Barista
What is a barista? What is the history of baristas? How do you determine a good barista from a mediocre one? We will answer those questions in this article by Madres Espresso, serving the Greater Olympia Metro area with two outstanding coffee stands. Call us at 360-349-1717 for more information.
What is a barista?
A barista is a person who prepares and also generally serves espresso-based coffee drinks. In the United States, the term barista is also often applied to coffee shop employees who prepare both espresso and regular coffee drinks. Although the term barista technically refers to someone who has been professionally trained in preparing espresso, it may also be used to describe anyone with a high level of skill in making espresso shots and espresso drinks, such as lattes and cappuccinos.
Interestingly, the word “barista” has its roots in Italian; in that language, barista means a bartender of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. It should also be noted that it is a gender-neutral word.
The history of baristas.
As far back as the 1700s, Turkish coffee-preparers were known as baristas or a derivation of that term, but it wasn’t until the invention of the espresso machine that the barista took on the image of what we see today, a multi-faceted coffee professional capable of preparing dozens of varied coffee drinks. In fact, in some of the larger cities around the world, there are barista competitions where the best in the U.S. are judged by panels of “professionals.”
How to spot a good barista.
We have spent our time, to this point, talking about what a barista makes, the variety of drinks, and even the knowledge many of them have about the art and skill of preparing espresso drinks. What we have not talked about yet, but which is very important to the overall success of a coffee shop or coffee stand, is the customer service skills of a barista.
With literally tens of thousands of coffee stands across the country, how does any customer choose where to buy their lattes and mochas? While it is true that close location plays a factor, there are other factors in play.
How good is the barista at her job? Does she remember the names of customers? Does she appear genuinely happy when a customer arrives? Does the barista remember the drinks each regular customer orders, this last point being a consideration worth praise and awe. How they do that, not only remember a customer’s name but remember their drink, and do it correctly for hundreds of customers each week, well, it is another strong indicator that the barista is good at their job.
Recent polls of customers pointed out that the quality of the coffee-based drink is about equal in importance as the quality of friendly service provided. In other words, customers prefer one coffee stand over another not only because the “coffee” is good but also because they enjoy the interaction with the baristas.
A final word about Madres Espresso.
Madres Espresso is locally owned and operated with two coffee stands, one in West Olympia on Cooper Point Road, and one on the East side on Pacific Avenue. Stop by the next time you’ve got a coffee craving and you want the very best in customer service.
