Italy's longest-serving barista reflects on six decades behind the counter

Posted by NaOH 5 days ago

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Comment by isoprophlex 1 hour ago

    > I’ve seen generations grow up. Some grandparents come in with their grandkids and say, “Anna, remember the jukebox?”
    > Today, however, young people no longer come to the bar. They came when we had the dance floor and the music. Today, they like to spend time with the smartphone; they even take it to bed when they go to sleep.
What are we losing, what are we taking away from life, now that we ourselves have become a resource to extract. Probably, a lot.

Comment by lqet 9 minutes ago

> Today, [young people] like to spend time with the smartphone; they even take it to bed when they go to sleep.

Recently my parents (in their mid-60ies) were visiting us. At some point I realized that both of them had been quietly sitting at our dinner table for over on hour, eyes glued on their smartphones. They are massively addicted. I have noticed that they get nervous as soon as the smartphone is out of reach, or even in silent mode. They mostly talk to friends via Whatsapp and are in constant fear that they miss out on something or that these friends (which also seem to spend most of their days on Whatsapp) will be offended if they don't reply within 5 minutes to the latest Whatsapp trivia. It is quite a struggle to even get them to turn off their phones when we are having dinner. The Whatsapp messages just keep coming in. My wife recently learned that her mother mostly spends her evenings with posting photos of her life on social media, and broke off contact with her brothers for a few days because they failed to quickly enthusiastically react to some photos she posted on a family Whatsapp group.

But I guess for Anna Possi, my parents are "young people" and could be her grandchildren...

Comment by trymas 2 minutes ago

Socrates would have drawn the line at writing and reading texts.

Comment by simonebrunozzi 26 minutes ago

> What are we losing, what are we taking away from life, now that we ourselves have become a resource to extract. Probably, a lot.

Beautifully said. And sad.

Comment by carabiner 22 minutes ago

Are we the bad guys?

Comment by silcoon 3 hours ago

She's vividly awaken with an active mind at 101 yo, it's not a thing for everyone. We try to fix the body decadence problem with technology while ancient seems already discovered it. You can see it in her words and her lifestyle; a simple life, a helpful work, a community that makes you feel appreciated for what you do. All the rest doesn't really matter for longevity.

Btw, the woman is addressing the interviewer using "her", which is a common form of respect, for a person probably half her age.

Comment by Yiin 18 minutes ago

many people living simple fulfilling lives die much earlier, it's more an exception than the rule (I don't argue that those things doesn't help, just that they alone is not the reason for long healthy life)

Comment by djtango 7 minutes ago

I have a pet theory that classical musicians overindex on longevity, and I believe that the fulfilment and community aspects are contributors to their longevity.

No evidence and probably full of bias but seems intuitive enough

Comment by bix6 6 hours ago

I was thinking about robotic baristas the other day and how you might save on costs but you give up so much; If I’m going out for coffee I prefer places where I know the baristas so I get to feel like a part of my community.

Comment by kulahan 6 hours ago

There are a couple stores around me run by small families, and honestly sometimes I feel like I'm halfway to being part of their family when I visit. They recognize me, greet me by name, and start firing up my order right away. Or they ask me how I'm doing and I do the same, but it goes deeper than "good, you?" - I'm learning currently about how one dude is trying a year living together with his ex again. I'm praying for 'em every day pretty much. We share recipes, stores, etc.

We will rue every decision we make to remove humans from interactions imo.

Comment by oersted 6 hours ago

> robotic baristas

Coffee vending machines? That’s what’s inside the box, it’s nothing new really… There are very high quality ones too. It’s not a particularly skilled job for a human to do, besides the customer service aspect of course, perhaps I am ignorant in that regard.

Indeed, coming from Spain, I don’t really see the lady as a barista, she is the classic bartender that listens to you and knows everybody. Except the bar is open throughout the day, is family friendly, sells all kinds besides alcohol (breakfast, coffee, tobacco, lunch, dinner, newspapers, lottery tickets, snacks and sweets…), and generally acts as the social nexus of the neighborhood. These old school small bars are everywhere in southern EU. Within that context it is less surprising that she would stay working there as long as she physically could.

