The Barista
Training Manual

Day 1 — Tour & safety

• Shop tour — front of house, back of house, storage, alarm, exits
• Food safety basics: handwashing, gloves, allergen awareness
• Uniform, hair, hygiene, phone-use policy
• Schedule, breaks, time-off requests
• Read employee handbook (or equivalent)

Day 2 — Coffee 101

• Bean origin basics — single-origin vs blend, roast levels
• Tour of current beans on bar, taste each as drip + as espresso
• Vocabulary: dose, yield, ratio, extraction, channeling
• Menu walkthrough — every drink, what's in it, what it costs

Day 3–5 — POS & cash handling

• Open and close cash drawer
• Ring standard drinks, modifications, custom drinks
• Apply discounts, comps, refunds
• Process card, cash, gift card, mobile order
• Handle a tip-out at end of shift
• Pass: ring 20 orders in under 8 minutes during a real rush

The four variables

1. 1 Dose (grams in) — typical: 18–20g for double
2. 2 Yield (grams out) — typical 1:2 ratio
3. 3 Time (seconds) — typical: 25–32s
4. 4 Temperature (°C/°F) — set by machine, but matters for tasting

Pulling a shot — the routine

• Purge grouphead (2-second flush)
• Wipe portafilter dry
• Grind into portafilter (correct dose)
• Distribute and tamp (level, ~30 lb pressure)
• Insert and pull immediately — start timer
• Stop at target yield, record time

Tasting an espresso

Three things to evaluate: sweetness, acidity, body. Practice describing each shot.

• • Sour / fast / under-extracted → grind finer
• • Bitter / slow / over-extracted → grind coarser
• • Balanced / sweet / right time → don't touch the grinder

Steaming fundamentals

• Cold pitcher, cold milk, fill to base of spout
• Purge wand before inserting
• Wand tip just under surface — stretch for 1–3 seconds (cappuccino longer, latte shorter)
• Submerge to swirl — create whirlpool, smooth texture
• Stop steaming at 140°F / 60°C — milk should feel uncomfortably warm but not painful on the back of your hand
• Purge wand again, wipe with cloth immediately

Texture targets by drink

• • Latte: glossy, paint-like, no visible bubbles, ~1cm foam
• • Cappuccino: denser, ~2cm foam, holds a peak briefly
• • Flat white: tightly textured, microfoam only, no visible foam layer

Latte art progression

1. 1 Center dot — practice control
2. 2 Heart — first real shape
3. 3 Tulip — multi-pour technique
4. 4 Rosetta — the standard you'll be judged on

Bar flow basics

• Read tickets in order, group similar drinks
• Pull shots while milk steams (parallel work)
• Communicate with cashier (heads-up on big orders)
• Call out drinks clearly when ready
• Reset station every 5 minutes (clean steam wand, wipe counter)

The four customer-service sentences

1. 1 "Welcome in — what can I get started for you?"
2. 2 "Of course, let me get that for you."
3. 3 "I'm sorry that wasn't right — let me remake it."
4. 4 "Have a great day — see you soon."

Handling complaints

• • Listen — let the customer say everything, don't interrupt
• • Apologize — "I'm sorry that happened"
• • Fix — remake the drink, offer a refund, escalate to a manager
• • Note it — write down what happened so it doesn't repeat