Many people cannot imagine the morning without a cup of coffee. But to enjoy the aromatic drink, you need to prepare it correctly. After all, making coffee is an art. To become a professional in this field, you need to master the profession of a barista - a person who is capable of creating coffee masterpieces. We will tell you how to become a barista .
How to become a barista
Barista - who is this?
a new profession for our country . Ten years ago it was not yet so popular . But gradually visiting coffee shops became fashionable, the number of establishments where coffee was served increased, and accordingly, a demand began to appear for craftsmen who knew how to prepare coffee professionally. The growing love for the drink has made barista skills popular.
Now some are mastering it not only in order to work in a cafe or restaurant, but also to learn how to properly brew coffee for themselves and their loved ones.
barista profession originated in Italy. Residents of the country that gave espresso are very respectful of such masters. Virtuosos of preparing and serving coffee have been studying the history of the drink for many years and know all the nuances of the methods of collecting and processing beans. At the end of the last century, the profession became popular in America, after which the whole world learned about it.
Barista (from the Italian barista “a person who works at the bar”, bartender). This is a person who knows how to make coffee professionally , he knows how to do it according to all the rules. In addition, a barista performs the functions of a bartender , only he works not with alcoholic drinks, but with coffee and everything that is prepared on its basis. Beginner baristas only prepare coffee for the first time. As they gain experience, they become bartenders, interact with visitors, and serve drinks.
In our country, such a division of duties is often the case: the barista is busy in a coffee bar and works only with drinks that do not contain alcohol, while the bartender works with alcoholic ones.
What are the prospects for graduates?
Students who successfully complete the SCA Coffee Skills Program have the opportunity to take the SCA Diploma exam, an international certificate of coffee education. Then they can decide in which direction they are interested in continuing their development: working as a chef barista, opening their own coffee shop, participating in championships, doing roasting or consulting in the coffee business. In addition, there is another well-structured training system for specialists in the coffee industry - the Q-grader program at the Coffee Quality Institute.
Q-grading is a unified system for assessing the quality of green coffee, which was developed by CQI. Q graders decide how many points out of one hundred a particular grain sample will receive. For example, for coffee to receive a specialty class, it must score more than 80 points. The program includes 4 days of intensive training and a fairly tough exam. The theory covers knowledge of green coffee, roasting and sensory evaluation and assumes that the student has a decent background in working with coffee. It is clear that an ordinary barista or a novice coffee lover is unlikely to need such training.
How to master the profession of a barista?
Anyone can learn how to make coffee professionally But it is important to remember that you can only work as a barista from the age of eighteen.
There are different ways to master professional tricks, the choice depends on your goals and availability of free time. If you do not plan to prepare coffee to get a job, you can choose courses. Over the course of several classes, usually held on weekends, you will be taught how to make coffee to please yourself and your family and friends. These courses are paid, you will have to pay from 4 to 57 thousand rubles, the amount depends on the duration of the training program. In our country they are in many large cities.
If your goal is to become a professional barista , you can get a job in a coffee shop you like. In this case, mastering the secrets of mastery will take place directly at the workplace. Many establishments train their employees for free. This method is unlikely to suit those who already work elsewhere.
There are many advantages, but what about the disadvantages?
And, perhaps, the main disadvantage is the high physical and psychological stress. The barista has to stand on her feet 5 days a week for 8-12 hours, sometimes carrying really heavy boxes of coffee, milk, and water bottles. Although a barista is not a loader, sometimes you will have to lift weights, and this cannot be avoided.
The second disadvantage is communication with people. You need to communicate in a positive way and a lot. If the mood is not set, your hands are feeling tired, the barista should still be polite and smiling. In our culture, unlike the American one, there are no such skills and they will have to be developed. A large flow of orders is a colossal psychological burden; if you don’t know how to pull yourself together and “walk around” without interruption for a couple of hours without being able to go to the toilet, then perhaps you shouldn’t become a barista.
We will not consider the story with the employer, and it is clear that a lot depends on whether the owner of the establishment took care of his employees and guests, we will discuss this topic some other time, the topic is very broad and there is something to talk about .
