What does a barista do?
You make drinks that need to be right and fast at the same time, for a queue that can see exactly how long you are taking.
Also called: coffee maker, café assistant.
A day looks like
- 1You open up, switch the machine on an hour early because it needs to be properly hot, and dial in the grinder.
- 2The morning rush: forty minutes where you are making, taking money and remembering four orders at once.
- 3You re-dial the grinder after lunch because the beans have changed with the weather. Really.
- 4You clean the machine properly at close — the part of the job that decides whether tomorrow tastes right.
Hardest part
Being fast without going quiet. The queue wants speed, but people came to a café instead of a machine because someone spoke to them.
Best part
Regulars. You learn a hundred people's orders and a fair number of their lives, and the good ones make your morning too.
How you actually become a barista
- At schoolNo qualifications needed to start. Turn up, be reliable, learn the machine.
- TrainingOn the job, plus barista courses once you are serious about it.
- How longWeeks to be useful, a year or two to be genuinely good.
- Your first jobCafé assistant — tills, tables and clearing, before you are let near the machine.
Café assistantBaristaHead barista, café manager or owner
Frequently asked questions
- Do you need qualifications to be a barista?
- No. Most people start with none and learn on the machine. It is one of the easiest skilled jobs to get into and one of the most portable — cafés exist in every town in the world.
- Why does coffee need re-grinding during the day?
- Ground coffee reacts to humidity and to how the beans have aged. The same grinder setting pours differently in the morning and the afternoon, so a good barista tastes and adjusts.
- Is being a barista a real career?
- It can be. Plenty treat it as a first job, but head baristas, roasters, trainers and café owners all start at the same machine, and the good ones are in demand everywhere.
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