When we mention a barista, we usually think of a good looking young man holding or preparing a latté. Everything looks simple and easy. After a day as a coffee shop assistant, I have to say that this kind of imagination is totally wrong and unrealistic!
Coffee shops usually open at noon and close at midnight .However, I had to arrive early to prepare for the work. To a barista, a neat and tidy look is very important as it will affect the image of the coffee shop. Therefore, I had to iron my shirt and apron first. Then I had to clean the menu to remove the dust on it. Finally, I had to prepare for the little desserts, not making them, but put them in good positions. By the way, I did not have to prepare for the ingredients for mixing coffee, as it was usually done by senior assistants. Yet, I had to learn how to do it everyday.
The coffee shop opened at 12:00 pm and the first job I had to do is to be the cashier. I had to ask the customers which coffee they would like to have as well as the size. Moreover, sometimes I had to recommend some coffee to them when they could not decide which one they would like to have. Therefore, I had to learn the different flavors and varieties of coffee and these helped me to build knowledge of coffee.
At 2 pm, I had to swap my work with others. It was the most tiring part of my job. I called these work ‘general stuff’. Usually I had to clean the toilets and it was really smelly! Later I had to serve the customers and prepare the tables for new customers. Sometimes I may have little chats with foreign customers. They were concerned about my work and it would be a very good chance to learn about the differences in tastes of different kinds of coffee for local customers and foreign customers. After that, I had to check the sugar and milk bar, in order to make sure there were enough amount of them.
From 4 pm to 5 pm, it would be my favorite work which was to learn how to mix coffee. That period of time was very precious as those senior assistants were very busy and it was not easy for them to have extra time to teach me. Usually they would teach me the ratio of cream or milk of different kinds of coffee. They would also teach me how to taste coffee. Mixing and matching coffee was very complicated. They would teach me different names of coffee and their cultures. Up to now, I had learned how to mix latte and American black coffee.
It was really tired to be a coffee shop assistant. However, I was satisfied with my work as it could widen my horizon of coffee and the most important thing is that I love coffee!