barista

farmer

cafe team leader

line cook

café manager

Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters

A typical day at work as the head cook was exhausting and relentless. From the moment I arrived, it was nonstop work with no time to catch my breath. For an entire year, I was not even given breaks, which added to the physical and mental toll of the job. When I finally started receiving breaks, it felt like too little, too late, as the overall conditions remained grueling.

As for what I believe I learned, the honest answer is nothing meaningful. The role offered no opportunities for growth, no new skills, and no sense of professional development. Each day felt like a monotonous grind with no end in sight and little to show for the effort.

Management was one of the most glaring problems. They were unresponsive, unsupportive, and seemed more interested in maintaining the status quo than addressing the systemic issues plaguing the kitchen. When I applied for parental leave after a year of enduring these conditions, their response was to lay me off, which felt both punitive and unfair.

The workplace culture was equally disheartening. There was no sense of community or teamwork, only a pervasive feeling of being overworked and undervalued. Concerns raised by staff were ignored, and the general atmosphere was one of indifference and frustration.

The hardest part of the job was simply enduring the relentless nature of the work while knowing that any effort to improve conditions would likely go unnoticed or unappreciated. The lack of support and fairness compounded the physical exhaustion, making every shift feel heavier than the last.

The most enjoyable part of the job was nearly nonexistent. If there were any positives, they were overshadowed by the overwhelming negatives. 

It is prudent to remain cautious, as individuals who seem supportive today may abruptly change their stance tomorrow. To safeguard yourself, consider maintaining a meticulous record of all interactions, whether verbal, written, or otherwise. Documenting your communications provides clarity and accountability, and serves as a protective measure should misunderstandings arise or if their intentions turn out to be less than honorable.

I really enjoyed my time at P&S in the roasterie. The work was certainly tedious was not very exciting every now and then, but at the time, that was exactly the kind of work I was looking for. They're also very clear about this in the screening process and the job description. The job itself is great if you want to get really good at a couple particular skills and maximize the efficiency of your daily tasks while working with a team. Workload can vary from day to day, but I had a lot of support from my coworkers in the roasterie. Once you get the hang of the job, it's second nature. I really loved the team I worked with because they always had my back, and were lovely people in general. This extends to the baristas on bar as well. 

Not a ton of social interaction on the job, but I could still chat with coworkers on my breaks or when we had time to spare. You interact with quite a number of people for short bursts, I'd say. It's the right job to just listen to podcasts or music since you're doing repetitive work that requires focus. Of course, the pay could always be better, but from my experience, P&S has been on an uphill trend with compensating you in this position. Because the work is physically repetitive and demanding in a loud environment, management was great about getting me to use ear protection and showing the available foot pads, etc. to keep things as comfortable as possible. Not sure what advancement would've looked like within the company from this position (aside from raises) since I ended up going back to school. 



In my short time working at Phil & Sebastian, I was unfortunately not made to feel welcome. The coffee is great, the work environment is relatively easygoing, and staff receives free drinks and discounted food. Training was provided, however it was rather limited in scope and did not transfer well from the training room to the cafe environment. Ultimately though, feeling at home in your workplace and accepted by the team are far more important factors in my mind. I found the people at my cafe (undisclosed for confidentiality) to be cliquey and ultimately unsupportive with poor communication and little guidance from the cafe manager. The hiring manager (who oversees all the cafes) was similarly unhelpful, failing to check in during my time with the company and ultimately terminating my employment in an abrupt and unprofessional manner, quoting several inaccurate allegations. Ultimately the amount of communication breakdown and lack of support made my experience at Phil & Sebastian a negative one.

Working in the roasterie is manual labour and it's fast paced, but the coworkers/manager I had there were always checking in on whether the workload is manageable and if I needed help. You have to be super honest about that because they need to move a lot of coffee but they also don't want to burn you out. I found the team in the roasterie very supportive and appreciative, and I made sure to communicate my limits to the team. They've offered me many opportunities for learning about coffee and now I work as a barista in one of their busiest cafés with another great team.

It can be stressful during staff shortages, but most of the time it's a pretty positive environment and it's nice to be able to talk directly to the owners/management if you really need. Working as part of the team in the roasterie was generally the most valued I ever felt as an employee somewhere. 

