With over six years of experience in the coffee industry, Bryan Rajeyya started as a Starbucks employee, like most students in need of pocket money, before he was offered a position at Grey Street Kitchen. Now, as a senior barista, he loves his job due to the satisfaction he gets from interacting with customers and putting a smile on their faces.
“Hospitality is important to me, especially coming from a family who is big on it. I’d consider myself a ‘people’ person, and I love working with my hands,” said Rajeyya.
Working at Grey Street Kitchen has made him passionate about latte art and single-origin coffee and its process, which he believes elevates the coffee experience and recommends every coffee connoisseur to try and pursue these.
With other skilled latte artists and baristas like Rajeyya, Grey Street Kitchen is a modern-style café associated with Grey Roasting Co., serving single-origin coffee in various forms, blends of which are also available for purchase at the cafe. They are also one of the cafes that have hopped on to the Uber Milk machine, a milk steamer that dispenses milk of perfect consistency, an excellent help during rush hour.
Another speciality of the cafe is its Asian-fusion menu which is a rarity in Hamilton. They also nail classics like Bacon Benedicts and waffle fries and are known for their Big Brekkie.
As a senior barista at Grey Street Kitchen, Rajeyya loves imparting his knowledge to the enthusiastic young baristas, teaching them the ropes of coffee making and training emerging talent.
“The beverage served at the café is the product, which means the responsibility of serving the coffee to its full potential lies at the hands of the barista.”
Being so experienced, he understands the importance of beans and roasting and knows what a good coffee is, his favourite being a long black with a side of running cream.
Rajeyya thoroughly enjoys the great balance between work and personal life that the cafe provides, spending his free time competing in local and international latte art competitions, playing football with his friends and strumming the guitar.
