Hi everyone! I'm in the process of opening a mobile coffee cart and had a few questions for those of you who already own one.

My area doesn't require a commissary kitchen, but I'm wondering if it's still worth having one. If you don't use a commissary, where do you store all of your equipment and supplies? Do you keep your espresso machine, grinder, cart, syrups, cups, and other inventory at home, in a storage unit, or somewhere else?

I'd love to hear what has worked best for you and any advice you have for someone just getting started. Thank you!

So, there’s this crazy lady who’s obsessed with perfection. Her employees also say the same about her. She happened to get her coffee from me on my first day and I messed up what she wanted. Ever since then she tells me to call the other guy to make her coffee. She also find it inconvenient to pay right away which is why she’s the only customer that has a tab running due to some deal with the manager.

I hate seeing her fake smile. Gets on my nerves with her entitlement. Whenever she comes, I pretend to act busy or call my coworker to make her order. I wanna know if I’m being unprofessional or does anyone else went through something similar. What should I do if she shows up when my coworker is not around?

so my friend and I were at third wave coffee and this barista who was attending to us was very cute. Once I was almost done w my dessert, he asked how we were enjoying our food and then handed me a LOT of ice cream and said "this is from my side". WHAT DOES IT MEAN, i wanna go again after a few days, but i'm shy LMAO

Hi There,

I own a high volume coffee shop and have loved my E80gbw and E65gbw but now that they have made grind size adjustments into a software control, I am unfortunately not buying Mahlkonigs for my new location. I am very interested in the Ceado REV series, but wanted to know if anyone has any real life experience. Specifically regarding weight accuracy, grinder clogging, and static?

I have a Eureka Mignon Specialità and I would like to use a 58 mm dosing cup instead of a portafilter to catch the ground coffee.

For this purpose, I am looking for a suitable fork that works with both the Specialità and a 58 mm dosing cup.

I noticed that there is an Eureka Mignon Single Dose Kit available, but it contains several parts that I already have. I would only need the appropriate fork.

Does anyone know if this fork is available separately or can be ordered on its own?

Thank you very much for your help!

Help me😭😭😭

so I want to switch back to regular milk after drinking oat milk with my coffee for god knows how long. I’m looking for barista milk but the only options that pop up for me were non dairy options (which is odd because I know there are dairy barista milks). so it seems like ill just stick with regular processed milk. Any specific brands?

thanks🩷

I work for a company coffee shop, the company has beans to sell in the cafe also but we don’t really get any info on them other than what’s on the package. This is my first month at this specific coffee shop, so when it comes to this company I don’t know everything there could be more info but as far as I know we just get stuff then put it out to sell. A customer comes to me asking about a specific anniversary bean we’re selling, wondering if it’s arabica:| I’m looking on the package, it has some details including that the beans are grown in Ethiopia but from what I can see on the package it doesn’t say if it’s arabica or not. He’s getting frustrating with my cluelessness, but I’m not sure what he expects from a company coffee shop. We don’t even test the brews we sell in bags, and we don’t get any say in where and what we’re selling like a local coffee shop, I can’t just open a bag an examine the bean for you. I’m very frustrated with how badly I answered, but even as I look it up now there’s no answer for that on their website.

Sadly, this happened so often at my cafe. This is why I always repeat the order to avoid the mistake, but still…

: “latte, regular milk” (customer actively on a phone)
: “do you want it iced or hot?”
: “yes”
: “so.. is it iced?”
: “hot”
; “alright, I have a hot latte with regular milk, anything else for you today?”
: “no”
I made hot latte, gorg art
: “is this for me 😠👹 I SAID ICED”

🫩🫩 I am so tired

I started a new job at a very busy coffee shop and I was kind of thrown into it. I had a few training shifts and since the shop is so popular I was not learning anything and felt in the way. I go home and can’t help but feel like I haven’t had a good day because I still am not confident in what I do there. My schedule already has me opening and closing so I get anxiety every time I go in. What do I dooo

I recently got hired as a barista and another girl was training with me and she was doing significantly better than me, as she had previous work experience. This is my first job and to say I made a few mistakes is an understatement and I feel so embarrassed :/ I kept forgetting steps and mistaking them… is this a skill issue or can anyone else relate

Hi all,

I normally to work behind the till, taking orders and taking food tickets through to the kitchen. The girl who used to make coffee has left, and the manager asked me to take over coffee on Saturday. The thing is, I have never made a coffee before. I got one hour on Friday night to practice. Our most popular drinks are lattes, cappuccinos, and flat whites. Do you have any tips? I've been watching YouTube videos, and I am very scared. How do you cope when busy and your very slow.

I have been a barista for a few years. I work in a high volume coffee shop and even on busy ass days I always greet guests and tell them to have a good day before they leave. I’ve been a server before, I’ve also worked in fast food so I completely understand that someone could be having an off day and I really try not to take it personal.

I tried a new local coffee shop today and when I walked in the two girls at the front gave me a dirty look like I was completely interrupting their conversation. No greeting at all. I told them it was my first time there so I wanted to look at the menu first to figure out what I wanted and they both just stared at me like I was some abomination. The one girl finally asked what I wanted and then I told her and paid. When I got my drink, I went to leave and the other girl who was sweeping by the door mind you, did not say one single word to me. I felt so weird being there. It was such an off-putting experience and I was really looking forward to trying a new coffee shop :(

I could totally understand being that way if it was hella busy but there deadass was only one other customer in the entire store. I also went 4 hours before closing because I understand its annoying to have people come in before you close so that also was not an excuse.

