For a coffee shop barista, and especially for a hipster slacker barista attempting to shun corporate America, could the worst shift be the mid-afternoon?

Could there be any worse working environment than having to deal with the daily invasion of middle school girls, using Starbucks as their after-school hangout, with Starbucks-approved corporate pop piping through the speakers, on sale next to the register?

Has the profile of the average barista changed over the past decade? The original responsibilities involved a great deal of personal skill, but the widespread use of automatic machines has standardized the procedure and I wonder if the role of the barista has been marginalized.

As Starbucks created the category, became a part of mainstream culture and invaded the suburbs, has it lost its soul? Or did it ever have a soul?