Barista training was non-existent and barista schools were nothing more than a dream, if even a dream at all, in years past. Twenty years ago the term ‘barista’ was as foreign as it gets in the United States.
Barista Training Fuses Art, Science
Fast forward to today, a barista is more well respected, well understood, and even sought after than ever before. Entire coffee colleges have sprung up in the name of professional barista training and continuing education. The art of espresso making has just as much science to it as it does art, making it a perfect blend of distinguishing technical characteristics and subjective artistic impression.
What Barista Training Looks Like Today
Learning how to become a barista can be done in a number of ways. As mentioned before, you can become certified via a technical ‘college’ or higher education program, and you can also learn on the job with enough interest through an employer who offers such a program.
When you have made the decision to become a student of coffee, you will need to decide what level of learning you wish to undertake. There are barista schools that will teach you everything there is to learn about becoming a barista-including things like proper milk steaming, roasting and cupping, operating an espresso machine, grinding beans in a Blendtec vs Vitamix, even customer service. There are also barista schools that include every aspect of starting and operating your own coffee shop, from shop and layout design, to marketing and promotion. Those are two very distinct learning curves, so make sure that you decipher which level of training you are interested in receiving. This will save you time and money in the long run.
You can receive skills training in as little as five days with certification and you can also go to an extensive coffee college that carries on for about six months. Some folks don’t have the option to take a six month course which is why the 5 day programs have become so prominent. No matter the length of time you are in barista training, you ‘ll learn how to properly deal with the health department all the way to perfecting ‘latte art’.
There are coffee colleges and barista training education offered in many states, including Texas, California, Washington, Ohio, Kansas, Michigan, and many more. A simple internet search for barista training or barista schools will start you off in the right direction.
Searching for and subscribing to specialty coffee publications is another wise choice in spring boarding your career as a professional barista. These trade publications are frequently contributed to by industry professionals who are at the top of their respective fields.
Whatever path you decide to choose, becoming a barista has never been in more demand than it is now. Capitalizing on this rising interest in barista training is a very wise career move and will position you for growth in a career that shows signs of positive movement in the upcoming decade.
