The time has come! We are finally starting our online barista course! As you could already read in the last article, we will be devoting ourselves entirely to the topic of baristas in the coming weeks.
In this series of articles, we will be running an online barista course with you. The most important thing for us is that we take you by the hand and show you step by step what it means to be a barista. In today's edition, we'll start with the general topic of "barista tasks." A very broad topic that depends entirely on the environment in which the barista works. Anyone who thinks that baristas are only there to make coffee is wrong! Baristas have a very diverse range of tasks, which require different skills depending on the barista task. You can find out exactly what tasks a barista has in the following blog article . We'll take you along with our barista Robin Matthijsse's general working day! In the coming articles, we'll also show you the intensive training you have to complete during extensive barista training at Goran Huber's Coffee Institute in order to be able to call yourself a Barista Coffee Master. Elias Fischbacher from the Wildkaffee Rösterei wishes you lots of fun discovering.
A barista’s day begins with these tasks
At the start of the working day, there are certain tasks and routines that a barista must complete in order to prepare his workplace. As a rule, the first thing that is done is to thoroughly clean and tidy up the brew bar, or the place where machines and other brewing vessels are located. Once everything is ready, the barista has the job of getting everything ready so that he has everything to hand for the working day. This starts with the cups, coffee beans, to-go cups, napkins and even milk .
Other brewing methods such as hand filters , AeroPress or Chemex should also always be to hand, as not everyone wants to enjoy their coffee from a portafilter machine. Nevertheless, the portafilter machine is the preparation method that involves the most work for the barista. The portafilter is used not only for espressos, but also for popular coffee with milk specialties such as cappuccino, flat white or cortado . Preparing the milk is also an important barista task. We will look at milk in more detail in future articles, as there are also some differences in milk that you should be aware of. Is everything ready, can we actually get started, or is there still an important step ?
Complex Barista Task - Adjusting the Grinder! - First Steps
An extremely important task for a barista is adjusting the coffee grinder. Usually, it is the grinder that is designed for making espressos. Smaller electric grinders, such as the Fellow Ode , are also suitable for other brewing methods, such as filter coffee, French press, etc.! But now back to adjusting the grinder!
The first steps of this barista task are as follows:
- Do not use the first two shots of the day
- Unclamp the portafilter, tap it out and wipe it with a cloth
- Weigh the ground coffee and distribute it evenly in the portafilter
- Then compact with the help of a tamper and a pressure of about 15 kg
- Place the cup under the spout and start the brewing process
Barista task - grinder setting
Of course, there are basic parameters that you can use to adjust the espresso grinder settings ! However, these parameters must be changed every day , because coffee and its taste as well as the characteristics of how it is prepared are different every day. Weather-dependent characteristics in particular mean that coffee changes during preparation and even in taste. That is why there is no basic setting for a grinder that will ensure excellent coffee enjoyment every day! However, you can use the following basic parameters as a guide every day!
EXTRACTION TIME: 20 – 30 seconds
INPUT: 16 – 20 g
OUTPUT: 35 – 60 ml
BREWING TEMPERATURE: 89 – 96 degrees
MACHINE PRESSURE: 9 Bar
After the first two shots you can already see where the journey should go. Now it's time to "evaluate" the first brewing results. The entire process is adjusted in some parts and that's not easy, especially at the beginning of a barista career. We'll show you how it works in the next section!
Fine adjustment of the mill setting
To ensure that your end result tastes as excellent as possible, you should optimize your brewing process after the first few shots. Here, too, there is a guideline that you can follow. Basically, the coffee puck , i.e. the coffee that has already been extracted in the portafilter, is always analyzed first. The next step is to optimize the flow, taste and body . You should also rely on your own taste here. So that your own coffee tastes best to you. We will show you how troubleshooting or optimizing coffee works as a barista task using our error check table!
1. The coffee puck check
Too wet? Use more coffee!
Too hard? Use less coffee!
Important! Only change the grind setting after checking the coffee puck.
2. The run-through check
Too fast? Grind finer!
Too slow? Grind coarser!
3. The taste check
Too sour? Grind finer!
Too bitter? Grind coarser!
4. The body check
Not enough body? Use more coffee!
Too much body? Use less coffee!
All of these checks are part of the daily barista tasks and play a major role when it comes to the taste in the cup profile of the final result! If you find this check a little more difficult, then be sure to watch our YouTube video with our barista Robin! He will explain to you exactly how to carry out these checks and which characteristics exactly affect the taste.
All barista tasks finished? Now it's time to brew!
Have you completed all your barista tasks? Then you can start preparing a variety of coffee recipes . Now the question is which recipes you want to prepare. Depending on the preparation, you will of course need the right equipment . Coffee specialties with milk in particular mean that you should add a few items to your basic equipment. You will find out what equipment you need in the next part of our online barista course !
Conclusion!
The word barista contains a specific word that describes the barista's tasks in more or less detail - bar. The most important barista task is to master his bar or his workplace . This means that he always has an overview of all the equipment and can handle his equipment perfectly. In addition, the bar should be tidy and clean .
The preparation of the various coffee recipes is also essential. Knowledge of the product that the barista works with every day, coffee, is also an essential barista task. Many baristas fail at the latter point in particular, which we as a roastery find particularly unfortunate. To protect you from this aspect, we will of course introduce you to the world of coffee in detail and individually , because this barista task is particularly important to us. However, we will only take up this point in a later part. In the next step, we will guide you from the barista tasks to important barista equipment so that you are perfectly prepared for your future barista skills. Have fun taking part and #staywild !
