Is the brown apron better than the black apron of Starbucks?

Du Xiaojing, 29, head of Aries Starbucks Hangzhou area, Starbucks Coffee Minister

One of the only six coffee ministers in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, would you like to drink her hand-made coffee?

Text | Shi Qiyan

Not long ago, the news of the opening of the first Starbucks Zhenxuan store in Hangzhou went viral in moments. This is the "contact code" between Starbucks fans: there is a Starbucks black apron coffee master in Zhenxuan store. Starbucks black apron is not everyone can wear, need to go through layers of assessment, years of experience to be promoted, it is said that they can taste where the coffee beans, coffee acidity, mellow and what other ingredients are added to the coffee. If you can drink the coffee they make, then, "Oh, my God, good luck!"

But, as you may not know, on top of the "black apron", there are more powerful "coffee aprons". They wear coffee aprons around their waists and are higher-level coffee ministers than the black apron "coffee master". There are only six "coffee aprons" in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, and du Xiaojing is the oldest "coffee minister" in Hangzhou.

More exciting than the draft.

In 2009, people were having fun around the mango talent show, and Starbucks held the Coffee Ambassadors Challenge to inspire partners and strengthen their expertise. After the first trial and reexamination, du Xiaojing stood out in Hangzhou and advanced to the finals. At this point, her state has a new improvement, began to learn on their own, delving into techniques. It was this game that inspired du Xiaojing's enthusiasm.

At that time, the Coffee Minister Challenge had a strict schedule and strict competition system. After N times of screening, only 12 people qualified for the final, which is as difficult as any talent show. Small coffee beans give rise to hundreds of patterns and thousands of kinds of knowledge. Du Xiaojing is one of only six Starbucks coffee ministers selected in the whole Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai region.

Also in May of that year, du Xiaojing followed the Starbucks team to the origin of coffee in Sumatra, Indonesia. The object of the visit is the coffee growers who are closest to the coffee. She saw that every bean appeared in front of us only after sowing, caring, picking by hand, peeling, drying and so on. Here, the course of each cup of coffee is: grew up on a family farm for more than nine months; after screening, it took more than 50 hours to evenly dry; coffee beans have been tasted and tested three times to ensure quality; traveled thousands of miles to come to you, at least 34 hands have taken good care of this cup of coffee. "No coffee farmer will waste a coffee bean easily." She said it was the mission of the coffee minister to spread the "hard-won" message to the public.

Misfortune might be a blessing in disguise

How should the coffee minister face the rest of his life after losing his eyesight? This is no joke. Du Xiaojing was once "blind". After successfully wearing a brown apron, a sudden eye disease caused great damage to her eyesight, and most of the time she could only feel the light and shade of the environment.

In order to treat her eye disease, she asked the company for a long vacation, but that didn't stop her from becoming a better person. During the period of blindness, Xiaojing was asked by the doctor to close her eyes for a long time, but she gained a new understanding of coffee-she could not see the color of the coffee, but she was more sensitive to the aroma of the coffee. "it's a kind of human instinct. When one sense is closed, it always sharpens the other senses. "

The twists and turns of the mocha, the sweetness of the latte, the mellow aroma of espresso. She can detect the nuances of each coffee bean through her keen sense of smell. She groped in the dark and accumulated experience. Later, when her eyesight recovered, she also get stunts that ordinary baristas do not have, just like those masters in martial arts novels-surviving a disaster and doubling their martial arts skills. Want to drink her hand-made coffee? Quietly reveal to you: du Xiaojing often appears in the EAC store on Jiaogong Road in Hangzhou!

# Flower head Sutra #

Starbucks baristas apron system, rating from low to high: green-black-brown. Next time you go to Starbucks, remember to pay attention to the color of the barista apron.

Green apron is also known as "star barista". They love coffee, are skillful and willing to share. It's not easy to be a Starbucks barista. They must undergo rigorous training in the store, including comprehensive theoretical knowledge of coffee and operational practice. After the training, you must go through the certification examination of qualified trainers, persist in hard training and dedication, so that you can finally get the qualification of "star barista" and begin to formally make drinks for customers and provide a pure Starbucks experience. Star baristas will use their professionalism and enthusiasm to present every cup of coffee to customers.

Black apron is also known as black apron coffee master. Have more persistent enthusiasm and richer professional knowledge, seriously study the coffee master manual, improve the production skills such as flower drawing and hand flushing, and finally become a black apron coffee master through strict assessment and certification. What is different is that they will also use their own practical actions to provide coffee education to partners and customers, shouldering the important task of spreading coffee culture.

Coffee apron special title, Starbucks coffee minister, there are only 6 in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai. They are the best in black dresses and are evaluated every two years. They represented the most enthusiastic and excellent Starbucks coffee masters at that time. The enthusiasm and professionalism of coffee culture is higher than that of black aprons, and their personal qualities about coffee make them stand out again. On the other hand, this title also requires a strong sense of responsibility and mission.