The Barista Magazine October + November 2021 issue features LaChrista McArthur on the cover.
Also included: ’5 Essentials for Coffee-Business Success,’ ’Latte Art How-To,’ and ’A Living Wage: Part 3.’ Plus, stories on de-escalation techniques, Manchester, U.K., and much more!
BY KENNETH R. OLSON
BARISTA MAGAZINE
The new issue, October + November 2021, of Barista Magazine comes out today! I couldn’t be more impressed by this issue of the magazine and our team. As with so many businesses today, we worked with a lot of uncertainty while producing this issue. Staffing shortages at our printer’s plant along with long lead times for paper made us move our production schedule up. We also had to make more adjustments to ensure the issue would be printed and shipped in time for the Specialty Coffee Expo. Of course in the midst of this, New Orleans, the host city for Expo, was walloped by Hurricane Ida.
Our team produced another outstanding issue while working on this accelerated schedule. And they did a great job! They created timely, relevant content that I think you will find helpful as your small businesses continue charting their course ahead.
Cover Feature: LaChrista McArthur
LaChrista McArthur is hard at work creating a space for her first brick-and-mortar location for her new cafe called Hello Love… Leading up to her business launch, though, LaChrista spent years learning the ins and outs of coffee. More importantly, however, LaChrista invested heavily in building a community with her organization, the Barista Coalition. Whether starting virtual coffee tours in the U.K. during the pandemic or bringing people together in her home state of North Carolina, LaChrista puts community first. Read about her and her journey in the October + November 2021 issue of Barista Magazine.
’Field Report: Manchester’
Speaking of the United Kingdom, our “Field Report“ in the new issue comes from Manchester, England. Manchester is a former industrial city now famous for its soccer clubs and music scene. But as author Hannah Davies notes, Manchester also boasts a great and growing number of unique and inviting cafés. It shouldn’t come as any surprise then that The Barista League is headed to Manchester to host an event on November 6 alongside the Manchester Coffee Festival November 6–7. Read all about the killer cafés in this exciting British city in her “Field Report.“
’5 Essentials for Coffee-Business Success’
It couldn’t be easier to open a café, right? Just get some coffee, a grinder, and an espresso machine, and you’re pretty much good to go. Next stop: barista champion or coffee origin trip to discover some heretofore unknown variety. Or not, as Samantha Tamplin writes. Frankly, she explains in “5 Essentials for Coffee-Business Success,“ to get to those other goals of competition or travel, you first have to drill down on your primary business. And you’ll need to invest as much into the backend of your company as in the front of the house if you want to have a long-running, profitable coffeehouse.
’Trouble Brewing: De-Escalation Techniques for Baristas’
Baristas work on the literal frontlines of service. In that position, especially over the last year and a half, they’ve been thrust into an unwelcome position where they’re responsible for enforcing health and safety measures. As customers rebel and act out against the rules necessary to combat the global pandemic, baristas are finding themselves more and more in the role of social worker trying to calm down irate customers and keeping their cafés working. In “Trouble Brewing: De-Escalation Techniques for Baristas,“ writer Alexa Romano gives insight, resources, and best practices to help keep conflict out of the coffee shop.
’Latte Art How-To’
Two of the best competitive latte artists team up to give you step-by-step instructions on how to create beautiful pours. Javi Alvarez and Emilee Bryant write about their techniques and use photos to teach you how to execute killer latte art.
’A Living Wage: Part 3’
Sunghee Tark is back with the third and final installment of her series on living incomes in coffee. Previous installments covered living wages for coffee farmers and coffee pickers. In this piece, Sunghee—who founded the nonprofit feminist coffee organization Bean Voyage in Costa Rica—looks at what a living wage means for baristas.
These are just some of the stories you’ll find in the October + November 2021 issue of Barista Magazine.
You can read Barista Magazine in paper or digital format. Read the October + November 2021 issue for free with our digital edition. Visit our digital edition archives here.
You can order a hard copy of the magazine through our online store here or start a subscription for one year or two. While supplies last, you’ll get a copy of the new 2nd Crack: Issue 2 comic book for free with any new subscription!
