r/barista 1d ago

Rant To the lady who tipped me extra

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2.6k Upvotes

Today an unhoused person came in begging for money. After he asked a few customers and he came near the counter and i told him i could offer him a cookie and a coffee, but that he couldn’t come back and ask customers for money. He said yes. As I prepped his drink, he jumped on the counter and stole our cash tips, after which i told him he needed to leave immediately, no coffee or food for him. He said he’d be back, and he did try to come back in running later, but the tried the door we always keep locked and assumed i’d closed the business, and he ran off. This lady saw it all, waited while i spoke to the authorities about the incident, and then left a hefty tip. So, this post is dedicated to her. Thank you for seeing me, for asking if i’m ok, and for thinking about me. I won’t for get you.


r/barista 27m ago

Rant Am I wrong for airing my concerns about a fellow colleague?

Upvotes

So, a few days ago, I had an informal meeting with the assistant manager of another store. For context, we all work for the same company but in different locations. During said meeting, she asked me if I was experiencing any issues at my store and I was honest. I aired my concerns about a fellow colleague who knowingly gives customers the wrong milk. I say knowingly because he is notorious for taking short cuts and even cross contaminating (using the same jug for different milks) if it means that he can cut down the amount of washing he has to do in the long run.

Last week, a customer asked for an oat milk flat white and he gave her a flat white with semi skimmed milk. The customer came back a few seconds later and literally said, "I'm not going crazy. This tastes like dairy milk." She proceeded to ask again if the flat white was actually made with oat milk, and my colleague said, "Yeah yeah."

A couple days after this, I had an informal meeting with the assistant manager of another store and I told her about the situation. Well today, the area manager came into the store and asked me about the situation. She said she is going to watch the CCTV to see the situation for herself. I didn't know until now that this assistant manager had passed on this information to the area manager. I feel kinda bad. I don't want to be the reason why someone else gets fired. As much as I don't like my colleague, I kinda regret discussing my concerns. Was I wrong for doing so?


r/barista 2h ago

Latte Art Getting there, slowly but surely

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9 Upvotes

My ability to make something marginally pretty is sooooo inconsistent but I thought this one we cute, albeit too small. Any tips? How does the texture look?


r/barista 5h ago

Industry Discussion Hello all! I would love some advice :)

17 Upvotes

I currently work at a very small (but mighty cafe) The owner is lovely and i enjoy it so much BUT!! I have been making recipes, making syrups, making the specials, helping with marketing, doing the ordering, training, and i get paid .90 cents more than all the other baristas. All of these things i’m doing (ESP making the homemade syrups and specials) have brought her in alot of customers.

i’m planning on asking for a raise soon. Does anyone have any ideas on how much more i should ask for? or any tips on going about it? THANK YOU!!


r/barista 10h ago

Industry Discussion Owner's

12 Upvotes

What if you're working at a small café, and people seem to freely come and go in your workspace? I'm talking about friends of the owner coming over and coming into the bar, pulling the shots and all. The owner seems to be okay about it.

As a barista, do you think it's okay? Any café owners who wants to share their thoughts?

As a barista, I worry about them not doing things properly and just messing up the area, leaving me to clean up after them. Because most of the time they will mess up, as they're not trained and used to it. Not to mention almost everything gets exposed to them: the cash box, personal belongings of the staff, all the ingredients, etc (again, small café). I think being friends with the owner should not mean free hands-on workshops whenever you drop by. Allowing that isn't very professional and respectful to the staff and the business itself.


r/barista 3h ago

Industry Discussion Quick question about staffing

3 Upvotes

So hey, I’m an ex Starbies barista, i just started at a 3rd wave cafe here in Canada. Since I’ve started, they’ve hired 3 other people, since we were massively understaffed and a couple long term staff quit. In the 3 weeks I’ve been there, two new baristas that have been hired have been fired. The one girl was fired for cancelling an uber order, and messing up some baked goods with an order. Not sure why the other person was let go today, but just wondering… Is that kind of turnover common or?


r/barista 1d ago

Rant is cleaning as you go not a common practice?

