A Must-Read Guide for Aspiring and Advanced Baristas
First and foremost the goal of a barista is to brew delicious espresso and coffee, and specialty coffee drinks and serving these coffee beverages to the customer in a friendly and efficient manner.
The Basic Characteristics of Coffee Beans
A Barista should know about coffee beans and their basic characteristics and more subtle qualities.
Perhaps a Barista will even have participated in coffee cuppings (professional coffee tastings) with the goal of judging coffees and learning more about them including the aroma, body, acidity, sweetness/bitterness, and finish.
Keeping a Clean Coffee Shop Environment
A Barista knows how to keep the workplace clean and to maintain a very tidy environment. This includes the Barista’s own personal hygiene, from the hair style to the clothing to the shoes.
Every detail should be covered, including clean fingernails. Wear close-toed shoes and not sandals, and make sure and tie long hair back or wear a hat.
Barista Training – Barista Job Description
The Barista working environment should be kept extremely tidy and the equipment cleaned after each use. Keep the coffee shop squeaky clean, and treat cleanliness as a food safety issue, which it is.
Frequently wipe down tables and check the bathroom. Have a regular schedule of cleaning and emptying trash throughout the day and make sure it is followed without exception.
A Smile and a Friendly Greeting are Barista Hallmarks
Friendliness and a smile are important Barista traits that should be offered at all times. Leave your personal problems outside the coffee shop and maintain a vibrant professional behavior that exudes a willingness to please the customers and to work with other employees as a team.
Keeping the Line Moving – Barista Tips
Take note that the trait of friendliness does not extend to endless chatting while people are waiting in line. A professional Barista knows how to be friendly with a customer without holding up the line.
Keep the smile on your face as you move them along toward their coffee drink because a negative experience by a customer kept waiting in line for no reason may lose a customer forever.
Barista Course – Home Barista
A skilled Barista is able to multi-task without getting stressed out or frantic. Sometimes there will be hold-ups for one reason or another and this is when the professional Barista shines. Just keep working fast and efficiently and this is all anyone can ask. Customers will only get annoyed if you waste time or aren’t doing your job.
Always remember that you are trying to be both friendly and fast – this is the ballet dance and if you perform it properly you will have happy customers and happy bosses.
Treat Customers With Respect and Kindness
Even a rude customer needs to be treated with the utmost respect. A Barista cannot take things personal if someone seems snappy or rude, and must maintain complete professionalism in these cases. Consistency is the key, then customers will always know what to expect.
Maintain the standards of a Barista at all times by performing your tasks in a quick and efficient manner while dealing with customers in a happy and welcoming manner.
If a customer becomes particularly obnoxious and irrational see what you can do to make things completely better for them including completely re-making their coffee drink and/or giving them a free coffee drink.
What is a Barista – Barista Coffee
Barista As Master Espresso and Coffee Brewer
Being skilled in making specialty coffee drinks such as Cappuccinos and Lattes is a great first step in becoming a professional barista. To do this you need to learn how to operate an espresso machine which pushes water at high pressure through tamped, roasted and ground coffee.
Check out the Technical Specifications for Espresso Brewing for more information, but the basics are that the brewing temperature should be between eighty-eight and ninety-two degrees Celsius with a pressure of about 9 atmospheres (Bars) which translates to about 135 lbs./sq. in.
Barista Job Description – What Is A Barista
The Classic Shot of Espresso
A shot of espresso consists of approximately 1.5 ounces and requires between 6 and 9 grams of coffee for each shot of espresso.
As a professional Barista you always want to make sure you are using high quality coffee beans for brewing coffee as well as espresso because everything starts with the coffee.
The Barista should also have a knowledge of coffee roasting. Typically the Espresso coffee beans will have been given a Dark Roast or Espresso Roast to produce a robust and intense espresso shot.
