Discover some easy ways to turn yourself into the barista that everyone loves.
A barista is an angel that makes and serves you a heavenly drink at the coffee shop. If you can’t do without your morning coffee, you must have the same feelings about baristas. Nowadays, coffee shop workers are called baristas, but officially, the word barista refers to the person that makes and serves espresso-based drinks.
Being a barista is a dream job for a lot of people. It brings with it a lot of confidence, pride, and a sense of accomplishment. But the job is not as easy as it seems. Whether you are working as a barista or thinking of becoming one, this article might help you. It has all the tips and tricks you need to become the best barista ever!
Clean as you go
Being a barista is not as easy as it seems. Especially, maintaining quality is the toughest. The heavenly cup of coffee you enjoy every morning is not the easiest to make. When you are brewing coffee for a customer, you are most likely to be in a hurry. When you are in a hurry, you are likely to make a mess. For instance, you might get the beans or ground coffee everywhere or spill some milk or foam on the counter while you are working.
Especially in the morning when you have a bigger crowd, the mess will become bigger and bigger if you don’t manage it right. Coffee stations are designed to provide transparency. So the consumers can see how their drink is getting prepared. It’s usual for a customer to never return to your shop if they see their drink getting prepared on a filthy counter.
The sad part is, most people rush to the coffee shop, grab their drink, and leave in a rush again. So, most of them won’t even know how or when the mess was created. When they come in and spot a filthy counter, they just assume that you have been serving drinks on a dirty counter all along. The only way to cope with this is to clean as you go.
Most people don’t like this idea of constantly cleaning because they think it will slow down their service. The truth is, you might feel it is slowing down your service when you first practice it, but you will get better at it very soon, and then it won’t feel like something extra. Even if you think it is slowing you down, it is still better to provide comparatively slow service than serving from a dirty station.
Invest In A Good Coffee Machine
Owning a good quality coffee machine is probably the most crucial step in making fantastic coffee. This is where most coffee shops make a mistake. If you are using an average coffee machine, your coffee will come out average as well. And because there are so many great options available, no one would return to get average coffee again.
When it comes to coffee, brewing it right is the step that either makes it or breaks it. No matter how clean you keep your counter or how good the quality of your coffee beans is, if it doesn’t taste good, all your efforts will go in vain. On the other hand, if you use a good quality coffee machine, it will make the job easier for you. It will surely make a mark and customers will surely become regular if you manage to serve good quality coffee.
So, investing in a good quality coffee machine is a must. There are plenty of good options available in the market. If you don’t know which one to get, you should read reviews online. This way, you will surely find the best thermal carafe coffee maker to suit your needs.
Buy Whole Coffee Beans
When it comes to coffee, freshness is key. Because coffee is all about the aroma and strong flavor, you can’t get the best results by using coffee powder. Coffee powder or pre-grounded coffee often loses its aroma and flavor. The flavor and aroma actually come from the essential oils present in the coffee beans.
So, when you are using store-bought coffee powder, you don’t know when the coffee was grounded. So you might end up getting coffee powder that lacks aroma and flavor. Because, after the beans are grounded, the essential oils responsible for the aroma evaporate pretty fast. So, the best way to get flavorful rich coffee is to get whole coffee beans and grind them on your own.
Another mistake many people make is to grind all their coffee at once. When you grind all your coffee at once, the first few days will be fine, but after that, the coffee will turn out like the ones made from store-bought coffee powder. So, make sure to grind just as much coffee you need at that time.
Know Your Coffee
This is the step that distinguishes an amazing barista from an average barista. You need to know about everything that is on the menu. And the best way to do that is to drink a lot of coffee. Most baristas would happily do that because if you are trying to become a good barista, you surely love coffee. So, make sure to try everything and experiment with different combinations.
When you work as a barista, you’ll find a lot of people who are not sure about what they want, or they might be new to your shop. They would most likely ask you for recommendations. You would create an instant bad image of yourself if you fail to recommend something because you haven’t tried it. So doing your homework is a must.
Another thing to keep in mind is if they don’t know what they want, or if they are asking for recommendations, don’t just serve them anything you like. This might create a bad impression as well. Make sure to communicate. Ask them about their preferences and think of a drink accordingly. After you get the idea in your mind, make sure to share it with them to know if they are fine with it.
To Sum Up
Being a barista is not simple. It requires a lot of patience and practice. Remember, for a lot of people, a barista is a person they meet first every morning. So, make sure to serve their coffee with a smile.
