But yes, you read that right: EVERY Starbucks is closing (count them: 7100) at 5:30 tonight Tuesday, Feb 26 [MB Edit] for three (count them: THREE) hours of training. Allegedly this will address service issues such as bad shots and poorly steamed milk.
At one point in time, I was a barista for both The Beanery and Coffee People: Aero Moka, and I could sling lattes with the best of them. I attribute my success (I could make foam you could bounce a quarter off of and my shots were NEVER bitter) to the fact that I had to actually take a full-on class on coffee at both locations. When I started at The Beanery they took me to the roaster and showed me this is how coffee beans start and this is what happens to them, etc. After two solid days of this sort of information I had to take a test. When I started at Coffee People it was a similar situation (but without the trip to the roaster). I had to know a lot about coffee and get a fair amount of training in technique and ingredients and all manner of proper beverage assembly before they turned me loose on customers. I won’t say just how long ago this was, but I’ll tell you not one bit of the airport was under construction and I still had to explain differences between cappuccino and latte to a lot of folks.
It makes me wonder just what it takes to be a barista in this day and age. If you know please let me know. And if you need that hit on the way home, you might be out of luck if you usually stop at Starbucks. Try someone local. You might be pleasantly surprised!
