A New Season for Analog with Cassidy Howard
If you aren’t familiar with our Analog Coffee Bar, it is a separate bar in our Newport cafe that focuses on incorporating craft cocktail techniques into making unique coffee drinks and mocktails as well as using various coffee brewing methods to highlight our Single Origins.
At the tail end of 2024, the leadership of Analog changed hands from Cheyne Schuchardt to Cassidy Howard. As Cheyne moved on to new adventures, Cassidy, a longtime Analog barista, stepped into a role her experience has well-equipped her for! We also added two more Carabello baristas to the Analog team, expanding the team from three to five baristas.
Get to Know Cassidy!
We wanted you to get to know our Analog Bar Team Leader a bit, so I (Sarah) spent some time with Cassidy and asked her a few questions! Here are her responses in her own words.
Tell me about your coffee experience.
I have been working in coffee for over 5 years, 4 of which have been at Carabello Coffee. I honestly didn’t expect to still be working in coffee. I thought I’d be in a different field by now.
What has kept you in coffee?
The Carabellos have been great about opening new doors for me. Every year has looked different since I’ve been here. I’ve worked a lot of different jobs at the company and new opportunities have popped up! I really like the versatility of my job.
What are you excited about as the new Analog Bar Team Leader?
I’m excited to have a bigger team. It puts less stress on each individual. I like the team aspect as I don’t feel like I’m doing this alone. I also think that everyone who is now on the Analog Team is very talented and creative—it’s great to be able to bounce ideas off each other. I’m also not as extroverted as Cheyne was, so I’m excited for more time and space to get to know customers and build relationships with our regulars.
Do you have a vision for Analog for this year?
I really liked what Analog was before I stepped into this role, so I have tried to make this transition as streamlined as possible. One thing I want to do is reintroduce an awesome Single Origin menu. I really love dialing in Single Origins as espresso and want to focus on highlighting coffee as coffee in addition to the creative drinks we do. I enjoy opportunities to do creative things, like the upcoming one-weekend-only St. Patrick's Day menu. I also love hearing customer ideas for new menus!
How do you find inspiration when you come up with a menu or drink?
I love to focus on a flavor. Like, for example…a berry element. I also love nitro and spices. I’ll make something I love first and want to share, and then I’ll figure out how to tie it into a menu theme. Emily Carabello is great at coming up with menu themes. Others will start with the theme and then work on their drink flavor, but I tend to work the other way.
How was leading your first Analog event?
The Valentine’s Day Event was great! It was exhausting, but it went really well! Everyone seemed to love the drinks and the vibe.
What else do you do as part of your role at Carabello Coffee?
I do in-house barista training, including latte art training. I take all new employees through Intro to Coffee, which goes through coffee history and production. I also come up with the seasonal drinks in the cafe. I also work with Emily Carabello on event planning and it’s been really great to work with her!
What do you love the most?
My favorite thing in the world is my cat Foster.
