Barista
What the work is
Prepares and serves espresso coffee and other hot beverages to patrons in a cafe, coffee shop, restaurant or dining establishment.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Operates coffee machines and other equipment to brew and prepare beverages
- Grinds coffee beans and measures out appropriate amounts for each order
- Froths milk and adds it to coffee to create specialty drinks
- Cleans and maintains coffee machines, equipment and work areas
- Stocks and replenishes coffee beans, milk options and other supplies, such as flavoured syrups, drinking chocolate or chai powder
- Provides information and recommendations to customers on coffee and beverage options
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a small specialty coffee bar beside a busy train station. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A regular says your flat white is the reason they get off the train early
- You dial in the grinder, taste a shot and it is exactly right
- A rush ends and the queue is gone, with every cup made well
Hard days
- Twelve people in the queue and the machine starts acting up
- A customer says the coffee is wrong and you cannot tell if it is the coffee or the mood
- Early starts, sore wrists and cleaning the machine at closing time
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 471231, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.