A barista is a coffee expert.
Barista is a concept that is not part of the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ). The term, however, is frequently used to name a coffee expert .
Baristas specialize in developing coffee- based beverages, combining coffee seeds with liquor, milk and other ingredients. This professional can also dedicate themselves to studying and designing how these drinks are presented and even to the decoration of espresso coffee with milk in the discipline known as latte art .
barista job
A barista is able to differentiate between the various types of coffee to prepare exclusive blends. The various processes that involve the seeds (such as roasting, grinding, etc.), the details of the water used to prepare the infusion (temperature, pH, hardness) and the technical characteristics of the coffee makers are other topics of interest. for these specialists.
With their knowledge, baristas can determine all the properties of coffee-based drinks: from flavor to aroma, acidity, sweetness, consistency and other particularities.
It is common for contests to be held where baristas can demonstrate their skills. Many cafes (establishments where infusion and other drinks are served), on the other hand, hire baristas to improve the quality of their products .
Baristas can prepare custom infusions.
Its characteristics
In order to become a good barista, it is usually indicated that you have to meet certain requirements:
- You have to be a true coffee lover.
- It has to be someone capable of working quickly and in detail.
- You have to be a professional with the qualities to work under pressure without losing your nerve.
- You must know perfectly not only the existing types of coffee but also the instruments used to make them. We are referring to jugs, filters, siphons, thermal glasses...
- It is essential that you have taken one of the barista courses that exist, where you will gain the knowledge and skills necessary to be a professional barista.
- Of course, it is essential that you comply with all hygienic measures.
Importance of baristas
As a summary, it can be said that a barista is to coffee what a sommelier is to wine . Both experts have the mission of knowing in detail everything related to the drink in which they specialize.
The role played by the barista, who with his coffees manages to build loyalty and attract customers, is so important that more and more restaurant businesses (cafeterias, bars) choose to hire one and thus become references.
Name of coffee makers
In addition to all of the above, we can highlight that there are even coffee machines for sale on the market that have the word barista in their name. This would be the case, for example, of the Andrew James Barista Espresso , which is designed for coffee lovers.
This machine, which has 15 bars of pressure, allows you to customize the drink you obtain to the maximum. It achieves this by offering that you can select from the temperature to the foaming pressure and the intensity of the coffee.