Brendan Kohler: 4 or 5 Years. I was trained at a South American-style bakery that sold coffee. I was trained on an espresso machine. They sold pretty good quality coffee from Wake Up Coffee Co., but decided that it was too expensive and decided to go with a much cheaper option. At that point I realized I needed to be doing something with coffee, like, good quality coffee, because I loved it so much.
*we both giggled*
JM: What made you want to become a barista?
BK: It was actually at Wake Up Coffee Co. I was trained by a guy named Evan Beard, he was a manager there. He trained me on the machine at the baker. As soon as I did it, I fell in love. I started by making little circles, in latte art. He was the person I would come to with all my questions when I was still figuring things out, and he would gladly answer everything thoroughly. He was always willing to help me, and that really made an impact.
JM: What’s the hardest part of the job?
BK: Making sure every customer gets a quality cup of coffee, and is satisfied with it, because everyone has different tastes. It’s hard when they say “just make me something special”, and I’m just like, “Oh my gosh, I don’t know this person. I don’t know what they like, what the dislike.” Like, you have to pick at them and ask questions about that. But yeah, definitely ensuring quality.
JM: What’s your favorite part of the job?
BK: Dialing in in the morning. Getting the espresso to taste perfect by manipulating a bunch of different variables, making the machine work just how I want it….adjusting the grind, the pre- infusion, the grams that go in. Then you read how many grams go out at a certain amount of seconds and the time it takes. I just keep adjusting things until the espresso shot tastes golden. Sometimes you pull one shot and it just tastes perfect and sometimes it takes 17 shots. You get super caffeinated because you’re tasting every shot and you’re like “AGHHHH” but it’s my favorite thing to do, I do it every day. I record things like the temperature outside and inside, and what I do when I dial in so I can keep track of it. I have like 3 notebooks that I want to put into a spreadsheet so I know how the coffee will be effected by the weather. Like, if it’s going to be a cold day the shots may pull a little bit slower.
JM: I never thought about the weather affecting the bean.
BK: Oh yeah, when the bean is a little more wet from the humidity in the air, it’s as if the beans have already been activated by that moisture, so its easier to over-extract it because all the beans are wet. It’s so fun, it’s like science.
JM: What’s your favorite drink?
BK: (Takes a sip of his Americano) Probably the Americano haha. I’m drinking it now, it’s gotta be that. It’s what I usually go for. You’ve got the hydration and the caffeination and I love the sourness and all that. I also love Pour Overs. Those are really fun because you taste specific notes of coffee, but the Americano is my go-to.
JM: What’s your favorite latte art to pour?
BK: Tulips. Definitely. I like the layering to it.
JM: Are Tulips like Rosettes?
BK: Tulips are more like, you have a bunch of layers, they’re like a bunch of hearts. You can do like a 7-layer tulip, or a 2-layer tulip, where it’s like 2 hearts. It’s crazy.
JM: What’s your hardest pour?
BK: Rosettes, I never get enough contrast in them, I have a hard time getting them to be 90 degrees.
JM: Who Makes the best latte art that you have seen?
BK: Oooo Raymond from Vagabond. He designed his own latte art, and his signature pour is sick. He’s always a happy and jubilant person. That’s a quality that can make latte art really good. Some people can be having a bad day and the art could suck, but he’s always happy so its usually really good.
JM: What are your goals for the future?
BK: I want to open up a coffee shop one day, not sure where yet. When I find somewhere that seems suitable. I also want to start roasting my own beans.
JM: What does Coffee Culture mean to you?
BK: To me Coffee Culture is the idea that when you need coffee or any kind of social interaction, you go to a coffee shop. There are so many people doing things like studying or working on some cool idea and you walk in and the music is really nice. Just every tiny little thing you can possibly appreicte about coffee and what it brings to people. There’s such an element of community there. I guess if you think of culture as being what makes a group of people who they are, like attributes that are shared by a large number of people.….(HEAVY EXHALE) this is a hard question.
BK: Culture brings people together based on the way they live their life. I feel like you’re a part of this culture, especially in Jacksonville. My favorite thing about it is that so many people are so welcoming in the sharing of ideas, and if you have a building full of people who are working on ideas and are all caffeinated and just on that same level, its just really cool. And with that, as soon as a coffee shop opens, other things start opening around the coffee shops, like boutiques or other niche foods, because people go out of their way for coffee. They’re moving out of their loop. I don’t know, it’s just like a large customer base, people wanna go get coffee and it brings them out of their homes.
LAST WORDS FROM BRENDAN:
BK: I really appreciate you Jacob, you’re a cool guy. I want to spread my love of coffee; I can’t imagine what I would be like if I was never introduced to it. When I was younger I would just go to a coffee shop and draw and do my own thing, it was a really good escape for me, and I want everyone to have that. Once you walk in, all the other stuff doesn’t matter…there’s not as much to worry about.