What do they teach in barista courses?
Barista training , like any other profession, consists of two stages: theoretical and practical. A professional coffee maker must acquire a large amount of information on the history of coffee, existing varieties, as well as methods of preparing the drink. This is exactly what the first theoretical part of the training is devoted to.
The practice includes preparing and tasting various types of coffee and coffee-based drinks. The courses are taught by masters of their craft, they will always tell you what mistakes you make in the process of making coffee and teach you how to avoid them.
What do a professional barista ? Distinguish between types of coffee, places of growth, aromas characteristic of each degree of roasting of beans; are able to appreciate the most subtle nuances of taste; prepare more than forty types of coffee (cappuccino, latte, and many others); maintain a balance of grinding, water temperature, pressure in the coffee machine, amount of coffee per cup, tamping force and water passage time; create drawings on coffee foam (latte art).
With effort, all these wisdom can be mastered. Upon completion of the course, graduates take a final exam and receive a barista certificate.
What disadvantages can you find in your work?
— Well, the main disadvantage for me is the phrase “I work as a barista.” It sounds like you have failed in life. If you are thirty years old, and you make coffee with young guys who don’t yet know what they want from this life, then many will think that you are a sucker who doesn’t know how to do anything.
Everyone views this job as temporary. There are no people here who want to work for a long time: a month or a maximum of a year. Barista is an occupation that will keep you going until you are thirty at most.
Yes, you can forget about everything and work as much as your heart desires, but it won’t be so presentable. But here’s the catch: once the barista accepts you, you can’t leave her.
You yourself want to continue doing this, but your brain screams at you: “Diana, you graduated from the BSU Lyceum with a gold medal, what kind of barista?”
You realize that you can do much more than just brew coffee, but you don’t want to stop. So the main disadvantage of barista is that it is so interesting, but it is not suitable for a lifelong activity. But I think that this can be corrected, because the “coffee BOOM” that is now booming with all its might will not just pass for society.
What are the requirements for a barista?
The main requirement for most courses is a love of coffee and a desire to learn to understand it. Usually there are no entrance tests for admission. Teachers are happy to share their experience with everyone who loves coffee.
Age is also not a reason to refuse training. You don't have to be an adult to take a barista course. If you are not going to work in a new specialty (in our country this is permissible from the age of eighteen), you don’t have to wait until you reach adulthood.
Now you know how to become a barista. We told you where you can master this specialty and what you need for this. What kind of person should be who wants to give others the joy of enjoying delicious, aromatic coffee? What personal qualities are important for successful work in this field?
- The barista must be sociable and patient, above all. After all, a specialist in preparing and serving coffee communicates with visitors all day. And each of them requires an individual approach. A barista can be compared to an artist performing for the public. A good specialist knows the tastes and preferences of his clients, and with the help of a few questions he can quickly find out what this or that person prefers. This skill is also important because a considerable percentage of a barista’s earnings comes from tips, so the ability to win over a guest, find an approach to any visitor, and satisfy the tastes and wishes of the client is beneficial not only for the establishment where the coffee specialist works, but also , first of all, for himself;
- kindness and friendliness are also very important. Baristas must always remember that a favorable atmosphere in any establishment is created with the help of a friendly smile;
- responsibility, that is, strict adherence to professional ethics, which requires the preparation of an exceptionally high-quality drink;
- aesthetic abilities the ability to beautifully design and serve a drink.
Description and characteristics of the profession
Expert opinion
Ekaterina Kolokolova
Career guidance. Certified specialist in the problems of children's involvement in learning. She has more than 10 years of experience in conducting seminars, trainings and lectures with audiences of all ages.
The word “barista” appeared more than a hundred years ago and was originally interpreted as “an employee working behind the bar.” During this period, the meaning of the term changed significantly. Now this profession means a master of preparing coffee-based drinks, as well as serving them.
He has his own equipped workplace. There he first processes natural coffee beans, then prepares the composition using one of numerous methods, after which he designs it and serves it to the client. The employee monitors the serviceability of the equipment, its cleanliness, and the quality of the ingredients used.
