Barista Faces Anger Management Following Patron's Incessant Mispronunciation of "Cortado"

Photo by Bhuwan Bansal

BROOKLYN, NY—In a bizarre turn of events, a local barista is being forced to complete an anger management course in response to his outbursts regarding a customer’s mispronunciation of the word “Cortado.”

“I’ll be attending the class, but I think people deserve to know what happened,” said Abraham Brown, a 32-year-old barista at Arbor Gold Coffeeworks, when asked about the interaction. “This guy comes in and orders a ‘Cortado.’ Except he says it ‘kor-ta-do’ instead of ‘kr-ta-do’. I wanted to clarify, so I said, ‘I’m sorry, did you say a Cortado?’ Of course, he said ‘yep.’ But that wasn’t what he said at all. I corrected him—politely—that it was actually pronounced ‘kr-ta-do’, not ‘kor-ta-do’. His response is what set me off. He said, ‘Sorry, sir, I honestly don’t even know what you’re talking about.’ Maybe I overreacted, but how am I supposed to respond to that?”

Eyewitnesses during the altercation confirmed Brown’s recounting of the event. “I was in line behind the guy,” said one customer. “I thought the barista was going to climb over the counter. I’ve never seen anyone snap like that. Honestly, I’m still not sure how the guy mispronounced ‘Cortado’. Am I saying it wrong too?”

A spokesperson for Arbor Gold issued a statement saying that they “want to use this opportunity to raise awareness for the mental health of baristas” and that they “support customers ordering beverages in whatever manner they like.”

While Brown has stated he is remorseful of his actions, he differs from the café’s official response. "If someone can't be bothered to learn the correct pronunciation of a drink, they don't deserve to drink it. It's a matter of principle."