As coffee is so important to today’s consumer, we all want to make sure we are serving the best. Aside from choosing top-quality coffee, machines and training great baristas, one of the best ways to ensure an excellent serve is to inspire your barista’s enthusiasm for what they do. A genuine passion for coffee speaks volumes and means your coffees will always be made with love.
One of the ways to do this is to make sure your baristas are fully versed in coffee’s history, the different flavour profiles, the growing, roasting and brewing methods. Only then can they truly appreciate the coffee’s complexity and the dedication that goes into making it.
One of the best ways you can do this is to provide full coffee training to your team. We’re not talking just how to make coffee; we’re talking everything from the growing of the crop to tasting the delicious end product. Once that interest has been sparked, your baristas will be itching to perfect their coffee making skills through lots of practice.
So, you’ve got your awesome baristas and they know everything there is to know about coffee. How can you keep things fresh to ensure that passion doesn’t burn out?
Hosting a barista competition in your hotel
Hosting your own Barista Championship is a great initiative to offer your talented baristas and there are many ways this can help you improve the coffee you offer and generate sales!
1. Encourage continuous improvement
Once you have created a passion in your baristas, you’ll want to keep that passion alive. Barista competitions are a great way to encourage continuous improvement as there is the added competitive element. Your baristas will want to spend as much time as possible perfecting their skills in order to be the best!
2. Inspire creativity and try out speciality drinks
Ask your semi-finalists to develop a new coffee recipe for later rounds in the competition. This will encourage them to get their creative juices flowing, develop a greater understanding of coffee flavour pairings and it generates new recipes you can try on your menu!
3. Increases motivation within your team
Barista Competitions can be a useful reward and recognition tool, which is a great motivator for your team. Let them know you appreciate their hard work and dedication and you will get the best from your team.
4. Improves coffee quality
The ultimate goal. The coffees you serve are going to be so much better if they are served by well-practised, passionate baristas that take pride in the way they prepare and present their coffee.
5. Promotes the skills of your baristas to your guests
Finally, once you have your winners, let guests know they are barista champions! This could be by displaying a certificate on the wall, giving them a champion badge to wear, or by posting about them on social media. Your guests will love to know they have been served only the best coffee from the best baristas
Ideas and tips for your barista competition
One hotel site: compete in rounds, with the winners of each competing against each other until you have an overall winner.
Multiple hotel sites: compete at site level, the winners of each compete at regional level, then semi-finalists from each region get the chance to compete to determine the ultimate champion.
Keep things fair: make sure that you are using the same criteria across sites. For example, for the first round baristas are judged on the same drink, site-wide.
Invite guest judges: invite your senior management team to judge, along with experts from the coffee industry to make the occasion extra special!
Here’s a look at how Tchibo Coffee Service worked with Valor Hotel Group to run a barista competition, with the final being held in our Piacetto Lounge at our Epsom Head Office.
Interested in finding out more about working with us for beverage solutions in your hotel? Get in touch!
Tagged with: barista • competition • speciality coffee
