Is it easy to become a barista? What are the main responsibilities of a barista? What job positions are available in the coffee industry?

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Introduction

"Hey, I'm going to make coffee!"

"Oh? You're becoming a barista? Can you show me some latte art? I want a swan~"

Every cup of coffee we drink goes through a long and complex industry chain from production regions to consumers.

So, do you still think there are only baristas in the coffee industry?

Come on, today let's talk more about this~

In fact, the coffee industry has more than just baristas! There are also coffee farmers, bean hunters, green bean sellers, roasters, product developers, quality control specialists, and more!

Coffee Farmers

Coffee farmers can be said to be the most demanding profession in the entire coffee industry chain.

As the primary responsible parties for coffee bean quality, they must traverse rolling mountains to care for coffee trees, enduring wind and sun, working from dawn till dusk, paying attention to every moment of coffee tree growth.

They need to research various processing methods to improve coffee quality and taste, while also learning coffee tasting and extraction knowledge, and finding buyers to purchase their green coffee beans~

Bean Hunters

Bean hunters are mostly green coffee merchants who travel to coffee-producing regions around the world searching for the green beans they need.

Although being a bean hunter might sound like a glamorous job involving constant travel, it's actually not easy.

Business trips have become their normal way of life, constantly traveling between different countries and coffee estates.

Moreover, they need to taste large quantities of coffee of varying quality over long periods.

Most bean hunters mainly sell green beans.

Then they look for suitable buyers.

Green Bean Sellers

This is an import-export trade, which means your consumer audience is mostly people within the coffee circle.

Perhaps specialty coffee shop owners, roasters, or competition participants.

Both large-scale comprehensive businesses and small-scale specialized ones can survive in this market~

However, it depends on how deep your relationship is with upstream production areas, as these are related to price and quality.

Roasters

Coffee roasters are like magicians who can slowly transform green coffee beans into roasted beans.

In their hands, the aromas within coffee beans gradually emerge, and they play a crucial role in coffee flavor.

By the way, they also have their own "secret manuals" - roasting data.

Roasters are an important profession that affects coffee flavor expression and need outstanding tasting abilities.

They experiment with different green beans, determine various roasting data.

Communicate with baristas and consumers, adjusting roasting techniques.

They roast, roast, roast and cup, cup, cup every day in the roasting room (laughs.jpg)

Product Developers and Quality Control Specialists

The primary task of product developers is to create various creative beverages to satisfy consumers' desire for novelty.

They are thoroughly familiar with the characteristics of various raw materials and how they blend with coffee.

Successful developments become viral beverages, while failed ones become "dark cuisine."

But regardless of success or failure, they are always the first to try something new (laughs.jpg)

Quality control specialists are responsible for controlling quality, including raw materials, production processes, and final product quality.

Quality control specialists generally have solid coffee foundations and highly sensitive palates, enabling them to quickly capture market demands to adjust coffee ingredients and formulas.

Baristas

Baristas are the ones who finally present coffee to customers.

Their skills are not limited to brewing coffee, as their performance directly affects the experience of a cup of coffee.

Additionally, baristas cannot only know how to brew coffee; they need various other skills.

For example, they need to have a full sense of service, know how to communicate with customers, and also handle tasks including washing dishes, cleaning cups, and maintaining hygiene.

In short, baristas are all-rounders! yyds!

Coffee Apprentices

Many people starting their career in the coffee industry begin as coffee apprentices, full of enthusiasm.

They work while learning, which can be considered the precursor to becoming a barista.

Coffee apprentices mainly assist baristas with daily production and learn various basic tasks in coffee shops.

Although the learning efficiency may not be as high as that of training institutions, if they can find good mentors and bosses.

They can also learn rich knowledge, but compared to formal training, the knowledge structure may be more fragmented.

Coffee Trainers

Besides being coffee apprentices, learning at coffee training institutions is also a choice for many people.

Coffee trainers teach their students many basic knowledge points in a short period.

Of course, many training institutions also offer courses for baristas, roasters, and even coffee shop owners (managers).

Coffee trainers understand various basic theories related to coffee, are familiar with various traditional and modern brewing methods.

They can teach coffee knowledge in a structured way and daily love to delve into cutting-edge coffee technologies.

Coffee Shop Owners (Managers)

Coffee shop owners (managers) are the managers of a coffee shop. As managers, they handle various decisions and business strategies.

Personnel management and capturing fresh market trends.

Coffee shop managers are responsible for all matters related to running the coffee shop. Simply put, besides having professional coffee knowledge.

They also need certain management abilities to coordinate relationships between various employees and positions.

In addition, there are some coffee professions that are not directly related to coffee production.

But they are still indispensable to the coffee industry!

Coffee Product Designers

Coffee product designers interact directly with consumers. They design coffee-related derivative products.

Besides having professional coffee knowledge, they also need high aesthetic and design abilities.

Designers develop and design new equipment or devices based on coffee market trends and developments.

They are proficient in design fields, have high aesthetic abilities, and understand different coffee extraction principles and methods.

They delve into the market, understand consumer usage habits, and improve and update equipment designs based on market feedback.

Coffee Scholars

Behind every cup of coffee we drink, there is a group of people continuously researching all aspects of coffee - they are coffee scientists.

We rarely hear about this type of profession in our daily lives, but we can often see their work.

They start from directions such as human health, researching coffee from genetic, chemical, and biological perspectives.

The benefits of drinking coffee that we know are all results of long-term research and experiments by scientists.

Coffee Media

The simplest example is me, typing at the keyboard right now, haha.

We spread coffee culture and knowledge, report news within the industry, and are promoters of coffee culture.

As media in the coffee industry, we need to conduct reviews, screen and organize materials, and push various coffee information.

Although our daily work is extensive, we still hope that through us.

More people can truly understand coffee and fall in love with coffee!

Of course, there are other coffee professions in the industry chain.

Welcome to discuss further with me in the comments section!

Some image sources: Internet

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