, insane woman I've ever met in my life. She is now one of my best friends. I will never ever, ever, ever forget her management style. She cultivated you and forced you, with love, to pick an avenue that got you excited. Which turned out to be V60s for me-  and she would be like ‘make me a v60. Make me another one. I want you to drink one every morning when you get here.’ I think this is the point in time where it went from like level two, to level 5, in terms of interest in coffee for me.

A lot of coffee shops can feel very intimidating for people that don't drink coffee. It was this place where we got to make the best product that we knew how and then also deliver it with compassion and education in mind. I had this one customer that I'll never forget. He was so cute. He was a little college guy and he would come in and get big vanilla lattes and sit to do homework. That was what he did for months, and the shop was really tiny so you could always see what we were doing behind the bar. We also walked out every drink because the shop was so small. So I would be putting all kinds of different espresso drinks next to him, or near him. He was very curious and one day asked ‘what else is on the menu?’ So I started him out with a cappuccino. Then he drank those for a little while. Then I made him a macchiato, and he really liked those. Then he started getting espresso, and talking to us about it, and wanting to know more. It was just so cool- that's the kind of experience that I strive to provide in coffee. Just make it fun and inclusive. There is so much secrecy and gatekeeping and ego attached to this very simple product that at the end of the day is just meant to be enjoyed either alone or with people.

Now, there are so many things about this world that I like, but at that point in time it was really about the intimacy and the friendships. And being a part of something new in Albuquerque. And now, years in, I've walked this path and I’ve had my journey. Like, my palate has developed- I used to hate African coffees and I used to not be able to drink espresso. Now it's the first thing I want to order when I try a new coffee shop.”

Several years into their coffee career, Devon has noticed that ego comes up a lot in coffee. “I think the ego component comes from a sense of trying to be the best at something. I don't think it's inherently wrong- it can be motivating to do your best. It's when you start shitting on other people for either not being good in your eyes or not doing things your way. That is where that ego starts to resonate- it’s a disconnect between actually serving a community and just trying to serve yourself. You can’t run a third wave coffee shop and not have cream for black coffee and then expect people to be happy coming in. I just think there's a difference between creating a product and having a service that's for you and an extension of yourself, but in selfish way, versus having that service and product created by you FOR people.

My manager at my second third wave coffee shop job was all about heart and love and the betterment of people. We tried to spark an Albuquerque coffee collective that was geared towards just oppressed people groups. We wanted to do a PoC latte art Throw-down and queer cuppings. Not to say like ‘white men can't come’ but to say - you already have all of them, these events are for us. But unfortunately, it never got traction.

I was at that shop until it closed. It was it a little bit too much of a destination shop and in downtown Albuquerque you have to pay for parking and nowhere else in Albuquerque do you have to pay for parking. People just wouldn't come every day, so we had very bad sales. People loved us, but they just wouldn't come support us. So it closed, and two days after that I moved to Portland.

In Portland I got a job at café working for a roasting company. For a while it was tight. I was working on an all PoC and non-man crew, and I loved it. I didn’t love the product, but that’s not the entire part of a job. My manager was awesome- she is such a good person. I think vibe and attitude about what you're doing is just as important as the product you are serving. I think that there has to be a really nice balance between -I love this and I want to make good coffee and do my best - but I also want to have fun at work and create relationships and make connections with people that are not just about coffee.

I didn't really know what to expect from the Portland coffee scene – but I'm a little disappointed in it. I was expecting there to be a lot of coffee culture, and there is, but I was hoping it was going to be friendlier. It was a little turfy in Albuquerque with egos being thrown around and I kind of get the same sense here. At the first shop I went to when I got here- I walked in and there was a bearded-five-panel-hat-and-flannel-wearing white guy on bar, and a woman on register and a woman bar-backing for him. Every single time I've been in there, it's been the same guy on bar. And you walk into another prominent roasting company in Portland to find five of the same dude working there. It just seems to be kind of the same all over the place. It’s a little disappointing, and that’s what was exciting about the first place I worked at here in Portland. I could tell there was very conscious hiring going on. Giving opportunities to people that would have no other option.”

Devon would like to see the coffee community working together more, within businesses themselves as well as with other businesses in the community. “Management is really important to me these days. Who is managing and how I am treated. I look for a nice balance between expectation and understanding. I think that I do my best when I know that somebody has a goal and they are counting on me to help them achieve that and that they can trust me to do my part without watching over me and micromanaging me. I’ve heard of places taking away privileges, like taking people off bar because you are too slow, or your latte art sucks. God forbid!

I would also like to see more communal work spaces, for instance more cuppings with other shops involved. There is a roasting company in SE Portland owned by sisters, and their roasting facility is a co-op, so other small roasters can use their equipment. I think that they're doing a really good job painting a very small window of what coffee can be. It just needs to be more inclusive. And I think more women need to be given the reins. I would also like to see more people of color in specialty coffee and in high positions. There's a very limited perspective when the industry is run by just cis white men. There's a lack of ability to see things like community and opportunity because they've had all that handed to them on a silver platter all their lives. I have this old coworker opening a shop in Albuquerque and he is naming it after himself. He isn’t a bad person, and he is going to do a fine job, but he has never had to work particularly hard in his life to get what he wants. I think there needs to be less of that perspective in coffee.

