Why are coffee industry barista job posts so demanding?

Campus recruitment season has brought a wave of barista job postings that list drink-making, cleaning, cashiering and store operations, along with photography, photo editing and social media management. Some cafés even ask for violin skills or knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine to develop herbal tea Americanos, leaving workers joking that the ideal barista can do everything except make coffee.

Veteran baristas note that many of the long duty lists are routine once shifts are worked independently, but the extra roles reflect how cafés now run their own social media accounts and shoot product photos. Workers describe the day as a mix of service, content production and operations rather than time spent behind the bar.

It's campus recruitment season once again, and the buzz around the coffee industry has many graduates dreaming big—chasing poetry and distant lands while also keeping food on the table. Yet when job seekers see recent barista job postings, reality hits them hard. Some employers list an exhaustive array of duties—drink-making, cleaning, cashiering, store operations—making one wonder whether they're hiring a barista or an all-in-one store manager. Even more absurd, some cafés require baristas to handle photography and photo editing, run social media accounts, and even play a violin concerto in their spare time, or possess knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine to develop herbal tea Americanos. Coffee workers mock themselves: the ultimate barista is a hexagon warrior who can do everything except make coffee. This article gives you a glimpse of these jaw-dropping job requirements and the real daily grind of a barista.

▲

Click to follow | Daily specialty coffee culture magazine Coffee Workshop

Campus recruitment season arrives as scheduled every year, with a flood of fresh graduates hitting the job hunt, and the coffee industry's booming momentum has many young people eager to try. After all, this job can both carry literary ideals and sustain a living.

But when people browse recent barista job postings, they feel their ideals shattered by reality. On a recruitment platform, a barista position description runs on like a short essay, covering drink preparation, hygiene and cleaning, cashiering, store operations, and more, making applicants ask: is this hiring a barista, or an all-around store manager?

Faced with this job posting, some netizens analyzed it point by point and noted that though the word count is staggering and the tasks seem heavy at first glance, most of the listed items are basic store operations. Veteran baristas also admit that once you start working shifts independently, these written descriptions become your actual daily work.

Today, more and more cafés run their own social media accounts, and a barista's duties long ago extended beyond the bar. Some baristas also double as photographers, shooting and editing product photos, producing promotional short videos for the store, and managing daily social media operations, interacting with fans to boost account activity.

Some cafés, located in areas with a high foot traffic of foreigners, want baristas with overseas study backgrounds. That way, when foreign customers come in, baristas don't have to frantically gesture or awkwardly rely on translation apps—they can communicate smoothly in fluent foreign languages.

Other cafés position themselves as high-end and even demand that baristas "play a violin concerto when not making coffee." Some joke: if this owner instead hired a violin teacher who can make coffee, it would probably be easier than finding a barista who can play the violin.

As for the conditions below from one owner, job seekers wave their hands—baristas must not only make Western food and pastries, have wine knowledge, but also have experience in traditional Chinese medicine. Hmm... one can't help but wonder, is this shop in Guangdong, needing a barista with TCM knowledge to develop herbal tea Americanos?

Though some job requirements seem cumbersome, in actual work, coffee workers say baristas' tasks go far beyond what's written in the job posting. They must "handle the front of house," producing drinks, socializing, and serving as a walking coffee encyclopedia; and also "handle the back of house," fixing faucets, unclogging drains, and tinkering with the espresso machine when needed.

As some coffee professionals put it, the ultimate form of a barista is a hexagon warrior who knows a little of everything except making coffee. So it's not too surprising to see a barista who can play an instrument~

Image source: Internet

Disclaimer: Some images in this article are from the internet, and some website content such as images—we respect the original copyright and will credit the source, but due to the large volume, a few images and texts may not be credited in time; please understand. If the original author has any disputes, they can contact the website for handling, and once verified we will correct it immediately. Compiled and edited by "Coffee Workshop," please indicate the source when reposting; if there is infringement, please inform us for removal, thank you~!

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.