Hey guys and welcome back! We are in a new season; things are cooling down and that means coffee time!
At this time of the year baristas get themselves ready for all you coffee hungry people out there. We all know that when the weather is a bit on the colder side it’s a perfect excuse to pop into your favourite café for that amazing coffee… but this means more pressure for the baristas. So how do we keep up consistency as well as speed?
When dealing with high volumes there is only one way to cope and that’s by splitting up the whole coffee process into 2-3 sectors. Why you may ask? This is so the barista can pay their full attention to that one section ensuring that it is executed perfectly time after time. So how do we do it? We do this in a controlled manner making sure each barista follows their role to perfection. This is how it’s done:
Shots: The barista on shots has a very important task, this will involve dialling in (calibration), grinding, distribution, tamping and pulling the shots. Their task is essentially the drums in the band, if their rhythm goes off then it affects the whole process. Another important part of their role is to keep up cleanliness; a dirty machine equals bad tasting coffee!
Milk: This can be a daunting task for a new barista but with practice the workflow sets in. The milk barista must ensure that they have set up all the relevant milks for the drinks coming up. Communication between the ‘shots’ barista and the ‘milk’ barista is crucial, miss a small bit of information and this will set back the whole flow. This can be tricky as the barista can have up to six milk options to work with and then each drink is steamed to a different density depending on what drink has been ordered.
Pouring: Finally onto the ‘pouring’ barista. Now this barista can often be confused as a customer but they are a very important part of the process. They stand on the other side of the counter but they oversee many things such as setting up saucers and spoons, pouring amazing latte art, finishing off drinks and running coffees to customer’s tables. The ‘pouring’ barista is the final piece of the puzzle and keep the whole team together during those busy periods. They’re also the ones charming the customer as they hand over their drink!
For a busy café, these three baristas are the pillars of success for amazing coffee. It is very easy to get this wrong but with continuous training and communication this can be perfected. Next time you pop into your local café have a look and see how their setup works and watch how the baristas work like a well-oiled machine.
Until next time, cheers!
Dean