Grace and Hope, barista and shift supervisor, mother-daughter coffee masters – Korea  


In 2005, after dropping her daughter off at school, Grace Bae saw a job advertisement at a nearby Starbucks and applied to be a barista. She’d been searching for jobs but felt she was being rejected due to her age.  

Grace: I started working at the age of 39, and I’m already in my 50s, but my goal is to work for a long time because I’m good at managing my physical strength. A cup of coffee can be the start of someone’s day or a precious moment to enjoy with others, so I try to craft every beverage wholeheartedly.

Hope: Starbucks, where my mother worked, was my hangout place. After school, I used to do homework with my friends at Starbucks and wait for my mom to finish her work. It was a familiar space. Most of my childhood memories were with Starbucks. My mom taught me know-how to memorize things easily. It’s a strange and special experience that I still have ‘buddy’ customers. These days, I have regular customers who ask me what’s going on (after I’ve been away). This workplace has become a precious part of my life, and means as much to me as it does to my mother.

thumbnail for Ten Years of Impact at Hacienda Alsacia

Ten Years of Impact at Hacienda Alsacia