The Barista Battle is Brewing! We Spill the Beans on What Makes a Champion Barista
Are you a barista who lives and breathes creating exceptional coffee experiences? Do you dream of showcasing your skills and creativity on a local, national, or even global stage? Buckle up, because the upcoming Barista Battle is brewing up a storm!
This premier competition is the ultimate playground for baristas to demonstrate their expertise, creativity, and dedication to their craft. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or an up-and-coming talent, this is an opportunity to take your skills to the next level and make your mark in the coffee industry.
This month, we peeked behind the counter to chat with our barista brew crew at CoffeeMM. We wanted to spill the beans (pun intended!) on what makes a great cup-of-cino in preparation for the upcoming Barista Battle event. We went local and chatted with our own CoffeeMM baristas – Austain, Clarence, and Dorothy – about the secret behind the perfect cup and got some insider tips to tie into the theme of our Season 2 Barista Battle: Local Love! Stay tuned for some serious coffee wisdom coming your way…
More Than Just Beans: What Makes a Great Barista?
At CoffeeMM, we take pride in our welcoming atmosphere, our skilled baristas, and of course, our quality coffee beans. But what exactly makes a champion barista and turn a good coffee shop into a local favourite?
Our baristas believe that a winning coffee shop is a symphony of several elements. Clarence, one of our baristas, highlights the importance of soft skills: “While technical skills can always be practiced and improved upon, it’s the social skills and your ability to handle pressure when there is a rush that differentiates a good barista from an average one. How you respond to challenges is very important.”
His top tip for dealing with difficult customers is to always remain calm with the goal of diffusing the situation. Listen carefully to try to understand their point of view and look for common ground.
All the CoffeeMM baristas agree that the quality of the coffee beans and the technical skills of brewing the perfect cup are important, but what is even more important is to always provide customer service with a smile. “This means being a good listener, having a keen eye for detail, and anticipating each customer’s preferences.” says barista Austain.
Dorothy – arguably the best hugger in the world – adds onto this that you should always be kind. “Everyone has problems, leave yours at home and just choose to be happy. Life goes on!”. She emphasises the importance of always giving the best possible service, regardless of how difficult a customer is, which is the most challenging part of being a barista for her.
The Multifaceted Challenges of Barista Life
While Dorothy emphasises the emotional labour of exceptional service, Austain reminds us that mastering the craft itself wasn’t a walk in the park. For him, achieving latte art perfection, a skill crucial for creating those customer-pleasing beverages, proved to be the most challenging part of his journey to becoming a barista.
While brewing the perfect cup quickly became second nature for Austain, mastering latte art presented a steeper learning curve at first. Getting the milk texture exactly right is truly an art, and one of the reasons why the Barista Battle includes this as one of the winning categories.
Clarence, on the other hand, finds the slower periods of the year the most challenging part of being a barista. He truly enjoys the rush of people queuing for their morning cup and thrives under pressure, saying “A true barista craves a busy rush.”
So, how does he manage the mayhem as the only person in the coffee shop? Multitasking comes naturally to him, but he also employs a strategic approach by brewing all the coffee first, followed by batch-frothing the milk. This streamlined process significantly boosts his efficiency during peak times.
More Than Just a Job: Brewing Happiness in Every Cup
For all of our baristas, the most rewarding part is connecting with people. Austain loves interacting with so many different cultures and more specifically being able to introduce people to the culture of coffee, which he sees as a universal language rather than simply a hot drink.
His top tip for keeping customers happy: “Pay attention to your customers’ facial expressions, and when you notice any sign of frustration, start a friendly conversation.” Most importantly, though, is never to judge or assume you know what a customer thinks or wants. Stay humble and aim to understand.
Clarence, who agrees with this sentiment, also finds immense satisfaction in the entire process of crafting the perfect cup, from grinding the beans to the beautiful latte art. He finds it greatly satisfying to see the smile on the customer’s face when they see the latte art, knowing he is a big part in so many people’s morning ritual.
Dorothy’s biggest challenge – dealing with difficult customers – is also what gives her the most satisfaction in her job as a barista. By always putting on a smile and being kind even when customers are difficult, she has managed to turn the most difficult customer into her biggest friend. Talking to people and comforting them when they are feeling down is a highlight in Dorothy’s work life as a barista.
What’s your top tip to master latte art?
As mentioned, latte art is tricky to master. While the quality of the coffee itself is essential in brewing a good cup of coffee, it’s the latte art that really differentiates an average cup of coffee from an excellent cup, says our baristas. The latte art is what people see and, while the best latte art will not hide a burnt or bad quality coffee, the best quality coffee needs good latte art to stand out and be perceived as high quality.
Austain’s top tip to master latte art is simple: “Practice, practice, practice!”
Also, the three most important parts to take into consideration when frothing the milk to get the best texture is to firstly have the right quantity of milk – too much or too little will not give you the desired results; secondly, to have the right temperature; and finally, to froth it for the right duration.
Bonus tip! How to pull the perfect shot of espresso
When asked what factors can affect espresso quality, this is what our prestigious baristas have to say:
Make sure that the ground size is perfect. The weather affects the size of the coffee beans and to get the perfect cup you have to adjust the weight of the grounds per serving. A day in the life of a barista always starts with espresso dialing, or calibrating your grinder. By manipulating the dose, time, yield, and grind size, you can align the parameters needed to pull the perfect shot of espresso with the coffee beans you’re using, says Austain.
Another factor to consider when dealing with beans is to know your type of beans and whether it is a light, medium, or dark roast, adds Clarence. Dark roasts typically need a courser grind, while the lighter grounds are finer, requiring less beans per cup.
The next essential tip is to make sure that you apply at least 20 kg of pressure when tamping, or to press the grounds down to compact it, which allows the natural oils of the coffee beans to be released when filtering the water through. When properly tamped, flipping the portafilter upside down shouldn’t let any grounds fall out. Only when the grounds are adequately compressed will the coffee form the rich froth on top.
The water temperature is also important. Avoid burning the coffee beans with water that is too hot. And finally, never leave the tamped grounds waiting! Be present and focused and never exceed a brewing time of 30 seconds.
Think You’ve Got the Grind? Test Your Skills at the Barista Battle!
If this sounds like child’s play to you, you should definitely consider enrolling in our CoffeeMM Barista Battles where the top baristas get to showcase their skills in front of a panel of industry experts, win some fabulous prizes (including a trophy!) and a chance to network with other talented baristas and industry leaders in the world of coffee.