Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with barista

Espresso Con Panna will bow to my will

toni_jean — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 22:31:16 -0800

Help me become a kick ass Barista.

I just got a job at an awesome coffee shop. I have a little Barista experience from working at a café in high school, I can steam milk, pull a shot, do your basic barista work, but what I really want is to be the best Barista on the face of the planet. Not because I want a promotion or need to impress anyone, I just love the business that I am going to be working for and I would love to be an asset to them.

So great people of MetaFilter please give me any tips, tricks, or resources pertaining to being the world’s greatest Barista; I am not interested in competing, and going to Seattle for training is out of the question. However I would be willing to travel to San Francisco if it was worth it to do so. I will read anything and everything pertaining to this subject. Also, if you are an avid coffee drinker and have a favorite Barista, what is it that makes them your favorite? I have the sweet smile and intellectual small talk; I need the chops to back it up.

Thanks in advance!

Also, the shop uses a 3 group Conti XEOS & Swift Grinders

if you design it, they will come.

ms.jones — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 21:44:29 -0800

Fellow baristas! What would your ideal bar set-up look like? Opportunity has knocked. I may be in charge of designing the cafe of my dreams! I know what I like, but I need the opinions of you other java-slingers. If you've worked in a cafe, what things worked really well? What things did you wish management had thought of, i.e. placement of hand sinks, to make the flow as efficient as possible?

I'm talking ideas about everything here...syrups located on front counter or against a back wall, refrigeration underneath counter in a small unit or a large one over to the side?

Help me make this a place where other people will want to work!

Barista elbow?!

waltzing astronomers — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 19:23:11 -0800

Help! I am a barista and my elbow hurts! What should I do? My elbow started aching after shifts a couple of weeks ago. It was minor, it would go away within a couple of hours. I started using a lighter tamp, which seemed to help for a while. Yesterday, it hurt for longer. This morning, I adjusted my grind so that I could tamp very lightly, but still, by the end of my shift, almost each time I tamped there was a slight pain in my elbow, much like I had hit my funny bone, but nowhere near as severe. Also, sometimes there is a slight tingling in my hand.

My shift ended at 11AM, it is now 9:15PM and my elbow still feels weird. I suspect that this is a result of putting too much weight on my elbow with hard tamping (which I have quit doing, I've used wimpy tamps for my last few shifts), and from the forceful motion required to wrench the portafilter into and out of the espresso machine each time I pull a shot. I am scheduled to work again tomorrow! This will require much more tamping and wrenching! I'm worried about permanent damage.

What should I do (quitting my job is not really an option right now)?

Espresso Training?

Texasjake987 — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 10:29:55 -0800

What are the best barista training programs/schools around? I'm looking to get some real, professional training with coffee, espresso, and all other coffeeshop elements. I've heard good things about some of the schools in portland, but its a little far. I live in Boston, but am willing to travel if need be. Lets just say cost is no factor. Does anyone have experience with these programs? Or know anyone who does? Any and all responses welcome.

Be My Own Barista

benjh — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 22:35:27 -0800

Any resource recommendations on learning to be my own in-home barista? Where do I buy those syrups? Can anyone recommend some good sites for learning to make coffee. Also, where do I buy those syrups they use, can't find them in the stores.

How to take up barista-ing as a hobby?

fermion — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 12:16:35 -0800

How can I combine my dream of being a barista with my full-time desk job? I love coffee with a burning and passionate love, and I've always liked the idea of creating and serving fancy coffee drinks to caffeine-starved folks. Moreover, the prospect of working with real, physical food and drink seems like a refreshing counterpoint to my current computer-centric existence.

However, I'm not inclined to quit my current job in order to pursue this untried (and less well-paying) path. Is there a way I can take up barista-ing as a hobby? If I ask the local Peet's to train me and take me on as an intern for a few hours a week, will they laugh in my face? Could there be volunteer opportunities for this sort of thing? For that matter, is the job actually as enjoyable as I, in my naivete, hope it is?

I'm not really interested in setting up a home espresso system--I haven't the space nor the money, and there's only so much coffee I can drink by myself. So I'm looking for a way to serve coffee to other people, using other people's equipment.