A complete, effective and ongoing training system is critical for coffee success!
October will be training month, no doubt about it! It’ll be the “old school” vs. the “newbies”, and it’s going to be a great ride!
We’re debuting new menus shortly, which will include the traditional Italian cappuccino, a yummy 6 ounce drink we’ve all fallen in love with. It will arrive in your hands with latte art atop it…so the game is afoot! All our baristas have been practicing their skills, and a few who’ve gotten rusty will be attending training seminars with our capable MBS trainers.
Latte art isn’t just cool to look at. Creating it is predicated on the idea that the milk in the hands of a well-trained barista has been transformed into a micro-foam delight. The designs are like icing on the cake. Ideally, micro-foamed milk will be sweeter and creamier as a result, and the foam will mix with the espresso to create drinkable, coffee-flavored froth. In the past, we’ve often had customers request drinks with NO FOAM, the result of having been served a drink where the foam was actually spooned atop the finished beverage. That foam is dry, tasteless, and usually leaves its mark on your upper lip as you try to get past it to the actual drink. Micro-foam, on the other hand, glides down your throat with the rest of the drink. Ahhhh.
The newbies are learning the “back of the house” (read “how we do things”) and beginning to serve customers at the register. Fortunately for them, our register system is user-friendly, and our customers are friendly, too. Over the years they’ve trained a host of employees, and they are patient, smiling, and have even learned the sequence in which to order their drinks so as not to throw off the novice order-taker! Over the course of the first month or so, these apprentices complete a lengthy but not exhaustive list of tasks from weighing up coffee for customers to washing floor mats at close. They take out trash, make whipped cream, do dishes, restock shelves, brew coffee and make change. Then they’re expected to learn the ins and outs of our whole bean coffees. It’s like being in school! Only when they’ve mastered these tasks are they permitted to add barista training to their schedule. Here’s hoping they’re quick studies!
Filed under: Coffee