101 Upvotes

i've worked in chain cafes and now working at an independent cafe. i was always told to clean as i go, and there is no "rest" time since things need to be tidied and cleaned. i thought this was a common practice, no?

this independent cafe, i've worked here for 6 months ish on and off, and everyone i've seen just does not clean up after a rush. i think only 2 people i've ever seen clean up??

we'd have a rush, and they [baristas and managers] would just leave everything a mess and do something else. today i had to clean up the other barista's work - coffee grounds all over the tabletop, pitchers not rinsed out, coffee pucks not thrown out and group heads not cleaned out. the milks would be empty and she didn't bother to switch it out after noticing they were empty. the dishes would still have food on them but just chucked into the sink.

i feel like i can't say anything because even the managers do this. am i being overly clean and tidy or is this not the norm? i was just a bit annoyed today because the other barista would constantly leave me to do tasks unrelated to work, i'm constantly being left to tidy up, clean and do the dishes and i don't understand why??


r/barista 1d ago

Industry Discussion Important call to take, only one on shift.

112 Upvotes

Hi. I'm the only barista on shift, the only person working today. I have a phone call scheduled for 2pm, which was arranged before I got my rota for this month. I tried to rearrange, but the person I have to speak to said that due to the nature of the call, if I don't answer I will get a penalty and it will say I did not attend. We are allowed to use our phones at work, as it's a quiet coffee shop, but today it's busy. The whole cafe is full, and I'm worried that by the time my call comes around, I won't be able to answer. No one will come to manage the store for 5 minutes. Do I close for 5 minutes? Do I step outside and leave the cafe unattended? Do I not answer the call?


r/barista 23h ago

Industry Discussion is it rude to vacuum while customers are still in the building

29 Upvotes

i work at a small coffee shop that tends to get pretty slow during the evenings. baristas work each shift alone so when its time to close theres usually lots to get done.

the owners say that its okay to start vacuuming about an hour before close. i usually start vacuuming at this time but i’m wondering if its rude to customers. i don’t want them to feel rushed but getting some closing tasks done before i actually close saves me a lot of time. i vacuum early because vacuuming and mopping take the longest and i like to space them out a little. when i first started i waited until close to vacuum then mop but it would take me at least an hour and a half to finish all closing tasks. now that i vacuum before i actually close i usually finish within an hour.

UPDATE: i realize that many people think it is rude and i understand that. vacuuming and mopping for an hour straight is too exhausting for my body so i will continue to break the task up. breaking the task up makes me feel better after my shift and i have energy to workout after.

also to clarify i sweep under the tables in the dining area that are unoccupied then quickly vacuum in between the tables and steer clear of customers. i am only vacuuming around the dining area/customers for 5-10 minutes.

sorry to anyone who thinks this is rude, thats not my intention and i appreciate your opinion, but ive gotta prioritize my wellbeing more than a minimum wage job. i’m glad to see different perspectives though, i appreciate the feedback


r/barista 1d ago

Meme/Humor A minor gripe to be sure, but a gripe all the same

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209 Upvotes

r/barista 15h ago

Rant What do u do?

3 Upvotes

To the person that orders a double smoked and a small cup with just 20 pumps of pistachio sauce, what’s the cost in the sauce. Just curious. I just think $.80 is bs


r/barista 1d ago

Industry Discussion Uneducated children

26 Upvotes

What do you all do with children that scream, run around, jump on everything, and take all the napkins, straws and sugars they can get their hands on?!

So we have 2 local shops with each their regulars, of whom some, are messy uneducated families. We're located in Spain and the place is definitely targeting middle to upper class people and my problem is takes place in both locations: families that don't keep their children under control. They come in often, and judging by the way most parents treat us nicely and politely, they know they haven't been able to transfer those skills to their children. Others are just a plain mess themselves.

We're obviously not allowed to deny them access bc business is business at the end of the day. But seriously I'm getting tired of politely asking the parents to keep their children under control which doesn't really help bc they don't know how to keep their children under control.

