Many of you know that my favorite coffee comes from Muddy’s in San Francisco. Muddy’s (or Muddy Waters Café as it is known by the signs that hang over the four locations in SF) has been my watering hole for several years now and I became a real devotee in 2002 when we opened an office on Valencia Street between 16th and 17th and was blessed to have a Muddy’s right across from us.

It was at this time that I began to recognize the importance of the barista – Technically, defined as someone who has been professionally trained in the art of espresso preparation. The term is often used simply to describe someone who excels at espresso making, regardless of their training. The barista helps us refine the trajectory of our day – at least those of us devoted to starting a day with some coffee from a café.

I have discovered that there are several archetypes when it comes to baristas:

The eccentric artistic barrista – a hybrid of a painter and a coffee fanatic. Sometimes these are artists who have gotten into their day job. Sometimes these are true artists of the barista tradition.

The “this is just my friggin day job whadda ya want” barista – these people are about as engaging as a toll booth operator except with the distinction of having enough time to be rude.

The hipster barista – this person is in the know and spreads the know to their customers like a cultural ambassador or anchor person. They are informative and have an amazing knack of serving a good cup of coffee while giving you amazing little jewels of info or humor or goodwill. At the very least you feel like you are hipper and more caffeinated by the time you depart.

The good, true and beautiful barista (or as I like to call them GTB Baristas) – these people have a bit of all of the previous and add to that an ease of self and a love of people. The type of person who would be the same person in most settings – good, decent, hardworking, conscientious, and oriented towards fairness and kindness, sensible to beauty and a no nonsense view of the truth.

Now Muddy’s has always had a good sampling of the range of these barista archetypes, but I have found a special percentage of GTB baristas. In particular the one I have been frequenting (29th between Mission and San Jose) the last few years since our office moved. I was sad when “M” my favorite barista and provider of music tips moved on to her real heart’s work in architecture, but had to feel happy for her.

M’s successor and a woman who had been there on occasion named Paulabarak (spelled phonetically – not sure of actual spelling) turned out to be a real GTB barista. Over the last several months I came to learn that Paulabarak was from Mongolia – I had never met someone from Mongolia before. I confess that I have not learned enough of her story to do any sort of justice to it, but my sense of her is that it is filled with the stories that are typical of good people who have come through struggle to a life that while filled with the hard work of a productive life, is balanced with good times and some measure of peace.

When I went in today, there was a barista I do not know too well but seems like a nice person. The owner of Muddy’s was there too (I will not divulge his name as he may wish to remain anonymous) and we exchanged our hellos. I noticed a plate of candy and asked if they were already getting into the spirit of Halloween. I was told that it was a Mongolian tradition to put out candy when someone has passed on, and that Paulabarak had died in a car accident.

My heart reaches back to other GTB people who have fallen. My sweet James – my younger brother in heart and soul who fell several years back comes to my mind as he was the one who turned me on to Muddy’s. My beautiful friend Martina who died more recently and who left two beautiful children. Paulabarak (or Paula for an Americanized nickname) I believe also left a child behind if my memory is not playing tricks on me.

The sadness of a loss is no doubt dominating other lives who were closer to her. My heart is touched by this loss and as with the loss of any GTB person – there is a sense that the universe is less for the passing of Paulabarak. I do not confess to know what the next life holds in store for us or if we simply bleep out of existence. In truth, though I like the idea of coming back and working on this world as a human until we can get it right, I recognize all these matters are beyond my understanding or need for understanding.

If I were to take a romantic view of it, I would say that Paulabarak was making a thick cup batch of my favorite coffee to share with James and Martina. That they are in good company with good coffee in the soft orange glow of an eternal clean and well lighted place.

Whatever the case Paulabarak – thank you for the genuine smiles and for the great coffee. One more time…

“Hi Paula. One jumbo coffee with three ice cubes to cool it down a little.”