Tip Jars for Baristas

We've opened up a little espresso & crepe cafe. It's a take out place; people place their orders at a little window, we make their coffees and crepes to go, or to stay on the patio, but they do take their food and drinks to their tables themselves.

It never occurred to me *not* to have a tip jar. We aren't making enough money to pay more than minimum wage, and I've always tipped at coffee shops, so I assume most people do. I decided to have fun with our tip jars and went online to look for silly tipping quotes to attach to it. I was surprised when I encountered a whole lot of blog posts and published articles by people who strongly disagree with tip jars at takeout places of any kind, including espresso coffee shops where a barista is making their coffees. I found a couple of articles by people who believe making coffee is no different than flipping burgers at your typical fast food chain. These articles were written by people who clearly have no personal experience working in these kinds of places, and who have little understanding of what goes into making an exceptional cup of coffee. So, being the do-gooder that I apparently am, I'm going to put this out there to try and help some readers understand why tip jars at a take out window where a barista is making coffee is a given.

First of all, why do we tip, at least here in North America? To Insure Prompt Service. To take it even further, I would say that people should tip wherever they hope for excellent service involving food or beverages, and where they hope for any degree of special attention to their product. My husband and I both worked in the bar industry; most bars offer waitress service, but many bar patrons essentially "take out" their drinks from the bar counter, and yet bartenders almost always have tip jars and expect to get tipped for the drink they make. In the bar industry, tippers are treated better, their drinks are poured stronger, made better, the bartender will try and remember what the regular tipper likes to drink and how they like it. The tips earn that customer special treatment, faster service, something extra. If things get really busy the tippers will get served first, and the non tippers will have to wait.

Well, the making of an espresso coffee has much in common with the making of a martini or cocktail. I had no idea, until I watched our incredibly talented baristas, how much goes into making these coffees! There are international barista competitions, there is a precise way to tamp the grounds to avoid bitterness, elaborate techniques to adjust the grinds/water temperature/steam the milk, there are barista magazines, endless barista courses and seminars they can take to master their skills. These are things the general public may not realize, unless you've worked as a barista in a coffee shop that prides itself on providing excellent coffees, or unless you're a customer who appreciates an extra good coffee. If a barista puts extra care into your coffee, the coffee will taste a million times better than if the barista doesn't care and just slaps it together. If we tip bartenders even though we carry our own drinks to our tables, we should absolutely tip baristas who make each individual espresso coffee, particularly if we appreciate an excellent cup of coffee vs. any old cup of coffee.

Now, I've worked in the service industry for a long time off and on and I have no problem with tipping in general, though I can agree that there are tip jars in a few places that have me lifting my eyebrow. However if it's students working there, or, if I get excellent friendly service by anyone anywhere I shop and there's a tip jar I don't mind tossing in some change. So in general, I have no hostile feelings towards tip jars in any variety of places really, but I want more people to understand that with coffee specifically, custom made espresso coffees are on par with the making of martinis and cocktails, or pouring the perfect tap beer, or serving a soda and sandwich to a table. Tip your barista~!