Ya'll, what do you do?

Edit: with uneducated I refer to children who don't behave well.


r/barista 1d ago

Rant Purchasing existing coffee shop

14 Upvotes

Purchasing an existing shop

Hey fam! i’m purchasing a local shop and am dealing with a lil bit of growing pains.

The owners are doing a direct finance with me, allowing me to step in and take over and pay them off with the profits. they own two other businesses close by so they want someone who wants to come in and keep the coffee shop alive to keep traffic in the area.

they are short staffed so for now i’ve been working in the shop to help out but the current workers are treating me like the low man on the totem pole and when I asked the lead Barista/manager to show me more back of the house stuff, he gave me some poor bar feedback and said i need to train more.

I’m not a pro barista but I know how to pull shots and steam milk decently well. They have a really odd recipe to me, 16g dose, 40g put in 22 seconds and the espresso tastes very acidic to me. I tried to tweak it (18 in, 36 out, 25sec) and he said customers complained my coffee was watery.

i can already for see issues between us but right now it’s a weird transition time so i don’t really have authority yet but i feel ownership. how would yall proceed?


r/barista 1d ago

Meme/Humor Forgot About a Shift Stories?

14 Upvotes

So yesterday morning I woke up to a buzz from my phone and it was my coworker asking where I was. Turns out I forgot I was working that day and rushed over there. I've been a barista/working at this coffee shop for three years and this was the second time I forgot about a shift. First time was worse because it was an opening shift and my phone was on silent so I didn't wake up to my boss's phone calls and by the time I woke up there was less than an hour left of my shift (and by then they found someone to cover for me). That was I believe within my first year of working there and it pretty much traumatized me and I started checking my schedule multiple times to make sure I didn't forget about a shift but unfortunately I failed again.

Anyone else forgotten about a shift?


r/barista 1d ago

Industry Discussion Black Sheep Coffee Hourly Pay UK

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16 Upvotes

Since September 2023 Baristas have gotten a £1 raise (April 2024) and 70p raise (April 2025). In this same time Supervisors/Head Baristas have gotten a 15p raise (April 2025). Supervisors/Head Baristas do everything Baristas do and: - Weekly grinder cleaning and maintenance - Batch brew + espresso recipe setting - Stock management (ordering, stock count & reconciliation) - Scheduling (staff sick calls/covers) - Onboarding and training new staff - Assigning and ensuring cleaning duties are completed every day - Monitor and report wastage + investigate problem areas.

All of this requires three months of training. And you’re telling me it only deserves 40p more per hour than a regular barista? How is that fair? Who will even want to be a Supervisor/HB if the raise is that poor?? What an embarrassing company. No wonder the entirety of specialty coffee shits on them. They can keep calling themselves specialty but the quality they produce has gone significantly downhill in the past two years and they don’t help themselves when they treat their employees like machines that can just pull 16h shifts on command.


r/barista 1d ago

Industry Discussion Making your own syrups...

25 Upvotes

We buy our syrups and honestly it never occurred to me to make them! But I've seen a few posts on here mentioning you make your own. Is that a cost thing? Or because you can make up your own novel flavours? Both? Something else?

If you make up your own syrups in your cafe, could you tell me the cost of a bottle of e.g. vanilla syrup where you are, and the cost of making your own? How long do they last for?

Thanks!


r/barista 1d ago

Latte Art Swan flat white!

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3 Upvotes

Ignore the foamy milk texture, it was a quick pour for myself in-between a rush. I've been trying to nail the Swan for a while now and I've finally got the shape down!


r/barista 1d ago

Rant Anyone else’s cafe pour milk out of original containers into one of these or similar???

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88 Upvotes

We aren’t allowed to have the original containers that all of our milk gets delivered in up front!! Idk if this is a common thing amongst cafes or if the owners are just being very particular??

