Jacob Grier, a barista at Baked and Wired in Washington, DC, and cowriter of the blog Smelling the Coffee, says he tries to tip a dollar per drink. “You tip a bartender if he creates a good rapport, so why not tip a barista for the same?”
Has anyone ever tipped their barista? I can assure you I haven't.
4 comments:
No. The difference between a bartender and a barista is that making drinks is much more complicated and concerns so many more combinations. Good cocktails take some skill and vary by bartender. Barista drinks are pretty formulaic and there's not much you can do with coffees and teas. Good rapport is a secondary benefit, not the point of tipping. Extra
Chris, what would I do without you? Not only do you loyally read my blogs, but your comments are reliably knowledgeable and wise. My question is, why the hell are we expected to tip bartenders when we buy beer? If a bartender can get a dollar tip for operating a tap, why shouldn't a barista get one for making espresso/milkl/mocha concoctions?
Thanks, Elaine. I guess I comment instead of writing on my own blog.
I don't tip for beer...it's not like the old days when the bartender had to get the keg down into the cellar/floor and connect keg to tap. However, some would argue that there is an art to pouring beer out of a tap...something to do with shamrocks or something.
You guys are missing one of the key point of why people tip the bartender: he decides who gets served and in what order. I see tips as an investment to make sure that I can get a drink quicker next time. With baristas it makes no sense because there is a line, and tipping them won't get you your coffee any faster.
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