Real experts don't stop there. They are constantly mastering new recipes and coming up with their own drinks. They spend a lot of time studying coffee varieties, methods of collecting and processing them, and studying the features of different types of grinding beans. They also pay increased attention to the quality of water, the combination of various ingredients, and the parameters of the machines and mechanical devices used. An experienced barista is able to select a drink to suit the client’s character, determine the quality of the composition by the aroma or taste of coffee, and correct a product with shortcomings.
Another feature of the profession is that, like any bartender, a barista must be a good psychologist. His salary often depends not only on his ability to make coffee, but also on his ability to create the right atmosphere for the client.
A barista must know a set of basic rules for preparing classic recipes. Be able to operate an espresso machine at a professional level.
What are the prospects for baristas?
The barista profession is in high demand now. A competent specialist who copes well with his duties can easily get a job. But don’t be surprised if the certificate you receive from the courses doesn’t help you much in your career. Very often, restaurant and cafe owners retrain new employees. The purpose of such training is to focus on the standards of a specific brand adopted in this particular establishment. What you were taught may not matter to employers because what they value most is having experience making coffee.
But this does not mean that you studied the courses in vain. Having basic skills and mastering the theory, you will feel much more confident behind the bar. In addition, completed courses will help you reduce your training time and start working earlier. The mentor will not need to explain the basics of the profession to you.
Now you know everything about how to become a barista . As you can see, there is nothing particularly difficult to master this interesting profession and become a coffee making master.
Peak of the profession
The highest level in a career is a coffee master; he knows absolutely everything about coffee. Sometimes every day he has to taste about 350 cups. This is necessary in order to offer customers only the highest quality product.
Where do they train to be a barista?
Training in Russia is carried out in certain institutions, they are organized by various centers, namely:
- barista unions;
- bartenders' associations;
- accredited organizations;
- training centers from coffee and restaurant companies.
Abroad, training is organized with the help of SCAA, SCAE, for example, in the UK - the London Coffee School, in Italy - the Nine Bar School, in the USA - the "Roasted Gossip" organization, the coffee and barista school and many other institutions.
Video: Barista is love..)
There is no need to add milk to black coffee.
Here's a note about milk: it's a great help when we've had mediocre coffee. But what if you drink quality coffee? You're destroying all the flavor nuances in the cup, so as your barista, I don't want you to add milk. To make your morning homemade coffee on the burner, you'll probably want it with milk. But for select, high-end coffee made with love and care? Try without milk to understand the differences between different types of coffee, which will allow you to better understand good coffee.
Understanding the taste of blackcurrant simply will not come to you through half coffee and half milk.
Education
In educational institutions, it is impossible to obtain a diploma of higher or secondary education specifically as a barista. The profession does not require long-term training, and in educational institutions it can be distinguished as an academic program, for example, as part of obtaining a diploma in hotel business and some others. Typically, such programs do not give a clear idea of the profession of a barista, and a person who has a diploma from a university or secondary school chooses a specialized specialization.
The most optimal ways to get acquainted with the profession and gain useful knowledge include the following options:
- Courses. Completing training in the form of special courses is considered the best option for obtaining the profession of a barista. After graduation, a diploma or certificate is issued, the student receives theoretical knowledge, there are courses with practical training. The duration of training varies from several weeks to 3-6 months, it all depends on the degree of training desired. Payment is made independently; some employers practice sending an employee at the expense of the company. There are special barista schools created on the basis of large caffeine shops and catering enterprises. There are several similar establishments in every city.
- Training directly from the employer. Many companies provide training as part of their service and accepted standards. For this purpose, there is a department for staff training or a separate employee who takes temporary “patronage” over an applicant for the position of barista. With such training, diplomas and certificates are not awarded, but if the candidate is formalized, he will already have a work experience record.
- Independent mastery of the profession. The option is suitable for general self-development, since there is no documentary evidence that a real barista came to get a job. You can prove it only by practically demonstrating your skills. There is a lot of information in open sources about the features of preparing coffee drinks using Turkish equipment. Finding everything about the classification and specifics of grains is also not difficult. There are separate barista guides, manuals, groups on social networks, as well as many other sources where you can find useful information.