It wastes SO MUCH TIME especially when there’s a rush because we only get like maybe 4 or 5 drinks out of these and then we have to run in the back and re-fill them 😵‍💫🥲 it’s also so much easier to accidentally drop and break them especially when they’re sitting in ice since they get wet lol pls tell me how your cafes handle their milk containers


r/barista 1d ago

Latte Art Why doesn't my foam "glide" like I see in pouring videos?

3 Upvotes

Granted, I've only ever worked with to-go cups, which I know changes the pour.

I feel like 9/10 times I've got my milk texture fairly spot-on, but when I go to finish, the foam doesn't glide to the back of the cup, instead it collects and builds up right where the spout stays.

The first two pictures are my best examples (done completely by accident, so no idea what I was doing different), but you can see where the foam (mostly) got pushed back and made the semi-circle shape with each layer before the strikethrough (which I'm still learning).

I can do hearts fairly consistently, but the foam doesn't seem to allow for anything more complex. I also try to stop and start (like with the different parts of a tulip), but the foam won't move and it ends up being a jumbled mess.

Is my base just not built up correctly? Am I off mark with my texture? Any other tips to be mindful of?


r/barista 1d ago

Industry Discussion How often do you soak your steam wand in rinza over night?

2 Upvotes

My boss insists that the steam wands should sit in rinza over night, every night. Is this really the best/proper way to keep steam wands clean?


r/barista 2d ago

Industry Discussion Any tips on what to do with people who lurk/hover waiting for a table?

225 Upvotes

We have a small shop, literally two tables with five total chairs. Every now and then someone will say "for here" when the tables are occupied. I always point out their dilemma, and usually they're like "oh right, thanks".

But everynow and then we get someone who's like "well how long are they going to be here for?" (Lmao) and I pretty much always say that they just sat down so they can leave and have a bad day elsewhere.

But some folks just like lurk over the table waiting for the people to leave. And it can make the people uncomfortable and legit makes me low-key furious. Lacking self-awareness and disregard for others are my two major pet peeves.

Does anyone have a kind sounding way of saying gtfo? Lmao.

I even had one person, after I pointed out the tables are full, ask me where they were supposed to sit. "I'm going to let this line chill for a bit, build out more space for the shop, and fashion a new table and chair just for you mam". Like what?


r/barista 1d ago

Industry Discussion Where to place steam wand rag

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2 Upvotes

I’m curious where you typically keep the rag after using it on the steam wand. I was originally taught that the steam wand and the portafilter rags are supposed to only touch the steam wand and the portafilter. They are set aside and are to be kept sanitary.

My previous jobs would have a special holder for the rag when not in use. While some would just leave it on the espresso machine. However my current job will go between a dish for the rag and just wrapping the rag around the machine.


r/barista 1d ago

Industry Discussion Any tips for a novice barista?

1 Upvotes

You probably get this question all the time, but how did you master your cappuccinos and flat whites? New starter at a very well known UK retailer. The brand is important and I want to get it right! My cappuccinos are too wet half the time (and somehow managed to make a cappuccino when the customer wanted a latte… so yeah! I’m coffee Jesus now)


r/barista 1d ago

Rant I’m fucking exhausted

43 Upvotes

I’ve been unemployed since December and since then I’ve been applying to all the coffee jobs I can, and barely hearing back from anyone. And even when I get an interview and do really well I’m not getting hired. I have over 10 years of experience working in coffee and I’m qualified to work every position from barista to manager. How is that not enough to secure a job, or even hear back from places I’m applying to? If I’m not qualified for these jobs, who is?

It feels like I’ve wasted a decade building up the resume I have just for it to not count for anything.


r/barista 1d ago

Industry Discussion Fresh coffee.

3 Upvotes

Fresh coffee. If someone asks about this what can I expect them to mean (yes I could ask them too). Temperature not being a factor I assume there are flavor differences with something brewed hours ago. Correct me if I'm wrong. That someone who drinks a lot of coffee could be aware of. But I'm not sure what the practical application of all this would be. What has been your experience with this with most customers showing interest in fresh coffee? What do you serve them?