assistant manager

barista

assistant store manager

lead cook

supervisor

Tastea

I never received any of the tips I earned, including during busy shifts, fundraisers, and events where the store would bring in around $2,000. This wasn’t just me, none of the employees were receiving their tips. There were also issues with my pay, as my hours were adjusted to reflect less time than I actually worked, and we were not paid properly for holidays we worked. I brought these concerns to both management and corporate, but nothing was done. The workload is high for minimum wage, especially during events where we were understaffed and working on our feet for 4+ hours straight with constant lines. I also heard directly from multiple ASU clubs that they never received their portion of fundraiser earnings, which raised even more concerns about how money is handled. We didn’t have a supervisor, and the owners only showed up occasionally, so team members were expected to run the store and take on supervisor level responsibilities while still being paid team member wages. I was also expected to come in on days I wasn’t scheduled if someone called out. Overall, I felt overworked, underpaid, and taken advantage of, and my concerns were not taken seriously even after escalating them. I don't recommend working for this company at all.

Overall, the job experience was all right. Some people were nice and others not so much. There's a lot of nepotism that goes on here. Most supers weren't as productive, some sitting down during work hours and talking for the rest of their shift. The work itself was normal, during rush hours it was horrible though as it easily got crowded and sometimes there were only three of us (sometimes two). It is an easy job, you memorize the drinks and that's pretty much it. I'd recommend this job if socializing isn't your thing and you have thick skin or just want to focus on work, it's easy money. Yes, there's nice people, but there's also a lot of favoritism that goes on here, and a lot of rude comments that are made to team members, especially new people. The write up reasons for people were baffling, but the chicken was bomb tbh.


Working at Tastea has been a rewarding experience that taught me valuable lessons about teamwork, leadership, and customer service. The fast-paced environment helps you develop time management and multitasking skills while learning how to handle pressure efficiently. As a team member and later as an assistant manager, I gained experience in training new employees, managing daily operations, and ensuring customer satisfaction. The work culture is friendly and collaborative, and everyone contributes to maintaining a positive atmosphere. There are opportunities to grow if you show initiative and reliability. The job can be physically demanding during rush hours, but it strengthens your communication and problem-solving abilities. Overall, Tastea is a great place to gain hands-on experience in leadership, customer relations, and business operations—especially for anyone looking to build confidence and responsibility in a supportive team setting.

The coworkers were nice, but the job is fast-paced and requires strong multitasking skills, as you're responsible for both food and drinks. The pay isn’t great, especially considering it operates similarly to Starbucks but as a small, independently owned business.

A major downside is that the kitchen is staffed with only one person, whereas most establishments typically have at least two. This makes no sense, especially since there were five baristas and only one kitchen worker. If the back-of-house (BOH) falls behind, baristas are left waiting, which is doable but not mentally ideal for newcomers. Weekends were a bit better because that's the only time they allow a second. 

Overall, it's an okay job for gaining barista or kitchen experience, but it's not sustainable long-term. It's also not ideal if you're seeking a more relaxed work environment. 

A typical day working at Tastea would look like long shifts of standing, making drinks, using the cash register, and occasional cleaning. I believe I learned a lot of recipes to drinks and food, and that I never had a shot at working there. In my 2 months of working there, I only had 5 shifts in total. While I worked there, my co workers talked about how they’d let the time manager know about their availability and still schedule them too often or not at all, and I ended up having 1 shift a week. If you are willing to memorize a lot of drink recipes and take tests on them weekly, work at Tastea because they base your hours on your memorization and skills. The hardest part of the job is to memorize drink recipes at first, but the most enjoyable part is making them (because that’s how I learned despite my mistakes). 

Only bummer is the hours offered are not much and the hours given are not long enough and only consist of four hours on the regular. Also, the supervisors are not that great. I feel I would represent the company better and know how to handle the daily work better, as they are always asking me questions, are constantly on their phones, don't know how to communicate professionally, and do not know the functions of the basic requirements. Although, I do enjoy working here because even though it is fast paced, if you know how to make the drinks and cook the food it's a prettylaid back job and I enjoy the solidarity as a cook.

Tastea is a great 1st job, but if you’re someone needing an advancement, do not waste your time—they will overwork you & underpay you. Not only do you have to memorize their whole menu but you have to be willing to show up everyday & night because there’s a high roll  over rate. Especially if you’re working at the pick up window location, “over achievers” are preferred, which means if you’re not thinking about being an over worked supervisor, don’t stay—the pay isn’t worth all of the labor & drama because they purposely hire young adults (HS teenagers).

don't do it. whoever you are, whatever you do, do not work here. specifically, the garden grove location. run as fast as you can. abgs work there but what is it worth. the drama? the pain? absolutely nothing. if you start new, no one talks to you. no one is friendly. when you try to make conversation, you are ignored. it's all high schoolers/college students. it's extremely toxic. if you mess up, they will belittle you. make you their pet. and then drive you insane with the gossip, rude eyes, yelling. also wtf is the pay.. The most enjoyable part of the job was leaving. The hardest part was trying not to cry in the restroom every 15 minutes.

Tastea was a much better improvement from my previous job, It did not lack the fundamentals of being a well managed store. Easy access to applications on the phone or computer to be able to edit availabilities and work time off.  But I did learn, that this store takes a lot of things seriously, which is expected if you want to be able to have good feedback and give well trained customer service.

A pretty decent first job. Making drinks is fun and easy once you know the recipes—you’ll get tested on them when you’re training, but it’s nothing too bad. 

My location was slow compared to the others, but you’ll usually have something to do, whether it’s cleaning or food prep. 

Corporate is pretty strict, but it really depends on how your supervisor runs it. The best part was making my own drinks and experimenting with new ones during slow hours. Overall, a fun working environment. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Assistant manager 1 salary reported	$21.00 per hour
Barista 3 salaries reported	$10.58 per hour
Assistant store manager 2 salaries reported	$22.00 per hour
Lead cook 3 salaries reported	$19.17 per hour
Supervisor 2 salaries reported	$17.75 per hour

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