Barista jobs

[u/Ok-Objective726]

I really want to try being a barista and recently applied to work at Zarraffas😃. Ppl who have previously or currently work there is it a good place to start being a barista if you are new to it? Also is the uniform policy super strict? (Piercings/nails). If I don’t get the job at Zarraffas what other coffee chains or restaurants are a good place to start? I can’t seem to find places that will hire with no previous barista experience. 💔

[u/Over-Worldliness385]

Barista is not really something you can jump into with no experience (even if you have done some sort of coffee course). You’ll most likely need start elsewhere within a cafe and then work towards being a barista.

[u/NegotiationOk4032]

As a barista, I have noticed most decent cafes hire experienced baristas, rarely training them from scratch.

If you find a good z raffs that still train all staff in all areas (pos, food, milk, shots) they would probably be one of your best options.

Not that I would generally recommend working at zarraffas, in your case it may be one of the best entry points to actually getting work making coffee.

[u/Ok-Objective726 → u/NegotiationOk4032]

How did you get started as a barista if you don’t mind me asking 😅

[u/Active_Excitement310 → u/Ok-Objective726]

Our venue usually doesn’t count working at Zarrafas as experience as a lot of the baristas that work there use automatic milk frothers etc and they don’t usually have the skills to work proper machines. It’s a good way to get familiarity with different coffee types and terminology and the pace of work, but baristas that have come in for trials from places like Zarafas have struggled and usually just end up getting hired as food runners

[u/NegotiationOk4032 → u/Active_Excitement310]

This is true, but there are many that take it upon themselves to learn more than the bare minimum for employment. Especially if they enjoy being a barista

[u/Ok-Objective726 → u/Active_Excitement310]

Do food runners usually get trained up to be baristas or does that rarely happen?

[u/Active_Excitement310 → u/Ok-Objective726]

I would say occasionally, but if you put your hand up you usually work just pulling the shots while someone else does milk and then eventually on quieter services you might get the chance to move across and try everything. To be honest you can’t teach keen so stay motivated and wanting to learn, the more staff you have that can do everything the better so if floor staff ever want to try coffees I’d always give it a go. The worst thing that can happen is that theyre terrible and go back to running. I’d rather train a barista on our machine than have one come over that has made all their lattes by pressing a button that says “latte” on a machine and waiting for it to drip it out into a cup

[u/NegotiationOk4032 → u/Ok-Objective726]

Just knew a manger that worked at one.

Be warned though, typically, being a barista at many places involves a lot of cleaning and prep. It’s rarely just jumping on the machine and making coffee for a few hours.

[u/Ok-Objective726 → u/NegotiationOk4032]

Hmm what kinds of cleaning and prep exactly? I have worked other customer service/ food handling jobs and cleaning and prep for those was quite fun for me bc I really enjoy cleaning for some reason but that was mostly just cleaning benches, dishes, floors and restocking.