How to Get Into the Coffee Industry: A Guide for Aspiring Professionals

Are you looking to make a career in the coffee industry? Whether you want to become a barista, roaster, or coffee buyer, there are countless opportunities to explore. To get started, you'll need to have some experience managing restaurants or stores, as well as basic IT skills. Salaries vary depending on the market and store volume. In addition to connecting with customers online, be sure to take your network to the street.

Talk to friends and neighbors about your brand of coffee, and visit local coffee shops that might be interested in serving you coffee. Word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool that business owners often overlook, but it can be one of the best ways to build valuable connections. There are three easy ways to visualize how to build your career. The first is a traditional career progression, where you stay in a position but move forward in terms of responsibility.

An example would be progressing from barista to head barista, or from roaster to head roaster. The second option is the jungle gym, where you change the type of work, not just the level. An example would be going from head barista to assistant coffee manager or barista coach. Finally, there is the deep dive.

This is where you become even more of a specialist. Academics are a great example of this, going from a bachelor's degree to a postgraduate master's degree or a doctorate to a postdoctoral researcher. It's a form of progression in which your focus narrows as your experience becomes progressively more unique. The best part of all of this is that you don't have to give up your current career completely and dive headlong into a new career in coffee. You can take shifts on the weekends, to see if being a barista really brings joy.

You can also volunteer at the SCA, local fairs and festivals, and learn and engage with the community when they have local events. Coffee is really about the people and the connections you can establish, so participating in that community is one of the best ways to find out if a job at the cafe is right for you. For young professionals who want to venture into roasting, it's important to show an interest in quality control, tasting and tasting notes. If your company has more than one roaster, they probably have that secondary person who makes and moves green coffee. Know the brands of your company's bags for each of your coffees, which could be useful if you need someone in the roasters to mix or compile the blends.

Get ready to replace when someone in the roaster is sick or on vacation - this is a great way to prove your value to the roasting team. Once you've established a solid foundation of flavor capacity, consider taking classes such as those offered by The Coffee Quality Institute. These intensive programs are designed for those interested in learning how to engage in serious work - it involves lifting heavy objects, it's repetitive, often manual, and the feedback cycle about your work is long: 12-24 hours before you drink your coffee, 7 days before a coffee shop answers about coffee (although most of the time they only get in touch if there is a problem).Having that kind of consideration for colleagues who don't want to accept a job they probably wouldn't keep was important for Wade because he knows that developing long-term relationships within the industry is one of the most important aspects of a successful career in the coffee industry, as well as one of the best ways to facilitate job searches. The Q Grader program was designed by The Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) to create “a skillful and credible body of specialty coffee cups”.I get a lot of requests from people looking to retire and drink coffee as a “hobby job” or leave industries that would otherwise be too lucrative to look for a job in the coffee industry. Backed by more than two decades of experience, Joe's Garage Coffee is a supplier you can trust for your online coffee business. With every type of coffee business there is a need for marketing staff to develop strategies for product campaigns, retail services, loyalty programs, local advertising, promotional advertising and digital media.

This itinerary presents a unique opportunity to learn from major importers and develop both a career and professional network as you embark on life in coffee. The highest-level coffee taster - called Q Grader - undergoes an intense battery of tests on his palate before receiving the proverbial silver spoon for cups. By connecting farmers with customers around the world, coffee buyers are the link between production and consumption and guardians of specialty coffee quality. Selling coffee from home can be fun and challenging whether it's your profession, hobby or supplemental income. If you add people who prefer to savor a cup of coffee in the afternoon and at night, then the number of daily coffee drinkers in the U. S increases significantly. If you want to dedicate yourself to coffee because you are a “coffee geek” then I recommend that you look for another reason why you want to dedicate yourself to coffee or simply keep it as an enjoyable hobby.

He had offers outside the industry but since he was passionate about it he resisted and did what he needed until he found another position within it. As you progress through your career as a roaster you may graduate from Head Roaster all the way up until becoming an expert Q Grader - an intense battery test on palate before receiving recognition for cups. No matter what level you're at within this industry - whether it's just starting out or already established - remember that developing long-term relationships within it is one of its most important aspects; not only will it help facilitate job searches but also help build valuable connections.

Benjamín Arrand
Benjamín Arrand

Avid beer maven. Passionate pop culture enthusiast. Passionate tv practitioner. Total zombie practitioner. Total tv evangelist. Hardcore bacon scholar.