Comment by pezezin 2 hours ago

I am also Spanish, living in Japan, and our bars is one the things I miss the most. Seriously, you don't realize how amazing Spanish bars are until you don't have them.

Here I just stop by a konbini, grab a can coffee and a plastic-wrapped sandwich, and off I go. There is no social nexus, and no neighbourhood for that matter. It's depressing.

Comment by Incipient 5 hours ago

I feel like there are definitely two types of people that are after coffee - the morning commute people that need caffeine, and just want it fast. They'd not notice a machine doing it for them (and a lot of them would have a machine at home!)

The other group is like you and I, where we like engaging with the community.

I suppose three - the Starbucks crew that do it for 'likes'.

Comment by 8f2ab37a-ed6c 3 hours ago

The Italian morning caffè ritual is already extremely fast: the barista works at the speed of light and the coffee you get is pretty standard, but in exchange you get a moment to rub shoulders "al banco" with others like you about to go into work, or elders just getting out of the house, a mother taking her kid to school, a policeman taking a break. You say hi to the same few people you've been seeing at the establishment for years. It's familiar and heartwarming.

It's a sprinkling of human connection as you start your day. A small homage to the tradition of coffee culture. Your grandparents did it, your parents did it, you did it, your kids will do it, etc. You rejoice in knowing that, as everything else changes around you, maybe this one minuscule secular ritual will stand the test of time and provide a symbolic sense of continuity with the past.

Comment by matwood 35 minutes ago

Part of the issue is Americans get huge drinks to go. Italy seems to have espresso available on every corner so people just stop when they want one.

I love living in Italy and being part of the local cafe ritual. It’s one of the things that drew me here.

Comment by refactor_master 1 hour ago

I think group 3 is a bit of a reach. Most people just treat it as a commodity. You need a break after shopping? Coffee. Meeting someone to talk over something for 30 minutes? Coffee. Need a cozy place to sit and get some work done? Coffee. For none of these do people have to engage with the community or be caffeine addicts.

Comment by siavosh 4 hours ago

I’m obviously out of touch. What do these starbucks people do exactly.

Comment by sho_hn 3 hours ago

Order the special drink of the week/month and pose with it on socials. Think your Pumpkin Spice Latte season.

Comment by tokioyoyo 3 hours ago

I have a feeling that most people imagine this. But this doesn’t sound like on the ground reality for me? Here in Tokyo, most people I’ve seen just grab brewed coffee or the usual espresso drinks and go on with their lives. When I lives in Toronto/Vancouver, that’s what I experienced over there as well. Used to frequent one down the street as it was the cheapest brewed available coffee, and the regulars would always order their normal cups to go.

It’s interesting to see these type of generalizations that I never experience in life. I’m not saying there’s no truth to it, as girls in my circles often talk about “oh, it’s PSL season, I wanna go!”. But it’s hard to believe that all of their customers go for the special drinks.

Comment by sho_hn 2 hours ago

I've never seen this either. I'm just interpreting what I think OP meant.

I used to live in Seoul, and new special food or drink items definitely would cause fad waves and would appear on Instagram feeds (Seoul is notorious for this), but I doubt it was the major parts of Starbucks' business.

Comment by divbzero 4 hours ago

Even for morning commute people who need caffeine, getting to chat with a human beats having a machine to do it.

Comment by gyomu 3 hours ago

> you might save on costs but you give up so much

Modern society, and the push to optimize every single thing that can be measured, in a nutshell.

Comment by sho_hn 3 hours ago

Nobody is rolling these out to optimize anything.

Robotic baristas - I'm assuming the OP is referring to those 6dof robot arm deployments - are largely novelty or luxury items meant to catch attention. You either see them in touristy areas trying to attract the Instagram crowd, or (increasingly now, after the novelty is starting to wear of) in corporate lobbies trying to impress.

