By Miguel Sanchez

Of the Gleaner

Caffeine and students are synonymous in today’s youth culture with coffee becoming increasingly popular amongst those not only in college, but also in high school.

The most common place to get a fix in Dubuque is at any of the three Hy-Vee Starbucks.  Their iconic logo can be found on many coffee cups every morning, but the truly sought after part is not the green mermaid on the cup, but what’s inside.

To understand the brewed mix of art and chemistry under the lid, we sat down for a Q&A session with local Starbucks Barista, Natalie Rapp, ‘16.  She works at the Locust Street Hy-Vee.

How long have you been working there?

“A year.”

What’s an average day like?

“There’s a lot of cleaning involved-  especially on the weekends. Little girls will come in and be like really sassy and think they’re really cool because they get like a vanilla bean cappuccino or a cotton candy cappuccino.”

Any horror stories on the job?

“One time I was working by myself, and it was pretty busy and I had to get this guy a coffee.  He was already pretty irritated, so I got him a coffee and he like grabs the lid, but it wasn’t on right.  It opened and splashed and went everywhere.”

“Also, I got two flowers from two different guys and one guy called back and tried to give me his number.” (Natalie is in a relationship with Jacob Mozena, ‘16, DSHS.)

What are the pros and cons of working there?

Pros-

• You know a lot about coffee
• You get cheaper coffee ($3 for any grande drink)

Cons-

• You can’t really call in sick ever
• You have to work no matter what
• It gets really hot in the summer and freezing in the winter.  (Natalie recalls wearing snow pants to work last winter.)
• We don’t get free drinks
• We don’t keep our tips (Tips are donated to charities like the JDRF and The Make-A-Wish Foundation)

What is your personal favorite drink?

“This is a hard one. It’s a tall, double shot, two pump, pumpkin spice, one pump chai, bréve latte.”

What is the hardest drink to make?

“Cappuccinos, because customers are picky about how they’re made.”

What is something you’d like to tell customers but can’t?

“Go away.  It’s 7:58 PM.  You don’t need coffee this late.”