Barista: "My monthly salary is just over 30,000... yet I still face difficulties!"

"A spoon for the Dirty... sugar and milk in my pour-over... hurry up with my coffee... I earn just over 30,000 a month and face this daily. Why can't people learn a little before coming to drink coffee?"

— Excerpt from a barista's post

As specialty coffee culture spreads, more and more consumers are falling in love with coffee. But in the process of learning, confusing information with knowledge is inevitable — so when ordering or tasting, customers sometimes make requests that make baristas want to cry.

Some requests can truly make a barista lose composure. But remember: everyone new to coffee has moments of not understanding.

The Barista's Role

Beyond making coffee, the most important part of the job is helping people who don't know coffee discover the fun and charm of the coffee world. When guests don't understand — or want to learn — our job is simple, clear guidance.

How to handle requests for a hot Dirty, or for a spoon?

When a guest asks for a hot Dirty, first explain why Dirty is only served cold. If they still want it hot, recommend a Flat White — both milk coffees are known for that gradual transition from rich coffee to milk.

If guests want to learn more, explain how these two milk coffees differ from a latte — but don't dump everything at once. A wall of professional detail can overwhelm and discourage a newcomer.

When a spoon is requested for a Dirty, first encourage the guest to taste it straight, and explain that the gradient isn't just for looks: it lets you experience the espresso's flavor expression across the whole drink — espresso with a little milk, espresso with lots of milk, and finally just a little espresso in milk.

How to handle requests to add milk and sugar to pour-over?

Again, start by encouraging guests to taste the coffee as it is. Use simple, everyday flavor descriptions to guide them toward pour-over's charm. But whatever the coffee, if they ultimately can't accept it black, just bring the milk and sugar as asked.

That you understand pour-over's charm doesn't mean everyone who drinks it must — or can. Whether a guest "knows how" to drink pour-over or can name the flavors doesn't matter! What matters is that the person enjoys the coffee in comfort.

How to handle guests who rush their order?

Reading this, many colleagues will already feel their blood pressure rising! Stay calm. Be zen. First, explain the current order queue and the approximate wait, hand the guest a glass of water, and ask for a little patience.

However rushed or irritated you feel, never compromise quality. Hold to the principle of "whatever happens, let me finish this cup" and handle each order with composure. A barista's emotions directly affect coffee quality — if you want every customer to feel your professionalism, you must be sufficiently zen.

The Importance of Communication

Many coffee consumers are still in their enlightenment stage — not everyone walking into a coffee shop understands the drink. As service-industry professionals, baristas must recognize that communication skills matter more than raw knowledge.

Without good communication, there are few chances to show professionalism at all. A barista's job is to encourage guests to try, and to guide them toward understanding — not to demand they know everything before ordering.

A professional barista doesn't lecture the uninitiated in jargon; they translate expertise into simple language, offer better suggestions, and win praise from people who "don't understand." Isn't that also an achievement?

If guests decline your suggestions, simply serve what they asked. They've paid; how they drink is their choice. There's no need to feel disrespected — quite the opposite: it's precisely because guests don't know coffee that the barista profession exists, and that coffee shops have a reason to exist.

If every guest already understood coffee, why would they come to a coffee shop at all?

Image source: Internet

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Guests exploring pour-over for the first time do best with beans that taste great even black — no sugar needed. FrontStreet Coffee's beginner-friendly picks:

• FrontStreet Ethiopia Guji Dingding (Yirgacheffe, washed) — soft, bright citrus-berry acidity with jasmine florals and a green-tea finish; the acidity tastes like fruit, not vinegar, and welcomes first-timers.
• FrontStreet Ethiopia Huakui (Sidama, natural) — strawberry, passion fruit, jackfruit, and lychee aromatics with obvious sweetness and almost no bitterness; famously "the coffee that doesn't taste like coffee" — the bean that changes skeptics' minds.
• FrontStreet Panama Boquete Geisha (washed) — pure Geisha character at an approachable price: orange-blossom honey sweetness, clean and floral; a beautiful step up once guests are hooked.