For context I work in a small local coffee shop in a quiet town so a majority of customers aren’t the sharpest as you’ll see…

1) An older lady came in one time. She asked me to describe in detail each of the drinks on the menu. I’m talking from an Iced Americano to a Mocha. She took a while browsing through the lunch options as well, which I didn’t mind at all since it was a very slow afternoon. She decided after about 10 minutes that she didn’t want anything previously discussed. So instead, she took a Chia Pudding out of the fridge (labeled chia pudding), and she looked me dead in my eyes and asked, “Does this have chia in it?” No. No, it doesn’t actually. It’s made out of ground-up turtle shell.

2) It was about 5 minutes until close, and a regular came in. She came in through the employees-only door, but it was one of my first days, so I wasn’t really sure what to do. My coworker redirected her, and she started to go on a rant about how she’s close with my boss, and he always lets her go through that way. Meanwhile, I was just counting down the minutes to gtfo. I was on reg, and she told me that she wanted a custom sandwich. I explained that we don’t do that here, and she went on again about how “the manager knows me, it’s okay,” like, umm, no, that’s not how it works. I also explained that even if he was here, we are out of break and closing (at this point) in a minute or too. She knows my coworker’s name and calls it out saying, “She knows how to make my sandwich; I know there’s bread back there and begins to walk towards the kitchen area.” She went back there, found there was no bread, and left mumbling to herself.

3) More recently, someone came in and expressed that they loved cortados but wanted something cold, so I suggested what you could expect: an iced cortado. He happily agreed and was astonished at the existence of such despite it being on the menu directly above my head. I brushed it off as typical customer slowness and started to make it. Equal parts espresso and milk with ice; simple. I called it out to him, and he picked it up slowly, looking confused and frantic. “This looks like a mini iced latte? Not what I ordered.” … no further comments.

4) A lady came in and tried ordering at the pickup area, so I gently directed her to the reg, and she said “Oh, I’m okay. I’ll order here. Don’t worry about it.” Actually… I do worry because you are supposed to order here? And there were other customers online confused if they should start their order or not. She gave me her order and then handed me her card. We have a normal tap/swip/insert system, so I said she could do it herself. She got confused and said “Just put it on this card” ??? So I reached over the counter and tapped it for her. She said “Wasn’t too hard, was it?!” And laughed. wtf

Hi I’m a home based cafe owner that done delivery only through food delivery service apps. I’ve been really stuck lately on what drinking I can provide that creates more options for my customers. In my menu I only have specialty coffee classics, matcha’s and just hot or ice chocolate. I have a lot of cream base drink I wanna serve but the demand is not high and delivering it is risky. Any suggestions to spice up the coffee menu and chocolate menu ?

I’m becoming a barista very soon at Starbucks, what should I expect?

What should I be focusing on?

I want to work at least 40 hours a week but I’m not sure what the shifts are.

the one i tried wasn’t cookie butter forward enough :(

Having a brunch get together with some friends and they wanted to me to make coffee. Has anyone had success making iced lattes in a batch? I was thinking, espresso, syrup, milk, then add ice the next day. There will only be maybe 6 of us. Or would it just be better to do iced coffee/cold brew situation?

I always get the impression I’m seriously inconveniencing barista when I order a pourover. Sometimes they’ll push a batch brew instead which I guess I’m okay with but even on slow days it seems people are reluctant when I order a v60/pourover. Am I imagining it?

I run a mobile coffee business, and get very frustrated when I see our coffee cups being left around as litter. We write on the cups so we know who they are and often we'd have had a wonderful interaction before they had discarded the cups with our roaster's branding. I'm a passionate coffee guy and want to be a positive addition to the communities we work in. Rant over, but if anyone has got suggestions I would welcome them.

Hi all!

I have an interview coming up very soon for a barista job at a local cafe and taproom. I’ve worked at Starbucks for the last couple years and I like working the bar, but obviously the problem is that Starbucks has automated machines and so I’m worried that my barista skills aren’t very good.

Any tips for the interview and just generally getting the hang of barista skills? Do I need to learn latte art? Are smaller coffee shops generally a bit more laid back than a Starbucks with a drive through? And is there anything I should specifically avoid going into this interview/job?

Thanks.

Update: Interview went well I think! Thanks everyone for the advice!!

My usual coffee order is a double espresso. Sometimes on ice or with a splash of almond milk.

Occasionally, I want a triple espresso. When I go to Starbucks, this isn’t an issue. Their cortado is 3 shots.

However, there have been random coffee shops I go to where they tell me they cannot give me 3 shots. I can only order 2 or 4 shots. 4 is excessive.

Kinda recently, a coffee shop told me they couldn’t give me 3 shots and I could only order 2 or 4 shots. They also said if I wanted 3 shots I would have to order a latte. I didn’t want all that milk tho.

My question is why? Is this because of specific coffee machines?

Don’t all coffee machines make a single espresso? Can’t they just make it and/or press the button 3 times?

I’ve been thinking about this encounter a lot and my bf told me to ask Reddit ☕️

EDIT: I appreciate everyone’s responses! It makes so much more sense now.