Beverage Mixologist

Job Description

Job Description

About Java City

Since 1985, we've been a family-run, direct-trade coffee roaster on a mission bigger than coffee: transforming lives. We believe everyone should win in every transaction, and we've built this company that way for four decades — through a beverage truck, a warehouse, a distribution network, and soon a retail storefront with our name on the glass. We're working to become an employee-owned and operated company that directly supports the coffee farming communities we buy from, because the same care that goes into every drink we make should reach the people who grow it. This is a seat at a table still small enough for your voice to matter, and ambitious enough that your effort has a real path toward becoming something you'll one day hold a piece of. Right now, a few of those seats are empty, and we're looking for someone who wants to fill one.

The Role

The Beverage Mixologist is the face of Java City at every event our truck rolls up to — farmers markets, corporate campuses, festivals, and private bookings across Sacramento, Roseville, Placer County, Granite Bay and surrounding areas. You'll build espresso drinks, seasonal specialty beverages, and cold-brew creations from scratch, and represent a brand that's spent forty years insisting that quality and integrity aren't in tension. You'll work a compact, high-tempo mobile kitchen where consistency, cleanliness, and speed all matter equally. This role reports to the Events Manager and carries no supervisory responsibility — your focus stays on the trailer, not on managing a team.

What You'll Do

•      Prepare espresso-based and specialty beverages to Java City recipe and quality standards, including calibration of grind, dose, and extraction across changing conditions

•      Take customer orders at the truck window, accurately relaying drink customizations and managing line flow during peak rushes

•      Operate equipment — espresso machines, grinders, blenders, and refrigeration — performing opening and closing procedures per Java City's Opening and Closing SOP

•      Follow food safety protocols, including safe food handling, temperature control, and sanitation logs

•      Maintain a valid California Food Handler Card 

•      Manage supply tracking and pre-shift inventory checks using the truck's event scheduling and supply tools

•      Set up and break down the truck at event sites, including pre-site inspection steps

•      Handle POS transactions, cash reconciliation, and daily sales reporting accurately

•      Deliver hospitality that reflects Java City's relationship with its farming partners — every cup is a chance to make that story visible to a customer

•      Represent the brand professionally at public-facing events, including interaction with event organizers and repeat B2B clients

Schedule

This role works the Java City events calendar, which runs on customer demand rather than a fixed Monday-through-Friday week. Shifts may fall on weekdays, weekends, and holidays, and availability across all three is a genuine requirement of the job, not a preference.

What You Bring

•      Prior barista or bartending experience preferred; we'll train the right person on technique, but comfort under pressure in a fast-paced service environment is not optional

•      Current California Food Handler Card, or ability to obtain one upon employment

•      Comfort working in a compact mobile environment with variable weather, standing for extended periods, and occasional lifting

•      Full availability across weekdays, weekends, and holidays, consistent with the events calendar

•      Basic math and cash-handling accuracy

•      Genuine interest in coffee sourcing and a willingness to talk about it — customers ask, and we want them to get a real answer