Comment by hippo22 2 hours ago

I used to feel the same way, but, then I find it weird that the barista has to be there. I get the sense that some people use them almost like a free therapist since they have a captive audience.

Comment by smcin 2 hours ago

It's an interesting sidebar discussion what are cultural norms on social interaction vs using someone like a free therapist. I guess consent to whatever topic, equal airtime, not saying inappropriate things, not slowing down their work.

Comment by jimbokun 2 hours ago

At that point just make your coffee at home.

Comment by alephnerd 4 hours ago

> I was thinking about robotic baristas the other day and how you might save on costs but you give up so much...

How do they save costs?

Their operating cost doesn't beat gas station coffee, and the margins needed to service them end up pricing them the same as human barista coffee.

Automation only works if it helps reduce your COGS, not increase it, and for a product like coffee with already paper thin margins, the cost of servicing a robotic barista ends up not being much different from hiring 2-3 part time baristas while providing a subpar product.

Comment by bamboozled 6 hours ago

This is right, coffee is a lot about people and interaction. It's about being around people.

Comment by jack_tripper 8 hours ago

Always love reading interviews with Italy's youth ;)

Comment by defrost 7 hours ago

Great interview with this Australian who's almost a teen ... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45487077

Comment by N_Lens 7 hours ago

Thanks for the SensibleChuckle (Bit of Aussie humour there haha)

Comment by defrost 2 hours ago

Hello fellow reader?

Our dogs devour every issue: https://i.imgur.com/P80uqLB.jpeg

Comment by anshulbhide 1 hour ago

Can you imagine the insights on human behaviour that she has had?

Comment by bell-cot 7 hours ago

Between the lines you can hear the eulogy for a healthy economy and dense social network which have, now, mostly rotted away.

Comment by komali2 6 hours ago

> I tell my granddaughters: work, save, don’t depend on anyone. The world is getting harder.

This woman lived through fascist Italy and everything that came after, and then says this about the way the world is going.

Comment by amarant 5 hours ago

Reading the writing on the wall perhaps.

In Soviet Russia, Rome is a poor city I guess

Comment by komali2 4 hours ago

Sorry, I don't quite understand what this means, can you help?

Comment by amarant 3 hours ago

Russia seems poised to invade Europe in the near future. If they do, and succeed, Rome could become part of the new Soviet Union(which Putin has explicitly said he wants to bring back)

Once that happens, it's likely to lead to poverty. At least that's what happened in the last USSR

Comment by Copenjin 1 hour ago

Invade with what? Refugees running away from a poor and failing country? Man...

Comment by Barrin92 2 hours ago

>Russia seems poised to invade Europe in the near future

only if the near future includes the year 2150 because as of right now the Russian defense ministry is celebrating the liberation of individual bakery plants on their state media

https://tass.com/politics/2041223

Comment by almostgotcaught 3 hours ago

> Russia seems poised to invade Europe in the near future. If they do, and succeed

Is this a joke? There is literally no chance this ever happens.

Comment by frankest 2 hours ago

Russia’s kleptocracy has impoverished the country so much that it now needs attrition in its male population to keep people from rising up against the current leadership. War is how you keep poor citizens from rebelling against you. When the war is over, historically the returning soldiers (especially in Russia) overturn the leadership. So there is never an incentive to stop a war. Especially a losing one.

Comment by Copenjin 51 minutes ago

The fact that it's a fragile kleptocracy basically reduce to 0 any possibility of a normal future. Puppet state at best, if someone is willing to take them. I expect they already planned what to do with the returning soldiers, not that they will like it or accept gracefully what's in store for them.

Comment by baq 1 hour ago

Eyes wide shut in the west still.

Comment by mattmaroon 2 hours ago

https://archive.is/D6o9S

Comment by N_Lens 6 hours ago

Working past a 100 is a dream of mine (The barista in the article is 101). I don't think too many people are fond of images of old age in the Western popular zeitgeist - care homes, infirmity, increasing disability.

