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Scott’s Story

My name is Scott Parker, I am 20 years old and wholeheartedly obsessed with the world of coffee. This blog is about where the passion began.

When I was fifteen, I walked into a café and asked for a job. A first job usually starts by being given the boring mundane work such as cleaning,  which most people hate and learning about the different clientele that comes with serving customers and the field of hospitality. I wanted to learn more about what was behind the counter. I used to watch the senior staff making coffee and thinking how super cool that is, without even knowing how to make a coffee. I wanted to learn how to make coffee well. When I was shown, every now and then and I would try and make something only to be told ‘you’re not trained to do this,’ ‘you can’t do this’ and that really got to me. I wanted to do it and prove them wrong. I was so infatuated.

I eventually got behind the counter, onto the machine, starting with frothing milk for the baristas who would make the coffee. I got better over time at frothing milk, practising, changing the texture, the temperature, perfecting it to fuse with the coffee. 

I have roughly made 200,000 coffees (and counting) throughout my career as a barista, which is A LOT, but that’s how many times I believe it takes to become better. 

Over time I became noticed by the senior staff and they began to educate me more on coffee and showing me different things. I only made coffees for customers on the rare occasion. After all the senior staff left I stepped up and took over, after practising for so long I was better and I could make coffee. I came to a realisation that I enjoyed sharing my passion with the customers and felt good when a customer would say ‘this is a good coffee Scott, I really liked that.’ 

To me, a cup of coffee is not just a cup of coffee, coffee brings people together. You go for coffee with friends, on dates, at breakfast and lunch, it’s this experience between a passionate barista and a passionate coffee drinker. There is so much positivity when something wonderful can be shared between two passionate people. 

Going to a nice café, with friendly staff and good music; it is an experience and one I am passionate about. 

After working at the café for three years, I had learnt all that there was to learn and I felt I had outgrown the business. There was nothing more for me to do for the café. I moved on to the next café. I walked into the café with the intention and expectation that I was going to become the full time barista. Ready and keen to go. However the owners did not have the same idea. I was hired as a waiter. Which I hated. I would try to be working at the machine and would be kicked off. And telling them I was a barista was not enough and they said well ‘this is how we do it, this is what works and we don’t want to change what works’. I thought you know what I have got all this knowledge and I am good at making coffee. Why won’t they use me? For six months this went on and I eventually weaved my way onto the machine. Making some people unhappy with my determination, I forgot this as I felt drawn to make coffee for customers because that is what made me happy. 

I started to implement some changes, bringing my skill and knowledge to the café, sharing it with other staff and it was amazing how much the quality of coffee changed just from using beans from local coffee roasters.

I love making coffee, it brings me so much joy, all I do is talk about coffee and read about coffee. 

I am trying to make a life out of what I love… which is coffee. I decided I needed to make money off what I love and enjoy. Soon Clockwork Coffee was born. 

Clockwork coffee is a stepping stone to what I ultimately want to do, and its all still a mystery what it is going to be. I have an ultimate, I want a café, I want to go to farmers markets, I want to train people in coffee into becoming fantastic baristas, I want to enjoy and make this my life. I have seized so many opportunities and I think that it’s a bloody good thing I started out being told I couldn’t do it because here I am now, starting out my business and sharing what I am passionate about. 

I hope you enjoy this blog and it allows you to be immersed and educated.