One of the biggest issues I had at my most recent job is that the owner had never been a barista himself. There was a huge disconnect between upper management and the front lines. When we were given new products they were just dropped off. There was no getting together to talk about and taste new coffees or share opinions. They tried to roll out the Clever Dripper and they just brought it in one day with no training, no background, no reason- nothing. I think that stems from the owner never haven't been behind the bar and not really understanding the daily life and the coffee shop as a barista himself. I would have never reached out to him for help because I know he doesn't know how things work behind the bar. There were a few weeks where he actually had to work behind the bar at one of his cafes and it was honestly just really sad. He had no idea what was going on, and it made me question how he was even roasting coffee and making lots of money doing something he doesn’t even know how to serve.

Throughout that company there simply wasn’t any support for baristas. There was support in the small stuff from the actual café managers, but when the Operations Manager left, that position never got filled, so that intermediate voice between baristas and ownership was gone. There was a void between the shop level and upper level management and ownership. I never heard from the owner and the thought probably never crossed his mind, like, ‘I should have a have a cup of coffee with my employees, get to know them.’ He didn’t know my name for months- I was totally anonymous, and I didn’t know him either. Once he came in and fixed something in the shop, and I thought he was a handyman. It was very strange and give me Starbucks flashbacks of having regional managers that you only see once a year coming in to evaluate, criticize, and then leave.

At that level and that style of coffee shop it was easy enough for the most part to ignore the fact that he was an absent owner. But when shit got real, and we had a human rights issue come up, I questioned his ethics. At that point it wasn’t about whether or not I liked the winter blend or whatever- it was about his inability to be compassionate and understanding and open up conversation about staff concerns. It was embarrassing to witness, and he looked like a complete coward in my eyes. He didn’t really have my respect before then, and he certainly didn't after that. It was at that point where I completely disconnected from that job. I wanted to walk out. It's never going to be on my resume. I'm going to pretend I never worked there.”

Although Devon has developed a lot of skills working the in the coffee industry, it doesn’t feel financially sustainable for them. “I've always kind of wanted to leave coffee- it has this really wonderful glass ceiling effect. The knowledge base is very vast but as far as financial growth- since I don’t want to manage- the prospect of having goals in coffee feels pretty bleak to me. The expectation versus wage is something that's been on my mind a lot lately because on one side of the sword is that coffee is viewed as an entry-level job. It’s viewed as a young person’s job, something to do in college so, it deserves minimum wage. And on the other side of that sword it’s taken me eight years to gain the knowledge and the skills that I have. On top of like fine-tuning my hospitality. There is this saying in art school that you have a cookie and it takes 10,000 hours to eat. When you finish the cookie, you are a professional at whatever it is that you’ve been working on. I’m sure I’ve clocked in my 10,000 hours in coffee and yet I do not feel like I am being compensated for having stuck with it so long.

I'm extremely tired of making no money for something that I work so hard at, and that's just from the people I am getting my paycheck from. Then there is the other side of the community that doesn't get coffee is a thing that you tip for. Why shouldn't I just go turn my brain off and crack Rainier's all night and make $300? So I have been wanting to move into bartending. I need to have a little bit more money in the bank and be able to take care of things that are normal things like getting cavities filled, fixing my car- things that shouldn't seem like out of range.

The only time that I was started above minimum wage was by a manager who was my own age. I think minimum wage at the time was $8.50 and she started us at 10 and she said ‘because you are professionals.’ How did she make it work, right? I mean, I guess you just have to compromise. Do you really have to carry the most expensive roasting company? Can we spend $600 a week on coffee instead of $1,200 a week on coffee? Could we ditch one alternative milk brand for a cheaper one? I think there are still ways to be a fantastic coffee shop without necessarily relying on an outside source and riding on someone else's coattails.

That's why you have professional baristas – to wage the gap. You have to serve a good product- that’s true. But a good product does not go very far if it's given to you by a disgruntled, exhausted, under-appreciated worker who is giving you bad customer service because they're working 9 hours a day. So what are some really basic things you can cut in order to spend less money so you can pay your employees more?

I've worked paycheck-to-paycheck my whole life. I'm used to that. I'm not completely distraught, and I'm happy going to work every day if I know that I'm in a safe, respectful work environment- that makes a place sustainable for me. But, third wave coffee is a classist thing and we are not being paid a wage to where, if we weren’t getting free coffee every day, we could afford to go to the shops we work at. That just blows my mind. And honestly, I don't go out for coffee anymore. On my days off I make it at home, and I only drink coffee at places where my friends work. It’s a sad realization that the people that come in and spend $6 on their latte everyday are in a completely different financial bracket than I am.

Thinking about why people tip a dollar for a $3 beer, but only 25 cents for a $6 latte. It's  this idea that coffee is a necessity- like, don't talk to me before I've had my coffee- it’s not necessarily something you go out to enjoy. You need it before you can do your thing, vs going out for drinks. You're happy, you're off work -it’s a luxury. You are typically in a good mood when you go get drinks, hopefully. But coffee isn’t always seen as the craft thing that it is. It can't seem to break away from that like ‘Folgers coffee, it’s just the thing you do in the morning.’ I think that is a big part of why the community doesn't want to pay for it, doesn’t want to pay the higher price tag for a latte, or tip their baristas well. I would love to see more education opportunities, like the process of seed to cup, for the general public, in order to get coffee caught up to the rest of the craft industry. So that people appreciate it more.”