Baristas: Why is great coffee important?
If you're a barista - or you want to become a barista - you'll know already that it's not so easy to get a job making coffee. It's just about impossible to learn on the job these days. Cafe owners expect their baristas to have experience and to be able to make a great coffee from day one.
If you think making coffee is easy, think again! Wikipedia's "Barista" entry sums it up well: "Espresso is a notoriously finicky beverage, and thus good manual espresso making is considered a skilled task. Failures can range from slight errors (slight over or under extraction - too bitter or too weak; or uneven extraction - some parts over-extracted, some parts under-extracted) to significant errors (undrinkably harsh or watery) to complete failure (espresso does not brew successfully, water sprays everywhere, etc.), and thus good espresso-making is valued by connoisseurs."
Barista training won't make you an instant expert, but it will give you an important start in the skills you need as a barista in Australia.
The outlook for employment in the coffee industry in Australia is good in the next five years(see the Australian Government page) but you will need training to get into the industry and to keep your skills up to date.
If you think making coffee is easy, think again! Wikipedia's "Barista" entry sums it up well: "Espresso is a notoriously finicky beverage, and thus good manual espresso making is considered a skilled task. Failures can range from slight errors (slight over or under extraction - too bitter or too weak; or uneven extraction - some parts over-extracted, some parts under-extracted) to significant errors (undrinkably harsh or watery) to complete failure (espresso does not brew successfully, water sprays everywhere, etc.), and thus good espresso-making is valued by connoisseurs."
Barista training won't make you an instant expert, but it will give you an important start in the skills you need as a barista in Australia.
The outlook for employment in the coffee industry in Australia is good in the next five years(see the Australian Government page) but you will need training to get into the industry and to keep your skills up to date.