Book Review: It’s Just Coffee: A Starbucks Barista’s Decade on the Inside by Riley Studor
Book Review: It’s Just Coffee: A Starbucks Barista’s Decade on the Inside by Riley Studor
What happens when a job that once feels like a second home gradually becomes a source of frustration, mistreatment, and disillusionment? In It’s Just Coffee: A Starbucks Barista’s Decade on the Inside, Riley Studor offers a candid, often funny, and sometimes unsettling memoir about ten years working behind the counter at Starbucks. More than a collection of workplace stories, the book examines the relationship between employees and management, the consequences of corporate policies, and the importance of treating people with basic dignity and respect.
Studor begins with memories of a Starbucks location where teamwork, camaraderie, and a genuine sense of community made even the busiest shifts enjoyable. The author describes a lively workplace filled with humor, memorable customers, and coworkers who looked out for one another. These early experiences establish an important contrast with what follows: a series of transfers to other stores where the atmosphere increasingly feels defined by inconsistent leadership, unreasonable demands, and a lack of concern for employees.
Some of the memoir’s most compelling passages describe the everyday realities of service work. Studor recounts being pressured to work while sick, navigating difficult managers, and watching workplace relationships deteriorate under poor leadership. These incidents illustrate how seemingly ordinary decisions can have serious consequences for the people expected to carry them out. The central frustration is not simply that the work is demanding, but that employees can be treated as expendable even when their dedication and experience are essential to a store’s success.
One of the book’s greatest strengths is Studor’s distinctive narrative voice. The writing is conversational, direct, irreverent, and frequently sarcastic. The author uses colorful descriptions and sharp humor to make frustrating situations vivid and entertaining, even when the underlying subject is serious. Rather than presenting a detached corporate critique, Studor tells the story through personal experiences, allowing readers to see how workplace culture feels to someone living inside it.
The memoir also recognizes that Starbucks was not always a negative experience. The affectionate descriptions of supportive supervisors, loyal coworkers, and customers who became part of the store’s extended community give the book emotional depth. These positive memories help explain why the later disappointments matter so much. Studor is not simply criticizing a job; the author is describing the loss of something once valued.
Beyond the individual anecdotes, the book raises broader questions about leadership and corporate responsibility. What happens when policies take precedence over common sense? Why should workers have to fight for consideration when they are ill or struggling? And how can a company promote values such as community and respect while employees experience something very different on the job? Studor also explores questions of race, workplace culture, and the responsibility of people in positions of authority.
The book’s candid style will not appeal to every reader. Studor’s language can be blunt, the sarcasm can be biting, and the criticism of certain managers is unmistakable. Readers looking for an impartial corporate investigation or a carefully documented history of Starbucks should understand that this is a personal memoir, grounded in the author’s recollections and perspective. Its purpose is to communicate what those years felt like, rather than to establish an official account of the company as a whole.
Nevertheless, that personal approach is central to the book’s appeal. Studor writes with conviction and makes the human consequences of workplace decisions difficult to ignore. The stories are specific enough to bring the reader into the daily world of a barista, while the underlying themes extend well beyond the coffee industry.
It’s Just Coffee is a revealing and entertaining memoir for current and former service-industry workers, Starbucks employees and customers, and anyone interested in workplace relationships and management. It reminds readers that a job may involve serving coffee, ringing up orders, and keeping a busy store running, but the people doing that work deserve respect.
Ultimately, Riley Studor’s message is straightforward: no job should require people to surrender their dignity simply because someone else holds authority over them. It’s Just Coffee turns one barista’s decade of experiences into a pointed reflection on work, power, and the difference that decent leadership can make.
Recommended for readers interested in memoirs, workplace culture, and candid accounts of life behind the counter.
Amazon Review
https://www.amazon.com/review/R2WB6G9Y8O2R9Y/ref=pe_123899240_1043597390_SRTC_02_04_BT_99_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv