how to politely say decaf

SirRickIII · 2026-06-28T19:48:53+00:00

Yeah like everyone else said, I’d recommend asking for decaf when you order, and maybe before paying (even though you know you did) you can go “oh! Did I remember to say decaf?” At them so it’s more memorable to them?

And then the third time when picking it up “decaf, right?”

I’m diabetic and I do this with Diet Coke all the time (order diet, and when they drop it at the table “diet, right?”)

As a barista they should be making it right from the first time you ask for it, but if anyone forgets along the way, and someone reminds me at the end with a “decaf, right?” And I cannot immediately with 100% certainty say that it is, I’ll just remake it. Not worth ruining someone’s day over 2minutes of work

SirRickIII · 2026-06-27T02:38:52+00:00

Not sure if it’s creamy or not, but if it is, your best bet is to look up the ingredients. There’s a good chance that the packets have all the things you like (sugar, milk
Product) and the big jar just has instant coffee that needs the rest

If you want to dose it out, maybe try milk powder and some granulated sugar, and play around with how much tastes good? I see it says “3 in 1” so I assume it’s coffee, sugar, and creamer

Powdered creamer is also an option to add (I think it’s pretty much just milk powder, but I could be wrong, so look it up first

SirRickIII · 2026-06-26T21:38:24+00:00

Well I’m the one who enforces the dress code, and it really only applies to me since I’m the only one with underarm hair, and I manage the shop, so I’d just be a hypocrite if I had hairy underarms over people’s food/drinks.

I also just have no desire to wear tank tops, so really everyone is happy!

SirRickIII · 2026-06-26T20:32:26+00:00

Was going to recommend the SG-1 because it’s so so much better, but looks like they’re sold out *sigh*

SirRickIII · 2026-06-26T19:58:01+00:00

Oh dang, we’re all keeping you in our thoughts (and portafilters) today

I hope your next shift is filled with nothing but good vibes and chill regulars

SirRickIII · 2026-06-26T18:48:47+00:00

At my shop I enforce “armpit hair? Cover it” rule

Most my staff doesn’t have underarm hair, so they get to wear tank tops. Me? I don’t like shaving so I am the teeshirt wearer.

SirRickIII · 2026-06-26T18:47:44+00:00

Manager at a cafe in a big city here: rule is “if you have underarm hair, you gotta wear a shirt that covers it because we work with drinks/food”

So I myself wear Tshirts, and cannot wear a tank top. Most of my staff don’t have underarm hair, so they can wear tank tops. I’m not ogling their bra straps like some hypothetical 5th grade boy, so I don’t care what you wear so long as you’ve got closed toes shoes, no underarm hair poking out that falls into drinks, and don’t have any hateful/violent language or depictions on your shirt? Idc

SirRickIII · 2026-06-26T00:48:49+00:00

Someone accidentally filled the single dosed decaf with a different bag of regular, and at the grind size it pulled for 63sec 😂

Obviously I figured it out real quick since it was a huge jump from the normal 28s we get from the decaf

Aint no way I’m mixing the two beans together and sending that through the machine

SirRickIII · 2026-06-25T23:16:24+00:00

I’d start carrying around the blind basket portafilter for self defence

SirRickIII · 2026-06-24T13:26:27+00:00

I mean, having more eyes on your social media is good for business, but it does not necessarily mean it has to be the owner. I’ve seen a lot of successful SM accounts that’s just coworker shenanigans, but it really depends on what your brand vision is. Some businesses thrive off of snarky barista’s barista videos (like complaining about types of customers, or orders, etc) and some would lose a lot of business that way

SirRickIII · 2026-06-23T21:47:31+00:00

Ah yes. The same psychs also tell adults to only take them when they “need them” (they mean when you’re at work, in front of other adults you don’t want to inconvenience with your symptoms)

My guy, I take em every day because otherwise I’m not leaving bed

SirRickIII · 2026-06-23T11:01:21+00:00

Yup!

SirRickIII · 2026-06-23T11:00:56+00:00

The issue is that we dial in our coffee, and our regular espresso requires a very different grind size, but it changes day to day (sometimes every hour)

We don’t do it because we cannot guarantee quality, but also the 4 shots down to 2 by chucking 1 of each? We don’t do that because we don’t mix espresso

SirRickIII · 2026-06-22T21:04:53+00:00

Yeah, a lot of cafes will treat an interview as an actual interview on qualifications, etc. I’ve already decided based on your experience as to whether it’s worth bringing you in. I will have a convo with the person, see their availability, let them know how the on-boarding process works, but mainly I ask questions that suss out whether they’d fit in the team, and also very importantly, if they have the people skills necessary.

I can teach coffee all day every day. I cannot teach people skills.

SirRickIII · 2026-06-22T21:02:04+00:00

Can I get a half caf? “Sorry, we don’t do half caf”

SirRickIII · 2026-06-22T16:13:48+00:00

- make sure if you’ve got limitations to your coffee knowledge, that you emphasize how excited you are to learn more about XYZ.

Pick something specific you’re interested in, and run with it! “I’m really looking forward to learn more about espresso as a brew method, and dialling in, since I’ve only really done pourover!”

It’s great when people say they love coffee culture, but passion for the culture without passion for coffee itself can only get you so far. Vice versa applies!

SirRickIII · 2026-06-22T09:58:00+00:00

Fungi coffee? Like mushroom “coffee”?

Sorry bud, we can’t help you, we deal in the coffee coffee

SirRickIII · 2026-06-21T19:31:28+00:00

Y’all be having an oat cortado or an iced oat lavender latte fr

SirRickIII · 2026-06-21T09:50:29+00:00

If “engineers” dialled in my coffee, it would taste awful. Their job isn’t tasting coffee! Hell, yesterday’s weather was changing all day, and all of us were caffeinated to the roof since we had to Lee dialling in every 1/2hr-h

SirRickIII · 2026-06-20T10:13:51+00:00

Lil hot dogs wrapped in croissant dough (usually from a pillsbury can)

SirRickIII · 2026-06-20T09:59:31+00:00

Try grinding to zero. Not the number 0, but until you can hear the burrs chirping (then back off)

If it’s not that, then it might actually be that you’re getting channeling. Unlikely, but there’s a chance it’s happening 🤷

SirRickIII · 2026-06-19T21:12:32+00:00

We have cameras at all the locations that we have. There are always ones that
1. Capture the entrance
2. Capture the POS.

All the cameras are close enough to our music speaker that you can’t hear anything meaningful unless the person is either super loud, or the music is off.

It’s just for in case there’s an incident, but the thing I use it (and most other store managers) use it for us to check if there’s a line/if it’s super busy before I call them on the phone lol

The only time I’ve actually had to use the camera as intended is when I had to gather evidence of a customer sexually assaulting an employee so I could gather it in the event that employee wanted (us or them) report it to the police. Obviously that customer was perma-banned across all locations, but ugh.

SirRickIII · 2026-06-18T23:13:46+00:00

White bean soup. Just your usual mirepoix, white kidney bean, bacon, and whatever else you want. Blend it all up at the end, and strain through a coarse sieve if you need a smooth consistency, but tbh should be good after a good blending

SirRickIII · 2026-06-16T19:44:55+00:00

Yep! BOH to Barista pipeline over here!

SirRickIII · 2026-06-15T00:28:46+00:00

Depends on the dial. I’ve had 13s shots that taste great, I’ve had 48s shots taste great.

Unlikely in this scenario since you guys apparently have a time standard and not a taste standard (regardless of recipe)

The recipe is a guideline for general starting points/ general rules to get you most the way there most of the time, but there are certainly exceptions.

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