We asked our intern Brendan Scher to do a feature journalists traditionally call a “Man on the Street” story. We told him to go up to random strangers and ask this question: “What is a Barista?” Here’s what he came back with.
Jack Bernard, retired

Jillian Abramson, student

Declined to provide name

Janet Brown, secretary
“I don’t know. Ask the white people, it sounds like something they’d know.”
Another subject, whose picture came out blurry, thought it was a video game. OK, so we have a little marketing to do. A barista, as everybody should know, is:
ba-ris-ta n.1. Coffee slinger, the person who serves your espresso.
2. A purveyor of news and gossip. 3. Your 21st century info source.
Baristanet Local Offers
Click here to sign up for Baristanet's free daily emails and news alerts.