Brewed Etiquette: Is Skipping a Tip for Coffee Considered Rude? Baristas Weigh In and Share Insights on How Much You Should Tip!

In the early morning, after placing a coffee order at your local coffee shop, a friendly interaction unfolds. Perhaps the barista inquires about your weekend or extends a good day wish. As you go to pay, the inevitable occurs: the barista swiftly presents the screen, prompting you to decide whether or not to tip.

You tip your bartender, so why don't you tip your barista?

Suddenly, the once amicable exchange becomes transactional and obligatory. The dilemma arises—should you leave a tip, and if so, how much? Will the barista pass judgment? Alternatively, do you simply drop a dollar into the tip jar, if available? Contemplating that it's too early to confront these questions, you ponder the necessity of addressing them.

"I believe it's a discussion that people should engage in," expressed Catalina, a barista at a specialty coffee shop in the Cincinnati area (she opted not to disclose her last name due to being new to the shop). "Or perhaps I'm just more immersed in the coffee community now, so I come across these discussions more frequently."

Caffeine plays a crucial role in the daily rituals of Americans, yet the practice of tipping baristas seems to be less common. According to a Pew report, only 27% of Americans indicated that they occasionally tip baristas, while 24% stated that they never do. Considering the challenges of low wages and inflation, abstaining from tipping, although not obligatory, can adversely affect any barista, even those employed by major chains like Starbucks.

The perception that Starbucks compensates its baristas well, with an equivalent hourly rate of $22 and additional benefits, is acknowledged. However, there is a desire to support independent coffee shops. Joe Humpert, a former barista and manager at Northern Kentucky's Roebling Point Books and Coffee with two decades of experience in the coffee industry, emphasizes that smaller coffee shops face greater difficulty in offering fair compensation. Raising drink prices to accommodate higher wages is challenging due to narrow profit margins, potentially resulting in a significant hike in the cost of a latte.

Parable Coffee in Columbus, Ohio, adopts a gratuity-free model, pricing lattes starting at $8. This allows them to provide staff with a more sustainable living wage and implement a "pay what you like" program, although this approach is uncommon.

As a general practice, Humpert tips a dollar per drink, including drip coffee, recognizing the additional labor and maintenance involved in the coffee-making process. For more complex orders or conversations, he tends to tip more, a principle he applies to craft cocktails as well.

Catalina emphasizes the significance of tips in her income, noting that customers can be generous. However, she observes variations in tipping behavior, with smaller towns often yielding lower tips compared to larger cities, especially for basic drip coffee orders.

A notable barrier between baristas and customers arises from the presence of tipping screens facilitated by programs like Square and Toast. These screens prompt customers to choose a specific dollar amount or percentage for tipping, or to opt not to tip at all. Despite the integration of such technology, some coffee shops maintain a tip jar for patrons to contribute additional change.

Humpert describes the technology as essentially signaling to the customer, "Don't leave just yet; there are still tasks to complete." Although it doesn't explicitly demand a tip, it conveys a message of, "At least select 'no thanks' and sign the screen." He finds the process cumbersome, noting the attempt to introduce conveniences and make transactions more touchless or self-explanatory inadvertently generates other challenges.

Catalina acknowledges that customers sometimes forget to finalize the screen or walk away prematurely. She faces difficulty in requesting customers to complete the screen, recognizing that this aspect remains a work in progress for her.

Having commenced his journey in specialty coffee 25 years ago as a barista and coffee shop manager in Southern California, Jonathon Sepulveda, the director of coffee and sales for Utopian Coffee in Fort Wayne, Indiana, reflects on the impact of technology on the barista-customer dynamic. He notes that there's something about this technology that creates a peculiar divide, where the machine aspect seems to intrude, implying a necessity to pay for a genuine experience. Sepulveda sees this as a challenge for both baristas and customers, emphasizing that any tipping should be genuine and not obligatory.

One issue that creates a barrier between the barista and the customer is the tipping screen, powered by programs like Square and Toast

In Catalina's shop, there's no need to turn the screen around, but she believes tipping should be a private matter. She expresses, "They can tip if they want; I feel like that's their business. I'll walk away and start their drink, so I'm not staring at the screen while they do it." Catalina understands the reluctance to tip, acknowledging that it's the customer's money. She suggests that tipping should be done regardless, especially now that more people rely on tips, emphasizing the importance of doing it irrespective of the quality of the service.

Similar to Humpert, Sepulveda recommends a dollar tip per drink unless the customer makes a substantial purchase. He elaborates, stating, "If you're buying a variety of espresso-based beverages with numerous modifications and your bill amounts to $20 or more, a $4 tip isn't unreasonable. However, on a cup of coffee costing $2 or $3, a 60-cent tip seems appropriate."

Catalina also suggests a dollar tip, recognizing that customers may not always have the means to provide a larger tip. She notes the variability in tipping amounts, with some customers tipping $2 on a drip coffee while others may tip 50 cents. Catalina emphasizes that it's not based on her feelings but on the customer's financial circumstances for that particular day.

While Dry January prompts individuals to reflect on their relationship with alcohol, there is no equivalent month dedicated to examining caffeine consumption. Humpert argues that coffee holds a more essential role in daily life than alcohol, emphasizing the need to acknowledge and show respect to those responsible for making it happen. He highlights the widespread reliance on coffee, stating that if someone were told they couldn't have an alcoholic beverage on a certain day, they would likely be fine, but restricting access to coffee or caffeine in the morning would cause considerable distress for many Americans.

Sepulveda underscores the multifaceted role of the barista, acting as both the front and back of the house, and often taking on additional responsibilities. He notes that the first interaction people have in the morning is often with their neighborhood barista, emphasizing the significance of recognizing and appreciating the work they do.

"When you go and get your first cup of coffee in the morning, you haven't been drinking already," notes Humpert. "You really feel like you need it. And if it's bad, you're never going to forget that experience. You're not going back to that coffee shop again. So the stakes are much higher."

In 2022, the average price of a cup of coffee at a coffee shop nearly reached $5, making a modest tip seem reasonable.

"If you're already spending basically cocktail prices for your morning coffee, why can't you throw a dollar to the person who made it for you and tried to make it exactly the way you want it?" questions Humpert. He considers those who may contest this idea, emphasizing that some individuals spend $50 on coffee weekly.

Sepulveda views tipping as a cultural matter rather than a strictly right or wrong one. "It's within our culture to do it, and whether or not we're expected to do it or not, it's just different," he remarks.

Consumers are urged to understand the effort behind crafting their lattes and cold brews and tip accordingly. While people readily tip bartenders for simple tasks like opening a beer can or pouring a pint, the practice of giving an extra dollar to a local barista who invests time in brewing coffee batches or employs more intricate methods like the pour-over should be normalized.

Catalina emphasizes the significance of the gesture, stating, "I think the act is what counts. I'm not going to be like, 'Oh, they only tipped 50 cents.' I appreciate anything. I think it should be a regular thing that people do."