Brewing a delicious cup of coffee seems like an easy job, and this is what we think a barista does all day long. But if we narrow down the barista job tasks, you will notice that barista has a lot more to manage. Besides making just a coffee, he has to deal with various customers at large. Expert or high-volume baristas are tasked to make dozens of beverages a day under immense pressure.
Barista Jobs are very hard because not only do you need to know how to make all the items on the menu very quickly, you need to have the skills to please the customer with the quality of work and social skills at the same time.
Here is some more information about baristas and what makes their job difficult.
Being a barista is more than making coffee
Working as a barista would mean handling a diverse workload. A barista in a hotel’s coffee bar is different than a full-time barista working in a coffee house.
From making and serving basic coffee to espresso, some coffee shops work around other food options like sandwiches, bagels, cake, or other breakfast items. The job revolves around dealing with the public on an almost non-stop basis.
The most important thing being a barista is providing great customer service. Most People think that pouring latte with beautiful latte art is all the skill needed for a barista to excel. But they tend to forget that keeping all the fancy machines, equipment, and space clean, safe, and running is part of the job too.
When your espresso machine stops running in the middle of serving, when you burn your hand while pouring hot milk, when you forget to tamp your coffee correctly, when you encounter the extremely impatient customer; these are a few of the challenges that a barista must have to face during his career.
Working as a barista means dealing with different work challenges
Being a barista is indeed a rewarding yet demanding task. At first, coffee-making is a hurdle itself- you have to use multiple brewing devices. And, if you manage to operate them, you need to remember the unique methods of each variety of coffee from cappuccino, latte, or cortado; the process goes pretty long.
Along with these technical hurdles, there is a lot more for a barista to learn:
- How much milk does each variant of coffee need?
- What type of glass is necessary for each coffee serving?
- How many shots are required for espresso?
- How to present the beverage to the customer.
Despite such detailing, the busy nature of most coffee shops makes the situation more intense for a barista to handle.
What a barista must learn?
Having a sound knowledge of each coffee specialty, creative capability, and a taste palate for discerning different coffee flavors qualify for a good barista.
Combine this, customer handling, communication, teamwork, flexibility, and coping with stressful situations are other required skills needed for being an excellent barista.
