Changing the Barista Course Scene in Sydney

At Black Market Roasters, we like to do things a little differently. This approach has been no different when we set out to solve the puzzle of there being a very limited supply of skilled Baristas in Sydney and in fact Australia. As cafe owners we have found that when heading to the market to acquire a new team member, the supply of competent baristas is lacking and hence the few that have been trained demand unpegged wages and move around almost as they please. That being said, there are some great barista's in Sydney and we take our hats off to those that are helping to raise the level of Sydney coffee across the board and to translate that knowledge onto the customer.

The Black Market Barista Course Approach

When conducting research on the current courses on offer and seeing the standard of 'baristas' trialling in our cafes, we found they are not being taught the fundamentals of coffee making and the parameters and tools necessary to build knowledge on. You cannot teach a barista in a few hours everything that they need to know, though you can start them on a path skill building and put in place solid building blocks that are a real asset to a cafe owner that hires them. These tools are a theoretical knowledge base showing how extraction works, then building in tools and how to use scales/grinders and highlighting parameters around how you can use them. This way the barista is in control to play/adapt/experiment with a variety of recipes and the cafe owner can give specific feedback and the baristas can adjust. Our approach is such that we aim to get new baristas to a level of confidence and competence that they can head to cafe trials and complete a coffee menu set to a good level, then given the opportunity refine their process and make delicious espresso. It is in this way that we want to bring the humble barista back behind the machines of Sydney. Our Barista course Sydney is held in our coffee roastery and has max 4 students, professional barista as a teacher and works on both practical and theoretical modules.