A Day to Pay Homage to the Makers of our Coffee

A little love (and a lot of extra chocolate) go a long way in making any day better.
©2013 JELindsay

This past week I was hit with (what I’d like to think is) a marvelous idea. Random idea generation isn’t all that uncommon for me. I ask myself “What If?” all the time. But this time my “What If” is a little bit different. And it was spurred on by a cup of coffee.

As writers, one of the things we tend to talk about a lot is coffee. 

We need it to function, to awaken our muse. We drink it in the morning. We drink it in the afternoon. We drink it far too late at night and then wonder why we can’t sleep. (Of course we blame a new astounding idea for that!)

But there is one thing we don’t tweet about all that often. We don’t tweet about the people who go the extra mile when they brew our precious elixir of life. Our baristas.

Now it’s possible you stand in as your own barista and keep that coffee pot full yourself, but I’m a well-known face at more than one place. My favorite haunt is Rogue Roasters in Grants Pass. It’s a small family-owned shop that roasts its own beans right in the store and showcases a new local artist on the first Friday of each month.

It’s here that the baristas know me well enough they’ll come across the room to give me a bear hug when I first walk in. It’s here that I’m teased about my predictability in what I order every Tuesday afternoon. And it’s here that a special drink was invented for me on a day I couldn’t figure out what I wanted because I was far too frazzled by the challenges life presented me with that particular day.

My baristas make me smile. They make me laugh. And they inspire me each time I see them. As often as I thank them, I feel like there’s something more I can do to express my appreciation for the work they do. 

So today I’d like to propose a new holiday: Barista Appreciation Day.

On Friday, April 5th, I intend to make an extra effort to thank those who get up extremely early or stay up extremely late to make sure I’m alert throughout my day. I’d like to invite my fellow coffee connoisseurs to do the same. Whether it be a card, a flower, or maybe a little extra tip, do something to honor, appreciate, and encourage those who remain cheerful in what can be a very demanding and sometimes thankless job.

It’s because of people like baristas that our lives are a little better each day, and for that I am incredibly thankful.