Compensation could be better but that packaging job pay has been improving since I worked there. There's a health spending account you can opt into after probation but not a lot of people mention it.

The current director of cafes is disengaged from their job and won't listen to cafe managers or staff's feedback. They stopped doing their job, but the owners do not intervene or conduct exit interviews that would bring this to their attention. 

The cafes have become a stressful and frustrating place to work.  Experienced staff is quitting out of frustration and being replaced by new hires that don't even hide that they view it as a temporary position before moving on. The turnover and poor hiring is making the job difficult. I am no longer excited to work here and I am not the only one. It is the same issues every 2-3 months at most of the cafes.

Cafe leaders under the director are leaving, planning to leave, or being burned out and fired. One cafe has had three different managers this year and the director takes no responsibility???? The morale in the cafes is impossibly low, and still, no one listens to us. Senior staff are exhausted and want ownership to take the action needed and find new leadership for the cafes because it is so bad.

I've worked in cafes for 15 years and Phil & Sebastian is easily the best.  While the coffee culture is great, what's really appealed to me is the community within the company.  While it can be a little intimidating at first (the one-on-one training can make the nerves kick in but I feel this also helps P&S stand out from the competition), I have never felt unwelcome.  Even the owners take the time to get to know all the employees and talk to them when they stop by the cafes.  

I also felt very supported in my goals.  I made it pretty clear from the start I wanted to advance in the company, and they helped me take the steps to do that.  Whether you want to move into management, competition, or just be a really great barista, this is the sort of company where they'll make that happen for you.  

After a few really disappointing jobs in a row, I'm glad I found P&S.  It's really a place I can envision staying long term.  

If specialty coffee is your life, then this is a great place to start. I started out as a Barista. I then moved into working Maintenance and Wholesale Customer Service.

Pros: While the pay I would call average (Barista payscale was good enough), for the environment it is well worth it. There's definitely a passion behind the projects here, and I'm always very impressed with their green buying philosophy and commitment to the art and science of coffee roasting. It makes you proud of the product you're serving. As a bonus, the owners are very approachable and genial people. That certainly makes it nice to come into work everyday.

Cons: As it is still a relatively small company, sometimes there are additional responsibilities that overlap in an unclear way. For an ambitious person this can be good, but for someone who is looking for a concrete role, it can be difficult to know what to do.

A really great environment to work in. Plenty of training and top tier coffee education available at your fingertips. If you have worked in a cafe before, and wanted a more in-depth education, this is THE place to be. Phil and Sebastian are an extremely reputable company to work for. They make you feel appreciated and part of the family. Packaging their beautifully roasted coffee, is a job that you can take pride in. The lead roaster(your direct manager for the production area) is very  educated, chill and approachable. The location is right beside the river, so a great place to have your lunch break. You also get discounts with the other business that share the building. Overall this place is very ethical and provides a really beautiful work /life balance with lots of perks. Highly recommend working with this team. 

The people you work with in the cafes are some of the nicest most hardworking people you will ever meet, sadly the owners don’t appreciate them. Constant understaffing issues and lack of training. In my experience you will be expected to do the work of three people and not even get paid a living wage. The company has a history of letting go of staff that stand up for themselves in extremely shady ways, for example pushing people to quit or paying them out to leave quietly. They preach about how much they care about their employees but I have never been so disappointed with a company culture in all my years of service. Don’t waste your talent and skills here people deserve better. 

I’ve worked as a Barista for many years and never for a cafe was I not allowed to work the espresso machine and make drinks until I complete a lengthy 1-2 months of training. Training is overwhelming, intense, unnecessary. They expect you to make absolutely perfect beverages every time including latte art .. expect expert level for minimum pay lol.  I was totally turned off by the fact that my tips were being taxed as well and showed up on my pay cheque. The money you make here is lousy and they expect A LOT from you. The job itself is boring and you go a little easy repeating the same lines to customers day-in-day-out. 

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Barista 19 salaries reported	$15.87 per hour
Farmer 5 salaries reported	$15.50 per hour
Cafe team leader 3 salaries reported	$20.67 per hour
Line cook 2 salaries reported	$19.75 per hour
Café manager 3 salaries reported	$21.67 per hour

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Working at Phil &amp; Sebastian Coffee Roasters: company overview and reviews

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Working at Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters: company overview and reviews

Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters ratings

Popular jobs at Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters