EditorialSherman James, who has been a barista at Qathra Café since 2015, and became an owner in 2016, prepares a coffee in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, on March 8, 2021. (Sasha Arutyunova/The New York Times)
EditorialSherman James, who has been a barista at Qathra Café since 2015, and became an owner in 2016, prepares a coffee in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, on March 8, 2021. (Sasha Arutyunova/The New York Times)
EditorialSherman James, who has been a barista at Qathra Café since 2015, and became an owner in 2016, prepares a coffee in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, on March 8, 2021. (Sasha Arutyunova/The New York Times)
EditorialMatthew Wilson, in Philadelphia, May 27, 2020, lost his barista job in Philadelphia, then was turned down for unemployment benefits because he had been working in the state for less than a year. (Hannah Yoon/The New York Times)
EditorialAndrea Allen, 36, of Rogers, Ark., who won top honors as the U.S. Barista Champion at the 19th annual U.S. Coffee Championships in Costa Mesa, Calif., Feb. 23, 2020. (Adam Amengual for The New York Times)