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Audio story #3 - Michalina Sujewicz
85 Plays2 years ago
Meet Michalina (Instagram: @coffee_that_gives_a_puck)!
After fifteen years in the hospitality industry, what can Michalina not do?
From barista to teacher to Youtuber to yoga fanatic, she has done more than what many might do in their lifetime.
After up and leaving her entire life in Poland to spend eight years in New Zealand (during the lockdown!!!), Michalina has gained great insight into who she is and what she wants out of her career and life. She believes that:
“If you have a certain passion and you want to evolve…
you will find your way and you will follow the path that you want.” But she also believes in taking a break and focusing on yourself, which is why she stepped away from the hospitality industry.
Subscribe to Michalina’s Youtube channel “Coffee that gives a puck” and get ready to go on the most educational and entertaining journey into the coffee world than you ever imagined!
What are your thoughts on the hospitality industry? Where do you think it can improve—as either an employee or a consumer? Let us know !
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Transcript
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The End
Michalina's Journey from Barista to New Zealand
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Coffee Stories, Michalina Sujevic by Emaniro. Michalina Sujevic, a YouTuber and former barista from Poland, has become one of the few who was fortunate enough to be able to take a break from the customer service side of the coffee industry. After 15 years in the hospitality industry, Michalina began to prioritize herself and discovered what brings her true happiness within the coffee industry.
00:00:37
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But before we get into the details of who Michalina is today and what her current goals are, we have to learn about how she got here in the first place. Michalina is a woman whose life changed forever when she and her partner decided to move to New Zealand on a whim.
Cultural and Professional Observations in New Zealand
00:00:53
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Because of the COVID pandemic, they ended up staying in New Zealand for eight years. During Michaelina's time in New Zealand, she fell in love with its beauty and its remoteness. She said, there are so many places that you can just go and stay there forever. So remote.
00:01:09
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However, New Zealand's remoteness came with a price. Despite the beauty and the peace that she found within nature, Michalina did find herself longing to go back to Poland because New Zealand seemed to fall behind in regard to major advances, including within the coffee industry.
00:01:25
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Michaelina admitted, the coffee industry evolves in Europe and bigger countries because there are so many people traveling in and out. New Zealand is so far away that it doesn't have this chance to change this quickly. And it's not only within the coffee industry. I think New Zealand is lacking in competition.
00:01:43
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Her relationship with New Zealanders in regards to the coffee industry was a loving but also a difficult one. Some of her customers became her dearest friends and she was able to quickly form bonds with them because they never strayed from their usual coffee order. This was because there was no variety in specialty coffees in New Zealand.
00:02:01
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When Michalina did get the chance to share different types of coffee, the New Zealanders were often disappointed because they had nothing else to compare it to besides the coffee they drank every single day.
New Career Directions and Education Ventures
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Eventually, Michalina had to put her barista crew on hold for two reasons. The first reason was that she found herself to be rather unhappy in the hospitality industry.
00:02:22
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Michalina was looking for new jobs where she could utilize all the training and techniques she picked up in the coffee industry. She was searching for something more. The second reason was the fact that it was difficult to work once New Zealand went into lockdown during the COVID pandemic.
00:02:38
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With all this in mind, Michalina came to one conclusion. She said, I'm not getting any younger, you know, and working in hospitality is a full-time job. I've learned that I prefer to actually train people on coffee rather than working in the cafe all the time.
00:02:53
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Currently, Mikalina is striving towards her new goals. She wants to learn and teach. She is expanding her knowledge about the coffee industry and then using that newfound knowledge to train others in the coffee industry. Moreover, Mikalina began a YouTube channel a year ago called Coffee That Gives a Puck. Her overall angle on the channel is for coffee drinkers to have a greater understanding of what the industry entails and how the processes need to change in order to aid farmers on their coffee plantations
00:03:22
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and prevent further climate change. Furthermore, she is hoping that people will look at baristas in a different light, because there's always a little bit of the stereotype that baristas treat their work and hospitality as something very temporary.
Impact and Insights on Hospitality Industry
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So with all this in mind, why does Meeklina's story matter? Yes, she is a very impressive woman. She is educating all people in regards to coffee, from farmer to consumer. But what makes her story special?
00:03:49
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Michalina is a woman many can relate to. Myriads of people work in the hospitality industry. Her story resonates with everyone, from the barista to the waiter to the cashier, her story hits home for so many people who are burnt out by the hospitality world. What makes her different is the fact that Michalina had the strength to leave it in order to take care of herself, physically and mentally. Despite her love of the industry, she was ready to practice self-care.
00:04:16
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Michaelina is one of many who feel this way within the industry, but she is one of the first to speak up.