STAGNATION, MATURATION AND FINDING YOUR PLACE IN THE INDUSTRY.

Back in November I was honoured to give one of the Tamper Tantrum talks at CupNorth. You can watch it here if you've not seen it yet.

At the time, it was just my thoughts on the state of our industry, but It seemed that I had tapped into a Zeitgeist. We had the triple header from James Hoffmann, The lull/Bubble/Implications , which touched on many of the same themes, and also an interesting post on Medium from Nick Cho amongst others (which now seems to be gone).

To my mind they all added interesting perspectives on this issue of stagnation, but none of them made me rethink my conclusion, something I covered in my Tamper Tantrum chat with the incredible Jenn Rugolo. 

I won't go through it all again. But instead I'll try to précis my take on "the lull" if you will.

The pace of advancement we saw in the early years of the third wave has slowed, contrary to what we think. This has lead us to look for the next wave, the 4th wave. This has been characterised as a lull or stagnation in the speciality industry. It's my belief that that we've not stagnated, but are instead maturing .

OK, but how does that maturation show itself, what does it mean?

It means that as an industry we can turn our focus to the bigger questions, gender equality, sustainability etc. And know that they will reach and engage a significant portion of the workforce. This happens because the information age has allowed this dissemination of information to educate anyone and everyone, but more importantly we are becoming secure enough to listen to their opinions without hierarchical limitations or perceptions. It's is also an industry where there are a growing multitude of career paths, all of which are valuable.

Now that we're happy with the fact that we are maturing , What do I mean by fining your place? 

Well, with this maturation has come an increasing plethora of job roles. Where this leads is to an industry where every person involved at every step of the chain is valued, that each job role can be seen as a career.  It's become viable to have careers in sustainability, in gender equality issues, in Quality Control, as a scientist in coffee related studies, even as a barista. The list goes on and on and all you have to do is find your spot. Sounds easy huh?  

Whilst that's a gross simplification of the process, it's no longer true that we have to follow the older established career paths, the ones that took you from barista to either management, roasting or leaving the industry. We can look to make an impact in our own way, pursuing those issues which mean the most to us. 

But how do you do it? This is probably the bit where I digress into a Kung-Fu style monologue about wandering the world ever searching for your true path in life. But whilst that's silly, allow me one small aside. The Third Wave has seen the advent of the coffee celebrity (something barista competitions have a lot to answer for) and given our current social make-up an increasing number of baristas feel that this something to aspire to, that this is the only way for them to make a difference and gain recognition. The relative worth of this position is for you to decide, but the fact is that It's simply not possible for us all to take on that role and if the Information Age is teaching us one thing, its that if your work is of true quality and contributes to the industry not only will you make a difference but people will hear about it.

Perhaps the best way to elucidate this is to focus to my story. In over a decade in the industry I've ended up back where I started, as a working barista and I love it. Everyday I get to interact and educate hundreds of people, making a small difference in each of their lives. Through this work and via sharing my thoughts on this blog and in print, I'd say that I'm known in the industry. That's not ego talking it's just a fact, one that has no bearing on happiness or well being but serves as positive proof of my assertions.

So without sounding trite, finding your place in our industry could really be as simple doing that which makes you happy.