During the couple of months I have ‘barista-ed’ at Starbucks, I have met many people. And it’s amazing what 30-seconds (the length of time it takes me to whip up a steamy cup while carrying a converstation with a customer) can tell you about a person. From just a few seconds I can tell you where they work, how their weekend was spent and what kind of a day they are having. Whats most important though is what kind of drink a person orders; this says it all! But I have come to form a person’s profile is constructed in those first few moments of the order. For instance, “tall in a venti cup” says ‘I’m cheap’, “sugar-free, nonfat with whipped cream” says ‘I’m trying to tell myself I’m losing weight’ and my personal favorite “venti, quad, 3 pump mocha, 3 pump caramel, extra hot, breve with light ice and a dome lid”… give me a break. You can only imagine what this says about the customer… but one word comes to mind ‘complicated’. And seriously there are those whose one-drink rap sheet is even longer than this! I can tell you people who order mocha’s and frappachinos have a sweet tooth and are not watching their weight. People who order ‘light’ drinks with whipped cream probably struggle with self esteem. Those who stick to straight black brews are very simple, don’t like change and know exactly what they want. And as time goes by, what I continue to learn about each customer proves my profiling conclusions that you are what you drink.