Each option has its advantages. It is believed that professional training from an experienced barista, recommendations from professionals, as well as practical training, are more valuable for a beginner's work than purely theory. Not every elite coffee shop will hire a person if he does not have proof of his skills in the form of a certificate, diploma or awards received at competitions dedicated to coffee brewing skills.
Additional education, courses
Even with experience and working as a barista, advanced training, learning new cooking technologies, as well as serving methods, will only be a competitive advantage for a specialist. At the initiative of the employer and on your own, you can attend seminars and courses where coffee brewing techniques are studied in practice and the secrets of recipes for preparing aromatic drinks are revealed.
If you already have barista skills, but want further development, then additional education will help. In the case of combining positions, there is the option of completing courses for waiters, confectioners, administrators and other related specialties. For those wishing to become managers, they will need to obtain higher education in the field of hotel business, tourism, economics, and trade.
Making good coffee takes time.
I think of coffee as slow food versus fast food. If you ask a barista to make you coffee, do you really need to run somewhere urgently? No, you want to have a good time and enjoy yourself. Otherwise, you could just buy coffee from one of those machines where you press 1 button.
Humor about a barista:
Author: Anna Brones, author of “The Culinary Cyclist” and “Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break”, founder of “Foodie Underground”. Actively studies the coffee industry.
Source: “8 Things Your Barista Wishes You Knew About Coffee” - the translation is closer to the spirit than the letter. 
Where can I work?
Baristas mainly work in professional coffee shops, restaurants and other establishments where the menu includes drinks made from natural coffee. The status of the company may differ, which is reflected not only in the barista’s salary, but also in the requirements that will be placed on the employee. In some bars it is enough just to know how to use the machine, while in others it is important to create original coffee compositions.
It is also possible to work individually, that is, to be a traveling coffee maker, but the demand for such specialists is low. They trust employees working for the company more.
Can you make the TOP 5 most “favorite” types of clients?
- Well, let's start small. Not all guests who come to a coffee shop understand what they want. And you stand there for about thirty minutes, talking about this 100 percent Arabica, and he looks at you and says: “I’ll have regular coffee, without all this.”
As a result, you make an Americano, give it away, he drinks it, doesn’t understand anything, and he’s not interested in all your work. And why ask all this if you don’t care and just want to drink coffee in the morning so that your eyes don’t swell?
The second “favorite” type of clients are people who do not understand anything, but pretend that they know more than you do. They ask what country the coffee is from. Well, you answer that from Ethiopia. And when a person finds out that Arabica is a variety with sourness, he begins: “Ugh, how is this possible, sour coffee, but your Rabusta is bitter! Is there any normal coffee? You stand there and don’t understand: have you lost your mind or has the world gone crazy?
When you try to explain that Arabica is a noble variety, and Rabusta is in our blend, they simply don’t listen to you!
There are also “aesthetes” who tell you something about cooking techniques, their already hot brains are soaring, and then you hear that fateful “good coffee,” “latte,” or “expresso.” And some coffee shops have a policy of not correcting the client.
That is, the guest said “latTE”, you give him the coffee, smile and say: “your latte”. We don’t have that, which is good news. There are also these guys whom I call “surprises.”
And the whole surprise is that you find out about their preferences when you’ve already done everything. That cappuccino is too cold for them, they like it hot. They like it when the Americano contains less water than needed. Can't you tell earlier? I don’t know how to read minds, but every day I understand that I need to learn this.
Well, I really like those who like to drink. They come and immediately: “Is there coffee with alcohol?”, “Can I have Irish, but have a lot of whiskey and not enough coffee?”
Sometimes they are so sweet, and sometimes you can’t close yourself because of them, because it’s hard to send them away and you always need to talk. And lastly, these are those clients who can be called “expensive”.
They come, ask for coffee, find out that the price is 2 rubles, and off they go: “Why is it so expensive? I can buy myself a pack for 5 rubles and make 10 mugs of coffee! Can I have a discount? Can you pour a little less water so it’s not two rubles?”
It makes me angry, but it’s funny to sit here and remember. Still, not everyone should understand coffee; that’s what we were created for.
