The first few years after college, I wanted so badly to pursue a strange fantasy I had in my head. Blame it on an overdose of chick-flicks and too many episodes of Friends throughout my youth, but I wanted to have a stint as a waitress in a really cool coffee shop at some point in my adult life. I found the perfect one and then set about on my mission. They said they’d hire me, but I’d have to start off as a barista before being promoted to serve food to customers. I didn’t really know what that even meant, but I excitedly took the position anyway.

On my first day, as my new manager walked me through the different steps of making cafe au lait, espresso, etc., a huge voice kept shouting in my head louder and more panicky as the minutes ticked on: “You don’t even DRINK coffee, you imposter!!”. I kept trying to calm myself down, soothing the panic by explaining to myself that many people can be masters of a craft they may not even indulge in. Right?

I now know the answer to that is a big fat resounding “wrong”. And although I’ve proven myself to be a horrid coffee-maker and taster, I still love to appreciate the smells and atmosphere of a wonderful coffee shop. Burlap & Bean definitely delivers the goods. All of their coffees are 100% Fair-Trade and Organic, and they roast it in-house using a Certified Organic system. Good stuff.

Your Healthiest Life: It can be challenging to break out of your normal routines to explore new things, but in living a healthy lifestyle, I find a good adventurous attitude takes you very far. If you’re used to going to the same coffee chain every day, break out of the mold and resolve to try a local one for better quality coffee that’s much better for your body.

QUESTION: What job did you suck at most and why?