A Day With a Barista in One of NYC's Busiest Coffee Shops | On the Job | Priya Krishna | NYT Cooking

Here is a brief summary of the key points in the transcript: The transcript follows a barista named Arnaldo working at the Cafe Grumpy in New York's Grand Central Station. Arnaldo discusses how he got into coffee, having worked as a barista in Puerto Rico before moving to New York after Hurricane Maria. In New York, he works at the busy Cafe Grumpy location in Grand Central Station. The transcript shows Arnaldo interacting with customers, making drinks quickly and accurately during the morning rush. It also shows him training the narrator on how to make coffee properly, emphasizing the technical details required. Arnaldo and a coworker discuss enjoying working together and bonding over music. Customers say they appreciate Arnaldo's friendliness and care, which brings them back daily. At the end, Arnaldo reflects that he considers himself successful doing work he loves, even if it doesn't pay as much as a corporate job. Key points include Arnaldo's passion for coffee, his transition to New York, the fast-paced environment of the cafe, and his relationships with coworkers and customers.

Speaker A: Large maritime cold brew.

Speaker B: You're so fast.

Speaker A: This grand central people is in a heavy here.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: Baristas are really important because giving them a good cup of coffee can change the whole rhythm of their day.

Speaker B: It is a little after six in the morning and we are in a very familiar location. We are at Grand Central Station. We are here to visit a barista named Arnaldo who serves coffee at the cafe grumpy at Grand Central. There are very few server to customer interactions that feel so high stakes than a barista giving a person who is about to go to work their coffee in the morning. And I can't even imagine doing it at one of the busiest transit stations in the entire country. Hey, Arnaldo. I'm Priya. It's nice to meet you.

Speaker A: Welcome in.

Speaker B: Thanks. I don't think I've ever been to Grand Central this early in the morning.

Speaker A: My name is Arnaldo Javier Hernandez Mundo. I am a professional barista at Cafe Grumpy in New York City and I've been doing coffee for ten years.

Speaker B: So show me your setup back here.

Speaker A: So back here we have ice where we serve the ice drinks, we pick up. We put them right here. This is the milk station where all the pitchers that get rinsed. This is rinser water. As soon as you finish the drink, it rinses.

Speaker B: So you're like basically just getting ready for the morning rush right now?

Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, exactly. We've set up everything.

Speaker B: And is it like the calm before the storm right now?

Speaker A: Yeah, before when the storm is constantly hitting, you just get used to it. Six minutes to open it.

Speaker B: Oh, yeah. Here you do you.

Speaker A: Yeah, yeah.

Speaker B: Do your thing.

Speaker A: Good morning. How are you, Mandev? We're officially open. Yeah. So here you go.

Speaker C: Your drink.

Speaker A: Coffee. You want roof for milk? Here you go. Have a great day.

Speaker B: What time is it gonna get, like, super crazy?

Speaker A: 8830. Start skiing in skin. One short cortado. Enjoy. You want it regular? It's all right. I got you right here now and we have the chat. No, no, it's all good. There we go. Have a good day.

Speaker B: Thanks, guys.

Speaker A: See you tomorrow. Yeah, see ya.

Speaker B: It's getting really busy. I was trying to intercept and order a scone, but that may not be in my face. What is the hardest part of your job?

Speaker A: Call me a coffee. Enjoy. The hardest part of my job is making sure coffee stays the same all the time. All those numbers of meticulousness going on, you have to be able to make that happen in a fast pace.

Speaker B: One thing that really stood out to.

Speaker A: Me, cobra on the bar.

Speaker B: You're doing the hard work of making coffee and you have to make the customers happy. Does that feel especially challenging to you?

Speaker A: I just take it as some just here having relationship with people and doing something I really love doing. It's that relationship that makes actual the coffee good.

Speaker B: I know almost nothing about coffee.

Speaker A: Oh, we got you.

Speaker B: This is a huge blind spot.

Speaker A: So we make sure we have those 19 grams.

Speaker B: So we pretty much have 19.

Speaker A: Exactly. Yeah. In order to, like, follow the recipe.

Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker A: So we like, make sure flat it out 90 degrees on our elbows and.

Speaker B: Wow.

Speaker A: And we make sure it's even. That will make sure that water, when it goes through, it falls as. Even as it can.

Speaker B: There's just so much to remember.

Speaker A: We got coffee, but we gotta try it in order to know if it's right.

Speaker B: That's nice.

Speaker A: It's not bad.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: Yeah. I think it could be a little juicy. More juicy. See, like now it's hitting the back part of your tongue, which is not as good. I wanna do it again in order to get to 38 instead of 39. So this time we got 36. Seven. Okay. Try it. This should be a little better.

Speaker B: Mm hmm.

Speaker A: See, it's way better.

Speaker B: Yeah, this is way better.

Speaker A: It's more clean, not as dry. Where are you from? Puerto Rico. In Puerto Rico? I lived my entire life there. I started college and I figured out that school wasn't for me. I started working. I got a job as a waiter. One of the waiters, he got the hang of making latte art. When I discovered I could do that, I wanted to be a barista. I was going to iches coffee shop in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and I would work from seven until eleven for free. But that helped me to learn faster. I was there for two years. I became a manager and I decided to compete. I competed in latte art and I got third place.

Speaker B: What did you draw?

Speaker A: It was two wings of with three hearts.

Speaker B: You were working in coffee in Puerto Rico and then Hurricane Maria hit. Can you talk about what that was like?

