A Barista, or Coffee Bar Attendant, is responsible for preparing and serving coffee and other beverages to customers in a coffee house or cafe. Their duties include working with other Baristas to help take orders, preparing beverages and providing timely service to customers.
A Barista should be able to fulfill various duties and responsibilities. The following are some duties and responsibilities a Barista should be able to execute:
- Greeting customers in a friendly manner and taking food and drink orders
- Preparing and serving beverages such as drip coffee, espresso-based drinks, tea and other specialty drinks
- Preparing and serving food items such as soups, sandwiches and pastries
- Answering customers’ questions about menu choices
- Promoting and recommending menu options to customers
- Taking payment from customers
- Tracking and ordering inventory for cafe and beverage supplies, such as coffee beans, milk, napkins and cups
- Maintaining espresso machines, grinders, coffee machines and other equipment by cleaning, troubleshooting and scheduling repairs
A competitive Barista will have certain skills and qualifications, including:
- Excellent listening and communication skills to effectively interact with coworkers and customers
- Basic coffee knowledge, such as how to prepare common coffee beverages, although advanced knowledge, such as roasting and grinding processes, coffee bean sourcing and flavor differences, can be helpful
- Exceptional customer service and interpersonal skills to interact in a positive manner and prevent or resolve conflicts
- Strong teamwork abilities to work efficiently in a fast-paced and high-volume environment with other Baristas
- Attention to detail to manage specific customer requests as well as a high-volume beverage assembly line with minimal errors
- Time management and organizational skills to work efficiently and effectively in a high-volume workplace
