Tips for Improving Workflow as a Barista
Have you ever wanted to be faster or feel more efficient on bar? We’ve assembled some our favorite tips from pro BonLife baristas. Follow these helpful hints and you’re sure to feel faster and more empowered in your specialty coffee workflow!
#1 Keep your work area clean! A favorite piece of advice from baristas all around is to incorporate cleaning into your workflow. Wipe down that counter as soon as you spill milk, brush stray espresso grounds into the trash between customers, toss that empty milk carton. Whatever small messes may plague you on bar, try to start practicing cleaning them up as you go. It may seem like extra work that slows you down at first, but you’ll soon see that a clean work area frees up your mental space and helps you work more efficiently.
#2 Pull espresso shots ASAP. There are a couple of parts of the espresso drink making process that require a certain amount of time and can never be sped up: pulling shots is one. It will always take whatever amount of time your recipe is to pull that shot. Practice starting the shot as soon as you hear the order or see the regular walk in. Practice a workflow that has your shots finishing when you finish steaming milk; it’s possible to get that timing down to a science. Once you become aware of the timing of your espresso shots and work it into your practice so you’re never standing still waiting for the shot to finish in order to finish the drink, you’ll be infinitely faster as a barista.
#3 Communicate! Nothing slows down your workflow more than having to remake a drink you made wrong. If you didn’t hear the customer well, clarify their order. If your coworker took an order and you’re not sure what the ticket means, ask them. There’s no such thing as over-communicating when it comes to drink orders, and you will save yourself so much time in the long run with a simple question here and there.
#4 Find your workflow and stick with it. There’s nothing like good old muscle memory to improve your speed as a barista! Find a flow that works for you and produces good results and stay with it. Your workflow might differ slightly from your coworker’s, and that’s ok. Keep using that flow over and over until one day you’ll realize you’re so lightning fast you’ll impress yourself.
#5 Be patient with yourself. We’re all here for a good time— coffee is meant to be fun after all! Be patient with yourself. If you mess up, just remake that drink. Don’t cry over spilt milk. Give yourself time if you’re a new barista. Speed comes with practice. Soak up all the knowledge you can from people who have been doing the job for longer, and your workflow will be super efficient before you know it.
We hope these tips help you improve your workflow as a specialty coffee barista whether it’s in a shop or at home making drinks for friends. Do you have another piece of advice we should know about? Share it with us below!