Speaker A: Rike Maria, he messed up Puerto Rico, like, completely. My trainer on the competition, he told me Cafe grumpy owners told me that if some of the baristas that want to move to New York and come and work, there's an open door for that.

Speaker B: What was your impression of him? He's super professional and positive, but he also takes this super seriously and really appreciate what goes into getting the coffee to the customer. Like all the behind the scenes, you know, from the farms and everything. What do you think about the fact that a cup of coffee costs, like, seven or $8 now?

Speaker A: Coming from Puerto Rico and actually going to pick coffee, it's a hustle. It's a lot of labor. Going to pick coffee is really important for us baristas. We have to see how hard it is having at least that experience of picking coffee. It makes you be gentle with at least the process of making it.

Speaker B: What drew you to come to New York to do coffee?

Speaker A: Flexibility. Coffee in Puerto Rico wasn't, like, a thing. Coffee culture in Puerto Rico is more relaxed. I decided to do coffee, and I said, I'm gonna do this for my entire life. This is what I like to do. And having this opportunity was, like, the door to enter into this more professional, high level coffee scene. There you go. Yeah. Enjoy.

Speaker B: Not only did you come to New York, but you came to one of the busiest coffee shops here. You came to Grand Central Station. What was that transition like?

Speaker A: It was fun because it wasn't just you. It was five people on the rush. So seeing that and working with a team that was really passionate about it, too, is amazing.

Speaker D: Here, frabe latte.

Speaker A: Thank you.

Speaker B: Are you used to working in such a, like, tight space? Now it's just like usual. Normal.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: So you get used to this is tight. This is a small coffee shop. There's not a lot of room to stand around.

Speaker A: Right behind you. Okay. Could I get a medium coffee with.

Speaker B: A lot of rose decaf, macchiato, decaf, cavillachi.

Speaker A: Cold brew.

Speaker B: Cold brew, please.

Speaker A: Cold brew, please. I start my shoes. Almond milk, cappuccino, cortado.

Speaker B: There's not a lot of room for error either. And I have to say, in two and a half hours, I've seen them mess up an order only one time.

Speaker A: I'll put it right here.

Speaker B: I'd be messing up half of these orders. I'm not a details person. You have to be a details person for this job.

Speaker D: Ice Americano.

Speaker B: What's it like having Arnaldo as a co worker?

Speaker D: Behind, we're usually playing latin music, and we're dancing and we're joking around. There's a lot of energy behind the bar when it's just us two together. Have a culprit on the bar.

Speaker B: I'm very impressed with you and Arnaldo's energy, your interaction with customers. And just like your interactions with each other, you guys kind of know how to move around each other really well.

Speaker A: Right behind you.

Speaker D: Having worked in the service industry, there's a universal language. There's a universal way of maneuvering each space. And you kind of learn like, okay, this person knows what they're doing. I know what I'm doing.

Speaker B: What do you think it takes to do your job?

Speaker D: I sew personal cup. It does take quite a bit of patience. There's a lot of humanity involved.

Speaker A: In the winter, they get drip coffee.

Speaker B: The rush is so real. A train comes and they are absolutely slammed. This place is full.

Speaker A: Got it. Enjoy it. Cobra on the bar. We had such a lovely coffee here. Oh, yeah. You got to the right place. Yeah, that was yesterday, right? Yes. Nice. Walking down, trying to get that smell. We couldn't get anywhere.

Speaker B: I work nearby and I need a coffee. Cause it's Monday morning and you come here every day? Almost every day. What keeps you coming back? Mostly, honestly, the staff, they're great. What do you think about Arnaldo here?

Speaker C: This is his work and I think it's amazing. He creates a beautiful experience for me every single morning. And that's why I come to cafe grumpy, because I always leave happy.

Speaker B: I feel like I underestimated the power of a cup of coffee for people.

Speaker C: Don't do that. It's a bad look. I like to feel special in the morning and that's how Annato makes me feel.

Speaker B: I feel like he makes a lot of people here feel special. What have you learned about people doing this job?

Speaker A: Let off empathy. Over on the bar, we have a key to make anybody a better day. There you go, boss.

Speaker B: Thanks.

Speaker A: Enjoy. How are you doing? Hey, how are you doing? What's up? Long time no see. I'm bouncing. Okay, go on break.

Speaker B: Ready to go on break?

Speaker A: Let's go.

Speaker B: You've been working? I haven't, but we're both going on break. This is lovely. This is just like your wind down time.

Speaker A: My wind down time? My thinking about stuff time.

Speaker B: Do you feel like there are misconceptions that people have of your job?

Speaker A: I don't know. People think it's easy. A lot of people think it's not a real job. It's mostly looked as a young, young people's job through their college, which takes out a little bit of seriousness. Most of the people that work in coffee and dedicate to coffee just love it. It's not a million dollars, but it's something that you can live, have a life, you know. People should dedicate more to coffee, dedicate more as a job instead of having a side job for my college or because it's a beautiful industry.

Speaker B: There are 30 minutes left in Arnaldo's shift. I am really quite amazed at how he's, like, still smiling and laughing and chit chatting with customers.

Speaker A: Thank you. How are you guys?

Speaker B: Shall we get out of here?

Speaker A: Just bounce.

Speaker B: Do you consider yourself successful right now?

Speaker A: Totally. Totally successful. Success is relative success with finishing college and getting a corporate job. But I think success is when you're clear with yourself and in peace with yourself that this is what you like doing. If you like it, you're successful.