Starbucks Baristas: The daily grind
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New barista lost and confused (self.starbucksbaristas)
submitted by T3mperature
So I just started working at starbucks and am trying to learn how to make all the drinks. I have the giant stack of recepie cards but it takes forever to find what I need and a ton of ours are ripped or just missing.
I'm having a hard time remembering things like how many pumps of what i need for fraps and i guess some lattes have shots and some dont(like chai tea latte)? Some other drinks I have no clue what syrups are even needed like caramel brule drinks, and honestly anything that uses syrups that doesnt have it right in the name of the drink. Like if you asked me to make a hazelnut mocha coco macchiato i might cry lol. Like if it were Grande do you just add 4 pumps of mocha, 4 hazelnut and do milk and shots? I have no idea. Is there a better way to remember this other than flipping through a million recepie cards?
I feel bad because I've been learning drinks for 2 days and can only do easy stuff like basic mocha, americano, latte, etc. And my trainer seems frustrated with me and I keep ending up in situations where I'm working completely alone but have no idea how to make the customer's drink, which leads to angry customers.
Honestly I'm super lost at this point and just feel terrible for needing so much help from my trainer. I feel like I'm an idiot for not knowing how to make all the drinks, but the ingredients and number of pumps for some drinks seems super random to me. Like things randomly need vanilla syrup which I would have never expected to have it. Am I crazy for not understanding this or is there an easier way to think about it?
I'm having a hard time remembering things like how many pumps of what i need for fraps and i guess some lattes have shots and some dont(like chai tea latte)? Some other drinks I have no clue what syrups are even needed like caramel brule drinks, and honestly anything that uses syrups that doesnt have it right in the name of the drink. Like if you asked me to make a hazelnut mocha coco macchiato i might cry lol. Like if it were Grande do you just add 4 pumps of mocha, 4 hazelnut and do milk and shots? I have no idea. Is there a better way to remember this other than flipping through a million recepie cards?
I feel bad because I've been learning drinks for 2 days and can only do easy stuff like basic mocha, americano, latte, etc. And my trainer seems frustrated with me and I keep ending up in situations where I'm working completely alone but have no idea how to make the customer's drink, which leads to angry customers.
Honestly I'm super lost at this point and just feel terrible for needing so much help from my trainer. I feel like I'm an idiot for not knowing how to make all the drinks, but the ingredients and number of pumps for some drinks seems super random to me. Like things randomly need vanilla syrup which I would have never expected to have it. Am I crazy for not understanding this or is there an easier way to think about it?
thaletterjay 10 points 3y ago
It take me literally a month to feel comfortable on bar knowing all the recipes and lingo. Don't sweat it. You're new, take your time and practice a lot.
ilovebrandonj 6 points 3y ago
It takes most people about 6 months to have everything entirely down and memorized! Don’t stress, it comes in time. No one expects you to remember much until you’ve been there a few months. Also they def should not be leaving you on bar alone while training. Did you finish doing all of the modules and the training on the floor?
_Pulltab_ 5 points 3y ago
It takes a long, long time. Start with basics and go from there.
Frappuccino’s are 2/3/4 pumps or scoops of most things. If it’s hot bar pumps instead of cold bar pumps (like, skinny mocha, for example) it’s half that, rounded up (1/2/2)
Lattes get 3/4/5 for hot and 3/4/6 for iced syrup and 1/2/2 shots for hot and 1/2/3 shots for iced.
Cappuccinos and blonde drinks get one less pump.
Get that down and the you’ll figure the rest out with time.
Frappuccino’s are 2/3/4 pumps or scoops of most things. If it’s hot bar pumps instead of cold bar pumps (like, skinny mocha, for example) it’s half that, rounded up (1/2/2)
Lattes get 3/4/5 for hot and 3/4/6 for iced syrup and 1/2/2 shots for hot and 1/2/3 shots for iced.
Cappuccinos and blonde drinks get one less pump.
Get that down and the you’ll figure the rest out with time.
rat-czar 3 points 3y ago
bb it's only your second day learning drinks lol it takes a good long while to be familiar with the routine. idk why you're working bar if you haven't learned all the drinks yet but that's on your supervisors not you. it kinda helps if you think of each drink as having a base drink like a base latte is shots topped with steamed milk, a base macchiato is milk with the shots poured on top, etc, and then the syrups are modifications to each base drink, they can modify the milk, and so on.
EmpressDaniQ 2 points 3y ago
I hope they don’t keep leaving you alone like that. I don’t know if it’s possible for you, but my trainer always has people on cold bar first and keeps them on it until they are comfortable before moving them around. Maybe see if you can focus on one area at a time to help you learn the recipes? Good luck, I’m sure you’ll do great!
mango_drango 2 points 3y ago
The hazelnut mocha macchiato was discontinued so you don’t really have to worry about that one. The caramel brûlée latte gets caramel brûlée syrup, it’s a special holiday one. All frapps get 2/3/4(cold bar) tall/grande/venti pumps and scoops of stuff. the only lattes that don’t get shots are chai and matcha :)
T3mperature [OP] 1 points 3y ago
Thanks for all the advice! I finished all the modules and making the like 6 hot and 6 cold practice drinks the training book said to do, and was just kinda thrown into working bar after that, occasionally being alone to run everything. We are super understaffed so I have to work alone while my trainer goes on lunch or goes to resupply stuff at the back of the store which can take like 20-30 minutes. Im also starting to get scheduled to work whole shifts alone in another week. It's just difficult to do the oven, bar and register on my own when we have a huge line and I have to look up or ask how to make almost every single drink haha was hoping there would be an easier solution or I was missing something somwhere!
CarelessKai 2 points 3y ago
i was in a similar situation when i started out too and the best advice i can give is to ask questions. it’s better to get an answer from a coworker than to guess how to do something. also if you’re ever feeling overwhelmed, tell them so they can help you out.
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