Barista Of The Week… Litia Mossman
Barista at The Drugstore, 140 Smith Street, Summer Hill
The Coffee Guide (TCG): What coffee do you use at work?
Litia: We use Campos Dark City.
TCG: If you weren’t a barista what would you be?
Litia: A bargirl.
TCG: How do you have your coffee at home? How do you make it and how do you take it?
Litia: Generally no coffee at home, but a fair few soy lattes at work.
TCG: What’s the best thing about your job- the one thing that you really love aside from the coffee?
Litia: The great group of people I work with. They are my other family. They’re a laugh a minute.
TCG: What is your favourite music? (For work or for play).
Litia: I love Don’t Freak Now- Mariah Carey.
TCG: What’s your favourite food?
Litia: Steak and chips. My brother is a butcher.
TCG: Tell us what your best (or first) coffee experience was.
Litia: Making a coffee for Brian Macfadden.
TCG: If you’re not drinking coffee, what is your drink of choice?
Litia: Bourbon. I did work in a pub after all.
TCG: What made you become a barista?
Litia: Just a natural progression through cafes. I love getting it right for customers.
TCG: Do people often try and chat you up at work? Have you ever taken the offer up?
Litia: I have a few stalkers… It’s all harmless fun. My boss usually gives them the evil eye.
TCG: What food do you think is the best compliment to a really great coffee?
Litia: Nothing like a great pastry made with real butter that just melts in your mouth.
TCG: How many coffees would you make in the average day?
Litia: About 400.
TCG: What’s the largest amount of coffees you have made in a day?
Litia: 1000, at a fete.
TCG: Does your coffee style (or how you drink it) say something about you?
Litia: It says I take pride in getting it right.
TCG: Who would make a better coffee, King Kong or Godzilla?’
Litia: I don’t know. But I wouldn’t send it back from either. That I do know!
TCG: Where has your coffee making taken you? (Around Australia? Around the world)?
Litia: Nowhere yet… but one day…
TCG: What is the most exciting thing happening in coffee right now for you?
Litia: The best thing is the rising standard we are all moving towards. It’s better for the customer.
TCG: If you could pick one spot in the world to sit and have a coffee, where would it be?
Litia: On a boat with my partner, away from the cares of the world, on a sunny island off Thailand.
TCG: If you could make coffee for one other person of your choice (anyone- past or present), who would it be?
Litia: My boss. He pays my wage.
TCG: As a barista, what’s your next big plan?
Litia: I want to eventually run my own place with my other half.
TCG: Where is your favourite place to hang out in Sydney?
Litia: Leichhardt Oval on a Sunday afternoon, watching the Tigers win.
TCG: Do you have any pets?
Litia: I have 3 dogs. I can’t give you their names because the landlord doesn’t know about them.
TCG: What did you do on your last day off?
Litia: Got drunk. It’s a Saturday ritual.
TCG: In a good cup of coffee, how much of it is due to the barista and how much is due to the beans?
Litia: 50/50. Both are equally important.
TCG: Is decaf a dirty word?
Litia: No. It’s just another choice.
TCG: Is specialty tea the new cappuccino?
Litia: No way. It’s an awesome trend, which like coffee keeps evolving.
TCG: What is your favourite kind of tea?
Litia: Chai leaf.
TCG: What is your favourite alternate brewing method?
Litia: Aeropress. I love the clean mouth feel when it’s done right
TCG: Where do you see alternate brewing methods going?
Litia: Only giving customers more choices hopefully. I hope they evolve.
TCG: What ever happened to the Clover?
Litia: She is still Lord Mayor isn’t she?
TCG: Will other methods fade away?
Litia: No I don’t think so. There seems to be a great acceptance and it’s only growing.