Deaf barista's love brews in a cup of coffee

Chinese Today

22nd October 2024

Deaf barista's love brews in a cup of coffee

At a cafe in Jiang'an District, Wuhan, deaf barista Chen Yuanyuan makes cups of coffee filled with love for her customers.

Five years ago, the opening of a sign language Starbucks in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, made coffee enthusiast Chen Yuanyuan, who was working in the city at the time, realize that suffering deaf wasn't an obstacle for her to become a barista. Soon after she quit her job she started her trainee term at Starbucks.

Making coffee for her was a challenging job in general. For instance, a barista is typically trained to judge when the milk has been fully foamed by the sound made by the steam wand.

However, Chen and other deaf and hard-of-hearing baristas received training to judge by sight and feeling the temperature with their hands.

Last year, when the first sign language Starbucks in central China was set to open in her hometown Wuhan, Chen seized the opportunity and successfully joined the team.

https://english.news.cn/20240922/df6c243d0eea4336a2187b806e2fb923/c.html