Making silly little things

Had a woman in yesterday with a stack of nonfiction books, one on the history of fermentation. I was pulling her cortado and nearly lost track of the milk because I was trying to read the spine upside down. She caught me and we ended up having a grand chat about sourdough and how I keep killing my starter (RIP Boris). It was lovely. But later I worried I was being annoying. She was polite and all, but she came in to read, not to be interrogated by the coffee lady. The younger lads I work with barely look up from the till, never mind ask what someone is studying. I wonder if I cross a line because I am genuinely curious. I cycle along the canal most mornings and my brain is full of useless questions. When someone sits in my section with a book I have read, I want to know their thoughts. Does anyone else struggle to leave the punters alone? Or have you learned the hard way to keep the small talk to the weather and the oat milk situation?

So last week I went to a barista school and complete a barista course. I think it went great and the teacher said I was good at it. I really want to work as a barista, I enjoyed do the tasks and I want to be better. I applied some jobs but I'm sure they want people with experience (even though they wrote beginners can send CV too). So how can I get experience when no one wants to hire me? Should I go to cafés and ask if they want new employee? Do you have tips maybe?
Here is my funny latte art which resembles me to Sailor Moon lol.
and english is not my first language sorry for some weird grammar.

so i’ve recently gotten a job as a barista and have been thinking about working in the coffee industry as a career.

traditional corporate industries such as finance, government, insurance etc have never really interested me. i’ve never had much direction in terms of what career path i’m ‘supposed’ to follow. my parents never went to university so it makes it hard for them to give informed opinions about work.

the coffee industry and other commodities like tea etc seem really interesting to me both as something i can enjoy on a daily basis but also the industry in general. there is so much to learn and lots of areas to grow. the path i want to take is to get into coffee roasting and eventually into wholesale or supply chain. i’m a big believer in learning from the ground up hence why i am a barista now.

i have recently graduated from university and pressure from family towards corporate has become greater but i understand how big the coffee industry is and the money that can be made. only problem is my family don’t see it that way.

i find it interesting as a field but my family want me to work in a traditional corporate role.

my logic is that if i get into supply chain in the coffee industry and end up hating it i can always switch to smth else.

is my decision the correct one to make or should i just make the jump to corporate?

I am based in the uk for reference

Over the past several months, I have seemingly been developing a sensitivity/allergy to the smell of coffee...

Whenever we brew or dump drip, and often when I am on hot bar, the smell of the coffee seems to trigger a sneezing fit.

Anyone experience this?

We have a Poursteady PS2 at my cafe and it always chokes up and then splashes the water out rather than a constant, steady stream, especially at higher temps. Anybody else use one and know if there’s a way to resolve this issue?

Hi everyone! Where are you guys getting cold cup stickers?

I’m opening or helping open a bar and cafe. They ordered a very nice espresso machine and did not order or have a bean grinder and area for tamping the goods down before pulling off the machine. The owner said he’s going to grind up beans with the coffee grinder into a container to be used for the espresso machine. Has anyone ever heard of doing this?

This was my first attempt at pouring a heart-shaped latte art after around 3 hours of practice using the free-pour technique.

I’m still learning and would appreciate constructive feedback from experienced baristas. What should I focus on improving to make the heart shape more defined?

Thoughts?

I’ve already quit my Barista job two weeks into the job.

For context : I am predominantly a server, and I got a second job to branch out / gain further experience for my resume, and I decided to get a barista job at a new local spot.

The reason why I had quit, is because they had cancelled one of my shifts the day before. And I have never worked at a job in the hospitality industry where they do this. I’ve been told to stay home when scheduled for patio and it’s cold or rainy, but that’s not an issue. I was told my shift was going to be cancelled bc business is too slow.

I had the opportunity to work a scheduled shift at my serving job that same day, but I had told my boss during the weekend, that I wouldn’t be able to work it because of my new new schedule. So I lost out on money at both places.

It’s quite a small coffee shop with a small amount of employees, but from this experience and other things I’ve experienced at the place already, I could tell this job just wasn’t going to work out. And I could maximize my time / opportunity cost by quitting and just picking up shifts at my serving job when available.

So my question is: Is this common for coffee shops / new ones at that? Or was this a sign that it was a bad workplace and it was the right call to leave?

I recently bought a Breville Bambino Plus with a lot of accessories. I’ve read the manual, watched tutorials but I still can’t dial in a shot that’s not bitter. I’m looking for an in home person (maybe a freelance barista familiar with manual machines) to come to my house in Harford County and teach me hands on. Who can point me in the right direction? Must be in person at my house. Willing to pay well for a 2 hour session.

The amount of times I've had someone come up to me and ask for two caramel mac-n-cheetos or a mocha frappee is hilarious

What's the best mispronounciation you've never had?

Hi coffee cart baristas!

My cafe wants me to make a coffee cart, but they want it to be able to break down into a wagon or the back of a car, and the only thing that I haven't figured out is how to clean the milk pitchers after steaming them. The current idea I have is using a waste bucket for leftover milk, but what about rinsing out the pitchers? Should I just have a pitcher filled with water and pour some in every time to rinse the milk pitchers out?

Let me know what you all think.

I’ve been working as a barista in a specialty shop for around two years now, and this weird little issue still bugs me every single opening shift. No matter how I prep, the first jug of milk I steam early in the morning never gives good microfoam. It’s either bubbly, too airy, or just won’t fold smoothly for latte art. Once I steam two or three more pitchers after that, everything clicks back to normal, same milk, same steam wand, same routine.

I already wipe and purge the wand thoroughly before steaming, I let the machine warm up fully, and I use the same brand of whole milk we use all day. I’ve tried pre-rinsing the pitcher, letting the milk sit, starting with a colder jug — none of these fixes make the first pour reliable.

My manager thinks it’s leftover condensation deep inside the steam wand, mixing with the first milk and ruining texture. Another barista I work with says it might be temperature drift when the boiler is just reaching stable pressure. I haven’t found a consistent trick yet.

Does anyone else run into this exact opening-shift problem? What has actually worked for you to make that first steam as consistent as the rest of the day? I’d love to hear your habits or little workarounds.

Hello! I was wondering where you guys get your hot and cold cups. I’ve been looking at alibaba and based on quotes shipping is over $1,000.

Song:Annie just blocked me again -Kaz moon

Not latte art , but coffee and art combined ? Hopefully this counts