I hope we can cultivate more 'blue zones' across the Planet, such as in Japan and around the Mediterranean. We have the capability to do so.

Comment by owlninja 6 hours ago

I'm not sold on the whole blue zone thing... here is an HN discussion on a paper refuting some of the claims that won an Ig Nobel prize last year:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41738434

Comment by Copenjin 45 minutes ago

She reminds me of the old people managing their crumbling shops in Japan that are popular on youtube. Being still able to work is nice, as long as you are not forced to just to survive.

Comment by zdc1 1 hour ago

Personally, if I could stop working tomorrow I would. I have nothing against work, but I do feel that most jobs aren't particularly meaningful, and so they act as a pacifier that fills in our time so we don't need to confront the question of: what do we do with our time?

Comment by matwood 30 minutes ago

I’ll never stop working for some definition of work. I will stop doing the things I don’t want to do.

Comment by 31337Logic 53 minutes ago

God damn!

Comment by Aeolun 8 hours ago

I wonder what happened to the dance floor. It appears at some point, and then apparently it disappears again too, because the youth stop coming.

Comment by brendoelfrendo 7 hours ago

I always think that I would hate to work into my old age, but it's different for some. I can't speak to what Anna's financial situation is like, but the way she talks about her work as part of the community and a way to stay active and independent makes me think that she's content, and that's great. She certainly seems like she's doing well for 101!

Comment by jimbokun 2 hours ago

Working for a larger soul sucking corporation that long would be spiritually crushing.

But serving your community coffee every day seems like a great way to stay involved in your community doing something useful.

Comment by jacquesm 4 hours ago

I have an uncle that is extremely old and until a year and a half ago he was still working. But he needed a car for his job and he decided that he's going to get rid of the car before he ends someone else's life and so he had to give up his job too. He's a super nice character, has a great sense of humor and in general is probably one of the most fun and optimistic people that I know. He'd be working still if not for the car and I know that the loss of the job and a chunk of his independence is hard for him. But he does not let it get him down for long, just finds new things to do (he's currently studying bridge like his life depends on it).

Comment by swatcoder 6 hours ago

For most people, it proves very disorienting to not be doing something constructive for others, and in a capitalist world, where everything easily becomes transactional and people get a little isolated from deeper community and family, it's kind of organic for that drive to be fulfilled by continuing to work in old age. Lots of people do it by choice.

If you feel like you might be on that road, the smart trick is to start thinking early about what kind of work you might want to take up during that stage and plant the seeds for it early.

Some people don't have a lot of choice to prepare, and just end up falling into being barista because the job is there and they find they enjoy it. But the other barista at that same cafe might be the owner who bought it as their own "retirement", filling shifts when they want to, while giving the neighborhood a place to gather.

Comment by socalgal2 4 hours ago

>and in a capitalist world, where everything easily becomes transactional and people get a little isolated from deeper community and family,

What does this have to do with capitalism?

Comment by swatcoder 4 hours ago

Huh?

Not every culture or community is built so centrally around atomization and transactionality as the prevailing one is. But those things represent the essence of what capitalism is, and are central to what it aspires to acheive. It works its magic when people can negotiate their relationships through currency and through accounts measured against it, and so a society that means to participate in it is one that tends to engender payment, quantified barter, and unburdened individuality over alternatives like filial concern or community enrichment.

It's not really a controversial thing to suggest, and wasn't there to be accusatory or something. It's the world we live in.

Comment by Daishiman 3 hours ago

Not only is not controversial but one of the bases of Marxist critique of capitalism is the concept of alienation, which not even the staunchest defenders of capitalism deny.

Comment by wat10000 3 hours ago

I can’t imagine I’d ever stop programming as long as I’m mentally and physically capable of it. That doesn’t mean I’d work until I drop, because I can always do hobby projects for myself instead. Being a hobby barista probably doesn’t work quite the same way.