Barista has Positive Outlook- A “People Person”
If a Barista has a positive attitude this is the most important quality as they will be able to improve over time into a master Barista. If you are applying for a job then emphasize that you are a “people person” who works well with customers and whose primary focus is creating a positive customer experience.
Ideally you will be able to remember people’s names and always maintain a very pleasant social demeanor as you go about your tasks.
The master Barista established a faithful clientele that keeps coming back again and again, day after day, because they know they will get a smile and a perfectly brewed coffee beverage made just the way they like it.
A Master of Multi-Tasking
A good Starbucks worker is a master of multi-tasking and while handling the many tasks is able to keep a smile and not get stressed out. If there is a long line you should be able to continue to perform and the same consistently fast and professional level just as if there was one person in the line.
A good worker can exchange some friendly banter with a customer to make them feel welcome and that they are very special when it is their turn to order.
However the professional coffee shop Barista will also be able to move that customer along in a friendly and non-offensive manner once their transaction is complete so that the next person in line can order.
On your Barista Resume mention that you can handle a fast-paced work environment and indeed you thrive under pressure.
Barista Jobs – Coffee Barista
Experience and Education on Your Barista Resume
If you are applying for work as a Barista make sure your Resume shines with all of your great qualities. A Barista Resume is no place to be modest so put your best foot forward and don’t be shy.
Make sure and include all education and experience that has any relevance to the job of being a Barista and this includes any job in which you prepared food or beverages, any job in which you dealt with people, and any training you have had in food preparation, business management, and even such things as first aid training which are important to business owners.
Also mention any experience you have in the world of coffee including possibly attending any Barista competitions, coffee festivals, or other events.
When you describe your previous work in a coffee shop make sure and elaborate upon all of your experiences in that coffee shop including any ordering you may have done, how you excelled at dealing with customers and building a client base, your experience training other Baristas, and how you excelled at brewing fine espresso coffee drinks, ensured quality control, and took care of management duties.
As you mention everything you know and how great you are, don’t forget to weave in comments about your willingness to learn as you strive to be a better Barista and excel at the craft.
What Is A Barista
Learning About the Coffees of the World – A Barista Necessity
Any master Barista will have a well-rounded knowledge of the finest Gourmet Coffees of the World so you might just mention the depth of your general knowledge, and if you don’t have any then use our guide to study up on some of the best coffees to get started on your road to coffee knowledge.
Other things to remember on your Barista Resume include your strong work ethic and penchant for neatness and a tidy work environment which you value strongly along with professional service to create a positive customer experience for each and every patron.
Barista Job Description – Honing Your Master Barista Skills
To get a job as a Barista you need to practice your espresso brewing skills and learn some of the basics of brewing a perfect espresso shot.
You should have some idea of the technical aspects include the brewing temperature, extraction time, grind size, extraction pressure, etc. including the proper way to Grind Coffee For Espresso.
The goal of espresso brewing it to make sure that you do not extract to much bitterness or under-extracting and creating water expresso. The espresso should express the coffee beans’aromatic oils and specialty coffee tastes creating an intensely concentrated and robust, flavorful shot of espresso.
You also need to master the skills of Steaming and Frothing Milk and creating perfect steamed milk and foam for Great Espresso Drinks. Also important for a Barista is learning about some of the basic aspects off coffee roasting
Take a Journey Into the World of Premium Coffees
Explore the world of fine gourmet coffee beans including Fair Trade Coffee, Organic Coffee, Bird Friendly Coffee and Shade-Grown Coffee as well as Instant Coffee and Decaffeinated Coffee.
Check out the Best Coffee Makers and different types of Espresso Machines including the popular Pod Espresso Machines.
Study the Barista Guide to Perfect Lattes and Cappuccinos and practice the espresso brewing tips so you can Pull A Perfect Espresso Shot.
If you want to be a coffee savant then pore through the extensive Coffee and Espresso Glossary and then devour with passion the World’s Best History of Coffee.
Specialty Coffee Lovers – Espresso Coffee Guide!